Daniel Dobrowolski and his boss Kyle Bennet have been reviewing PC motherboards since the Internet was called books. To help wind away the long summer months, the pair set about trying to come up with a definitive list of the five worst motherboards they have come across in during their twenty years of experience. The list includes a few corkers for sure that many of us will remember with a degree of horror. They then set about trying to come up with a list of the five best motherboards of all time – a task that I’m guessing proved to be a little more difficult. Here’s a snippet of what Dan had to say on the topic:

After the positive responses I received for The Top 5 Worst Motherboards of All Time article, I decided to create a list for the the best motherboards. Unlike the worst boards which were picked for obvious reasons, it was important to qualify exactly how I chose the best motherboards on this list.

The "best" is subjective by itself, but I think the best motherboards stand out in a particular way. It's really not hard for a company to build a long lasting and stable motherboard. There are plenty of motherboards that last well past their useful operational life span. Some motherboards went above and beyond by being high quality and standing the test of the time or by being relevant for an unusually long period of time. Examples of that might be motherboards based on the excessively long lived 440BX chipset which remained relevant long after successor chipsets were released. Another category that will help a motherboard make this list is innovation. Some motherboards had something special about their design which made them more memorable, interesting, desirable, influential, and ultimately a favorite among enthusiasts. These are the criteria I will use to separate run of the mill excellence from what I consider some of history's best motherboards.

I won’t spoil the fun by posting the results of his soul searching, but let’s just say that I’m sure there is plenty of potential for much debate on the matter. You can find the ‘Five Best Motherboards’ here, and the ‘Five Worst Motherboards’ here. Well worth a read if you enjoy a nostalgic twinge.