Best Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600X

Atif Liaqat | Last Updated On July 21st, 2022

AMD released the fifth-generation Ryzen processors in the past year, and since those processors proved to be better than Intel counterparts, AMD has increased the price of all 5th-generation processors compared to the predecessors. Meanwhile, the cost of 3rd-generation Ryzen processors got further decreased, which made them highly impressive for the budget users.

The motherboard plays a vital role in the overclocking of a processor. AMD Ryzen 5 3600X is among the most promising processors from the 3rd generation, and as the letter “X” denotes, it is a binned processor, which means that it has a better chance of higher clock rates than the Ryzen 5 3600. The latest chipsets for the Ryzen processors are B550 and X570, where B550 is for budget users, and X570 is for high-end users. Since there is not a lot of difference between the B450 and B550 motherboard, many people buy a B450 motherboard, as B450 motherboards usually sell at lower rates.

In this article, we will check some of the best motherboards for AMD Ryzen 5 3600X that can prove to be a suitable companion of this mighty processor. For Ryzen 9 3950x, you can check this article.

Quick Motherboard Recommendations for Ryzen 5 3600X

Award Model Price
Best B450 Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600X MSI B450 Tomahawk Check Price Read Customer Reviews
Best Budget B450 Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600X ASRock B450M Steel Legend Check Price Read Customer Reviews
Best Gaming X570 Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600X MSI MPG X570 Gaming Plus Check Price Read Customer Reviews
Best Premium X570 Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600X Asus ROG Strix X570-E Check Price Read Customer Reviews
Best Budget-Friendly Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600X MSI B450 Tomahawk Max Check Price Read Customer Reviews
Best Mid-Range B550 Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600X ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Check Price Read Customer Reviews
Best Overall B550 Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600X GIGABYTE B550 AORUS Elite Check Price Read Customer Reviews
Best Budget B550 Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600X MSI B550-A PRO ProSeries Check Price Read Customer Reviews

Quick Buying Tips!

Buying a suitable motherboard (see our recommended motherboards if you’re building a white PC) can be tiring and can consume a lot of time learning the basic specifications and requirements. That is why we have designed a buying guide for users interested in buying a motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600X.

Motherboard Chipset: The chipset of a motherboard is like the brain of a human being. It dictates all the significant features of the motherboard, such as processor support, overclocking support, PCI-E lanes, memory channels, etc. For AMD Ryzen 5 3600X, the most prominent chipsets are B450, B550, and X570.

The B450 is the cheapest of these chipsets, and most of the B450 motherboards sell for around a hundred bucks. The B550 provides PCI-E 4.0, and B550 motherboards go for about a hundred and fifty dollars (see list of the best budget B550 motherboard here). The X570 chipset is the best chipset for Ryzen processors as of now, and X570 motherboards are usually priced at around two hundred bucks.

Form Factor: The form factor of a motherboard affects the compatibility of the motherboard with the case. There are four mainstream form factors of motherboards; E-ATX, ATX, m-ATX, and Mini-ITX. The E-ATX motherboards are the largest, and usually, the flagship motherboards use this form factor. Most mainstream motherboards come with an ATX form factor, while the m-ATX form factor provides fewer PCI-E slots and is shorter in length. The mini-ITX motherboards are the smallest of all motherboards and are designed for mini-ITX cases.

Power Phases: When buying a motherboard for a processor like AMD Ryzen 5 3600X, it is essential that the power delivery of the motherboard is taken into consideration. The “X” variant Ryzen processors are meant to be overclocked to high clocks, and it would be a waste to buy a motherboard that uses a weak VRM. With fewer power phases, you are most likely to be suffering from high VRM temperatures that can reduce the motherboard’s life or even cause system shutdowns.

Best Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600X Reviews

When it comes to B450 chipset boards, most of them are the revised models with upgraded chipsets and better features set. We have the MSI B450 Tomahawk, a revised model of B350 Tomahawk, with better overclocking support for Ryzen 3000 CPUs as its VRM section contains voltage regulators 4+3 phase with extended heat sinks over them. The manufacturer brings some minor tweaks and upgrades in the old model and comes up with a brand new motherboard with every new generation of processors. When you compare the cooling solution of this motherboard with other options in the B450 category, it’s the only affordable board that can overclock the Zen2 processors.

Both the MSI B450 Tomahawk and Tomahawk Max supports maximum memory up to 128 GB clocked at 3466 MHz. You can further overclock the memory modules using the XMP profiles available in the BIOS. The two PCIe x16 and three PCIe x1 slots allow AMD Crossfire support but lack the SLI support due to the limited number of PCI lanes in B450 boards. PCIe Gen4 slots are also not available in B450 boards as they are only available in x570 or B550 chipset options. The six SATA3 slots and one M.2 slot are enough for storage expansion, but the M.2 slot lacks the dedicated heat spreader. Also, there are a few motherboards that come with multiple M.2 slots under the same price.

There are few RGB lights on this motherboard which makes it appealing in modern RGB builds, but they are not controllable independently. The rear side of this motherboard has one USB3 Gen1 Type-A, one Gen2 Type-C, and two USB 2.0 ports. The audio section of the motherboard is powered by a Realtek AlC892 controller, which is budget-friendly and does not affect the overall price of the board. At the same time, the networking section of this motherboard is controlled by a Realtek 8111H controller, which also gets its job done without having any problem.

ASRock is famous for introducing high-quality low-budget motherboards, HTPCs, industrial PCs, and many other hardware components. Like any other brand, it doesn’t focus on adding “gimmicky” gamer features in its products but is still considered one of the most reliable brands in the market.

Its B450 Steel Legend motherboard is amazingly great in its quality and performance: it comes with an AMD promontory B450 chipset which is exclusively added to make it work at the fastest speed ever. The chipset is amazing in connecting the system’s internal components perfectly.

Additionally, the motherboard has 1x PCI Express 2. 0 x1 Slot, 3x PCI Express 2. 0 x16 Slots (run at x4), and 3x PCI-Express 3. 0 x16 Slots that are known for running at x8 and other at x4, respectively.

Another most attractive thing about this motherboard is that it can perfectly support the Crossfire Technology, AMD Quad Crossfire, and the OS-Microsoft Windows 10 that runs up to 64 bit while performing. Considering this feature, the motherboard is supporting multi-graphics, which is occasionally found in any similar motherboard in present times.

To control the audio provision of your system, the motherboard has Realtek ALC892 7. 1-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC along with providing great protection to your content. With this high-def audio technology, you get a real-like experience while using your Pc, even for an extended period.

All these features are extremely enchanting to make anyone consider it buying at least for once, as you get them at extremely affordable rates: that’s why we categorize it as a high-quality “budget motherboard” in our list.

The foremost important thing about this motherboard is that it comes with versatile connectivity support; it can support both the Ryzen with Radeon Vega Graphics desktop processors for AM4 socket and the 2nd and 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen. This means you get an edge to upgrade your processor without ever feeling the need to change or replacing your motherboard if you have installed MPG X570 Gaming Plus in it already.

MSI is regarded as one of the topmost brands that introduce amazing and perfect quality motherboards to make your processor even faster and better. With this faster and better processor, you can do all your heavy-duty works most proficiently.

Another feature of this motherboard that will amaze you the most is that it contains pre-installed IO shielding. This shielding is grounded and is protective enough to save your motherboard from any electrostatic discharge damage that may occur to it from the external environment. This is a helpful feature as it makes your motherboard extremely long-living and reliable in its performance.

Additionally, this motherboard is quite famous for its efficient support for DDR4 memory that goes up to 4400+ (OC) MHz; this makes it perform super-fast and at an extremely advanced level. It helps you get better support for all your high-profile games and makes the processor appreciable and admirable among the most gaming community.

There is no doubt that a heavy-duty game requires better speed, performance, and advanced level features from your system, and this motherboard provides your system with all the mentioned things. You can never imagine how super-easy and efficient your gaming experience could turned to when you install this great-looking motherboard.

Moreover, enhancing your gaming experience further and taking it to another level of proficiency has an additional audio boost 4 technology that comes with adb=vanced 3 nahimic software. Also, to make your system remain at efficient cooling and better working temperature, MSI has added Frozr heatsink with a patented fan design that regulates the temperature to make your gaming experience more perfect (use Speedfan to monitor your fans).

With all these features on your motherboard, you can play your favorite games with greater fun, ease, and relaxation.

ASUS is one of those leading brands famous for introducing the most reliable and functional hardware components. Among its, all productions motherboards are widely known as powerful performers and speed enhancers for your CPU.

This ROG Strix X570-E motherboard has all the required features in making the system advanced and premium performing. Firstly, it consists of the comprehensive cooling system that is most important in enhancing your PC’s speed. This system has a MOS heatsink that comes with an 8mm heatpipe, active PCH heatsink, a water pump + header, and a dual on-board M.2 heatsink for the purpose.

With this complete cooling system, the motherboard is extremely functional in making your system work at the fastest speed and display better performance to support all your premium-quality tasks. Then, to support your better gaming connectivity, it comes with versatile connectivity options. It supports an HDMI 2.0, USB 3. 2 Type-A and Type-C connectors, supports PCIe 4. 0, and the dual M.2 connectors, so you can use this motherboard to experience versatile gaming devices and better gameplay. If you don’t know how to tell if your HDMI cable is 2.0, check this article here.

Moreover, this motherboard is the perfect pairing partner for 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen CPUs and Zen 3 Ryzen 5000. This means, whatever processor you choose to use for enhanced system usage experience, this motherboard will not leave you stuck.

Furthermore, for better gaming networking, it also has Intel Gigabit Ethernet With ASUS LANGuard, Gateway teaming via GameFirst V, Wi-Fi 6 (802. 11Ax) with MU-MIMO, and also a 2. 5Gbps LAN. It provides you extremely versatile gaming networking that you can use to play various types of games with an extensive gaming community.

Lastly, the motherboard is well equipped with RGB headers, ASUS-exclusive Aura Sync RGB lighting, and also addressable Gen 2 headers to make the layout more attractive and super-cool. You obviously wouldn’t want to miss this motherboard known for its premium quality, reliable performance, long life, durability, and quality build-up that you get at an affordable price.

MSI is one of those famous brands for providing you quality hardware products at extremely affordable rates. All of its products are budget-friendly, especially this motherboard.

This motherboard by MSI has a versatile support system for Athlon with Radeon Vega Graphics desktop processors, Ryzen with Radeon Vega Graphics, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen, and also the 2nd Gen AMD Ryzen with Radeon graphics to enable you to have better PC usage time in your free hours.

Moreover, it comes with ore-installed extended heatsink designs that comprise an enhanced circuit design, and MSI extended PWM heatsink only to make sure that your Pc runs at full speed. For this purpose, the board also has AMD turbo USB 3.2 gen2, store MI technology, and the 1x turbo M.2, which never lets your PC lag behind working at the fastest speed.

Furthermore, this motherboard comes especially with a premium layout and an advanced digital power design widely known and famous for supporting more cores to provide you even better performance than ever.

The great thing about this motherboard is that it comes at very affordable rates and is extremely famous for enhancing your build’s speed. If you are greatly concerned about your CPU’s speed, installing this motherboard might help you a lot.

This motherboard by ASUS is exclusively known for its robust power design that has 12+2 DrMOS power stages that come with premium quality alloy chokes. Also, the best-quality durable capacitors are fit to provide you reliable and strong performance for almost all the high-core-count AMD CPUs.

Also, to keep your processor cooler and work well, the motherboard is designed so that it also has a high-quality Optimized Thermal Solution comprised of chipset heatsinks and fan-less VRM. This thermal solution is stunning in keeping your system running at greater speed even under heavy load. It does so by enhancing the passive cooling capacity for almost all the available critical on-board components.

Additionally, It comes with AMD AM4 Socket and the PCIe 4.0 slots that make it an extremely fit pairing partner for 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen CPUs and the Zen 3 Ryzen 5000. With this perfect compatibility with versatile processors, you can enjoy its efficient performance whenever you want.

Not only this, but this motherboard by ASUS has amazingly high-performance gaming networking that it completes by supporting almost all types of connectivity options, including Bluetooth V5. 1, 2. 5 Gb LAN that comes with LAN Guard, and also on-board Wi-Fi 6 (802. 11ax). This feature makes it the ever-best partner for any gaming system that you use.

To amaze you further with its more efficient gaming connectivity options, it also can support DisplayPort 1. 2 output, HDMI 2. 1 (4K@60HZ), PCIe 4. 0 x4 connectivity, Thunderbolt 3 header, USB 3. 2 Gen 2 Type-C port, and also the dual M. 2 slots (NVMe SSD).

The gaming experience is never memorable without a studio-grade sound quality, so ASUS has taken great care of this also. It has made its motherboard with gaming audio and Noise Cancellation Mic Technology. This helps you greatly enjoy your gaming experience with better sound quality which draws you deeper into the action.

This is another great quality motherboard that you can use to pair it with your most efficient Ryzen-5 3600x. It comes with stunning features that, along with a powerful processor’s collaboration, provide you robust speed and performance.

Firstly, this motherboard is known as the best support for 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen Processors. Also, it comes with a dual-channel non-EEC DDR4 that is unbuffered and 4 DIMMs to further enhance your processor’s speed. With this increased speed, you can play your games even better and perform other heavy-duty tasks most amazingly.

Additionally, when it comes to talking about effective cooling of your system, the motherboard never lags in that also. It comes with advanced thermal designs containing considerably large surface heatsinks that ensure the system’s cooling mechanism.

If you want to customize your CPU look, you can get help from its RGB LED light show design. This motherboard is designed to contain fusion RGB 2.0 addressable LEDs that make your CPU look classy and more attractive.

Not only this, but the motherboard also comes with an HDMI and Rear DisplayPort support to enhance its connectivity even better than ever. When you compare this motherboard with any other similar category motherboard, you will experience this motherboard as performing best and impressively.

Our list’s last product is this budget motherboard by MSI that offers you robust speed and long life, durability, and reliability. The first thing that any buyer appreciates in this motherboard is that it comes with an advanced Core Boost technology that speeds up your CPU exceptionally.

Next, this motherboard also has a premium thermal solution feature that comprises the heatsink thermal pad known for providing 7W/mK. The solution also has its PCB with 2oz thickened copper that ensures an extreme reduction in thermal conductivity.

This budget motherboard is quite remarkable in upgrading your sound experience to real-like that you enjoy. For this purpose, it has an Audio Boost technology that is installed specifically for this purpose. This studio-grade sound provision technology helps you have an immersive gaming experience that will be an ever-lasting experience for you.

This motherboard is famous for supporting all the future AMD Ryzen processors with an updated BIOS setting and 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen processors. This versatile connectivity lets you experience a memorable time with the motherboard no matter what processor you are using.

Additionally, to provide you lightning-fast gaming experience, MSI has intentionally added AMD Turbo USB 3.2 GEN 2, PCIe 4.0, and the Lightning Gen 4 M.2 that comes with M.2 Shield Frozr. All these additions let you have a better experience with your favorite game.

Conclusion

Best B450 Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600X
Best Budget B450 Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600X
Best Gaming X570 Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600X

A motherboard is not something that you should buy without giving much thought. It highly affects the overall performance of the system and since AMD Ryzen 5 3600X is a high-end processor, coupling it with a suitable motherboard is necessary. Most people who buy the Ryzen 3600X want to overclock the processor, which increases the processor’s potential, and this is not possible with just any motherboard. Overclocking requires high-quality VRM and powerful heatsinks, which you won’t find in every motherboard.

For budget users, the B450 or B550 chipset seems to be a better option than the X570 chipset, as these two chipsets allow overclocking and only the high-end features like NVIDIA SLI or AMD CROSSFIRE technologies are not supported in them. However, for enthusiasts such as content creators, streamers, or extreme over clockers, the X570 chipset is a better option, as it supports a much higher number of PCI-E lanes, slots, and ports.

For the best motherboard for Ryzen 3 2200g, check this article.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the B450 chipset good enough for overclocking Ryzen 5 3600X?

The chipset has nothing to do with the overclocking performance of the motherboard, and it depends entirely on the particular motherboard model whether it will be able to overclock the processor to high clock rates or not. If the VRM of the motherboard is good enough, a B450 chipset motherboard is equally good at overclocking as an X470 motherboard.

Is there a difference in the memory clock rates in chipsets?

The latest chipsets indeed ensure higher clock rates, going as high as 5000 MHz, while most B450 motherboards support around 3800 to 4000 MHz memory. For most people, the difference in performance above 4000 MHz is not worth the money, and that is why most users consider the B450 chipset to be enough for high performance regarding the memory.

Should we upgrade the B450 chipset motherboard to an X570 motherboard?

There is a considerable amount of difference between the B450 chipset and the X570 chipset; however, it hugely depends upon the particular interest of the user. If you want to upgrade the motherboard to get the latest features, such as modern I/O features or PCI-E 4.0, upgrading is worth it. Still, if you are upgrading to get improvement in overclocking potential of the processor, you will not see much of an improvement, making the upgrade unworthy.

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