In order to use a Ryzen 5 3600 to its fullest potential, you are going to need to find the best motherboard for and Ryzen 5 3600 and install it properly. There are plenty of options out there for motherboards, but not all of them are created equally. Sure, you can use older chipsets, but they won’t all be compatible with the CPUs used in Ryzen and, on top of that, they won’t allow you to have the full functionality of the CPU.
There are some great motherboards out there that just won’t be compatible, but there are many, many more that will be. We’ve rounded up some of our favorites that will work and get the job done.
Contents
Comparison Table
Product | Pros | Cons |
ASRock B450M PRO4 AM4 AMD Promontory |
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Gigabyte B450M DS3H |
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Gigabyte B450 AORUS M |
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MSI Arsenal Gaming AMD Ryzen 1st and 2nd Gen |
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How To Find The Best Motherboard For Ryzen 5 3600
The Ryzen 5 3600 is one of the most powerful mid-range processors that is quite popular among those building their own PC and trying to balance power and price. It competes with more expensive processors because of its single-core performance that is quite miraculous. However, the cheaper price point does make it a bit difficult to pair with components that will bring out all of its strength. Most importantly, it is imperative to find the right motherboard, graphics card, and fans.
When looking to find the best motherboard for the Ryzen 5 3600, you need to be able to balance the overclocking capabilities with the price. There are some motherboards that promise the world, but they are simply too expensive to be worth it. Others are so low that it seems impossible- and in many cases, it is.
You need to determine what exactly you need out of your motherboard (built in Wi-Fi? RGB Support?), look at your budget, and see what you can get. Even with super strict requirements, you may still find yourself having to pick between a few different models.
It can be overwhelming, especially if you haven’t worked with any of these parts before now. As such, we’ve picked some of the best Ryzen 5 3600 compatible motherboards that balance everything.
Some of the things you need to look for in a motherboard compatible with Ryzen 5 3600 include motherboards that have PCI Express 4.0 standard, which will give you a very noticeable increase in performance for NVMe SSDs. You also want to look for motherboards that have an AM4 socket, which will allow you to use some of the previous chipsets (including X470, B450, and B350, among others).
If you aren’t going to use the PCI Express 4.0, you can cut some costs and go for some of the cheaper options for motherboards. Just know that you may need to do some extra work to update some of the software right out of the box.
1. ASRock B450M PRO4 AM4 AMD Promontory
The ASRock B450M PRO4 AM4 AMD Promontory B450 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard is the best option for people who are trying to save money on their motherboard but they will want to get the most out of their Ryzen 5 3600.
Fast Facts | |
Chipset | B450 |
Storage Slots | 4 SATA
2 M.2 |
USB Ports | 1 USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A
1 USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C 4 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A 2 USB 2.0 Type-A |
Memory Slots | 4 DIMM Max. 64 GB DDR4 3200 MHz |
Expansion Slots | 1 PCI Express 3.0 x16
1 PCI Express 2.0 x16 |
Audio | Realtek ALC892 |
LAN | Realtek RTL8111H |
Form Factor | mATX |
The ASRock B450M PRO4 AM4 AMD Promontory B450 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard is probably the most cost effective motherboard that you can purchase and still get most of the functionality out of the Ryzen 5 3600. Even though it is on the cheaper side, it still has some of the most powerful voltage regulator modules. You do want to be careful when you try to overclock the processor, as you can go too far and do irreparable damage.
Another thing to consider when you are using this motherboard, especially for a long time, is that there are no heat sinks on the chipset. This means overheating is quite possible.
Even so, it is a fantastic choice for those who aren’t going to spend hours and hour gaming or working every day. It comes with almost all of the essentials and extras that you could possibly need to get the full potential out of Ryzen 5 3600. Additionally, it has a small form factor so you can fit this motherboard into different sized towers without having to reconfigure anything.
This is also the cheapest B450 chipset that you can buy at the moment, but don’t let that price scare you away from the fact that it is quite powerful. You should be able to boost performance and do so without taking up a lot of space. It lacks a bit in stability when it comes to overclocking because it has a 6+3 power phase VRM where the 6 phases use doublers on the VRM MOS. However, it does have good heatsinks on both the VRM MOS and VSOC, meaning you won’t have to powerdown due to heat.
If you need a lot of memory, this is a great choice as well thanks to the 4 DIMM slots that allow for an extra 64GB of RAM. You will be able to upgrade your system as you wish without having to purchase yet another motherboard. It has some good graphic storage as well, nothing to sneeze at but nothing to write home about either. The best feature? It has two M.2 slots that you will not find in other boards in this price range.
Pros:
Great value for the price, has dual storage slots for M.2; overclocking potential if you are smart
Cons:
Has no heat sinks; prone to overheating; only has 4 SATA ports.
2. Gigabyte B450M DS3H
If you see the Gigabyte B450M DS3H (AMD Ryzen AM4/M.2/HMDI/DVI/USB 3.1/DDR4/Micro ATX/Motherboard) in stock and it has all of the features that you need, run to get it. This one is an absolute steal in its price range. When it is in stock, it goes quickly.
Fast Facts | |
Chipset | B450 |
Storage Slots | 6 SATA
2 M.2 |
USB Ports | 4 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A
4 USB 2.0 Type-A |
Memory Slots | 4 DIMM Max. 64 GB, DDR4 3600 MHz |
Expansion Slots | 1 PCI Express 3.0 x16
1 PCI Express 2.0 x16 |
Audio | Realtek ALC892 |
LAN | Realtek GbE |
Form Factor | ATX |
The Gigabyte B450M DS3H (AMD Ryzen AM4/M.2/HMDI/DVI/USB 3.1/DDR4/Micro ATX/Motherboard) comes in at an incredibly small price and has some amazing power. In fact, from all the research we did, it is impressive that this motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600 comes in at this price at all.
It has features that you would usually find on more expensive motherboards and does them all extremely well. On top of that, it has aluminum heat sinks that leverage the overclocking potential extremely well. You will not find those heatsinks on other motherboards in this price range.
So why is this motherboard on the cheaper side? There are only three fan headers. That’s it – that’s the only drawback that we’ve been able to find. The other problem is that sometimes it is difficult to find because it is such a great steal.
Pros:
Extremely affordable; offers premium features at a small price; effective heatsinks allow maximum overclock potential
Cons:
Can be difficult to find in stock; only has three fan headers
3. Gigabyte B450 AORUS M
If you are going to use your PC exclusively for gaming, there is no better option than the Gigabyte B450 AORUS M (AMD Ryzen AM4/M.2 Thermal Guard/HDMI/DVI/USB 3.1 Gen 2/DDR4/Micro ATX/Motherboard).
Fast Facts | |
Chipset | B450 |
Storage Slots | 6 SATA
2 M.2 |
USB Ports | 4 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A
4 USB 2.0 Type-A |
Memory Slots | 4 DIMM Max. 64 GB, DDR4 3600 MHz |
Expansion Slots | 1 PCI Express 3.0 x16
1 PCI Express 2.0 x16 |
Audio | Realtek ALC892 |
LAN | Realtek GbE |
Form Factor | ATX |
The Gigabyte B450 AORUS M (AMD Ryzen AM4/M.2 Thermal Guard/HDMI/DVI/USB 3.1 Gen 2/DDR4/Micro ATX/Motherboard) is a great option for those who uses any Ryzen products as it supports AMD 3rd Gen Ryzen™/ 2nd Gen Ryzen™/ 1st Gen Ryzen™/ 2nd Gen Ryzen™ with Radeon™ Vega Graphics/ 1st Gen Ryzen™ with Radeon™ Vega Graphics/ Athlon™ with Radeon™ Vega Graphics Processors.
It has a smart fan feature that prevents it from overheating when overclocking and has three hybrid fan headers with fan stop. This allows you to get quite a bit of power out of the Ryzen 5 3600. It also has gaming LAN with bandwidth management, which can be a game changer for gamers.
Pros:
Works with a variety of accessories and tools; perfect for gamers; good cooling capability
Cons:
Come in at a bit more expensive than other options
4. MSI Arsenal Gaming AMD Ryzen 1st and 2nd Gen
The MSI Arsenal Gaming AMD Ryzen 1st and 2nd Gen AM4 M.2 USB 3 DDR4 DVI HDMI Crossfire ATX Motherboard (B450 Tomahawk) is a fantastic option for smaller builds that don’t have the budget for some of the other boards out there.
Fast Facts | |
Chipset | B450 |
Storage Slots | 4 SATA
1 M.2 |
USB Ports | 4 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A
2 USB 2.0 Type-A |
Memory Slots | 2 DIMM Max. 32 GB, DDR4 3466 MHz |
Expansion Slots | 1 PCI Express 3.0 x16 |
Audio | Realtek ALC887 |
LAN | Realtek RTL8111H |
Form Factor | Mini ITX |
If you are looking for the best motherboard for compact builds, then you shouldn’t look any further than the MSI Arsenal Gaming AMD Ryzen 1st and 2nd Gen AM4 M.2 USB 3 DDR4 DVI HDMI Crossfire ATX Motherboard (B450 Tomahawk). This is a fantastic board with regulator modules and heat sinks that are perfect for small builds and compact form factor cases.
There are some other options out there that are better for small builds, but they tend to blow out budgets and make the entire build way too expensive. If you aren’t willing to spend a lot more money (sometimes double the price of this board), then you should stick with this for compact builds. As an added bonus, it does have built in Wi-Fi and Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3168.
Pros:
Good price for the size of the board; built in Wi-Fi
Cons:
No USB 3.1 port; doesn’t have any fan headers; lacks M.2 slots
The best motherboard for and Ryzen 5 3600 is the one that does everything that you need – simply put. There are many options on the market today, but few that are able to compete with the ones listed above. Which one are you looking at?