Best AM5 motherboards

This article recommends several of the best AM5 motherboards for the new Ryzen 7000 desktop processors. With the release of the Ryzen 7000 desktop CPU, AMD also introduced a brand new AM5 socket with support for DDR5 memory and a further 600 series chipset.

Unlike the AM4 socket, which until now was an FPGA, the new AM5 is an LGA where the pins are installed in the socket and not on the processor. LGA has already become a common long-term practice at Intel. The advantage is the easier installation of the processor and the little possibility of damaging it due to distorted pins.

By switching to a new socket, AMD kept the mounting method and compatibility with old coolers.

Classification of the latest mainboard lines on Socket AM5

AMD has introduced four new chipsets – X670E (E for Extreme), X670, B650E, and B650. It is common for all chipsets to support processor and memory overclocking, and they differ in the availability of PCIe 5.0 slots and the capabilities of PCIe, USB, and SATA controllers.

The difference between the E and the regular variant of the chipset is the availability of a PCIe 5.0 slot for installing a graphics card. The weakest chipset does not offer a PCI 5.0 slot for NVMe M.2 SSDs.

• AMD X670E: equipped with PCIe 5.0 for graphics and storage, aimed at perfecting connectivity and OC capabilities.
• AMD X670: PCIe 5.0 support for storage (and graphics) geared towards OC users.
• AMD B650E: designed for users who need high performance but without the need for additional features and equipment that more expensive models characterize.
• AMD B650: for mainstream users who want to switch to the new AMD platform without considerable pretensions for OC and need rich equipment and features.

AMD is also increasing the number of monitors you can connect to the motherboard from 2 to 4 (HDMI 2.1 or DisplayPort 2), as all Ryzen 7000 CPUs now have integrated graphics.

Best AM5 motherboards

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1. ASUS ROG Strix X670E

If you are looking for the best gaming motherboard with the most powerful AMD X670E chipset, then the Asus ROG Strix X670E should be on the shortlist. ROG Strix motherboards are intended for gamers who want to play a little with overclocking because it has good potential in the form of excellent BIOS and software support.

The new Asus board comes with rich accessories such as ribbons for arranging labels, ROG stickers, a graphics card holder, etc. Visually, the board is quite attractive, and we will especially highlight the ARBG lighting on the cover of the I/O rear panel. Passive coolers are massive on the power supply unit, chipsets, and M.2 slots, so the board is quite heavy.

We highlight the useful LED diagnostics integrated into the board, the start button, and the internal USB 3.2 Type-C Gen2. If you have had problems ejecting the graphics card from the primary PCIe x16 slot, Asus has made this job easier with a dedicated mechanism.

The board comes with three PCIe x16 slots, two of which support PCI 5.0 while the bottom one is PCIe 4.0. The sound card is ROG SupremeFX 7.1 (Realtek ALC4080) with quality audio capacitors and gold-plated connectors. Network support is excellent and comes with support for 2.5 Gb LAN, Wi-Fi 6E wireless network card that also supports Bluetooth 5.2.

There are four M.2 slots for NVMe SSDs on the board, three of which are controlled by the processor according to the PCIe 5.0 standard.

So, if you want an excellent gaming board with well-solved cooling, four M.2 slots, wireless Wi-Fi 6E, 2.5 Gb LAN, and sufficient fast USB ports (two are Gen 2×2 Type-C), you will make a good choice with the ROG Strix X670E.

2. GIGABYTE X670 AORUS Elite AX

The Aorus Elite AX comes with a “regular” X670 chipset that doesn’t have an “E” in the name, which means that the Gigabyte motherboard is ditched for a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot. Instead, it has a PCIe 4.0 x16 slot. Everything else is more or less the same as with a stronger chipset, which also brings slightly cheaper boards.

The X670 Aorus Elite AX board has standard ATX dimensions, a simpler, elegant design, and no RGB lighting, which may bother some. The layout of all elements is logical, so you won’t have any problems arranging the cables.

 

The integrated sound card based on Realtek ALC879 is located on the bottom side of the board, and in terms of quality, it does not lag behind similar solutions from Asus. You have three PCIe x16 slots for graphics cards at your disposal, two of which are PCIe 4.0 and one lower PCIe 3.0.

Aorus Elite AX comes with four slots for M.2 NVMe SSD, two of which are controlled by the processor, one according to PCIe 5.0 standard and the other is PCIe 4.0 x4. The remaining two M.2 slots are according to the PCIe 4.0 X4 standard and are controlled by the motherboard chipset.

The LAN controller is Realtek’s 2.5 Gb, and the wireless card is MediaTek with support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. You have pretty enough USB slots at your disposal, of which we also single out one USB 3.2 Gen2 2×2 Type-C.

You will like the X670 Aorus Elite AX if you want to switch to the new AMD platform and want a powerful and simpler motherboard without expensive and unnecessary accessories that will burden your budget more.

3. ASUS ROG Strix B650E-I Gaming Wi-Fi

If you’re looking for the best mini-ITX gaming motherboard with the AMD B650E chipset, look no further than the ASUS ROG Strix B650E-I Gaming Wi-Fi. It is a powerful motherboard that will be a real gem for gamers and enthusiasts who make a powerful but compact gaming case.

The board is, therefore, in mini-ITX format with a good and logical arrangement of elements and decent coolers. The mesh texture on the VRM cooling array and the metal ROG eye seems quite visually modest for the Strix series, but the B650E-I is far from modest in quality and equipment.

We highlight the useful LED diagnostics integrated into the board and the internal USB 3.2 Type-C Gen2. The board has one PCIe x16 slot, with full support for the PCI 5.0 x16 standard. The sound card is ROG SupremeFX (Realtek ALC4080) with quality audio capacitors and gold-plated connectors.

Network support is excellent and comes with support for 2.5 Gb LAN, Wi-Fi 6E wireless network card that also supports Bluetooth 5.2. There are two M.2 slots for NVMe SSD on the board, one according to the PCIe 5.0 x4 standard and the other PCI 4.0 x4.

So, if you want a great little board for a mini-ITX gaming PC, you’ll still get two M.2 slots, wireless Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth, 2.5 Gb LAN and a sufficient number of fast USB ports (two are Gen 2×2 Type-C), you certainly won’t go wrong with the ROG Strix B650E-I Gaming Wi-Fi.

4. ASUS TUF Gaming B650-PLUS WIFI

The Asus TUF motherboard is always a good choice if you belong to undemanding users but want good performance and stable operation. These boards do not have as much equipment as more expensive models, but everything you might need for normal and pleasant work and gaming is present.

The B650E chipset comes with PCIe 5.0 X16 slots for graphics cards and PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots for NMVe SSDs. The Asus TUF comes with a weakened version of the chip under the designation B650, which only has a PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot, a more modest selection, and speeds of USB ports, as well as a smaller number of PCI 4.0 lines.

The board is a standard ATX format with a good arrangement of elements and decent coolers, which hints that this board is not intended for the most powerful Ryzen CPUs. Apart from a few yellow details on the board’s surface that affects the visual impression, it does not come with RGB lighting.

The integrated sound card is modest and relies on an older Realtek chip, but it works fine. For network communication, you have 2.5 Gb LAN, Wi-FI 6, and Bluetooth 5.2.
The primary graphics slot is PCIe 4.0 x16; the second comes with x4 bandwidth. In addition to these two GPU slots, there are also two PCIe 4.0 x1 slots on the board.

The board has three M.2 slots with aluminum coolers for storage space. The primary M.2 slot supports PCI 5.0 x4 NVMe SSDs, while the remaining two follow the PCIe 4.0 x 4 standard. On the back, on the I/O panel, there is a sufficient number of USB ports, of which we highlight the presence of one USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C (20 Gbps).

Overall, the Asus TUF Gaming is a more equipped board than the previous generation and is sufficient if you are not demanding overclocking and want to stick to Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7 CPUs.

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FAQ

Will AM4 motherboard support AM5 CPU?

With socket AM5, AMD is moving from the PGA socket (pin grid array) to the LGA socket (land grid array) – pins are not anymore on the CPU itself. Also, LGA sockets support more pins (AM4 CPU has 1331), and AM5 comes with 1.718 of them (LGA 1718). It is physically impossible to install an AM5 CPU in an AM4 socket.

Can I install an AM4 cooler in the AM5 motherboard?

The most crucial feature of AM5 motherboards is that it supports AM4 socket coolers, which means AM4 users won’t need to buy new coolers or purchase AM4 to AM5 adapters to use the coolers they already have.

Why are AM5 motherboards so expensive?

Each new technology does not necessarily have to be more expensive than the previous one. Still, due to the increase in the price of electronic components and inflation, the prices of motherboards have also increased. In addition, the AM5 socket does not support the cheaper DDR4 memory.

Can I use DDR4 in an AM5 motherboard?

Socket AM4 and DDR4 cannot keep up with the progress of the rest of the technology in the form of new Ryzen 7000 processors and chipsets, so AMD decided to go bold with the new AM5 socket and switch to DDR5 memory. So the new AM5 boards do not support DDR4 memory.

Which Ryzen 7000 CPU comes with integrated graphics?

All new AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs come with integrated graphics, which in terms of performance, is not at the level of the previous generation of processors. Still, it is usable enough for everyday office work or light gaming until you find a better discrete graphics card.

Conclusion

We have selected four motherboards with new AMD chipsets for Ryzen 7000 processors. Our recommendations will help you choose the right AM5 motherboard according to your needs and budget. The new AM5 boards are not cheap, even for the weakest B650 chipset, because AMD decided to use the LGA socket design, increasing production costs and switching to exclusively DDR5 memory.

However, if you want to switch to the new AMD platform, you can expect great performance and plenty of options on the boards shown. We wish you the best of luck choosing the right AM5 motherboard.