The Ryzen 5 3600 is the best budget gaming CPU you can get right now. Ryzen 5000 CPUs are quite pricier, although they feature much better gaming performance. On the other hand, the 3600 is noticeably cheaper than the 5600X but still great for games, even high-end gaming, and pretty solid for productivity tasks. And it will stay the best budget gaming CPU until we see something like the rumored 5600 or if Intel decides to offer cheap but fast gaming CPUs next year, once the company launches its 11th gen CPU lineup.
It comes with a capable cooler and doesn’t require an expensive motherboard to work to its limits. Sure, you’ll need fast memory to use its full potential but there’s plenty of affordable DDR4 sticks on the market that work at 3200 MHz. So, don’t worry about spending lots of cash on RAM. When it comes to the motherboard, we said you don’t need a beast to run the Ryzen 5 3600. Any quality board will do just fine.
The CPU is rated at 65 W TDP. This means you don’t have to worry about top-of-the-line VRM (voltage regulating module) or a bunch of extra features when buying a board to couple with the Ryzen 5 3600. But that doesn’t mean getting the first board on the search queue. There’s plenty of quality boards out there that don’t cost a fortune.
Today, we found the best boards for the Ryzen 5 3600 you can get right now. You have budget choices but we also included a couple of sorta high-end choices. Most of them support more powerful 3rd generation Ryzen CPUs. This is great because a few years down the line you could upgrade your Ryzen 5 3600 with an 8 or 12 core processor for cheap while keeping the same board. That way you’ll be able to keep up with the most demanding games without changing half of your configuration.
What we didn’t do is list ultra-expensive X570 boards. If you want an expensive X570 board to couple with the Ryzen 5 3600 you probably have enough money to pick a more powerful CPU that will use that board to its limits. We did include a couple of great X570 boards that won’t break the bank. We tried to find the best value boards that come with quality VRM and lots of features for a relatively affordable price.
Next, the main new technology offered on X570 boards is PCIe 4.0. The thing is, you don’t need it right now. SSDs utilizing PCIe don’t have an advantage over regular, PCIe 3.0 and SATA SSDs. Next, even the most powerful video card at the moment, RTX 2080 Ti doesn’t utilize PCIe 3.0 bandwidth to its limit. And games certainly won’t run faster if you have PCIe 4.0 support.
On the other hand, PCIe 4.0 might come in handy in the future. While RTX 3xxx and Radeon Navi 20 cards should pack much more power than the current offerings, they shouldn’t be limited with PCIe 3.0. But cards showing up in 2021 and later could utilize the extra bandwidth that comes with PCIe 4.0. Also, while current SSDs don’t benefit from PCIe 4.0 future models might. After all, both Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 utilize high-speed SSDs so PC gaming could also benefit from extra speed. But, again, that won’t happen until 2021.
Before we start, a word of warning. Most B450 and X470 boards don’t support 3rd gen Ryzen CPUs out of the box. You need to update their BIOS before being able to use 3rd gen processors. And to update BIOS, you have to hook the board with the 1st or 2nd gen Ryzen CPU and start the system.
Some models support USB BIOS Flashback, allowing users to update BIOS without the CPU. But, in most cases, that’s not an option. So, if you decide to get a B450 or X470 board, ask the seller to update the board BIOS for you. Don’t forget that.
If you need a basic board there are a couple of great choices out there. They’re affordable but don’t provide a bunch of features. Also, if you pick a basic board you’ll be left with limited upgrade options. You’ll be able to replace your Ryzen 5 3600 with an 8-core CPU, but that’s it. On the other hand, for just a couple of dozen bucks more, you have some great choices that can support even 12 core CPUs.
Best Motherboards for Ryzen 5 3600 – Our Picks
| Award | Model | |
|---|---|---|
| Best Budget Micro ATX Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600 | Gigabyte B450M DS3H |  |
| Best Budget Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600 | MSI B450 Tomahawk Max |  |
| Best Budget WiFi Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600 | Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro WiFi |  |
| Best High-End X470 Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600 | MSI X470 Gaming Pro Carbon |  |
| Best High-End X570 Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600 | ASUS AM4 TUF Gaming X570-Plus |  |
| Best High-End WiFi Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600 | Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite WiFi |  |
| Best Micro-ATX Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600 | MSI B450M Gaming Plus |  |
| Best Mini-ITX Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600 | MSI B450I Gaming Plus AC |  |
Best Budget Micro ATX Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600
Gigabyte B450M DS3H
| Chipset | AMD B450 |
| Memory | 4 × DDR4 DIMM, max. 64 GB |
| Storage | 1 × M.2, 4 × SATAIII |
| Multi GPU Support | AMD Crossfire |
| Expansion Slots | 2 × PCIe x16, 1 × PCIe x1 |
| Wi-Fi | No |
The Gigabyte B450M DS3H is a dirt-cheap motherboard that won’t have any trouble running Ryzen 5 3600. Just don’t think about overclocking, and about replacing the CPU with something more powerful down the line. You could get an 8-core 65W CPU but that’s about it.
You get 4 DIMM slots supporting memory up to 3600 MHz, which is pretty good. The board features two PCIe x16 slots, but only one of those runs at x16. Yes, there’s the official support for AMD Crossfire bit that’s not going to work as supposed.
The board also has gigabit LAN, one M.2 slot for NVMe SSDs, 4 SATA III connectors, and support for 7.1 audio. You also get support for RGB Fusion LED strips, and two video connectors for integrated graphics, allowing for multimonitor setup.
Best Budget Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600
MSI B450 Tomahawk Max
| Chipset | AMD B450 |
| Memory | 4 × DDR4 DIMM, max. 128 GB |
| Storage | 1 × M.2, 6 × SATAIII |
| Multi GPU Support | AMD Crossfire |
| Expansion Slots | 2 × PCIe x16, 3 × PCIe x1 |
| Wi-Fi | No |
The MSI B450 Tomahawk Max is the best mainstream motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600. It’s noticeably more expensive than the Gigabyte B450M DS3H but it comes with many advantages. First of all, it supports 3rd gen Ryzen CPUs out of the box. Next, its VRM is excellent for the price. You can replace the Ryzen 3 3600 with anything below the Ryzen 9 3950X.
This board also looks pretty nice. Black and grey colors without any flashy details are a perfect combo. When it comes to memory and storage, there’s a lot. Support for up to 4133 DDR4 memory, 6 SATAIII connectors, and one M.2 slot. The back panel hosts DVI and HDMI connectors for multimonitor setup in case you use integrated GPU.
There’s also a gigabit LAN by Realtek and a solid audio compartment powered by Realtek ALC892 Codec. It comes with native 7.1 surround sound support. One PCIe 3.0 slot supports full, x16 speed, and the other, which is a PCIe 2.0 x16, supports x4 speed. Other than that, there are also 3 PCIe 2.0 x1 slots for expansion cards. Finally, there are four 4-pin fan connectors, which we always like to see.
Best Budget WiFi Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600
Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro WiFi
| Chipset | AMD B450 |
| Memory | 4 × DDR4 DIMM, max. 64 GB |
| Storage | 2 × M.2, 6 × SATAIII |
| Multi GPU Support | AMD Crossfire |
| Expansion Slots | 3 × PCIe x16, 1 × PCIe x1 |
| Wi-Fi | Yes |
If you need an alternative for the B450 Tomahawk because you want a Wi-Fi module, check out the Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro WiFi. It has a solid VRM that can host any 6 core and 8 core CPU. You can also get the Ryzen 9 3900X but we wouldn’t do any overclocking. Next, this one looks better than the Tomahawk Max. Brushed metal and black details with lots of lights and AORUS branding are slick and very attractive.
DDR4 memory can run up to 3600 MHz. Six SATA III connectors and 2 M.2 slots mean lots of storage. The back panel comes with 7.1 audio thanks to the Realtek ALC1220-VB codec.
One PCIe slot runs at full, x16 speed. The second and third PCIe slots are working at x4 and x1 speed. Finally, there’s one PCIe x1 slot. The board comes with Bluetooth 4.2 module and Wi-Fi support along with an Intel gigabit LAN chip. Overall, this is a solid board for the price. It’s about 15 percent more expensive than the MSI B450 Tomahawk Max and while it does offer Wi-Fi and Bluetooth features, its VRM is a bit weaker than on the MSI model.
Best High-End X470 Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600
MSI X470 Gaming Pro Carbon
| Chipset | AMD X470 |
| Memory | 4 × DDR4 DIMM, max. 128 GB |
| Storage | 2 × M.2, 8 × SATAIII |
| Multi GPU Support | AMD Crossfire, Nvidia SLI |
| Expansion Slots | 3 × PCIe x16, 2 × PCIe x1 |
| Wi-Fi | No |
The MSI X470 Gaming Pro Carbon is based on the last-gen flagship chipset but it still packs serious power. The VRM unit is enough for any 3rd gen Ryzen CPU on the market. Memory support goes to 3466 MHz. Storage-wise you get 2 M.2 slots (one supporting PCIe 3.0 and one PCIe 2.0) and 8 SATAIII ports.
The audio is pretty good. 7.1 surround sound powered by Realtek ALC1220 Codec. Next, we have the Intel Gigabit LAN controller along with one HDMI and one DisplayPort on the back for a multimonitor setup with iGPU.
There are two PCIe x 16 slots, which can work in x8/x8 mode. There’s one PCIe 2.0 x16 slot working in x4 mode. You also get 2xPCIe x1 slots. The board supports 3-way AMD Crossfire and 2-way SLI. Finally, the design is pretty good. Lots of RGB lighting, black and silver coloring, and lots of heatsinks.
The alternative (if you need Wi-Fi) is the MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC. The B450 board packs almost the same set of features minus SLI support and costs the same. You also get more RGB LEDs and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules.
Best High-End X570 Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600
ASUS TUF Gaming X570-Plus
| Chipset | AMD X570 |
| Memory | 4 × DDR4 DIMM, max. 128 GB |
| Storage | 2 × M.2, 8 × SATAIII |
| Multi GPU Support | AMD Crossfire |
| Expansion Slots | 2 × PCIe x16, 2 × PCIe x1 |
| Wi-Fi | Yes |
If you want an X570 board, the ASUS TUF Gaming X570-Plus is the best bang for the buck. The VRM (12+2 phases) unit is taken from much more expensive models and can run any 3rd gen Ryzen CPU, along with overclocking and all. The design is excellent. Black, yellow, and gray with a couple of LEDs look minimalistic but very attractive.
The board supports DDR4 memory up to 4400MHz. Next, you have 2x M.2 PCIe 4.0 slots along with 8 SATAIII connectors. Expansion slots include 1 PCIe 4.0 x16 slot, one PCIe 4.0 x16 working in x4 mode, and two PCIe 4.0 x1 slots. There’s also gigabit LAN. The board supports AMD Crossfire. The Wi-Fi version of this board comes with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 modules, but it costs noticeably more.
The audio section is excellent. 7.1 surround sound powered by Realtek ALC S1200A 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC provides studio-like sound quality. The board supports the ASUS Aura RGB platform. Overall, this board is a steal at this price. You won’t find a better board from ASUS unless you look for models costing 50 percent more. A perfect motherboard for users who want to upgrade to a Ryzen 9 3900X or 3950X in a couple of years from now.
Best High-End WiFi Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600
Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite WiFi
| Chipset | AMD X570 |
| Memory | 4 × DDR4 DIMM, max. 128 GB |
| Storage | 2 × M.2, 2 × SATAIII |
| Multi GPU Support | AMD Crossfire |
| Expansion Slots | 2 × PCIe x16, 2 × PCIe x1 |
| Wi-Fi | Yes |
The best alternative to the ASUS AM4 TUF Gaming X570-Plus is the Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite WiFi. First of all, this one costs about 20 percent more while offering the same features plus Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. VRM is another 12+2 phases unit that shouldn’t have a problem running the most powerful 3rd gen Ryzen CPUs. DDR4 memory speed can go up to 4000 MHz.
You get 2 M.2 PCIe 4.0 slots accompanied by 6 SATA III connectors. The board hosts 1 PCIe 4.0 x16 slot and one PCIe 4.0 x16 running at x4. There are also 2 PCIe x1 slots supporting PCIe 4.0. The board supports AMD Crossfire. When it comes to connectivity there’s Intel Gigabit LAN, Wi-FI module, and Bluetooth 4.2 module.
It’s worth noting that this board comes with only 2 fan headers (most other models shown here come with 4 fan headers) and an HDMI port. So, there’s no multimonitor option in case you use iGPU. The design is excellent. AORUS branding, dark grey color along with orange details and subtle LED light looks very nice.
Best Micro-ATX Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600
MSI B450M Gaming Plus
| Chipset | AMD B450 |
| Memory | 2 × DDR4 DIMM, max. 64 GB |
| Storage | 1 × M.2, 4 × SATAIII |
| Multi GPU Support | None |
| Expansion Slots | 1 × PCIe x16, 2 × PCIe x1 |
| Wi-Fi | No |
If you plan on getting a Ryzen 5 3600 and don’t want to spend lots of money on the board just get the Gigabyte B450M DS3H and be done with it. But, if you plan on upgrading the CPU down the line and need an affordable yet quality Micro ATX board, check out the MSI B450M Gaming Plus motherboard. Its VRM isn’t great but it should run Ryzen 7 CPUs.
Storage options are pretty solid. One M.2 slot coupled with 4 SATA III connectors. The board features one PCIe x16 slot along with 2 PCIe x1 slots. Enough for the price. Realtek ALC887 Codec is responsible for the sound, which comes with 7.1 surround support.
Next, we have the Realtek Gigabit LAN controller along with DMI and HDMI ports on the back for multimonitor support when running integrated graphics. Design is the same as other MSI gaming plus boards. That means aggressive, with lots of red color. Okay but nothing special.
Best Mini-ITX Motherboard for Ryzen 5 3600
MSI B450I Gaming Plus AC
| Chipset | AMD B450 |
| Memory | 2 × DDR4 DIMM, max. 64 GB |
| Storage | 1 × M.2, 4 × SATAIII |
| Multi GPU Support | None |
| Expansion Slots | 1 × PCIe x16 |
| Wi-Fi | Yes |
If you want a Mini-ITX board for your new Ryzen 5 3600, the MSI B450I Gaming Plus AC is the only quality yet affordable choice. There are other quality mITX boards out there for 3rd gen Ryzen CPUs but they are much, much more expensive and aren’t worth the investment. They only make sense if you go with high-end Ryzen CPU models.
Anyway, this board has a solid VRM for a mini-ITX model. It can support Ryzen 7 models but we won’t go that far and advise you to run Ryzen 9 CPUs on this board. There are only 2 DIMM slots here but that’s the usual story for an mITX board. DDR4 memory can run at 3466MHz, fast enough for 3rd gen Ryzen CPUs.
Storage slots include one M.2 slot along with 4 SATA III connectors. The board hosts one PCIe x16 slot and that’s about it when it comes to expansion slots. The audio department is solid. 7.1 audio powered by Realtek ALC887 Codec.
Next, we have Realtek Gigabit LAN, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.2 module. You have one HDMI and one DisplayPort on the back for multimonitor support in case you use iGPU and the board features just one fan header. The design is a bit aggressive but it’s okay.
12 comments
Hi Goran,
I am 46 years old a former gamer(who wants to play again) and a musician with graphics designing 🙂
I have Asus h97 pro gamer, Intel i5 4460 CPU, Asus GeForce GTX 750 TI and 8GB Kingston HyperX Beast 1600Mhz ram supported by 650W PSU.
I decided to change my era and started to gather a custom PC. In 1,5 weeks, I think there is not any articles I did not read about the new technology of PC’s. In the time I was involved of building PC’s , we were talking about not really much. Now, I know about “Mhz”, “supported pins”, “crossfire” “CL 14 is better then CL16”, etc…
The RAM(3200Mhz which I can OC above it) and the “Storage” part is easy shots. So I am not talking about these.
“BUT”!!!, I eliminated lots of MoBos and GPUs yet I could not decide because of the options in the market(which is nice and also sucks)
Long to short; I decided to buy Ryzen 5 3600X for sure and I need a MoBo ofcourse which can support 3200Mhz Ram, 3600X and GPU.
These are the picks as a GPU:
– MSI GTX 1070 TI ARMOR(second hand half price of brand new)
– SAPPHIRE RX 5500 XT GAMING(a bit expensive for my budget)
– MSI GTX 1160 TI GAMING X(Under my budget but 1070 TI is better yet 1070 TI has no Ray-Trace support)
– MSI RX 5500 MECH(Good one but 1070 TI still beats!)
These are the picks as a MoBo:
– MSI B450 GAMING PRO CARBON MAX WIFI(3/4 price of a brand new)
– ASUS ROG STRIX B450-F GAMING DDR4
– MSI MB X470 Gaming Pro Carbon
– Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite WiFi(a bit high for my budget)
– ASUS TUF Gaming X570-Plus WiFi(I heard rumors that “TUF” means sh.t! like and a bit high for my budget)
— A bit high for my budget=I can buy yes! But I need to do nothing the next 3 months —
So, I am stuck here!
Please convince me to having any decision better then not having any!
Greetings from TURKEY and sorry about my bad English!
🙂
I have B450 AORUS ELITE and Ryzen 5 2600 on it.
Can I put a Ryzen 5 3600 or 3600x on it or better buy B550 instead?
Thanks in advance
Hi Hosny,
Of course you can, it’s way better than to spend additional cash on a new board. Just don’t forget that the new Ryzen 5000 CPUs should come out in a month or two. It’s better to wait a bit and then get yourself something like a Ryzen 5 5600 since B450 boards should support the upcoming Ryzen CPUs with a BIOS update.
You should probably mention that B450 DS3H needs an older am4 cpu or AMD bootkit to update the bios to even use the R5 3600.
Hi Kobe,
You should be more careful when reading, we’ve included a word of warning regarding that exact issue in the intro ;):
“Before we start, a word of warning. Most B450 and X470 boards don’t support 3rd gen Ryzen CPUs out of the box. You need to update their BIOS before being able to use 3rd gen processors. And in order to update BIOS, you have to hook the board with the 1st or 2nd gen Ryzen CPU and start the system.
Some models support USB BIOS Flashback, allowing users to update BIOS without the CPU. But, in most cases, that’s not an option. So, if you decide to get a B450 or X470 board, ask the seller to update the board BIOS for you. Don’t forget that.”
What’s the best price and performance motherboard for 3600 with chipset b550?
And what best gpu 1660 super?
Hi Rudiansyah,
Something like the MSI B550 Tomahawk or the Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite should offer the best bang for the buck. As for the GTX 1660 Super, check out the ASUS TUF Gaming or the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER GAMING 6G
Am thinking of building my own PC using the Ryzen 5 3600. I plan to also use it with VR so it has to have Bluetooth and Wifi. There are so many boards out there and like you said it’s best to select something that’s upgradable in future to an 8 or 12 core cpu. With these considerations and a budget of $200 for a motherboard what would be your selection?
Hi Chaven,
The logical choice is the ASUS X570 TUF Gaming Wi-Fi or the Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite Wi-Fi. Both cost around $200, have Bluetooth (4.2 on the Aorus and 5.0 on the TUF Gaming) and Wi-Fi 5. VRM on the Gigabyte board is a bit cooler when paired with the 3900X but the TUF is good enough to run any Ryzen CPU so you should be able to upgrade to any Ryzen 4xxx CPU in the future no matter which of the two you pick.
Now, if you want Wi-Fi 6 support, there are a couple of interesting B550 boards you can pick. All boards listed below have Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 support along with 2.5Gb LAN ports (the two X570 boards have only 1Gb LAN ports). Also, they all have excellent VRMs, good enough for 12 and 16 core CPUs:
GIGABYTE B550 AORUS ELITE AX
MSI MAG B550M MORTAR WIFI
MSI MPG B550 GAMING CARBON WIFI
ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming (WiFi 6)
MSI MPG B550 GAMING EDGE WIFI
I need a graphic card for ryzen 3600, and what do you reccomend if this is the case?
Hi Mario,
The 3600 can handle almost any current graphics card, up to the RTX 2080 Super. The best GPU for you depends on the resolution and type of games you play. The best bang for the buck at 1080p is something like the GTX 1660 Super. Get the RX 5600 XT or the RTX 2060 if you want max details and high frame rates. The best card for 1440p would be either RTX 2070 Super or the RX 5700 XT.
Dude… great article! A friend of mine was asking me to value a rig he put together featuring the Ryzen 5 3600. I’m an Intel guy so I needed to turn to the net for info about AMD products and your article here helped me break it down for him and choose the best MB.