Best AMD motherboards in 2023
AMD’s core-happy chips are expected to deliver blazing performance in gaming and other tasks, and they definitely deliver the best performance available today. If you want to fully utilize your AMD Ryzen CPU, you need the best AMD motherboard. Even so, you will need a good motherboard—be it with the X570, B550, A520, X470, or B450 chipsets—to make the most of them. There are a lot of small differences, but we explain what to look for and which ones suit your budget.
Make sure you figure out which chipset is the right one for you before you add any AMD motherboard to your cart. AMD has stuck with the AM4 socket for many CPU generations, so there are plenty of options there. At the top you have the X570, but you can find some of the same features on a B550 board for less money. You can get the A520 for the cheapest 500-series, but you could even buy a 400-series board if you find one that is at a good price.
With the AMD Zen 4(opens in new tab), AMD will be using the AM5 socket instead of the AM4 socket used on all of these chipsets. You need to ensure that the motherboard you plan on purchasing will work with the AMD Ryzen 7000-series CPU before you buy it. If you plan on waiting for AMD Ryzen 7000-series processors (opens in new tab), don’t buy a motherboard.
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Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero
ASUS ROG X570 Crosshair VIII Hero (Wi-Fi) ATX
The best X570 ever created, and the last AM4 board you’ll ever need
SPECIFICATIONS
Chipset: X570Memory: 4x DIMM, Up to 128GB, DDR4-4866 (OC)Expansion slots: 2x PCIe 4.0 x16, 1x PCIe 3.0 x16, 1x PCIe 4.0 x1Video ports: N/ARear USB: 4x USB 3.2 Gen1, 8x USB 3.2 Gen2 (1x USB Type-C)Storage: 3x M.2; 8x SATANetworking: 802.11ax 2.4Gbps Wi-Fi; Intel I211-AT 1G & Realtek RTL8125 2.5G LANForm factor: ATX
REASONS TO BUY
Design that is clean
Performance of the highest quality
There is no fan on the chipset
REASONS TO AVOID
Costly
Excessive
Review
The first of the Best AMD motherboards in 2023 is the Asus ROG Crosshair VII Dark Hero. With all of the BIOS updates, PCB tweaks, and electrical layout tweaks that have taken place over the past four years, ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero is Asus’ last AM4 motherboard. It’s important to note that unlike early X570 boards, the Dark Hero was actually designed with Zen 3 processors available.
With recent motherboards being more discrete with their RGB implementations, perhaps we have reached ‘Peak RGB’, with the Dark Hero’s design being a little subtle. In addition, there’s no Crosshair VIII Apex or Extreme, especially considering that Gigabyte and MSI have boards priced much higher than the Dark Hero.
Although the MSI Godlike and Gigabyte Aorus Extreme are more expensive than the $400 USD motherboard, it feels more affordable when compared to them. These days, ATX boards have a very similar layout. The primary M.2 slot is located above the PCIe slot, while the second slot is equipped with a heatsink. It is easy to access the sockets without taking the entire heatsink assembly apart. Also noteworthy: There is no chipset cooling fan!
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MSI MPG X570 Gaming Pro Carbon WIFI~Best AMD motherboards in 2023
MSI MPG X570S Edge MAX WiFi Gaming
SPECIFICATIONS
Chipset: X570Memory: 4x DIMM, 64GB, DDR4-4400Expansion Slots: 1x PCIe 4.0 x16, 1x PCIe 4.0 x16 (x8), 1x PCIe 4.0 x16 (x4), 2x PCIe 4.0 x1Video ports: HDMIUSB ports: 8x rear IO, 4x internalStorage: 2x M.2, 6x SATANetworking: 1GbE LAN, Wi-Fi 6Form factor: ATX
REASONS TO BUY
M.2 slots with PCIe 4.0
Compatible with Wi-Fi 6
REASONS TO AVOID
It is difficult to replace M.2 heat shields and fans
Review
The second of the Best AMD motherboards in 2023 is MSI MPG X570 gaming pro Carbon WIFI. This motherboard is equipped with bleeding-edge technology, so you can take advantage of AMD’s high-end Ryzen 5000 processors, such as the Ryzen 9 5900X (opens in a new tab) and Ryzen 9 5950X (opens in a new tab). There are many cheaper models available and you still get most of those chips’ performance, but MSI’s VRM is rock solid, stylish, and comes with plenty of connectivity.
Despite the fact that DDR4-4000 isn’t much of a difference, the MPG X570 has four DIMM slots that can handle speeds of up to 4,400MHz and two PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots—MSI’s MPG X570 is designed to take the full potential out of the best components, be they high-end DDR4 RAM or NVMe SSD.
A USB Type-C port is also included for high-speed data transfers and connectivity. The rear I/O panel has seven USB Type-A ports for peripherals and one USB Type-C port for connectivity. A front panel with seven USB Type-A ports enables you to connect peripherals, while a rear panel with one USB Type-C port lets you connect to the internet and transfer high-speed files.
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ASRock X570S PG Riptide~The best budget X570 motherboard
ASROCK Z690 PG Riptide
SPECIFICATIONS
Chipset: X570SMemory: 4x DIMM, up to DDR4-4733, up to 128GBExpansion Slots: 1x PCIe 4.0 x16, 2x PCIe 4.0 x16 (x4), 3x PCIe 4.0 x1Video ports: HDMIUSB ports: Up to 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 8x USB 3.1 Gen 1, 6x USB 2.0Storage: 2x M.2, 6x SATANetwork: Killer E3100G 2.5G LANForm factor: ATX
REASONS TO BUY
X570 board at a great price
Plays well in games
REASONS TO AVOID
WiFi isn’t available
An aging audio codec, ALC897
Review
There are many quality AMD motherboards available for under $200 (opens in new tab), but don’t forget about the new X570 models if you’re looking for a sub $200 motherboard. Although AMD’s basic chipset isn’t that old, maybe it’s time to take a closer look at its top boards with the newly released X570S models.
In the new X570S nomenclature, the ‘S’ signifies silence. Early X570 boards came with pesky chipset fans with only a few exceptions. The X570S boards offer passive chipset cooling along with upgraded connectivity options, including faster Gigabit LAN and WiFi 6E. In spite of the absence of WiFi 6E, the ASRock X570S Riptide is a great chipset board for a fair price.
You’ll need most of the features you’ll need to run a top-spec gaming system on the X570S Riptide, even though it isn’t a feature-packed board. In fairness, there is only one heatsink covering one of the two M.2 slots, however an increasing number of high-performance SSDs are shipped these days with optional heatsinks.
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Gigabyte X570S Aorus Master~The best AMD motherboard with a million USB ports
SPECIFICATIONS
Chipset: X570SMemory: 4x DIMM, up to DDR4-5100, up to 128GBExpansion Slots: 1x PCIe 4.0 x16, 2x PCIe 4.0 x16 (x4), 3x PCIe 4.0 x1Video ports: NoneUSB ports: Up to 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 8x USB 3.1 Gen 1, 6x USB 2.0Storage: 2x M.2, 6x SATANetwork: Killer E3100G 2.5G LANForm factor: ATX
REASONS TO BUY
Cooling and VRM are strong
There are loads of USBs
The M.2 slots are four
REASONS TO AVOID
There is only one 2.5G LAN
There would be nothing better than 5G
Review
Although the X570 chipset is old, it isn’t yet time to retire it. That’s exactly what Gigabyte has done with the X570S Aorus Master. There are many similarities between it and its highly regarded 2019 predecessor. The X570S Aorus Master will remain one of the best AMD motherboards around thanks to some important feature updates and design tweaks.
The almost universal presence of chipset fans on X570 boards was one of the things that concerned us when we first saw them at Computex in 2019. With a 15W TDP and a number of PCIe 4.0 drives, active cooling was sometimes required, but thankfully not always. Silence is the sign that the X570S is quiet. With almost the entire bottom half of the board now covered with heatsinks, Gigabyte has added a lot of surface area to the cooling assembly.
In addition to adding a lot of surface area to the finned VRM heatsinks, Gigabyte deserves credit for continuing to use them. You can power a 5950X cooled by LN2 with headroom to spare with just a 14 phase VRM and 70A MOSFETS, which means ambient cooling users can power it without any problems. X570S Master’s VRM cooling impressed us not just visually, but also in testing. During our recent test with an ASRock X570S PG Riptide, we saw a peak VRM temperature of only 48°C with PBO enabled on our 5800X processor.
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ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming ITX/TB3~The best compact AMD motherboard around
ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3 Mini ITX
SPECIFICATIONS
Chipset: X570Memory: 2x DIMM, 64 GB, DDR4-4533+Expansion Slots: 1x PCIe 4.0 x16Video ports: HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4USB ports: 2x USB 3.2 Gen2, 2x USB 3.2 Gen1, 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Thunderbolt 3Storage: 1x M.2 Socket Gen4, 4x SATANetwork: 1GbE LAN, Wi-Fi 6Form factor: Mini ITX
REASONS TO BUY
Powerful, but tiny
Connectivity via Thunderbolt 3
Backpanel integrated with the front panel
REASONS TO AVOID
A CPU cooling bracket based on Intel is required
The ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming ITX/TB3 is small and powerful. Just look at its tiny PCB, there’s so much packed on it—I don’t know how the PCB design and routing process went. However, that effort hasn’t gone to waste. Fans of small form factor PC builds are sure to enjoy this motherboard.
It packs forward-looking features, a high-end X570 chipset, and impressive performance to make this a great AMD Ryzen motherboard. It’s hard to swallow a $200+ price tag for cleverly compact machines, but it is the price you pay for cleverly compact machines. There are also a lot of X570 motherboards available at around that price, even full-size ATX motherboards.
The Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3 is made even more appealing by the absence of a Mini-ITX premium. In addition to the fact that there is not much Mini-ITX premium attached, the Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3 is a very appealing option. You can also create a 16-core AMD Ryzen 9 3950X(opens in a new tab) or AMD Ryzen 9 5950X(opens in a new tab) machine that is roughly the same size as the Xbox Series X if you use this approach.
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MSI MAG B550M Mortar ~ Best AMD motherboards in 2023
The best B550 motherboard for pure gaming performance
SPECIFICATIONS
Chipset: B550Memory support: 4x DIMM, up to 128 GB, up to DDR4-4400Expansion slots: 1x PCIe 4.0 x16, 1x PCIe 3.0 x4Video ports: DisplayPort, HDMIRear USB: 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 2x USB 2.0Storage: 2x M.2, 6x SATA 6GbpsNetworking: 2.5GbE LANForm factor: Micro-ATX
REASONS TO BUY
Efficiency and performance of the stock clock are excellent
BIOS with a sleek design
Price competition
REASONS TO AVOID
Overclocking is poor
Features are light
Review
It comes in around the $160 mark, which is cheaper than a great many X570 and other B550 motherboards today. MSI’s micro-ATX MAG B550M Mortar offers excellent gaming performance at an affordable price. A debug display isn’t included, there aren’t any physical power or reset buttons, there are no RGB lights, and the MAG B550M Mortar is conspicuous in its lack of luxury features. As a result, it’s easy to argue that you can invest the £100 / $100 savings over a premium B550 board like the Asus ROG Strix B550-E Gaming in a better graphics card since none of those things make any difference in-game.
The general air of old fashionedness and the fact that only one heat spreader was provided for the two M.2 slots are also economic details. Compared to the relative polish of Asus, it comes with memory DIMM slots with clips at both ends and a user manual that feels a little dated and clunky. The MAG B550M Mortar BIOS menu, however, is a lot smoother, friendlier and more comprehensive than that. This X570 has some of the best straight CPU performance.
Despite the fact that the MSI B550 Mortar has higher frame rates than all the other B550 crew, all that penny-pinching hasn’t paid off in the end. Indeed, its straight CPU performance compares favorably with some of the best X570s. If you’re looking for an affordable way to house your AMD Zen 3 CPU, this B550 gives you a great chance to ensure it performs at its fullest capacity while maintaining an affordable price.
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ASRock B450 Gaming-ITX/AC~One for AMD’s mini-ITX fans on a mini budget
ASRock Mini-ITX Motherboard (B450 Gaming-ITX/AC)
SPECIFICATIONS
Socket: AM4Size: Mini ITXMemory support: 2x DIMM, up to 64 GB, up to DDR4-4600 (OC)Expansion slots: 1x PCIe 3.0 x16Video ports: 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x DVI-DStorage: 1x M.2, 4x SATA 6GbpsNetworking: 1GbE LAN, Wi-Fi 5Rear USB: 4x USB 3.2 Gen1 (1x Type-C), 2x USB 2.0
REASONS TO BUY
Price-to-quality ratio is good
Included Wi-Fi
Support for Ryzen 5000
REASONS TO AVOID
Audio quality is poor
Review
Last of the Best AMD motherboards in 2023 is the B450 Gaming-ITX/AC. It’s so small! The ITX form factor seems to enjoy a lot of popularity, and the ASRock A520M ITC/ac definitely seems to agree. There is no need for multiple PCIe slots anymore due to the ever increasing integration of features into the chipset. Does a typical gamer require more than one slot for graphics cards? Most of the key features are covered if the board includes WiFi, LAN, USB 3.0, and decent audio.
As AMD’s budget Ryzen motherboard chipset, the A520 has been mostly ignored. While B350 and B450 motherboards were predominantly viewed as entry-level, A320 was strictly regarded as resolutely low-end. A520 fills a large niche in the sub-$100 market after B550 motherboards were introduced and their price moved upwards. You might prefer A520 motherboards if you don’t need PCIe 4.0 or overclocking support provided by B550. The A520 isn’t the cheapest board on the market, but it can do most anything a board twice the price can do.
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YOUR NEXT UPGRADE ~ Best AMD motherboards in 2023
Furthermore, it supports AMD Ryzen 5000(opens in new tab) series processors and AMD Ryzen 4000 and 5000 APUs. You can build an affordable and compact system that can compete with a comparable Intel in any workload if you combine a Zen 3 CPU with a motherboard like this ASRock B450 Gaming-ITX/AC.
One of the most expensive A520 boards is the ASRock B450 Gaming-ITX/AC, which costs $105. It might even be the most expensive in many markets. For ASRock, which is known for its highly competitive bang for the buck offerings, that would be strange. Despite being one of the few A520 boards with Wi-Fi, it’s an extremely useful board because it supports a speed of 433Mbps, not exactly Usain Bolt-like speeds when Wi-Fi 6 is the norm, but that’s sufficient for high speed internet.
With six USB ports, two of which are 2.0 and four of which are 3.1 Gen 1, the rear I/O is fairly standard. We’d prefer to see eight USB ports on all but the cheapest boards, but the little ASRock doesn’t stand out. Having both HDMI 2.1 and Display Port 1.4 makes it possible to run 4K/60Hz with the Renoir APU. Gaming audio on ASRock B450 Gaming-ITX/AC isn’t great, but that’s what budget boards usually compromise on. Compressed audio in-game will not affect immersion, but you can use an external DAC down the road.
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Final thoughts on the Best AMD motherboards in 2023
What do you think of the Best AMD motherboards in 2023? Our common refrain is that modern motherboard performance usually falls within a standard margin of error. When we see an outlier, we can usually attribute it to an aggressive multicore turbo mode or even ambient temperatures that affect GPU boost clocks. Our experience with the ASRock was good, but its storage performance was excellent with the Samsung 970 Pro.
In addition to the strengths of the Ryzen platform, it adds some future-proofing to the mix, making the ASRock A520M ITX/AC a good choice for budget gaming systems. If you’re looking for an AMD Ryzen option that’s capable on a budget, this one should be on your shortlist.
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