5 best gaming motherboards for Ryzen 5 3600

Picture of Ryzen 5 3600 and ASRock X570 PHANTOM GAMING 4 motherboard
The Ryzen 5 3600 and ASRock X570 PHANTOM GAMING 4 (Image via AMD, Amazon)

The Ryzen 5 3600, AMD's Zen 2-based CPU, is immensely popular due to its support for modern features like PCIe Gen 4, which is required by GPUs such as the Nvidia RTX 4060 or RTX 4060 Ti. Many users also love it because of its relatively low cost and price-to-performance ratio. The processor offers six cores for the price of Intel's quad-core CPUs.

This article lists some of the best motherboards for the Ryzen 5 3600.

Note: This list is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinions.


What are the best gaming motherboards to buy for Ryzen 5 3600?

1) ASRock X570 PHANTOM GAMING 4 WIFI

The ASRock X570 PHANTOM GAMING 4 WIFI (Image via ASRock, Amazon)
The ASRock X570 PHANTOM GAMING 4 WIFI (Image via ASRock, Amazon)

Price: $129

The ASRock X570 PHANTOM GAMING 4 is overkill for a CPU like the Ryzen 5 3600 but sets a great path for future upgradability if you ever choose to upgrade to Ryzen 5000 series processors. It has a 10-phase VRM system that can power up to Ryzen 9 CPUs, so you get a lot of room upgrades down the line.

SpecificationsDetails
CPU supportUp to the Ryzen 5000 series (BIOS update could be required)
ChipsetX570
Socket typeAM4
MemoryDDR4-3200 and up to DDR4-4666+ with OC
NVMe Storage2 x M.2 PCIe Gen 4 SSD
GPU supportX16 slot with up to PCIe Gen 4 support

The ASRock X570 PHANTOM GAMING 4 has dual M.2 SSD slots, and both can use a PCIe Gen 4 SSD simultaneously. In fact, it is the only motherboard on this list that can accept two Gen 4 SSDs. It also has multiple RGB headers, which allows you to connect all your RGB accessories without using daisy chains.

Pros

  • Has a total of six USB 3.2 ports and two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports.
  • Equipped with an advanced audio processing chip with ELNA capacitors for a superb sound experience.
  • Equipped with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
  • Its powerful VRM system can support up to Ryzen 9 CPUs.

Cons

  • Costs a bit more.

2) MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI ProSeries

The MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI ProSeries motherboard (Image via MSI, Amazon)
The MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI ProSeries motherboard (Image via MSI, Amazon)

Price: $106

The MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI ProSeries is a decent motherboard for its price. It has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, which provides wireless connectivity and adds support for Bluetooth headsets. It also has a decent VRM system with a thickened 2oz copper PCB for reliable power delivery to any running CPU, including the Ryzen 5 3600. The VRM system is also cooled with proper heatsinks.

SpecificationsDetails
CPU supportUp to the Ryzen 5000 series (BIOS update could be required)
ChipsetB550
Socket typeAM4
MemoryDDR4-3200 and up to DDR4-4400+ with OC
NVMe Storage1 x M.2 PCIe Gen 4 SSD and 1 x M.2 PCIe Gen 3 SSD
GPU supportX16 slot with up to PCIe Gen 4 support

The MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI ProSeries supports PCIe Gen 4 SSDs and GPUs. The Gen 4 SSDs tend to get hot under intense load, but the motherboard has an M.2 Frozr shield, which should keep it relatively cooler.

Pros

  • Better cooling potential for the VRM system and the SSD.
  • The memory system supports XMP up to DDR4-4400.
  • Has a BIOS flashing utility that doesn't require a CPU.

Cons

  • The secondary M.2 slot is limited to PCIe Gen 3 support.

3) ASUS Prime B550-PLUS

The ASUS Prime B550-PLUS motherboard (Image via ASUS, Amazon)
The ASUS Prime B550-PLUS motherboard (Image via ASUS, Amazon)

Price: $99

The ASUS Prime B550-PLUS has a great price-to-performance ratio for the Ryzen 5 3600. It has seven USB-A ports and a USB-Type C port, so you will be well-sorted when it comes to I/O. It also has RGB and A-RGB headers, which will be necessary for connecting your LED fans and other accessories that support RGB functionality.

SpecificationsDetails
CPU supportUp to the Ryzen 5000 series (BIOS update could be required)
ChipsetB550
Socket typeAM4
MemoryDDR4-3200 and up to DDR4-4600 with OC
NVMe Storage1 x M.2 PCIe Gen 4 SSD and 1 x M.2 PCIe Gen 3 SSD
GPU supportX16 slot with up to PCIe Gen 4 support

The ASUS Prime B550-PLUS features PCIe Gen 4 support, which is a must for many modern GPUs like the RTX 4060 or the RTX 4060 Ti. Without Gen 4 support, the performance of these video cards will be severely limited.

Pros

  • Has a ton of rear I/O ports.
  • Equipped with a premium audio solution.
  • Has a USB Type-C port.
  • There's a Thunderbolt 3 header for the front I/O.

Cons

  • No built-in Wi-Fi.

4) ASUS Prime B450M-A II

The ASUS Prime B450M-A II motherboard (Image via ASUS, Amazon)
The ASUS Prime B450M-A II motherboard (Image via ASUS, Amazon)

Price: $73

The ASUS Prime B450M-A II has aluminum heatsinks in the VRM system to achieve better performance from the Ryzen 5 3600 processor. The audio IC is complemented by Japanese capacitors, separate audio channels, and audio shielding for significantly higher audio output.

SpecificationsDetails
CPU supportUp to the Ryzen 5000 series (BIOS update could be required)
ChipsetB450
Socket typeAM4
MemoryDDR4-3200 and up to DDR4-4400 with OC
NVMe Storage1 x M.2 PCIe Gen 3 SSD
GPU supportX16 slot with up to PCIe Gen 3 support

You also get four slots for memory kits, which can support a total of 128GB. Both the memory and the Ryzen 5 3600 processor can be overclocked to achieve better performance.

Pros

  • Equipped with a total of four memory slots.
  • Higher quality audio performance.
  • Has decent overclocking support.

Cons

  • No PCIe Gen 4 support

5) MSI A520M-A PRO

The MSI A520M-A PRO motherboard (Image via MSI, Amazon)
The MSI A520M-A PRO motherboard (Image via MSI, Amazon)

Price: $59

The MSI A520M-A PRO is a budget motherboard for the Ryzen 5 3600. It has six USB ports, Gigabit Ethernet, an M.2 slot, four SATA slots, and more.

SpecificationsDetails
CPU supportUp to the Ryzen 5000 series (BIOS update could be required)
ChipsetA520
Socket typeAM4
MemoryDDR4-3200 and up to DDR4-4600+ with OC
NVMe Storage1 x M.2 PCIe Gen 3 SSD
GPU supportX16 slot with up to PCIe Gen 3 support

Like most MSI motherboards, the MSI A520M-A PRO has a special debugging feature called EZ debug LED, which allows you to easily diagnose a faulty CPU, RAM, BIOS, or GPU in your system. This will come in handy when some components inside the system stop working or when you start getting BSOD errors.

Pros

  • Support XMP memory profiles up to DDR4-4600.
  • Has a Gigabit ethernet.
  • Equipped with EZ Debug LEDs for easier diagnosis.

Cons

  • Has only four SATA ports, which limits your future storage expansion.

Each motherboard on this list targets consumers with different budgets. While they are all excellent, the ASUS Prime B550-PLUS provides the best balance between features and cost.

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Edited by Rachel Syiemlieh
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