The Top 6 Best-Selling Motherboard Brands In Q4 2016

Masters Of Motherboards

Six vendors were dominant in sales of motherboards during the fourth quarter of 2016, as measured by sales through major technology distributors. Leading the way were Asus, Gigabyte Technology and MSI, according to The NPD Group, a Port Washington, N.Y.-based market research firm.

NPD Group's DistributorTrack sales database is comprised primarily of U.S. Global Technology Distribution Council members.

In the following slides are details on the six top-selling motherboard vendors in the fourth quarter, based on NPD Group's data.

6. Foxconn Electronics

Taiwan-based Foxconn saw its small share of the motherboard market fall further in the fourth quarter, to 0.7 percent of the market, from 1 percent a year earlier (in terms of sales through distributors).

Foxconn motherboards that are currently being distributed include the H110MX-S, which is Windows 10-ready, supports sixth-generation Intel Core processors and integrates SATA 3.0 and USB 3.0.

5. Super Micro Computer

San Jose, Calif.-based Super Micro Computer also saw a year-over-year drop in its market share during the fourth quarter, in terms of distributor sales, to 3.3 percent from 4.5 percent.

Among the newest Super Micro motherboards on the market are the X10 series, which support Intel's E5-2600 v4 Broadwell/v3 Haswell processors, and the Z270/H270/Q270 series, which support Intel's seventh-generation Core i7/i5/i3 processors (Kaby Lake).

4. Intel

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel saw its share of the motherboard market hold steady in the fourth quarter. Intel captured a 7.3 percent market share, in terms of motherboard sales through distributors, compared with 7.1 percent a year earlier.

Among the Intel motherboards available through distributors is the Intel Server Board S2600WTTR, which is aimed at distributed processing and features support for the company's Xeon Processor E5-2600 v4 family.

3. MSI Computer

City of Industry, Calif.-based MSI grabbed a 16.4 percent share of the motherboard market in the fourth quarter, in terms of distributor sales, up from 12.3 percent during the same period in 2015.

Top-selling motherboards from MSI during the fourth quarter included the H110M PRO-VH Plus, which supports sixth-generation Intel Core/Pentium/Celeron processors and DDR4-2133 memory.

2. Gigabyte Technology

Taiwan-based Gigabyte Technology saw its market share fall in the fourth quarter, in terms of distributor sales, to 18.7 percent from 26.2 percent year over year.

Motherboards introduced by Gigabyte Technology in 2016 included the X170 and X150 Series, touted as high-end desktop motherboards that support the Intel Xeon E3-1200 v5 processor and DDR4 memory.

1. Asus

Taiwan-based Asus captured about half of motherboard sales through distributors -- 49.8 percent-- during the fourth quarter. That's up from a 43.7 percent market share during the same period of 2015.

Asus' strong sales came from motherboards including the H170-PRO/CSM, which is targeted for uses including gaming. The motherboard features support for Intel's sixth-generation Core i7/i5/i3 processors (as well as Pentium and Celeron processors), and support for DDR4-2133 memory and AMD Quad-GPU CrossFireX technology.