We have been talking quite a bit about motherboards recently and in this post, we will introduce and review some of the most appropriate motherboards for Ryzen 5 3600. But why the 3600 specifically? As you probably have guessed, it delivers immense value in terms of price to performance perspective with just 6 cores and 12 threads. Ryzen CPUs are well known for their usage in content creation, high-end gaming and other CPU intensive tasks. But there are many CPUs out there with multi-threading and higher core and thread counts. So what makes this one stand out? It is the price and the TDP along with memory support. Pairing it with the correct motherboard that suits your setup can unleash massive potential and hold you in equal status with high-end builds. Therefore, let us pick the best motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600 that suits your build requirements and budget.
The equivalent Intel processors are the i7 9th gen overclockable KF versions, but they are pricier compared to the 5 3600. Also the lower TDP and better RAM support contributed. This has even resulted in long-time Intel lovers switching over to Ryzen. Even the Ryzen 5 3600X is disregarded as the 3600 is almost the same in every aspect of performance. Under competitive gaming conditions with modern AAA titles, the 3600 has performed very well without bottlenecking the GPU. Delivering incredible frame rates at different resolutions, it is a very feasible choice for gamers from mid-range to high-end. Hence, the motherboard we choose has to have good VRMs, better overclocking ability and quality heatsinks for starters. But with the performance bar rising higher and higher who wouldn’t want extra premium features on their build?
ASUS ROG Strix X570-E Gaming-Best High-End Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600
- -AMD AM4 Socket
- -ATX form factor/ X570 chipset
- -12+4 VRM
- -Wi-Fi 6 (802.11Ax)
- -4 x DIMM, Max. 128GB, DDR4
- -3 x PCIe 4.0 x16
For those of us yearning for luxury builds and having the ability to spare extra bucks, the ROG Strix X570-E is the best high-end motherboard for the 3600. You can clearly see how it has achieved that position from the specs above. True that there are other boards of this caliber, but let’s see what makes this one special. Apart from the specs mentioned above, the ROG Strix supports multi-GPU(Nvidia SLI and AMD CrossFireX), 8 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s) and 2 M.2 slots, Audio CODEC S1220A, plenty of USB including Type-C, Bluetooth and the gorgeous RGB to top everything. So what does all of these specs mean for an average gamer or a high-end builder for that matter?
Admittedly, it might be a bit of an overkill for the 3600. But you are hardware-secured for a future CPU upgrade. The 12+4 power stages with ProCool II power connector and the alloy chokes plus durable capacitors are mostly to support multi-threaded CPUs with much more cores than 6. The cooling for the hardware too is impressive. The two M.2 drives with a heat sink will prevent any potential bottleneck for gaming or system performance. The active chipset heatsink, MOS heatsink with 8mm heat pipe all contribute for an awesome system performance.
For high-end gamers who are used to the luxuries of 4K with RTX and rest of the ultra graphic settings. If you are into overclocking, that purpose too is well served by this board. However since it is a flagship motherboard, it would have been decent to add another M.2. Nevertheless with the frequencies it supports for RAM(DDR4-4400) and CPU overclocking, this is a viable choice for overclockers. The ROG Strix X570-E mixes perfect aesthetics with RGB to bring out the futuristic aggressive design. Therefore with all these specs(although a bit overkill), undoubtedly this qualifies as a best motherboard for the Ryzen 5 3600.
MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX-Best Budget Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600
- -AMD AM4 Socket
- -ATX form factor/ B450 chipset
- -4 x DIMM, Max. 128GB, DDR4
- -4+2 VRM
- -2X PCIe x16
- -1 M.2 slot
Definitely the best budget motherboard. No Wi-Fi 6, lacks PCIe 4.0, only 1 M.2 and multi-GPU support limited only for AMD. Supports DDR4 Memory, up to 4133(OC) MHz, extended heatsink design, STEEL ARMOR PCI-E slots and includes a Flash BIOS Button. The MSI B450 eliminates many of the challenges and overthinking that a budget gamer faces. The MSI Mystic Light illuminates the motherboard just the way you want it with over 16.8 million colors and 10 LED effects. 11 USB ports, including a USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port. Enough to connect all your external peripherals. The port placement and design is on point with plenty of breathing space. You can also make sure to use all of MSI’s performance enhancing apps.
We talked about the MSI Dragon Center in our previous post. It unifies a suite of MSI software utilities into a single centralized application. Overall, this is an excellent choice for budget gamers. The super-class audio capacitors enable experience of high-end sound quality. Gamer specific features such as GAMING Hotkey, X-Boost, Game boost. Well designed cooling and thermal controls, decent VRM for mid range performance, more than sufficient memory frequencies and capacity and the USB connectivity. Needless to say, this isn’t the ideal board for overclockers. Since 4 VRMs are just enough to take Ryzen 5 3600 to its maximum clock speed, users should not attempt hardcore overclocking. Also it only has two fan headers.
MSI B450 GAMING PRO CARBON AC- Best Overall Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600
- -AMD AM4 Socket
- -ATX form factor/ B450 chipset
- -4 x DIMM, Max. 128GB, DDR4
- -8+4 VRM
- -2X PCIe x16
- -2x M.2
- -Intel Gaming LAN and Bluetooth
- -Flash BIOS Button
This was a tough choice since MSI MEG X570 is recommended by most as the best overall motherboard for the 5 3600. However, upon further thoughts we feel that the MSI B450 is a better choice. Mostly due to the price to performance aspect. Because an overall does not have to close to premium nor resemble a budget product. The MSI X570 is closer to the premium side. The B450 is mostly for entry-level builders and once you get the hang of it, you can squeeze the maximum out of your build. Meaning that this board is optimized for heavy workloads and high-quality gaming without extravagance.
Extended heatsink design for maximum cooling and performance, M.2 Shield v2 for SSD thermal control, PCI-E steel armor for GPU protection and Realtek ALC1220 Codec audio. Plenty of USB ports including Type-C. Not to mention the gaming features such as Gaming Hotkey, Game Boost. The Mystic light utility that allows customization and sets up your color scheme. Plenty of controllable fan headers for you to customize your cooling. No PCIe 4.0. As for overclocking according to techpowerup, They managed to run wPrime stable at 4.3 GHz and 1.35 volts using their Ryzen 5 2600X. With the 16GB G.SKILL kit, the frequency topped at 3466 MHz. Also the board has a modern and well-equipped rear I/O. Only drawbacks being the excessive power consumption even at idle and all the storage options cannot be populated at once.
If MSI resolves these issues, this motherboard can be unstoppable given it’s price. Nonetheless, you are offered premium features that you can expect out of mainstream X470 boards. Excellent MSI BIOS and software suite to interact, sleek futuristic design that is performance oriented, very quiet operation even during high processing time frames, great audio for gaming and all these forming the immensely important excellent price to performance ratio.
ASUS Prime B450M-A II-Best Micro ATX Motherboard
- -AMD AM4
- -Micro-ATX form factor/ B450 chipset
- -4 x DIMM, Max. 128GB, DDR4 @ 4400(O.C)
- -PCIe 3.0 x16
- -1 x M.2 slot(s) and 6 x SATA 6Gb/s ports
- -12 USB ports
This too was a bit of a difficult choice. Initially thought of going with the ASRock B450M Pro4. However given the overclocking potential amongst other specs and the lower price compared to the ASRock, the ASUS emerged a winner to me. To skim over a few other specs, the board has Realtek® RTL8111H LAN, Realtek ALC887/897 7.1-
This too was bit of a difficult choice. Initially thought of going with the ASRock B450M Pro4. However given the overclocking potential amongst other specs and the lower price compared to the ASRock, the ASUS emerged a winner to me. To skim over a few other specs, the board has Realtek® RTL8111H LAN, Realtek ALC887/897 7.1- audio, ASUS exclusive software, BIOS FlashBack button. No fancy features such as SLI or CrossFire support or even wireless LAN. Optimized cooling with VRM heatsink, PCH heatsink, and Fan Xpert 2+. The VRM heatsink with the thermal pad underneath improves heat transfer from the MOSFETs for better cooling performance.
Aura Sync RGB lighting to sync and illuminate all your ASUS hardware with the motherboard. Plenty of choices for you to tune your build the way you want. The ASUS UEFI BIOS is built for both the beginner and the veteran tweaker. You get the advanced and the EZ mode here. The intelligent control features 3 options which are EPU, Fan Xpert 2+ and Digi+VRM Control. There are enough fan headers for you to keep the temps down. The audio quality is outstanding with the premium Japanese capacitors. On top of all these it supports 3 monitor displays. Definitely DIY friendly board and very much appropriate for budget gamers and mild overclockers. You should also check out our post on the ASRock Taichi series. You can find more Micro ATX boards here.
MSI B450I Gaming Plus AC-Best mini-ITX Motherboard
- -AMD AM4
- -Mini-ATX form factor/ B450 chipset
- -6+2 VRM
- -1 x M.2 slot
- -32GB DDR4 @ 3466 MHz (O.C)
- -Realtek ALC887 Codec audio
- -13 USB ports
Our final suggestion on motherboards for Ryzen 5 3600. The perfect mini-ITX board for the CPU. Automatically optimizes your system for VR usage, contains the MSI In-Game weapons, PCI-E steel armor for VGA protection and well designed heatsinks for optimized heat dissipation. WiFi-5 and BT 4.2 connectivity, creditable overclocking capability with 6+2 VRM can make the 5 3600 run at its maximum frequency and take DDR4 RAM to 3466(OC) MHz. It has plenty of fan headers under control and allows you to maintain your customized cooling and use the machine for long hours, be it gaming or other heavy processing without heating up. X-Boost and Command Center are the two leading software used to optimize performance.
The Xboost improves data transfer speeds from USB or M.2 drives, and the command center makes overclocking easy for any beginner. The only drawbacks are the limited memory capacity, no Wi-Fi 6 and the single M.2 slot. But these of course have to be expected with a mini sized board. Nonetheless, it has all the components necessary for a passionate gamer and even for a producer of any sort. With the latest hardware, software for tuning and hardcore gaming, the MSI B450I is undoubtedly a great mini-ITX motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600 that values a good price to performance ratio.
On a side note remember that the above also qualify as best motherboards for Ryzen 5 3600X.
Summary
Those are our recommendations for the best motherboards for Ryzen 5 3600. If you are reading this post, then you are most likely to own a 5 3600 or planning to buy one. Therefore we based the recommendations on the criteria of future-proof, budget and optimal value. Hence, if you want to prepare yourself for any future upgrade consider the ASUS ROG Strix with all of its premium features. For me, just like most budget gamers, premium features such as SLI, multiple M.2, Wi-Fi 6 support and unwanted RGB is not a preference.
Instead we opt for the best price to performance ratio. Therefore we suggested the MSI B450 GAMING PRO CARBON AC as the overall board. Although it has no PCIe 4.0 support, yet it has everything else a passionate gamer could ask for plus awesome overclocking potential. Always know that the best motherboard is not necessarily economical. Anyways the choice lies with you.
