Best AM5 Motherboards for AMD's Zen 4 Ryzen 7000 CPUs

• Check out our Recommended AM5 Motherboards and AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs below.

Motherboard Requirements for AMD AM5 Processors

Motherboards for AMD processors are made with chipsets provided by AMD. Each chipset offers a unique set of capabilities. However, motherboards must explicitly support those features and capabilities for you to use them. Verify that a motherboard supports the features and capabilities you desire.

For AMD Ryzen 7000 processors, like the Ryzen 9 7950X or Ryzen 5 7600, you'll need a motherboard with an AM5 socket and a 600-series chipset.

You will need a motherboard with overclocking support to overclock Ryzen 7000 CPUs. Motherboards with the X670E, X670, B650E, and B650 chipsets typically support CPU overclocking, but it's best to verify if that feature is important to you.

AMD 600 Series Desktop Chipsets

	X670E	X670	B650E	B650
Release Date	September 2022	September 2022	October 2022	October 2022
CPU Overclocking	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
PCIe Lanes (Graphics)	One x16 at PCIe 5.0 speeds or Two x8 at PCIe 5.0 speeds	One x16 at PCIe 4.0 speeds or Two x8 at PCIe 4.0 speeds	One x16 at PCIe 5.0 speeds or Two x8 at PCIe 5.0 speeds	One x16 at PCIe 4.0 speeds or Two x8 at PCIe 4.0 speeds
PCIe Lanes (NVMe)	One x4 at PCIe 5.0 speeds (via CPU) and up to one x4 at PCIe 5.0 speeds (via chipset)	One x4 at PCIe 5.0 speeds (via CPU) and up to one x4 at PCIe 5.0 speeds (via chipset)	One x4 at PCIe 5.0 speeds (via CPU) and up to one x4 at PCIe 5.0 speeds (via chipset)	One x4 at PCIe 4.0 speeds (via CPU)
Usable PCIe Lanes	Up to 44 total 24 at PCIe 5.0 speeds	Up to 44 total 8 at PCIe 5.0 speeds	Up to 36 total 24 at PCIe 5.0 speeds	Up to 44 total 0 at PCIe 5.0 speeds
10 Gbps USB (USB 3.2 Gen 2)	12	12	6	6
20 Gbps USB-C (USB 3.2 Gen 2x2)	2	2	1	1
Max SATA Ports	8	8	4	4

• Find X670E Chipset Motherboards on Amazon
• Find X670 Chipset Motherboards on Amazon
• Find B650E Chipset Motherboards on Amazon
• Find B650 Chipset Motherboards on Amazon

DDR4 or DDR5 Memory

Because DDR4 and DDR5 are not backward compatible, you must decide which one you want to go with before selecting a motherboard.

DDR5 memory is currently more expensive than DDR4.

However, it offers up to double the stock data rates of DDR4. Overclockers could push this limit even further.

Additionally, DDR5 supports higher-capacity UDIMMs (128 GB vs. 32 GB).

DDR5 may experience slower timings at initial release but should be much better than DDR4 as the technology matures. However, keep in mind that the timings scale inversely with the clock rate (frequency). The timing values are in units of clock cycles, but more cycles are happening per second with DDR5. For example, DDR3-2133 CL10 has nearly the same latency as DDR5-8400 CL40. So don't let the CL40 latency of DDR5 scare you away; the number just looks bigger!

Other Considerations When Choosing an AM5 Motherboard

In addition to selecting a motherboard with an AM5 socket type and compatible chipset, here are a few other things to consider when picking a motherboard. Some of these considerations will help determine the best chipset to use.

To be able to overclock DDR memory, such as via an AMD EXPO profile, your motherboard chipset needs to support memory overclocking.

Most AMD Ryzen 7000 series CPUs have integrated graphics support. You must ensure that your motherboard also has a video output port (e.g., HDMI) if you want to use integrated graphics.

Even if you primarily connect your monitors to a graphics card, integrated graphics can be beneficial when troubleshooting and fixing graphics card problems.

NVMe M.2 cards are the latest and fastest form of SSD storage. However, you need to ensure that your motherboard includes enough slots.

The X670E, X670, and B650E chipsets support the most PCIe 5.0 lanes, which means that motherboards with these chipsets are likely to have the faster PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 slots available.

Learn more about storage types in my article Storage Type Comparison: M.2, U.2, NVMe, SATA, SSDs, HDDs.

Make sure that the motherboard provides enough USB ports at your desired speeds. The X670E and X670 chipsets can support the most USB ports at USB 3.2 2x2 (20 Gbps), USB 3.2 2x1 (10 Gbps), and USB 3.2 1x1 (5 Gbps) speeds.

The devices that are likely to need the high bandwidth rates will typically be limited to storage devices and high-resolution video devices.

Make sure that the motherboard has your desired audio outputs.

For example, if you have a surround sound system, ensure that it comes with rear and center speaker ports.

If your audio equipment requires an optical input, consider getting a motherboard with this port.

Alternatively, you can purchase a separate PCIe or USB sound card to add additional port types such as optical or RCA.

When it comes to motherboards, we've encountered three primary form factors. In our experience, ATX stands out as the most common for desktop PCs. We've also explored Mini-ITX and MicroATX for building mini-PCs, and found they typically offer fewer PCIe slots, RAM slots, and storage support.

We've observed that these smaller form factors are backward compatible with standard ATX cases, using a subset of their mounting holes. In fact, we've frequently used Mini-ITX motherboards in ATX cases.

One crucial consideration is ensuring your case matches your motherboard's form factor. We've learned from experience how important it is to choose a case that aligns with your motherboard's specific needs.

The X670E and B650E chipsets provide the most flexibility, allowing a single x16 PCIe 5.0 slot or multiple PCIe 5.0 graphics cards in the dual x8 configuration.

On the other hand, the X670 and B650 chipsets only support PCIe 4.0 graphics cards.

Recommended AM5 Motherboards and CPUs

• Our recommended feature-rich AM5 CPU:
  • This CPU has 16 cores, a 4.5 GHz base frequency, and 5.7 GHz max boost frequency.
  • DDR5 memory support
  • AM5 socket type
  • Check the latest price of the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X on Amazon
• Our recommended feature-rich motherboard to pair with this CPU:
  • PCIe 5.0 support
  • X670E chipset
  • One 2.5 Gb Ethernet port
  • Four NVMe M.2 slots and Four SATA 6 Gb/s ports
  • Wi-Fi 6E provides fast connections to a Wi-Fi router.
  • Bluetooth 5.2 support
  • USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 offers 20 Gbps USB speeds and 12 USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports
  • Check the latest price of the ASUS ROG Strix X670E-E Gaming Motherboard on Amazon

• Our recommended runner-up AM5 CPU:
  • This CPU has 8 cores, a 4.5 GHz base frequency, and 5.4 GHz max boost frequency.
  • DDR5 memory support
  • AM5 socket type
  • Check the latest price of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X on Amazon
• Our recommended runner-up motherboard to pair with this CPU:
  • PCIe 5.0 support
  • X670E chipset
  • One 2.5 Gb Ethernet port
  • Four NVMe M.2 slots and Six SATA 6 Gb/s ports
  • Bluetooth 5.3 support
  • USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 offers 20 Gbps USB speeds
  • Check the latest price of the GIGABYTE X670E AORUS Master Motherboard on Amazon

Considerations When Choosing a CPU Cooler

A CPU cooler's TDP (Thermal Design Power) rating indicates how much heat it can dissipate in watts. If the cooler can't keep your CPU cool enough, your CPU may throttle (slow down), and your cooler will constantly run at full speed.

Intel CPU specifications indicate this power dissipation number as "Processor Base Power" and "Maximum Turbo Power."

For example, the Core i9-12900K has a TDP of 125–241 watts, depending on the workload.

A CPU cooler can still work with a lower TDP rating than the TDP of a CPU. However, the CPU will eventually throttle itself to a lower frequency to allow itself to cool.

The CPU may not achieve or maintain maximum turbo speeds without adequate cooling.

Air coolers use a combination of heatsinks and fans. They are the cheapest, but also the loudest.

A Closed-Loop Cooler (CLC), also called an All-in-One (AIO) cooler, is a type of liquid cooler. All-in-one liquid coolers provide a more straightforward setup in a single pre-built package.

Liquid cooling can provide even better TDP performance at lower noise levels but are more expensive and take up more room. The noise level and ability to cool your CPU will depend on the liquid cooling solution's radiator size and the number and size of the fans.

Find AIO Coolers on Amazon

Open-Loop Coolers are also a type of liquid cooler, except you construct them yourself. They allow for more flexibility in building your perfect cooling solution but can also be more complicated to set up. Open-loop systems give you the flexibility to cool additional devices, such as your graphics card's GPU.

More fans typically mean better cooling. However, they also mean more noise.

Larger fans are typically quieter than smaller fans, as they can move the same amount of air at lower speeds.

If a cooler is struggling to cool a CPU, it will run at its maximum speed, which will be louder.

Fan noise levels are measured a dB. Lower dB values are quieter.

You can often configure your motherboard's BIOS to use specific fan speeds at particular temperatures. This configurable fan speed allows you to have a near-silent computer while your computer is idle.

CPU coolers can have various mounting brackets to work with different socket sizes. Make sure that your cooler comes with a compatible mounting bracket.

The easiest way to find a CPU cooler that will work for your computer is to search by socket type. For example, Intel's 12th generation Core i9 12900K uses an LGA 1700 socket, so you would search for an LGA 1700 CPU cooler. In some cases, such as when a new socket size is released, there may not be many compatible coolers. In these cases, you can often purchase a separate mounting/retention kit to work with the new dimensions.

Before buying the biggest cooler possible, ensure that your case and motherboard configuration have room.

Also, ensure that other components on your motherboard won't interfere due to size constraints. For example, do your memory modules (DIMMs) have tall heat spreaders?

Dual-fan coolers often take up quite a bit of room. Liquid cooling solutions typically position fans at the top or bottom of the case.

Some CPU cooler fans come with LED lighting. Similarly, liquid cooling pump heads can also come with LEDs or even LCDs!

If you want to turn off the lights when they get annoying, make sure your CPU cooler has that option.

In general, air-based coolers will be lower cost than liquid cooling systems.

CPU coolers that support a higher TDP are also typically correlated with a higher price.

The more advanced lighting features tend to also come at an extra cost. You can decide between a practical, low-cost solution and a dazzling light show.

Recommended AM5 Coolers

• CORSAIR iCUE H150i ELITE LCD

  Supports AM5:	YES
  Max TDP:	350 watt
  Type:	Liquid Cooler

• Check the latest price of the CORSAIR iCUE H150i ELITE LCD on Amazon

• This cooler is designed to fit Intel and AMD sockets, including the following models: Intel LGA 1700, 1200, 1150, 1151, 1155, 1156, 1366, 2011, 2066 and AMD AM5, AM4, sTRX4, sTR4 (Intel LGA 1700 is supported with CW-8960091 or CW-8960093 kits).

• 350-watt TDP (Thermal Design Power).

• It provides powerful low-noise cooling and RGB lighting with a customizable LCD display that can display your CPU temperature or other graphics. As I explored the world of LED displays on CPU coolers, I discovered their captivating appeal. These displays have transformed my systems' visual aesthetics.

• It has 120mm CORSAIR ML RGB ELITE magnetic levitation fans for great CPU cooling performance.

• Make sure your computer case dimensions support this, as it will take up a decent amount of space!

• Thermaltake TOUGHLIQUID 360 ARGB Sync

  Supports AM5:	YES
  Max TDP:	250 watt
  Type:	Liquid Cooler

• Check the latest price of the Thermaltake TOUGHLIQUID 360 ARGB Sync on Amazon

• TOUGHLIQUID Series is designed to fit Intel and AMD sockets, including the following models: Intel LGA 1700, 1200, 1150, 1151, 1155, 1156, 1366, 2011, 2011-v3, 2066 and AMD AM5, AM4, AM3+, AM3, AM2+, AM2, FM2, FM1.

• We estimate that this supports roughly a 250-watt TDP (Thermal Design Power).

• This Liquid cooler supports 5V RGB compatible motherboards.

• Equipped with a TOUGHFAN 12 2000-RPM fan and supports ARGB lighting on the waterblock. Even without a full LED display, ARGB lighting creates a mesmerizing visual spectacle when I use it in my builds.

• Make sure your computer case dimensions support this, as it will take up a decent amount of space. There is a smaller version available, if needed.

• Noctua NH-D15 CPU Cooler

  Supports AM5:	YES
  Max TDP:	220 watt
  Type:	Heatsink & Fans

• Check the latest price of the Noctua NH-D15 on Amazon

• Dual 140 mm fans provide 220-watt TDP (183 NSPR) of cooling capability.

• Supports a variety of CPU sockets, including Intel LGA 1700, 1200, 1156, 1155, 1151, 1150, 2011, 2066 and AMD AM5, AM4, AM3, AM3+, AM2, AM2+, FM2, FM2+.

• Quiet operation at 24.6 dBA.

Our Recommended RAM

Before purchasing memory, we suggest that you review your motherboard specification to verify which speeds are supported. For example, if a DDR4 motherboard stated that it supports "DDR4 3400(O.C.) / 3333(O.C.) / 3300(O.C.) / 3200 / 3000," that would mean that it could support DDR4-3400, DDR4-3333, and DDR4-3300 with memory overclocking, and DDR4-3200 and DDR4-3000 at stock speeds. Motherboard specifications also indicate the maximum capacity per stick of RAM (DIMM) and across all slots.

• At an effective frequency of 5600 MHz, this memory hits the fastest DDR5 speed supported by Intel's 13th Gen CPUs without overclocking.
• 32 GB provides ample memory for gaming and multitasking.
• Optimized for Intel XMP 3.0.

• At an effective frequency of 3200 MHz, this memory hits the fastest supported stock DDR4 speeds.
• It is also available in other (effective) frequencies for overclockers, including 3600 MHz and 4000 MHz.
• Lower-speed versions are also available on Amazon, in various capacities, including DDR4-2933 , DDR4-2666 , and DDR4-2400
• The low-profile form factor ensures that the heat spreaders don't get in the way of other devices, including your CPU heatsink.

Learn About PCI-Express

AMD's Ryzen 7000 CPUs were the first to support PCIe 5.0.

Want to brush up on the latest PCIe products, versions, and features? Check out the articles in this PCI-Express series:

• What is PCIe?, What is PCIe 5.0?, and What is PCIe 4.0?
• Is PCIe 5.0 Worth It? and Is PCIe 4.0 Worth It?
• Which Intel and AMD CPUs Support PCIe 5.0?
• Which Intel and AMD CPUs Support PCIe 4.0?
• Which Motherboards Support PCIe 5.0?
• Which Graphics Cards Support PCIe 4.0?
• How Fast is PCIe 5.0? and How Fast is PCIe 4.0?
• Is PCIe Backward Compatible?
• Can I Put a PCIe x4 or x8 Card in an x16 Slot?
• Can I Use a PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD in a PCIe 3.0 Motherboard Slot?
• Can I Use a PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD in a PCIe 4.0 Motherboard Slot?
• Can I Use a PCIe 4.0 Graphics Card in a PCIe 3.0 Slot?
• Can I Use a PCIe 3.0 Graphics Card in a PCIe 4.0 Slot?
• What is the Latest Version of PCIe?
• PCI vs. AGP vs. PCIe? Time to Upgrade!