Best Motherboards for the Ryzen 5 7600X

Introduction

Motherboards are an essential purchase when putting together a new PC build, as they act the main skeleton of a system. To make sure the performance of their system is up to scratch, consumers are required to pick a chipset that aligns with their processor, assign a budget, and throw themselves into the deep-end.

For a mid-range processor from AMD, such as the Ryzen 5 7600X, then any AM5 motherboard will be able to support this CPU. This gives users a wide range of boards to pair up with this Ryzen 7000 CPU, including designs with a B650, X670, or X670E chipset.

But with so many motherboards to choose from, how do you pick the ideal motherboard for the Ryzen 5 7600X? In this buyers guide, we’ll be testing a range of AM5 motherboards to see which options are the best for anyone looking to build a system around the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X.

For those wanting to pick up a motherboard that will be a natural fit within a predominantly white PC build, then the choices are surprisingly limited. Despite their sudden rise in popularity, the ASUS ROG Strix B650-A Gaming WiFi is one of the few motherboards that will appeal to Ryzen 5 7600X users that have adopted a white colour scheme for their gaming PC. But that’s not the only positive that this motherboard brings to the table, as the B650-A Gaming WiFi also offers plenty of features that puts it amongst the best motherboards featuring a B650 chipset. This ATX motherboard includes two Gen4 PCI-E slots for both graphics cards and storage, as well as a Gen5 x4 slot that can accommodate the best M.2 SSDs available.

The TUF Gaming X670E-Plus WiFi from ASUS is a motherboard that we’ve had plenty of experience with in the past, and it offers a strong balance of connectivity and performance. This TUF gaming board is one of the few X670E options which comes in at a more reasonable price point. Despite the slightly more competitive pricing, the TUF Gaming X670E comes loaded with excellent features. Gen5 is a mainstay on this board, with two slots for a graphics card and an SSD. Additionally, the rear IO is excellent with strong networking options, and no USB 2.0 in sight, which means all of the back panel ports are pretty fast. Design wise, the TUF Gaming sports an industrial-oriented theme, which looks awesome!

Whilst this motherboard does have plenty of features to keep most Ryzen 5 7600X users satisfied, it does lack the premium additions that would make it a suitable motherboard for a high-end build. Mainly, the lack of multiple PCI-E 5.0 slots means this design falls short of the feature-sets that can be found on other motherboards that include an X670E chipset. Other notable exclusions include the lack of USB4 on the rear IO, as well as limited support for memory overclocking.

MSI’s MAG B650M Mortar WiFi is one of the cheapest mid-range options available on the B650 chipset. Although B650 motherboards sacrifice some features in order to decrease the cost, they still end up coming with excellent features that will be very handy for anyone rocking a Ryzen 5 processor. In terms of the design, the Mortar is an all-black motherboard, with plenty of heatsinks covering the PCB. I’m a big fan of the Mortar logos and design, and the matte black look across the board will blend in relatively well with the majority of PC cases on the market. Moving onto the features, the B650M Mortar offers plenty of versatility, despite being a smaller Micro-ATX motherboard.

The entire board is littered with high speed USB 3.2 ports, with no USB 2.0 in sight. The rear IO also houses a full audio suite, complete with S/PDIF out, which makes it ideal for those that have surround sound or high quality speakers in their setup.

For our final option, we’ve picked out another budget-oriented board from Gigabyte, the B650 Gaming X AX. This particular motherboard is one of the cheaper options on the B650 chipset, hence the more relaxed and minimal aesthetic on the PCB. Admittedly, this motherboard isn’t much of a looker, despite Gigabyte’s efforts to provide some logos and extra colour. However, this is to be somewhat expected with a budget-friendly motherboard like this one. Taking a look at the features, the B650 Gaming X AX has a reasonable set of IO, with the majority of the USB ports offering blazing-fast speeds. USB 2.0 has made an appearance here to bulk up the ports, which is likely a cost saving method.

If we start to look at pricing, the 7600X does sit at a competitive price point compared to some of Intel’s offerings, but we do feel the price could be better considering the performance metrics. Overall, the 7600X will be fine for 1080P and 1440P gaming, but keep in mind that there are strong alternatives that can offer better metrics at similar price points. We recommend checking out our in-depth coverage on the Ryzen 5 7600X for a better insight on the pros and cons of this CPU.