6 “gaming” features on motherboards that are just marketing

In the world of PC hardware, features are a dime a dozen. And motherboard manufacturers will use any ridiculous nomenclature for supposedly game-changing features that are nothing more than wrappers for things that exist on every motherboard. Motherboard brands need to differentiate their products from the competition, but at what point does differentiation morph into meaningless marketing? For motherboard manufacturers, that point was left in the rearview mirror a long time ago.

6

AI overclocking, AI cooling, and AI neworkring

Did I mention AI?

Source: ASUS

AI has taken over the world — maybe not in the apocalyptic sense, but at least in the marketing world. And motherboard companies have incorporated it into almost every aspect of a motherboard. Brands like Asus claim to offer AI overclocking, AI cooling, AI networking, and much more, promising intelligent performance boosts that are allegedly not possible without AI.

In reality, all of these AI features are simply there to justify charging premium prices to customers. At most, companies use telemetry algorithms to provide an automated performance boost that the hardware is already capable of. The “AI” branding is just there to make the consumer feel better about overspending on a high-end motherboard. If you’re someone interested in overclocking or optimizing your cooling performance, you don’t need these AI features; all you need is patience and reliable CPU overclocking guides.

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5

Studio-grade audio or audio boost

High-end buyers don’t rely on onboard audio

Another oft-marketed feature on motherboards is high-end audio codecs and terms like “7D audio” and “audio boost.” Most consumers couldn’t care less about what kind of audio hardware their motherboard is running, and those who do care probably never use onboard audio on their PCs. Having “studio-grade audio” on your motherboard won’t make your speakers or headphones sound magically better.

If you’re an audiophile and can’t stand any compromises, you’ll probably invest in an external DAC to eliminate any interference from the motherboard’s electrical components. Motherboard brands like to promise the world by using these overzealous marketing terms, but you should only care about the features you’ll really use, such as the quality of the VRMs, maximum RAM speed, fan headers, robust I/O, and onboard Wi-Fi.

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4

Gaming LAN

Use your LAN for…gaming

Did you know that you needed specially designed “gaming LAN” instead of regular Ethernet ports on your motherboard? Motherboard brands seem to think so since they keep marketing this feature, claiming optimized networking features for gaming. All these companies really do is make slight tweaks to the Ethernet port, and market the feature as something revolutionary.

They might optimize the LAN port to optimize gaming traffic or disable energy-saving modes to avoid connection drops. These aren’t complicated things that a user cannot do themselves. All it takes is a Google search and a few seconds to toggle the right setting on Windows. Paying more for something that’s just a marketing wrapper on the standard Ethernet port present on every other motherboard is dumb.

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3

VR ready

Brands living in their own reality

Since the time virtual reality gaming has existed on PCs, motherboard brands have tried to capitalize on yet another aspect of gaming. Using terms like “VR ready,” manufacturers try to convince uninformed buyers that they need specific motherboard models to properly use VR on their PCs. The reality is, however, that nearly every motherboard is ready for VR.

As long as you have a VR headset, a decently powerful PC, and a motherboard with enough USB ports and sufficient power delivery for your headset, you don’t need any other features to get going. Motherboard brands want to position their offerings as being more high-end than they really are, and many unsuspecting consumers still fall into their trap.

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2

Military-grade components

Remember ultra durable?

When motherboard manufacturers run out of performance-enhancing features, they pivot to marketing terms surrounding the build quality of their motherboards. Brands use terms like “ultra durable,” “military grade,” “titanium armor,” and “pro series” to make their motherboards seem tougher than competing options.

While the PCB quality, VRM quality, and overall construction of a motherboard are important for high-end PCs, brands often use these terms with reckless abandon. For instance, Gigabyte’s “ultra durable” branding is found even on its cheapest motherboards, which feature questionable build quality. You should rest assured that you get what you pay for, especially on motherboards. Most mid-range and high-end motherboards will feature high-quality components to keep your PC safe from any untoward incident.

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1

Gaming edition

Stay away

Perhaps the worst culprit when it comes to misleading marketing terms is “gaming edition.” This catch-all term is used to convey that a motherboard is bathed in “gaming” features, from build quality and power delivery to RAM and SSD speeds. Nearly every motherboard on the market, except for off-brand entry-level boards, is targeted towards gaming PCs, so a “gaming edition” motherboard will offer only a fancy paint job and aggressive heatsinks as extras.

Whether a motherboard is the right choice for your gaming PC depends on how many of your checkboxes it can tick. As long as a budget or mid-range motherboard packs each of your preferred features, you don’t need to rely on terms like “gaming edition” to buy something worthwhile. Third-party reviews will make it abundantly clear if you need to be wary of excessive temps, longer boot times, or any other downside of a motherboard, so consume as many of them as you can from multiple sources.

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Motherboard marketing mayhem is forever

Motherboard manufacturers will never stop marketing useless features that often do nothing to meaningfully impact your PC experience. When the AI fad disappears, they’ll hop onto the next one. Gaming edition motherboards will probably stay evergreen, while terms like “VR ready” and “audio boost” might be replaced with something like “smart lighting” or “smart diagnostics.” So, educate your friends and fellow community members to stay safe from this marketing barrage.