AMD’s Ryzen 3000 processors offer the best performance per dollar in the CPU market, putting a shade on Intel’s dated 14nm Skylake core. Thanks to the high IPC of the Zen 2 core, the efficiency of the 7nm node and the scalability of the chiplet design, AMD has Intel cornered on all fronts. And this is a first as we’re used to seeing team red play catch up. No matter, this has increased the competition several folds, making the CPU market more affordable and versatile than ever. However, with a great CPU comes the responsibility of buying an equally expensive motherboard (well almost). In this post, we’ll recommend the best motherboards for each of AMD’s 3rd Gen Ryzen CPUs.
Best Motherboard for the Ryzen 5 3500 and 3600: MSI B450M PRO-VDH MAX
Price: Rs. 6,350 (Link)
| CPU Support | 1st, 2nd & 3rd Gen Ryzen |
| Chipset | B450 |
| Memory | 4 x DDR4 DIMMs w/ Support for Up to 64GB @ 3866 MHz |
| PCIe | 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slot, 2 x PCIe 2.0 x1 |
| Storage | 4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports, 1 x M.2 |
| USB | 6 x USB 3.2 Gen1, 8 x USB 2.0 |
The MSI B450M Pro VDH Max is hands down the best budget motherboard for any lower to midrange Ryzen CPU. We strongly recommend pairing it with the Ryzen 5 3500 or the 3600 or any of the older-gen Ryzen parts. It supports up to 64GB of DDR4 memory via 4 DIMMs @ 3866MHz, so you’re covered on that front,won’t be any bottlenecks. For storage and I/O you’re getting four SATA ports, one M.2, six USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports as well as two PCIe x1 slots.
Best Motherboard for the Ryzen 5 3600X & Ryzen 7 3700X: MSI B450 Gaming Plus Max
Price: Rs. 9,200 (Link)
| CPU Support | 1st, 2nd & 3rd Gen Ryzen |
| Chipset | B450 |
| Memory | 4 x DDR4 DIMMs w/ Support for Up to 64GB @ 4133 MHz |
| PCIe | 2 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slot, 4 x PCIe 2.0 x1 |
| XFX/SLI | Only XFX |
| Storage | 6 x SATA 6Gb/s ports, 1 x M.2 |
| USB | 2 x USB 3.2 Gen2, 4 x USB 3.2 Gen1, 6 x USB 2.0 |
If you’re going for a higher-end Matisse chip say the Ryzen 5 3600X or the Ryzen 7 3700X, then I’d suggest opting for an expensive B450 board. The MSI B450 Gaming Plus Max fits the bill almost perfectly. You get support for 64GB of DDR4 RAM up to 4133MHz, six SATA III ports, CrossFire-X and SLI support as well as USB 3.2 Gen2 ports. There’s no point in going with an X570 board as PCIe 4 is still in its infancy stages and overclocking is largely limited to the 3800X and the 3900X.
Best Budget Motherboard for Ryzen 7 3800X & Ryzen 9 3900X: ASUS TUF Gaming X570-Plus
Price: Rs. 16,999 (Link)
| CPU Support | 2nd & 3rd Gen Ryzen |
| Chipset | X570 |
| Memory | 4 x DDR4 DIMMs w/ Support for Up to 128GB @ 4400 MHz |
| PCIe | 2 x PCIe 4.0 x16 slot, 3 x PCIe 2.0 x1 |
| XFX/SLI | Yes |
| Storage | 8 x SATA 6Gb/s ports, 2 x M.2 |
| USB | 5 x USB 3.2 Gen2, 4 x USB 3.2 Gen1, 4 x USB 2.0 |
If you’re buying a Ryzen 9 3800X or the Ryzen 9, then you’ll probably want to go with an X570 board as these chips are more suited for overclocking and can utilize the additional features. This X570 board comes with PCIe 4.0 support across two x16 slots and three x1. You get dual M.2 support, 8 SATA III ports, and almost 10 USB 3 ports. What more do you want?
Best High-end Motherboard for the Ryzen 9: Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Hero
Price: Rs. 32,980 (Link)
| CPU Support | 2nd & 3rd Gen Ryzen |
| Chipset | X570 |
| Memory | 4 x DDR4 DIMMs w/ Support for Up to 128GB @ 4800 MHz |
| PCIe | 2 x PCIe 4.0 x16 slot, 1 x PCIe 2.0 x1 |
| XFX/SLI | Yes |
| Storage | 8 x SATA 6Gb/s ports, 2 x M.2 slot |
| USB | 5 x USB 3.2 Gen2, 6 x USB 3.2 Gen1, 4 x USB 2.0 |
The Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Hero along with the ASRock X570 Taichi are the best high-end X570 motherboards you can get your hands on. Active heatsinks, excellent VRMs and grade A power phases, they feature top-of-the-line components from audio to WiFi and ample RGB lighting. If you’re buying a Ryzen 9, then I’d strongly suggest going for an X570 board to take advantage of all the features and some mild overclocking.
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