To enjoy your AMD Ryzen 5 3600 processor, you're going to need to install it onto a supported AM4 motherboard. You can use motherboards with older chipsets, but not all are compatible with Ryzen 3000 Series CPUs. We rounded up a few of the best motherboards for the Ryzen 5 3600 that'll work just fine.
Premium X570
If you want all the bells and whistles that X570 has to offer with the Ryzen 5 3600, as well as support for PCIe 4.0 and an actively cooled chipset, this motherboard has everything you need. I'm talking onboard Gigabit LAN with Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Gen 4 M.2 slots capable of unidirectional transfer speeds up to 64GB/s and plenty of RGB lighting options to boot.
Best value
While this ASRock motherboard may not house a fancy X570 chipset, the B550 is still a great platform on which to build a PC. With support for Ryzen 3000 and 5000 series CPUs, you'll enjoy a budget-friendly performance with a reliable PCB.
Entry X570
There technically aren't any budget-friendly X570 motherboards, but this MSI board is one that would suit someone who wants the latest chipset features on a more basic platform. It's got a lot going for it, too, with metal heatsinks for the VRMs and other high-quality components.
Budget pick
The AMD A520 chipset isn't as powerful as the B550 or X570, and you'll have to give up on features like PCIe 4.0 support, but this board will work just fine with Ryzen 3000 and 5000 series processors. The best part about these A520 motherboards is the price, with the Gigabyte A520 AORUS Elite coming in at less than $100.
Enthusiast build
You probably don't need this motherboard or anything like it, but it would be awesome if you bought one. It's an insane motherboard, rocking a heatsink block allowing you to hook up your custom water-cooling loop to the motherboard and cool it directly. There's also 5-gigabit LAN, onboard Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), and active cooling for the chipset.
Choosing the best motherboard
Why you can trust Windows Central Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
These motherboards will work wonders with the Ryzen 5 3600, performing well in games or applications. If you want to enjoy the best of what X570 has to offer and PCIe 4.0, the ASUS ROG Strix X570-E is an excellent choice for most consumers, even providing room for stable overclocking. It's one of the best AMD X570 motherboards.
X570 is the current flagship consumer-grade chipset from AMD for Ryzen 3000 and 5000 series processors. But if you want to save some money, you can go for a B550 motherboard like the ASRock B550M Steel Legend and save a little in the process. Going with our recommended motherboards here will allow you to upgrade to a Ryzen 5000 Series processor without requiring a new board.
