6 Best Water Cooling Motherboards

The best water cooling motherboards are designed to be both stable and powerful, but not too heavy. Most of them are very lightweight and have space for large CPU coolers. The main benefit of a water-cooling motherboard is that it has the ability to support larger cooling systems.

Many of them offer excellent flexibility, allowing the user to adjust the height of the cooler at the push of a button. They also come with great quality components and can be built for a wide range of budgets.

Buyers Guide | What Are Water Cooling Motherboards?

A water cooling motherboard is a type of motherboard designed to allow for the installation of a water cooling system. Water cooling systems are becoming more popular for several reasons. These include the fact that they can provide higher levels of cooling than air cooling but don’t require fans, and allow for better overclocking.

What Is the Difference Between Water Cooling Motherboards?

Water cooling motherboards use a water cooler to circulate water over the components inside the computer. Typically, it is done with liquid coolant that flows from one side of the motherboard to the other and back again. The liquid coolant absorbs heat and carries it away from the processor.

The motherboard is the main circuit board that contains the CPU, memory, and other components required to function as a computer. The liquid coolant is pumped through tubes or a series of copper plates that sit directly on the surface of the motherboard, carrying away the heat generated by the components.

There are several types of water cooling motherboards including passive, pump-assisted, and air-cooling.

A passive water cooling motherboard only uses the air inside the computer to move the liquid coolant through the system. The pump-assisted motherboard has a pump that provides the pressure required to push the liquid coolant through the motherboard.

An air-cooled motherboard uses no pumps or fans to move the coolant through the system. The air is used instead to move the coolant. The difference between passive and pump-assisted and air-cooled is based on how much control the manufacturer has over the flow of coolant.

The pump assists can be controlled by software on the motherboard. With air-cooled motherboards, the manufacturers don’t have control over the flow of the coolant. All motherboards are compatible with all of the different cooling methods. To install a water cooling motherboard, it must be connected to a pump and tubing

Best Water Cooling Motherboards

1. GIGABYTE Z590 AORUS Xtreme WATERFORCE

The most powerful GIGABYTE motherboards are engineered for the latest CPUs and ready to power your new system.

11th Gen Intel® Core™ Processors

With the release of the latest Intel® Core™ i9 processors, the IntelZ590 has been updated to support the latest 11th Gen Intel® Core™ processors. This includes the high-performance i9-9900K, i9-9980XE, i9-9990XE, and i9-9980HK.

10th Gen Intel® Core™ Processors-The IntelZ590 is also compatible with the latest 10th Gen Intel® Core™ processors. This includes the high-performance i7-9700K, i7-9750H, i7-9820X, and i7-9865Hx.

Dual Channel DDR4, 4 DIMMs-Dual Channel non-ECC unbuffered memory, 4 DIMMs are designed to handle the high speed of modern systems. Each DIMM features its own dedicated power and ground pins for improved signal integrity and lower EMI emissions.

100A Smart Power Stage- 100A Smart Power Stage with an 8+2 phase design. It is equipped with 100A MOSFETs, a power stage controller, and a high-efficiency DC/DC converter. This allows the motherboard to provide stable power to the CPU, memory, and the rest of the system components.

XTREME MEMORY-The IntelZ590 chipset supports up to 32 GB of fast, low latency DDR4 memory. It can be configured as dual-channel memory, single-channel memory, or quad-channel memory. The Z390 chipset also supports up to 256 GB of ultra-fast PCIe Gen3 x16 bandwidth.

SMT DIMM and Shielded Memory Routing- supports up to 64 GB of DRAM using Single In-line Memory Module (SIMM) DIMMs and shielded memory routing.

Thermal Reactive Armor- equipped with Thermal Reactive Armor (TRA) to prevent damage from thermal throttling. The motherboard also features a Water cooling system solution with fans and a heatsink.

NanoCarbon Baseplate features a NanoCarbon base plate with an all-in-one monoblock design. This allows for extremely high thermal conductivity and excellent heat dissipation.

2. Asus ROG Maximus XIII Extreme Glacial

The ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Extreme Glacial is a top-of-the-line gaming motherboard for the latest Intel® Core™ i9-9900K processor. The ROG Maximus XIII Extreme Glacial comes with the most powerful 11th Generation Intel Core processor, the Intel® Z590 chipset, and the latest ROG gaming features. It is built with the same superior design, performance, and durability as the award-winning ROG Maximus X Hero Edition, but with an upgraded Water cooling system and exclusive ASUS-exclusive features.

The ROG Maximus XIII Extreme Glacial features the latest Intel® Z590 chipset which offers the most advanced connectivity options. The motherboard has four PCIe 3.0 x16 slots and four PCIe 3.0 x1 slots and is fully compatible with the upcoming Intel® X299 Series motherboards, including the ROG Maximus IX Hero.

The ROG Maximus XIII Extreme Glacial also features the latest Intel® Z590 chipset, which is designed to unleash the maximum performance of the latest Intel® Core™ i9-9900K processor. It offers advanced connectivity options and the best possible overclocking performance.

This motherboard also comes with the latest ROG gaming features, including the ASUS-exclusive Aura RGB LED, ASUS-exclusive LiveDash™ OLED, ASUS-exclusive XFast LAN, ASUS-exclusive AudioWizard, ASUS-exclusive OC Panel, ASUS-exclusive Fan Xpert+, and ASUS-exclusive Ai Charger.

3. ASUS ROG Maximus XII Formula Z490

ASUS ROG Maximus XII Formula is the Best Water And Air Cooling motherboard to feature the 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i9 9900K Extreme Edition Processor. With up to 18% better performance than the previous generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors, the new 9900K is the ultimate gaming platform.

This motherboard is also equipped with the Intel® Extreme Tuning Utility (Intel XTU), a powerful software suite that allows users to tune their system parameters for the best performance and overclocking potential. The Intel XTU also offers a wide range of tools for hardware enthusiasts, including voltage control, fan speed control, and automatic overclock.

Extreme Power Solution features 16 Infineon power stages, each rated to handle 70 amps, high-quality alloy chokes, and durable capacitors to provide reliable power even when pushing the CPU performance to the limit.

CrossChill EK III VRM block and Extra-large heatsinks for VRM, chipset, and M. 2 slots, solid steel backplate lets you cool with air and water.

The fastest Gaming Connectivity includes WiFi 6 AX201 (802. 11 axes), Dual Ethernet with Marvell AQtion 10Gb, and Intel 2. 5Gb Ethernet with LANGaurd technology, Triple M. 2 slots, USB 3. 2 Gen 2×2 front panel connectors.

Unmatched Personalization includes 2” Livedash OLED, ASUS-exclusive Aura Sync RGB lighting, including 2X 4-pin RGB header and 2x Gen 2 addressable RGB headers.

4. MSI MPG Z590 Carbon EK X Gaming Motherboard

The MSI MPG Z590 Carbon EK X Gaming Motherboard is designed for gamers who demand the best in performance, overclocking potential, and stability. The motherboard features an incredible EK-X Gaming Monoblock with a unique liquid cooling system that allows the CPU and memory to be cooled by a custom-designed EK monoblock with a built-in inflow indicator.

16+1+1 Dual Rail Power Design: MSI’s 16+1+1 power design provides better power distribution for the CPU, graphics card, and memory. There are two 8-pin power connectors on the motherboard, one for the CPU and one for the memory.

Core Boost: MSI’s new Core Boost feature allows users to overclock the CPU without having to worry about the memory or graphics card.

DDR4 Boost: DDR4 Boost enables users to boost the memory clock speed beyond its rated value.

Lightning Fast Game Experience: The MSI MPG Z590 Carbon EK X Gaming Motherboard has PCIe 4.0 slots, which allow for faster data transfers between the CPU and graphics card. It also features Lightning Gen 4 x4 M.2 slots that provide a maximum storage capacity of up to 1TB.

Enhanced Power Design: MSI’s enhanced power design features a unique power system that provides a balance between high efficiency and low noise. This motherboard’s power design features a total of 16+1+1 power phases.

The CPU power connector has been moved to the front panel and there are two 8-pin power connectors on the motherboard, one for the CPU and one for the memory.

Dual BIOS: Dual BIOS allows the motherboard to be set up in either UEFI BIOS or Legacy BIOS mode.

EasyTune 2: EasyTune 2 is a hardware-based auto-tuning tool that provides users with a hassle-free way to adjust their hardware settings.

ASUS TPU: ASUS TPU technology automatically detects the type of CPU and optimizes the voltage and frequency of the CPU to achieve the best balance of performance, power consumption, and stability.

5. ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Formula

The ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Formula is designed to be the ultimate gaming system, with all the power, performance, and features you need for intense gaming sessions.

Intel LGA 1766 socket: Ready for 12th Gen Intel Core processors and Windows 11, support PCIe 5.0 and DDR5

Intelligent Control: ASUS-exclusive tools, including AI Overclocking, AI Cooling, AI Networking, and Two-Way AI Noise-Cancelation for easy configuration

Robust Power Solution: 20+1 teamed power stages rated for 105 A, ProCool II power connectors, MicroFine alloy chokes, and premium metallic capacitors

Optimized Thermal Design: VRM heatsinks with EK CrossChill III solution, high-conductivity thermal pads, triple M.2 heatsinks with dual embedded backplates, and ROG Water-Cooling Zone and ROG Hyper M.2 card with heatsinks

High-Performance Networking: Onboard Wi-Fi 6E, Marvell AQtion 10Gb Ethernet, and ASUS LANGuard

6. MSI MPG Z390 Gaming PRO Carbon

MSI MPG Z390 GAMING PRO CARBON is a new member of the MPG series motherboard family. It has been developed for gamers and hardcore overclockers. The MSI MPG Z390 GAMING PRO CARBON motherboard is optimized for overclocking. With its enhanced thermal solution and cooling technology, this board is the best choice for enthusiasts who want to push their system to the limits.

The MSI MPG Z390 GAMING PRO CARBON motherboard has a lot of overclocking features, such as a new XFR 2.0 mode, the OC Panel, the OC Tuning app, the MSI Afterburner, the MSI XFast LAN, and so on.

It comes with 9th Gen Intel Core i9 9900K, i7 9700K, i5 9600K processors, and 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8600k, i3-8350K, Pentium G4400, Celeron G3930, Pentium G3440, and Celeron G3930T processors.

The motherboards support dual channel DDR4 memory up to 4400MHz and have two PCIe x16 slots for dual graphics cards up to a length of 290mm.

The motherboard also features MSI’s Mystic Light LED strip header, RGB lighting, and MSI’s Mystic Light Sync technology, which allows you to control Mystic Light-enabled products such as keyboards, mice, and headsets.

The motherboard supports Windows 10 64-bit operating system.

The MSI MPG Z390 Gaming PRO Carbon motherboard supports Intel Optane memory, allowing gamers to experience the speed of Optane memory with the stability of DRAM.

You can also configure the motherboard as a dedicated server.

SETUP GUIDE For Water Cooling Motherboards

A computer is one of the most important tools you own. It is something that you use every day and one that you spend a considerable amount of money on. It is also something that you depend on to do a multitude of tasks in your daily life.

Whether you are a gamer or a student, there is nothing more important to your day-to-day routine than your computer.

However, it is also true that computers are not all created equally. When you buy a computer, it is going to be a big investment. You are going to be spending a lot of time and energy on this machine. Therefore, it is crucial that you are making sure you are purchasing the right one for you.

When it comes to choosing a motherboard, you have a lot of different options to choose from. However, you don’t have to look far to find a company that will be able to provide you with the exact one you need.

What are the differences between water-cooling and air-cooling motherboards?

There are two main ways that you can cool a computer. One is through a water cooling system and the other is through an air cooling system. The two types of cooling are not equal, and they have different pros and cons.

Water cooling

Water cooling is the most effective way to cool a computer. If you have the money, you should definitely go with a water-cooling motherboard.

This is because when you have a water cooling system, you will be able to use a powerful pump to circulate water through the motherboard. The water is going to absorb heat from the processor and dissipate it into the air.

When you have an air cooling system, you are going to be using a fan that is going to blow the heat away. It is not going to be as effective as water cooling, but it is still going to work.

Air cooling

If you are on a tight budget, you might want to consider an air cooling system.

FAQs | Water Cooled Motherboard