With the third generation of Ryzen processors, AMD currently has the most interesting processors on the market with the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and Ryzen 5 2600. To get the most out of it, you need one of the new motherboards with X570 chipset. We placed twenty motherboards on the rack and chose the best ones for you.
Before we delve into the X570 motherboards, it is important to consider whether or not you need a relatively expensive X570 motherboard. The differences between the new X570 and older X470 and B450 chipsets, with which the new Ryzen processors are also compatible, are not very large. The X570 chipset offers more fast usb 3.2 Gen 2 ports, previously usb 3.1, which is especially useful for a lot of fast external storage. It is also the first chipset to support pci-express 4.0, although there are still few pci-e 4.0 devices, with the exception of even faster SSDs.
These relatively expensive AMD X570 motherboards are therefore particularly interesting for a mid-end or high-end system, or if you are considering adding a high-end video card in the coming years. For simpler requirements, B450 and X470 boards are a great choice.
Four major manufacturers still make motherboards
What should you really pay attention to?
Four major manufacturers remain when it comes to motherboards: ASRock, ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI. They buy the X570 chipset from AMD and build their own product around it, with different specifications and price points. Issues such as the bios, software and power supply vary greatly per brand. That is why we first discuss the inherent advantages and disadvantages of each manufacturer, before highlighting the real outliers.
It is especially important to map out your own subjective wishes. How many m.2 ssds or sata disks are you going to use, how many fans or rgb accessories do you want to connect, how many rgb headers do you need, which (usb) connections does your housing have, how many usb ports do you want on the back and what are your requirements in terms of wifi or faster networks? We appreciate motherboards that offer a lot for their price, but put your own requirements well next to our table before you make the decision.
This is how we test
Our test configuration consists of an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, G.Skill Trident Z Royal 3600 MHz 16 GB (2x 8 GB), Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W power supply and Samsung 970 Evo Plus SSD. We test motherboards by aligning all settings for the CPU and memory, so that “handy tricks” (or cheating) on ​​a motherboard push the processor beyond its official specifications.
Performance between motherboards sometimes differs a few percent per sample of the same board. It is therefore unlikely that small differences in the results in the table (1-3 percent) will lead to actually significantly different results for the end user. Test results therefore primarily serve to discover structural problems.
ASUS
Especially with regard to bios and associated software, ASUS has a clear lead over the competition. And because the performance differences between the twenty tested motherboards at equal institutions are negligible, such a head start provides a great advantage in practice.
The downside is that ASUS seems to be aware of that advantage and sells motherboards that are functionally equivalent for a higher price. This is particularly noticeable at the bottom of the market, because both the Prime X570-P (199 euros, not tested) and the Prime X570-PRO (279 euros) offer relatively few connections compared to direct counterparts. For example, these boards have a limited number of internal USB headers for your housing.
ASUS is traditionally strong in terms of power supply (VRM) and the structure of its X570 boards is spacious enough, from the Prime X570-PRO even very good. That makes the motherboards also suitable for AMD’s 16-core Ryzen 9 3950X, which will be released later this year. This means that all ASUS boards offer a good experience from an objective perspective, as long as the options offered meet your requirements. The appearance also gives these motherboards something extra.
ASUS is only really gaining ground in the more luxurious segment, where the manufacturer has added some more complex features. Overclockers, tweakers and fans of custom water cooling are looking for the best motherboard for their purposes and the price is then secondary. The ROG Crosshair VIII Hero (429 euros) has many fan headers, special headers for your water cooling, extra buttons for (extreme) overclocking, an excellent power supply to push every CPU to the limit and that is supported by the most extensive bios on the market. As long as the price is no objection, this is the X570 board for enthusiasts. Do you want to use water cooling and do you have doubts about the even more expensive ROG Crosshair VIII Formula (599 euros)? The addition of an EC water block on the same basis as the Hero sounds nice, but offers too little objective added value to justify the 170 euro higher price.
The ROG Strix X570-E (335 euros) is possibly interesting as the most affordable motherboard with a fast 2.5 Gbit / s network connection.
Gigabyte
Gigabyte has perhaps the strongest X570 range. His entry-level model, the X570 Gaming X (189 euros), we prefer to ignore the clear savings, but from the X570 Aorus Elite (209 euros) we all see solid, attractive boards with a reliable power supply and a collection of connections that is wider at practically every price point than in the competition. If your motherboard must control combinations of RGB-lit components, ASUS is the preferred option. But as soon as that is not a consideration, Gigabyte takes the lead at every price point.
The X570 Aorus Elite is even so complete that we see no reason for most users to spend more. You get a decent power supply, a 10 Gbit / s network connection, more than enough rgb and argb headers, ten usb ports on the back and enough internal headers for enclosures with four usb ports in front or even usb-c, something that no competitor at this price point.
Overclockers can consider the slightly more expensive X570 Aorus Pro (269 euros) for problem diagnosis functions, extra fan headers and the somewhat better power supply, and the X570 Aorus Ultra (319 euros) is one of the more affordable options with three m.2 slots .
The X570 Aorus Master (389 euros) in the high-end segment is of a completely different order: it has one of the best VRMs on the market, 2.5 Gbit / s network connection, wifi 6 (or 802.11ax) and a third m.2 slot on top of the already good combination of options. This is a strong competitor for the ASUS Hero, MSI Ace and ASRock Phantom Gaming X. That is, if you consider the best boards on the market.
Viewed objectively, you could actually call the X570 Aorus Xtreme the best sign on the market. But because a price of 699 euros for a motherboard is hard to defend, we mainly call it a showpiece with which Gigabyte shows what it is capable of. It is impressive, with its extreme 16-phase VRM, the abundance of connections and the presence of an additional external controller to which you can connect another eight fans, rgb or argb accessories. In addition, the entire motherboard functions as a heat sink for all components, making it the only board without an active fan. Is there a money tree in your garden? Then look no further.
The Aorus X570 I Pro WiFi (239 euros) is interesting because it is currently the only mini-itx motherboard on the market. Moreover, this model is very solid and not exorbitantly priced for an X570 board. The only serious objection is the total of only six USB ports.
Active fans?
With the exception of the Gigabyte X570 Aorus Xtreme, a fan is mounted on the chipset for each X570 motherboard to cool it. The noise production of these fans is minimal, so you don’t have to worry about noise. Gigabyte and MSI do offer the option to stop the fan until it is really needed. In theory we find that an advantage, because we estimate the chance of wear in the long term lower.
MSI
MSI has the smallest X570 offering, but that is not a disadvantage. Instead of trying to fill every price point with an option that may or may not be interesting, MSI focuses on somewhat clearer target groups. The target group of the cheapest board in our test, the MSI X570-A PRO (179 euros), is easy to guess: if you want to spend as little as possible, this is a serious option.
On the total cost of your PC, the savings compared to the better and more extensive X570 Aorus Elite on all fronts are difficult to defend, but if every ten euros is dear to you and the basic possibilities are adequate, the X570-A Pro is worth considering. . Unfortunately we cannot say that about the MSI X570 Gaming Pro Carbon WiFi (279 euros): this is a bit too economical with connections for this price point. Wifi 6 (or 802.11ax) is a nice extra in this segment, but you can also add it separately for around 20 euros to many a cheaper plate.
MSI’s high-end MEG X570 ACE (389 euros) is objectively an excellent motherboard. Just like its direct competition, it is very complete, very solid, has an excellent power supply and of course the necessary visual bells and whistles are not lacking. We only find the number of USB ports on the back for this price level on the scanty side.
Although MSI also offers the nearly € 800 X570 Godlike, our eye fell on the hefty (eatx) Prestige X570 Creation. With 499 euros, it is far from cheap, but there are more USB ports in return than you will find on any other X570 board. Thanks to a supplied plug-in card, it also offers four m.2 slots: a record. This is also the cheapest board with a 10 Gbit / s network connection, which makes the Prestige X570 Creation a real high-end workstation board for the demanding professional who can earn back the extra price with his or her work.
ASRock
ASRock is normally known for its good price-quality ratio. His RGB Software, if you care, is a dragon compared to ASUS. But if you are just looking for good hardware for a reasonable price, then ASRock has been positive for years.
With many strong options on the market, it is not easy to distinguish yourself. The X570 Extreme4 (189 euros) and the X570 Steel Legend (224 euros) offer a balanced set of options for their price, but like all other boards under 250 euros, it is difficult to compete with the strong Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite. They must mainly have some extra fan headers and the fact that ASRock has prepared its plates for a WiFi extension. If you wish, you can add WiFi 6 (or 802.11ax) to these boards for around two tens with the Intel AX200 chip. The Steel Legend is also the most cost-effective board with eight sata ports for the real data frater.
The X570 Taichi (325 euros) offers something unique with its physical buttons at its price point: great if you frequently work with your motherboard without housing. That comes on top of a great overall picture with good VRMs, wifi 6, three m.2 slots and again those eight sata ports. Yet you may wonder if cheaper options are not enough. Or maybe you want something more luxurious, for example a board with a faster network connection.
That is where the X570 Phantom Gaming X (379 euros) comes in. In fact, this is the same motherboard as the Taichi, but with a slightly different lick of paint and a 2.5 Gbit / s network port. The Phantom Gaming X also consists of excellent components, although the total list of connections once again lags behind a few points, including the Aorus Master. That puts him in a difficult position. If you want more sata ports, ASRock has the advantage. But extra storage options only form a difficult sales argument at this price point. ASRock therefore seems to lean partly to lovers of the brand and partly to its designs, which differ slightly from the competition.
Conclusion
Where cheap X470 boards or (Intel) Z390 motherboards were sometimes objectively poor, that doesn’t apply to any X570 motherboard. Even the cheapest options offer such high-quality components that AMD’s announced 16-core processor can be used on these boards without any problems.
This makes it crucial to list your own requirements, depending on, among other things, your purposes, housing or desired storage. Does the cheapest but simple MSI X570-A Pro meet? Then it is no objection. Our editorial tip goes out to the Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite. Because of the quality, but especially because of the very wide selection of connections that amply satisfy for most purposes, from gaming to creative tasks.
The Gigabyte X570 Aorus Master, MSI MEG X570 ACE and ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Hero compete for the high-end boards with fast network connection, WiFi 6 and an even wider selection of connections. The ASUS takes the win for overclockers, adapted water loops and hobbyists, thanks to some specific benefits for those purposes. Even though it is Gigabyte again that offers the most hardware in that segment for a slightly better price. Together they are the best plates of this generation.
And then there is a second board that deserves our tip, because the MSI Prestige X570 Creation offers more usb ports and m.2 storage than any competitor. Combined with its 10 Gbit / s network connection, this is our choice for a professional workstation where money plays no role.
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