X870 vs. X670 and more: which AMD motherboard platform is right for you?

Fans of AMD’s Ryzen processors are spoiled for choice these days. In addition to brand-new Ryzen 9000 Series CPUs, the company is continuing to support its last-gen AM4 socket with new processor options. And you’ll often find older models from the Ryzen 7000 and 5000 Series lineups available at tempting discounts. With so many CPU options available to you, you also have a wide range of motherboards to pick from, as well. Here, we’ll help you break down your options so that you can find the best motherboard and CPU combo for your needs.

X870E and X870: A cutting-edge chipset for enthusiasts

Your most feature-rich, high-end motherboard options for your AMD Ryzen 9000 Series CPU come use the X870E chipset. Armed with DD5 support, PCIe 5.0 connectivity for graphics and SSDs, two onboard USB4 ports, and support for the latest CPU and memory overclocking refinements, these motherboards are ready to push your new CPU to its limits. With the ROG Crosshair X870E Hero and ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi, you’ll also enjoy our all-new NitroPath DRAM Technology that’s built from the ground up for next-level memory performance, rock-solid stability, and enhanced durability.

Since X870E motherboards have two chipsets, they have more PCIe lanes to play with. On the ProArt X870E-Creator WiFi, for example, we put them to work with a Marvell 10Gb Ethernet port. The ROG and ROG Strix X870E options offer a fifth M.2 slot and increased USB 20Gbps port, either through an onboard port or a header for your front panel, respectively. X870E motherboards are especially well-suited for enthusiasts building a powerful AI PC workstation with a powerful graphics card, speedy storage drives, and many connected devices and peripherals.

X870 motherboards are quite similar to their X870E brethren, but their one-chipset design makes them attractive options for PC builders with more modest connectivity needs. The TUF Gaming X870-Plus WiFi, for example, gives you everything you need for a PC built first and foremost for gaming: a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for your high-end graphics card, two PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots for speedy and spacious storage, and more than enough connectivity for your full battlestation.

ASUS X870E and X870 motherboards bring a wealth of next-gen upgrades. For an overview of everything they bring to the table and an introduction to all our new options, click here.

X670E and X670: Your tried-and-true AM5 partners

X670 motherboards debuted alongside AMD’s Ryzen 7000 Series CPUs, the first chips from the company to require the new AM5 socket. One thing about these boards that enthusiasts celebrated was an upgrade pathway: at launch, AMD indicated that they’d be sticking with the AM5 socket for at least another generation of boards, and they’ve made good on that promise with AMD Ryzen 9000 Series CPUs. If you already own an X670 motherboard, you’re just a BIOS update away from compatibility with one of the latest AMD CPUs.

Quite likely, if you’re opting for a top-of-the-line AMD CPU right now, you’re also interested in the top-of-the-line features available with an X870E/X870 motherboard. Bolstered memory overclocking capabilities and WiFi 7 support, not to mention all the refinements that we’ve developed for our second round of AM5 motherboards, should tempt hardware enthusiasts to select the latest and greatest.

That said, our X670E motherboards still have legs, and not everyone needs the absolute fastest CPU available. The advantages of DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 are as compelling today as they were when these boards first debuted. Depending on your budget and needs, an X670E motherboard might give you a compelling value play in 2024.

As the highest-performance X670E board of the Strix family, the ROG Strix X670E-E Gaming WiFi is a tempting pick. Comprehensive power and thermal solutions set you up to tame the latest high-end gear. 18 + 2 power stages deliver a stable stream of power to your AMD CPU. Two PCIe 5.0 x16 slots stand ready for next-gen graphics cards and add-in cards. To keep PCIe 5.0 SSDs operating comfortably, the hefty and thick M.2 Combo-sink provides a large surface area for cooling.

A new generation of conveniences ease the building process with the ROG Strix X670E-E Gaming WiFi. In addition to the PCIe Slot Q-Release button, which makes it easy to remove the graphics card, there’s an integrated power button on the motherboard that makes it easy to do a pre-test prior to building the whole system. And a spare M.2 thermal pad in the ROG accessory kit makes sure that you’re ready to keep future replacement drives operating optimally.

B650: An all-around excellent choice for mainstream gamers

Here’s an extremely popular combo right now: an AMD Ryzen 7800X3D CPU and a B650 motherboard. The high-end gaming value you get out of this dynamic duo is hard to resist, even with next-gen options on the horizon. ASUS B650 motherboards support DDR5 and offer a PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot, letting you go big on both memory and storage. Their PCIe 4.0 x16 slot is ready for any graphics card on the market today, but if you’re likely to upgrade when PCIe 5.0 GPUs hit the market, you might be best off with a higher-end motherboard.

If you’re building a mainstream gaming PC today, a B650 motherboard is a very sensible choice. An easy option to recommend is the TUF Gaming B650-Plus WiFi. Built for reliable operation, sensible good looks, and essential gaming performance, this board is ready to go the distance.

The value proposition for the TUF Gaming B650-Plus WiFi is off the charts. This ATX motherboard offers DDR5 support, a PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot for blazing-fast storage, and an onboard USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 USB Type-C® port for fast, versatile connectivity. High-bandwidth 2.5Gb Ethernet comes standard, and WiFi 6 gives you fast, reliable wireless networking.

Building with this motherboard is easy, too. We make the process of installing an M.2 drive hassle-free with our tool-free M.2 Q-Latch design that make sure that you’ll never lose a tiny M.2 screw again. A Q-LED array helps you quickly diagnose problems that might arise during the build process, and our Q-DIMM slots make it easy to install high-performance DDR5 RAM.

B550: Unbeatable value for builders on a budget

From the moment they launched, B550 motherboards gave builders cost-effective options for assembling an AMD Ryzen PC. They’re particularly well-suited partners for AMD’s more-mainstream CPUs, like the 8-core Ryzen 7 5700X3D. If you need to make every dollar in your PC building budget count, our B550 motherboards are just what you’re looking for.

While not quite as loaded with connectivity options as the options we’ve covered so far, B550 motherboards still offer a compelling set of features. They’re overclocking-ready, and our legendary UEFI BIOS makes it easy to set up and fine-tune your system. You’ll find PCIe 4.0 x16 slots and M.2 slots as you browse our options, and USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports aplenty. Nearly all of our options support overclocked memory, and 2.5Gb Ethernet ports and WiFi 6 give you fast networking.

A particularly compelling option is the ROG Strix B550-F Gaming WiFi II. In one affordable package, this motherboard gives you exactly what you need: a high-performance PCIe slot for your graphics card (reinforced with our SafeSlot technology), plenty of USB ports for peripherals, and enough extra PCIe, M.2, and SATA expansion ports for any extras you may need.