The light-fantastic board. The ultimate Intel consumer platform remains the X99. Home now to the deca-core 6950X and recently updated through a minor refresh, the X99 chipset is where manufacturers throw in the bells, whistles and kitchen sink. It kind of makes sense in this environment, too, as a base build can cost £2,000 upwards.

Motherboards on this chipset range from £150 to, well, over £400. Picking a really solid option at £250 is usually the way to go, balancing out features, looks and cost, and industry veteran Gigabyte plies this area with the X99 Ultra Gaming.