Best AMD gaming motherboard 2019 (February)

The greatest AMD gaming motherboard could make an enormous distinction to your closing gaming PC construct. We’ve put the highest AM4 choices – from X470 motherboards to X370 and B350 boards – via their paces so you may make the correct selection on your rig.

Choosing one of the best AM4 board is significant in getting probably the most out of your new AMD Ryzen CPU. You don’t must go for the most recent X470 motherboard both, as a result of the older 300-series boards from the likes of Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, and ASRock are nonetheless critically succesful, utterly suitable, and much more inexpensive. Although there’s an opportunity these may have a bit of tinkering to get working with 3rd Gen Ryzen chips.

All AM4 boards work with the present second-gen Ryzen processors, in addition to the first-gen chips, making it a really secure platform with spectacular potential future-proofing on provide. AMD additionally introduced additional 3rd Gen Ryzen processors over at CES 2019, that are additionally anticipated to fit proper into most AM4 motherboards. Even PCIe 4.0 may well be retroactively fitted to the first slot on some older AM4 boards – pending BIOS assist.

AMD’s second-gen Ryzen 2 [sic] processors display the maturation of the pink staff’s Zen CPU structure earlier than we even get to the AMD Zen 2 chips arriving later this yr, and so they’ve regained the highest place in our greatest CPU listing. But with a bunch of various chipsets, options, and producers, which motherboard do you have to be partnering with them?

To reap the benefits of the platform’s backwards compatibility, you do want to make sure your motherboard is updated with the most recent BIOS. Don’t fear, all 400-series and most 300-series boards coming contemporary out of the factories will function a brand new sticker confirming whether or not they’ve been up to date, simply search for the “AMD Ryzen Desktop 2000 Ready’ sticker on the field. But, if not, you’ll must replace the board your self, and that requires a suitable Ryzen 1000-series processor as well the system – so preserve that in thoughts when procuring round.

AMD has additionally confirmed that it intends on rolling out related ‘AMD Ryzen Desktop 3000 Ready’ stickers as soon as third Gen Ryzen – or Ryzen 3000-series, Ryzen 3K (whichever floats your boat as long as it isn’t Ryzen 3) – rolls round.

Alternatively: Here are the best Intel gaming motherboards

But that doesn’t essentially imply you should buy any ol’ AMD motherboard with a suitable AM4 socket on your Ryzen chip – there are a bunch of different components you’ll have to keep in mind earlier than discovering the perpetually house on your new CPU. Do you’ve a PCIe SSD? Do you aspire to run a multi-GPU rig? Do you wish to construct a micro machine PC? These are all questions you’ll need solutions to. And that’s why you come to the consultants…

The greatest AMD gaming motherboards are:

Check out one of the best AMD gaming motherboard costs at Amazon US or Amazon UK.

Winner: Best AMD gaming motherboard

Gigabyte AB350-Gaming 3

Approx. $94 | £98

Pros
 Cheap and cheerful
 Capable at inventory speeds
 Healthy number of ports

Cons
 Slightly toasty

You might need anticipated to see an X470 motherboard topping our listing of one of the best AMD gaming motherboards. But, in actual phrases, there’s valuable little to decide on between the B350 and both the X470 or X370 boards in our checks. And, contemplating out of all of the Ryzen chips AMD has launched, it’s the Ryzen 5 2600 we’re recommending as one among our favorite gaming CPUs – spending something over $100 on a supporting motherboard looks like overkill.

And so Gigabyte’s well priced B350 board is the AM4 mobo we’d be lovingly jamming our Ryzen chips into. It’s solely round $85 / £83, and but, at inventory settings it’s one of the vital able to any of the AM4 boards we’ve examined up to now. The draw back being it is a bit of excessive on the ability/thermal facet of issues. It’s the toastiest of the boards, operating hotter at each peak and idle temperatures, and that’s borne out by the actual fact it additionally attracts probably the most juice when operating at full chat.

Read our full Gigabyte AB350-Gaming 3 review.

Runner-up

Asus ROG Strix X470-F Gaming

Approx. $190 | £138

Pros
 Great overclocking functionality
 Plenty of options
 Ports galore

Cons
 But do you actually want it?

Yes, we’re nonetheless recommending the bargain-priced Gigabyte B350 to go together with our favorite Ryzen processor And that’s as a result of Asus nonetheless holds the title of getting made probably the most {powerful} AMD board we’ve had the prospect to check up to now. Its CPU efficiency is forward of the MSI and Gigabyte motherboards we’ve checked out, and forward of its X370 forebears, too.

It additionally delivers larger fundamental overclocking efficiency than the opposite X470 boards, although solely will get our Ryzen 7 2700X as much as the identical stage because the X370. But when you’re after a critically high-end AM4 motherboard, that is the one we’d suggest proper now. It’s not a horrendously expensive providing, and has a extremely stable function set. You may need extra USB ports on the rear I/O when you use loads of skilled connected storage, however that’s probably the most minor of points.

Read our full Asus ROG Strix X470-F Gaming review.

Runner-up

MSI X370 Gaming Pro Carbon

Approx. $163 | £171

Pros
 Affordable X370
 You know you need that RGB
 Sturdy

Cons
 RGB lighting isn’t for everybody

MSI’s Gaming Pro Carbon is likely one of the most inexpensive of the X370 crew, however don’t let that idiot you into considering it’s mild on options. Aside from the RGB LED downlighting impressed by The Fast and the Furious, MSI has additionally ensured it’s received all of the bases coated on the specs entrance, in addition to the aesthetics.

The reminiscence, GPU, and PCIe SSD slots have all been strengthened to keep away from injury when poking elements into them, the screw holes are double-protected so that you don’t break the PCB when putting in, it’s added each AMD’s CrossHearth and Nvidia’s SLI multi-GPU assist, and MSI has additionally specced-out a pair of VR-ready USB ports too. So it’s received the efficiency chops and it’s additionally an impressively feature-rich board for cash – a worthy runner-up.

 

Runner-up

Asus ROG STRIX X470-I Gaming

Approx. $210 | £175

Pros
 Teeny tiny
 Feature-packed
 It’s so cute ^_^

Cons
 Limited house for upgrades/SSDs

Judge Yoda by his dimension, do you? No, and so that you shouldn’t. Likewise, Asus’s mighty X470-I gaming shouldn’t be judged purely on scale, both. It’s a minuscule Ryzen X470 motherboard that also manages to pack in a wealth of options and sufficient efficiency so it by no means appears like a compromise.

Well, it would do when you’re speaking about USB and SATA ports, however when you’re after server-level motherboard fare then the huge ROG Crosshair boards are most likely extra to your tastes. Inevitably, it’s a bit of down within the general efficiency metrics in contrast with the opposite high boards, however contemplating what Asus has packed into this tiny package deal it’s a little bit of a miracle mini motherboard.

Read our full Asus ROG STRIX X470-I Gaming review.

Runner-up

ASRock X370 Killer SLI

Approx. $110 | £111

Pros
Feature-packed
 Neutral color scheme
 SLI assist when you’re into that form of factor

Cons
 Runs a bit of sizzling

Don’t let the identify mislead you, when you’re planning on jamming a number of AMD GPUs into one rig then the X370 Killer SLI will fortunately assist CrossHearth too. Just don’t be too excited in regards to the touted four-way assist. This isn’t going to be your quad-GPU gaming behemoth as a result of ASRock is speaking about quad-SLI and CrossHearth operating throughout the PCIe 2.zero x1 slots – that’s for these crypto-miners who used to nab all our graphics playing cards when crypto was cool, not us avid gamers.

In efficiency phrases, the ASRock is completely aggressive with the massive boards. However, it comes behind the MSI Pro Carbon in our gaming checks -though by no means by a very good distance, it needs to be mentioned. It does run hotter than the others, with solely that bargain-priced Gigabyte winner up high operating hotter. And when below overclocked situations with our 1800X chip that warmth did appear to turn out to be a little bit of a stability subject in-game.

 

Runner-up

Gigabyte Aorus AX370-Gaming 5

Approx. $200 | £138

Pros
 Filled to the brim with performance
 RGB lighting

Cons
 Expensive
 RGB lighting

Gigabyte’s Aorus Gaming-5 is perched uncomfortably on the fence between the usual gaming motherboards and the high-end, high-priced boards beneath. It’s received a beefy function set, with strengthened slots, Killer community assist, and discrete entrance and rear headphone amps. Oh, and it’s received RGB LEDs for that ‘daddy, daddy, look at me!’ aesthetic. Obviously, as a result of gaming.

But that each one comes at a excessive worth in contrast with the very related but cheaper boards, which makes the Aorus a little bit of a midway home between the worth and high-end segments. If you’re trying to save money, go for the Gaming 3, and if you wish to splash the money it’s the Asus ROG beneath we suggest.

WINNER: BEST HIGH-END AMD GAMING MOTHERBOARD

Asus ROG Strix X470-F Gaming

Approx. $190 | £138

Pros
 Great overclocking functionality
 Plenty of options
 Ports galore

Cons
 But do you actually want it?

Asus’s ROG Crosshair VI was our earlier choose because the money-no-object AM4 board, however the Strix nearly will get the nod due to its general efficiency. Its CPU tempo is forward of the MSI and Gigabyte motherboards we’ve checked out, and forward of its X370 Crosshair VI forebear too.

It additionally delivers larger fundamental overclocking efficiency than the opposite X470 boards, although solely will get our Ryzen 7 2700X as much as the identical stage because the X370. But when you’re after a critically high-end AM4 motherboard, that is the one we’d suggest proper now. It’s not a horrendously expensive providing, and has a extremely stable function set. You may need extra USB ports on the rear I/O when you use loads of skilled connected storage, and that’s the place the Crosshair VI has the sting, however that’s probably the most minor of points.

Read our full Asus ROG Strix X470-F Gaming review.

Runner-up

Asus ROG Crosshair VI Hero

Approx. $205 | £180

Pros
 Great overclocking chops
 Tons of USB ports
 12-phase VRM

Cons
 Pricey

Asus’s Republic of Gamers model is all the time in regards to the high-end and that’s no completely different with its AMD boards. We haven’t seen one among Asus’s AMD-focused Crosshair boards in a protracted whereas (it took them soooo lengthy to convey us Zen) however, fortunately, the AM4 model actually delivers. The Strix X470 nearly pips the Crosshair VI on the high of the pile due to its additional CPU efficiency, however it’s mighty shut.

It’s all right down to the construct high quality and feature-set of the ROG board. It’s a decent battle between this and the MSI XPower Gaming Titanium, nevertheless, however because of the classically stuffed ROG function set, the Crosshair will get the nod. Both are geared toward overclockers, with devoted options just like the on-board controls and additional CPU energy connections, however the Asus board has additional energy phases – 12 vs. the MSI’s ten – a bodily LN2 mode swap, voltage verify factors, and extra USB sockets than there are Beatles ‘greatest hits’ albums. If you desire a critical, feature-rich, high-performance, multi-GPU prepared AM4 motherboard, Asus has received you coated.

Runner-up

MSI X370 XPower Gaming Titanium

Approx. $177 | £206

Pros
 Great overclocking chops
 Tons of USB ports
 12-phase VRM

Cons
 Lags behind the Asus boards

MSI’s AMD-focused XPower board is a little bit of a beast, however it’s additionally the costliest of the AM4 mobos we’ve examined. That excessive worth isn’t the explanation it’s sitting near the highest of our choose of the money-no-object Ryzen boards, it’s additionally fortunately proper on the high of the efficiency tree. The XPower is likely one of the quickest in our CPU checks and likewise polls larger than practically all of the boards within the graphical checks too, particularly when you have a look at the 3DMark scores.

The XPower has an entire lot of devoted overclocking options for the professionals, too. There’s an additional four-pin energy connection for the CPU and, mixed with the ten-phase energy setup, on-board energy, reset and overclocking buttons, it’s a mobo with loads to supply the serial frequency tweakers. But the ROG board above has simply received it pegged because of the additional USB connections, lower cost, and much more in depth overclocking options. That mentioned, the enticing titanium-shaded PCB is one for the aesthetes and, when you crave storage efficiency, the XPower incorporates a pair of M.2 sockets (one with their M.2 Shield cooler) providing you with scary ranges of RAID efficiency potential.

Runner-up

Gigabyte X470 Aorus Gaming 7 WiFi

Approx. $275 | £240

Pros
 One of one of the best wanting boards
 So lengthy as you want RGB lighting
 Great specs sheet

Cons
 Expensive

The Gigabyte X470 Aorus is a beautiful AMD motherboard. There’s one thing virtually retro about its nude heatsinks and chunky heatpipes across the energy elements, however it’s received the requisite bling it’s essential to be allowed within the gaming motherboard membership today.

It’s additionally properly specced, with the dual M.2 SSD sockets, which appear to be the hallmark of X470 boards, and strengthened sockets for all of the full-size PCIe and DIMM slots, too. The solely drawback is that it’s not as succesful a efficiency board because the likes of the both the Asus X470 or Crosshair boards. It’s somewhat expensive, too…

Read our full Gigabyte X470 Aorus Gaming WiFi review.

Runner-up

ASRock Fatal1ty X370 Professional Gaming

Approx. $210 | £193

Pros
 Stable overclocking
 Well-built
 16-phase VRM

Cons
 Gaming efficiency isn’t one of the best

ASRock’s high-end Ryzen board is a superb instance of how far the corporate has come from its humble beginnings. The Fatal1ty Professional Gaming is one other feature-rich AM4 board with a substantial amount of give attention to the overclocking facet of the CPU game. It really generated the very best secure overclock with our Ryzen 7 1800X CPU, hitting 4.075 GHz with just a few mild tweaks. The best-in-test 16 section energy design performs its half right here, permitting the processor to hit these frequency heights, however it’s additionally what helps the board as an entire stay cool throughout heavy use and keep away from the extreme peak wattage of a number of the different boards.

But it’s not probably the most stellar gaming board round, therefore it sits beneath the Asus and MSI competitors. Though, as you’ll be able to barely squeeze a 4K pixel between the precise body charge efficiency of the suite of motherboards we’ve examined, that’s not essentially a significant subject right here.

Winner: Best low cost AMD gaming motherboard

MSI B350M Mortar

Approx. $141 | £117

Pros
 Cheap
 Compact
 Everything you want

Cons
 Cut-down BIOS

The B350 is AMD’s extra budget-focused Ryzen chipset, but it retains basically the identical efficiency and virtually all of the overclocking potential of the top-end X370 chipset. The gaming efficiency is definitely on par with the remainder of the AM4 gang and the Mortar is mighty aggressive on the CPU facet, too.

And it does all that in a smaller type footprint. Where you’re dropping out is, inevitably, within the feature-set MSI is offering. The BIOS is the primary indicator; it’s a cut-down, fundamental affair, with little in the way in which of high-end niceties. There aren’t even any multiplier settings while you’re doing the CPU overclocking dance. That mentioned, I used to be nonetheless capable of hit a contented 4.05 GHz with out setting the board on fireplace. But it is a bargain-priced motherboard that retains the efficiency of its bigger siblings. It could also be mild on options, however it’ll make a fantastic base for a finances Ryzen gaming rig.

Runner-up

Gigabyte AB350-Gaming 3

Approx. $100 | £85

Pros
 Cheap and cheerful
 Capable at inventory speeds
 Healthy number of ports

Cons
 Slightly toasty

I imply, if it’s our choose as one of the best general board, and solely a bit of costlier than our favorite finances board, Gigabyte’s AB350-Gaming Three nonetheless must get an honourable point out within the worth sector, proper?

The Gaming Three is a improbable mixture of worth and efficiency, delivering the very best stock-clocked Cinebench rating of the lot, and is rarely lower than critically aggressive within the gaming benchmarks too. Our largest concern is the extent of warmth it generates at full pace, however when you’ve received first rate cooling, and aren’t too involved with constructing probably the most power environment friendly machine, then it actually is a superb worth Ryzen mobo.

Runner-up

ASRock AB350 Gaming K4

Approx. $115 | £85

Pros
 Cheap and cheerful
 Two M.2 sockets

Cons
 Weak efficiency
 Little to no overclocking

Yes, it’s a little bit of a discount, however the Gaming K4 is definitely the weakest of all of the AM4 boards we’ve examined. Aside from the Doom check, it posted the slowest gaming body charges and was propping up the 3DMark scores too. When it got here to overclocking, the finances board’s weak spot was laid naked, solely managing to hit 4.02 GHz with our check chip and even struggled nailing 2,667 MHz with any of our completely different DDR4 reminiscence kits.

Like the opposite ASRock boards, the intention behind the Gaming K4 can be formidable sufficient to say compatibility with quad-CrossHearth, regardless of solely sporting a single x16 PCIe 3.zero connection. In the top, it’s not a dangerous Ryzen board, and its efficiency metrics actually aren’t that far behind the remaining, however when there are cheaper, faster mobos on the market this ASRock actually turns into a little bit of a final resort.

AMD has carried out it proper creating the motherboard platform for its Ryzen processors. It hasn’t tried to restrict assist, it’s not opted to demand customers improve their boards for each single iterative CPU replace. No, it’s created a secure AM4 platform that’s alleged to assist each mainstream desktop AMD chip from right here to 2020.

And meaning you don’t must go for the very best spec chipset with a view to get one of the best efficiency out of your Ryzen processor, and that’s why we’ve given the win to Gigabyte’s bargain-priced B350 board. It has a function set that may cater to virtually each gamer on the market, and delivers body charge efficiency that’s the equal of far more costly choices.

Complimentary silicon: Grab one of many best CPUs for gaming

That does additionally imply it’s a contender for the finances selection, however MSI’s B350M Mortar nearly pips it to that honour. On the extra high-end facet it’s arduous to look previous the beautiful Asus STRIX X470. It’s feature-rich and efficiency heavy, however then, so is its worth.

Either method, regardless of your finances there’s a fantastic AM4 motherboard on the market simply ready to be constructed into a fantastic gaming rig.