Best Motherboards For AMD Zen 3 Ryzen 5000 CPUs

AMD has announced the Zen 3 based Ryzen 5000 series CPUs and these include the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X. These CPUs are going to offer significant IPC gains as compared to the previous ones and if you are interested in getting one of these then you are going to need a supporting motherboard. Here we are going to go over some of the best motherboards for AMD Zen 3 Ryzen 5000 CPUs that you can buy right now.

Last updated on January 13th, 2023 at 03:49 pm

Note that AMD has confirmed that older AM4 motherboards such as the B450 series and the X470 will work with these CPUs. The BIOS update which will allow that to happen will be released in January.

If you want to get into the action sooner then you are going to need a 500 series motherboard and there are some other advantages as well. The primary advantage is support for PCIe Gen4 which older motherboards and Intel does not support as of right now.

Best Motherboards For AMD Ryzen 5000 CPUs: 5950X, 5900X, 5800X, 5600X

The following are all the different AMD AM4 motherboards that we can recommend for the Zen 3 powered Ryzen 5000 CPUs:

ATX Motherboards

The following are the ATX AM4 motherboards that we can recommend for the Zen 3 powered Ryzen 5000 CPUs:

Asus ROG X570 Crosshair VIII Formula – Best Enthusiast Option

Asus is known for making some of the best motherboards that you can buy on the market. The Asus ROG X570 Crosshair VIII Formula is a top of the line variant that is made for enthusiasts that want the best performance possible without compromise. That is why it comes with integration for VRM water cooling.

The motherboard is covered in armor which is something that you expect from a high-end Asus motherboard and it has a subtle silver and black color scheme which should blend in well with the rest of your build.

For the CPU you have 4+8-pin power connectors, which will provide power to the CPU so that you can overclock it. There are 4 DIMM slots for your RAM and next to those you have the start and reset buttons on the motherboard itself. Above them, you have plenty of fan headers and RGB headers.

Next to the 24-pin power connector, you have LEDs that indicate the different boot stages so that you know where the issue is if you encounter any. The motherboard features 8 SATA6 ports. Underneath those, you have even more fan headers and an RGB header.

You also have headers for sensors for water cooling such as water in and out temperature. The motherboard even comes with safe boot and retry buttons. There is a fan on the chipset and a vent on the armor of the motherboard so that heat can be dissipated. Under the armor, there is room for 2 M.2 SSDs for your fast storage.

The motherboard comes with Wi-Fi 6. The I/O includes a BIOS flashback button and a clear CMOS button. The motherboard also has 5G ethernet as well as a regular ethernet port and USB Type-C. The Asus ROG X570 Crosshair VIII Formula has a couple of RGB lighting zones and an LED on the left side which you can customize. Interestingly the jack for your headphones and mic etc also light up.

Pros:

• Impressive overclocking potential
• Onboard LED
• Solid build quality
• VRM water cooling integration
• Excellent water cooling support
• Plenty of fan and RGB headers
• PCIe Gen4 support

Cons:

• Very expensive

Asus ROG Strix X570-E – Best Premium Option

The Asus ROG Strix X570-E is a premium motherboard but it is not priced as high as the Crosshair VIII Formula. This is more of a prosumer or gaming-oriented motherboard. There is not integrated water cooling support and you do not get all the water cooling support that you get on the Crosshair VIII Formula but you do still get plenty of bells and whistles that you expect from premium Asus motherboards.

For the CPU you have 4+8-pin power connectors, which will provide power to the CPU so that you can overclock it. Next to the 24-pin power connector, you have LEDs that indicate the different boot stages so that you know where the issue is if you encounter any.

The motherboard features 8 SATA6 ports. Which should come in handy if you have plenty of HDDs that you want to use alongside your faster SSDs. There is a fan for the chipset under the armor and it spins 2600 RPM. The fan is pretty small and does not make a lot of noise. Once you have case fans installed and a graphics card in the build you will not be able to hear it.

The motherboard has 4 DIMM slots and under the armor you have room for 2 M.2 slots. The motherboard has plenty of headers for case fans and RGB. There is an error LED light that will give you an error code for troubleshooting when something goes wrong.

There are two RGB lighting zones on the motherboard and the ROG logo also lights up as well. You can customize the lighting and can turn off the lighting as well. On the back, you have the BIOS flashback button and the BIOS clear button. There is a BIOS USB port as well as other USB ports.

There are three PCIe slots and two of them are reinforced for better graphics card support. Other connectivity features include 2.5G ethernet and normal ethernet ports as well as Wi-Fi. Then you have all the jacks for your headphones, microphone, etc.

All things considered, this is one of the best motherboards that you can buy for AMD Ryzen 5000 series CPUs right now.

Pros:

• M.2 slots do not disable SATA6 ports
• Plenty of armor
• Great gamer design
• LED multiplexer for troubleshooting
• PCIe Gen4 support

Cons:

• Pricing is a bit higher

Gigabyte X570 AORUS Elite

The Gigabyte X570 AORUS Elite is a relatively affordable X570 motherboard that you can buy right now. AORUS is the premium brand of Gigabyte and this is something that we recommend for the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X. You can use this motherboard with a higher-end CPU but if you are interested in overclocking then you might want substantial cooling or a better motherboard. There is only a single 8-pin power connector so overclocking potential can be a bit limited.

The motherboard does have QFlash so you can update the BIOS without even having a CPU installed. There is a chipset fan on the motherboard and the lack of armor on the motherboard does make it pretty obvious but that is something that you will have to live with for the lower price. It is worth mentioning that the fan only comes on when needed. This increases the lifespan of the fan. There are other motherboards that have the fan running all the time.

There are two PCIe slots and the top one is reinforced for better graphics card support. There are 4 DIMM slots and two M.2 slots but only the top one has a heatsink. If you are interested in getting a heatsink for your second M.2 drive then you can check out our recommendations for the best M.2 heatsinks that you can buy right now.

There are no troubleshooting LEDs and that can get a bit annoying when something goes wrong. The motherboard has a 12+2 phase power design which is pretty standard and should work fine as long as you are not heavily overclocking your CPU.

The design of the motherboard is pretty subtle and RGB lighting is limited so it should blend in well with the rest of your setup. The motherboard has a couple of USB ports but there is no USB Type-C port so that might be a bit disappointing for some people.

Pros:

• Subtle design
• Chipset fan only kicks in when needed
• 12+2 phase power design
• Great value for money
• PCIe Gen4 support

Cons:

• No troubleshooting LED lights
• BIOS could be better

ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming

Here we have another motherboard from Asus but this is a mid-range option. The B550 chipset is not as expensive as the X570 but it still gives you PCIe Gen4 support which is important if you are interested in future-proofing your system and using the latest graphics cards and SSDs.

The motherboard has a subtle black design with some RGB lighting but nothing too fancy. It should blend in well with the rest of your build. For CPU power the motherboard has 4+8-pin power connectors which should allow you to get some serious overclocks.

The motherboard comes with 6 SATA6 ports along with two M.2 slots and both of them have heatsinks. There are 4 DIMM slots for your RAM as well as 2 PCIe slots for your graphics cards. The top one is reinforced for better graphics card support and is going to be the slot in which you install your graphics card.

The motherboard has a 12+2 phase digital VRM setup and plenty of case fan headers and RGB headers. At the back, you have the BIOS flashback button as well as a USB port for updating the BIOS without having to have a CPU installed. You get a couple of USB ports as well as USB Type-C. The motherboard also has 2.5G ethernet and Wi-Fi 6 support.

Pros:

• Good value for money
• Subtle design
• Both M.2 slots have heatsinks
• Great RGB support

Cons:

• Using M.2 slots disables some SATA6 ports

MSI B550-A PRO

The MSI B550-A PRO has a very subtle design and does not come with flashy RGB lighting. The motherboard comes in all black and there are some silver accents as well. If you are going for a non-RGB build then this is something that you should consider getting.

This particular motherboard falls between the higher-end ones and the minimal barebones ones. It is also priced accordingly which makes it relatively affordable as compared to some other models on this list. There is a single 8-pin power connector so overclocking is going to be a bit limited.

You get 4 DIMM slots for your RAM and 2 PCIe slots for your graphics cards. The top one is reinforced for better graphics card support. There are two M.2 slots but only the top one has a heatsink.

It comes with a BIOS reset button at the back. Also at the back, you have USB 3.2 Gen2, USB 3.2 Gen1 and USB Type-C as well. It also features 2.5G ethernet. There is no optical port but you do get jacks for your headphones and mic etc.

The motherboard features 6 SATA6 ports and there are plenty of headers for case fans. You also have headers for RGB if you want to add RGB lights in your PC build.

Pros:

• Relatively cheaper
• Subtle all-black design

Cons:

• No optical port
• No RGB

mATX Motherboards

The following are the mTX AM4 motherboards that we can recommend for the Zen 3 powered Ryzen 5000 CPUs:

ASRock B550M PRO4

This version is similar to the MSI B550-A PRO but it is smaller. The MATX form factor means that the board is shorter so the options are a bit fewer as well. You still get 2 PCIe slots and the top one is reinforced for better GPU support. The motherboard has white armor and is ideal if you are interested in building a white PC.

Despite the smaller size you still get two M.2 slots which is great keeping in mind that you get support for PCIe Gen4 and that you can use supporting SSDs for super fast loading times and transfer speeds. There is another M.2 slot for a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth add-in card which you can install if you need Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or both.

There are 6 SATA6 ports on the motherboard but when you install the M.2 SSDs the SATA 5 and 6 ports are going to be disabled and you will be left with 4 ports that are actually usable. You still have plenty of storage configuration options and it should be plenty for the average consumer. If you have plenty of HDDs then you might want to look at a better motherboard.

Pros:

• Good value for money
• Solid build quality
• Decent BIOS

Cons:

• SATA port 5 and 6 disabled after installing M.2 drives

MSI MAG B550M Mortar

Next up we have the MSI MAG B550M Mortar which is another mATX motherboard that we recommend for the AMD Ryzen 5000 series CPUs. The motherboard features plenty of armor and an integrated I/O shield for easy installation.

The motherboard features 4 DIMM slots for your RAM and two PCIe slots for your graphics cards. The top one is reinforced for better graphics card support. You get two M.2 slots but only the top one has a heatsink.

The motherboard has a BIOS flashback button and a USB port that allows you to flash the BIOS without having to install a CPU. The motherboard is pretty solid and comes with 2.5G ethernet and even a USB Type-C port.

Pros:

• Great VRMs
• Ideal for easy overclocking
• Solid build quality
• Integrated I/O shield

Cons:

• BIOS reset jumper is poorly positioned
• Not enough USB ports in the back

MSI B550M PRO-VDH Wi-Fi

This is a pretty barebones motherboard and there is nothing fancy like RGB or armor. That is reflected in the pricing as well. The VRM cooling and the quality of the motherboard is still good enough for the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, provided that you are not going to do any intense overclocking.

There is a single 8-pin power connector so overclocking is going to be fairly limited You get 4 RAM slots and single PCIe slot. The top one is reinforced for better graphics card support. You also have two M.2 slots but only the top one has a heatsink.

The motherboard has 4 SATA6 ports for HDDs. Other features include AMD Turbo USB 3.2 GEN 2. The design is pretty subtle and should blend in well with the rest of your parts.

Pros:

• Relatively inexpensive
• 2 M.2 ports
• Solid build quality

Cons:

• Pretty barebones

ITX Motherboards

The following are the ITX AM4 motherboards that we can recommend for the Zen 3 powered Ryzen 5000 CPUs:

ASUS ROG Strix B550-I Gaming

ASUS ROG Strix B550-I Gaming is an ITX motherboard and it looks really good. The design is pretty aggressive and this is the kind of motherboard that you need to get if you are interested in building a small form factor build but are not willing to compromise on power.

Just like other motherboards from Asus, this one has RGB lighting as well and you can sync the lighting of your other parts with your PC for some really cool lighting effects. This is a smaller motherboard so you only get two RAM slots but that is not going to be a limiting factor if you are interested in gaming and content creation.

The motherboard also comes with 4 SATA6 ports and a single PCIe slot which is reinforced. There is a single 8-pin power connector so overclocking is going to be limited. Even though this is a smaller motherboard you still get two M.2 slots. The second one is on the backside of the motherboard.

The motherboard has a BIOS flashback button and a USB port to flash the BIOS of your motherboard without having to install a CPU. It comes with a couple of USB ports and USB Type-C as well. You even get Wi-Fi and 2.5G ethernet.

Pros:

• Dual M.2 slots
• Very cool design
• Ideal for small form factor PCs

Cons:

• Could use some more USB ports

GIGABYTE B550I AORUS PRO AX

If the Asus model does not float your boat then you can check out the AORUS PRO AX. This version comes with features similar to the Asus model. The motherboard also comes with 4 SATA6 ports and a single PCIe slot which is reinforced. There is a single 8-pin power connector so overclocking is going to be limited. Even though this is a smaller motherboard you still get two M.2 slots. The second one is on the backside of the motherboard.

Both the RAM slots and PCIe slot is reinforced. The design is nice and subtle and should blend in well with the rest of your build.

These are some of the best motherboards for AMD Zen 3 Ryzen 5000 CPUs that you can buy right now. If you are interested in high-speed PCIe Gen4 SSDs to go with your CPU and motherboard then be sure to check out our recommendations for some of the best PCIe Gen4 SSDs.