The Best Motherboards To Pair With The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D

With the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D currently dominant as the best gaming CPU available to end-users, many gamers are looking to move to the AM5 platform as it looks to build on the 5800X3D’s streak for gaming processors. This is largely thanks to its 3D V-Nand Cache advantage that has propelled the latter to become one of the best CPUs for gaming to date. To do so, users need a capable motherboard to allow the 7800X3D to perform to the best of its ability while focusing on performance and future upgrades.

Choosing The Best Motherboard For the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D

The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is without reservation, a gaming CPU and users attempting to use it for a mix of productivity and gaming might find it lacking. This does give it an advantage in its excellent efficiency when gaming and limited thermal demands, especially compared to some of its peers. For instance, Intel CPUs tend to offer higher clocks, more cores, and higher power and thermal needs in response to such a competitive market.

AMD’s AM5 chipsets come in two major flavors in the mid to high-end range: the B650 and X670, both of which have upgraded B650E and X670E chipset versions respectively. The key difference here is that the ‘E’ versions come with PCI-E 5.0 support, which entails better compatibility with tech down the line. It is pertinent to point out that there are no competitive PCI-E 5.0 GPUs available currently. Both Nvidia’s RTX 4000 series and AMD’s 7000 series are PCI-E 4.0 GPUs.

This makes picking the best candidates for AMD’s finest gaming CPU a relatively straightforward process based on the following factors:

Upgradeability: While AM5 is a new socket and brings a lot of upgrades with the accompanying chipsets, not all motherboards are equal contenders when it comes to allowing upgrades. Some are restricted to PCI-E 4.0 speeds on both the x4 M2 NVME slots and the PCI-E x16 slots. Others compromise by using limited power delivery options that could affect the built-in PBO overclocking potential of the Ryzen 7 7800X3D or subsequent processors. Some users might want more storage expansion slots as well as additional USB ports.

Pricing: The biggest advantage that the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D has over some of its more expensive AMD and Intel counterparts is that it currently costs just under $400 for a unit along with a free copy of Starfield. This means that gamers will probably appreciate further savings without compromising on the motherboard.

Aesthetics: The Ryzen 7 7800X3D is unapologetically a gaming CPU primarily, and it does cater to a certain audience that wants better looks, customizability, and RGB lighting. This is further reinforced by the fact that users need to pick out a cooler for the 7800X3D, allowing for it to be customized much more completely. Users can choose between minimalist ITX motherboards to large E-ATX models in addition to a white or black theme, additional options such as internal or external displays, and ARGB lighting on the motherboard itself.

Game Rant’s Picks for the Best Motherboards for AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D

The Ryzen 7 7800X3D is a high-end chip that needs stability for maintaining higher clock speeds. Even though it is not overclockable out of the box, it still needs a good power delivery system to maintain its frequency and thermals. The ROG Strix X670E-F Gaming is the best choice for the processor and even for higher-end CPUs that feature more cores. Its 16+2 power stages will ensure stability for a longer period and are continuously cooled by the grooved heatsinks. Choosing a slightly better or inferior motherboard from ASUS can result either in overspending for the same quality of VRM or an inferior one that can affect performance drastically.

While the ROG Strix X670E-F stays at the top for its price, which is currently down from $449 to just $389. The board is a complete package for a fair price and brings great connectivity and cooling options. Users can connect up to a dozen peripherals or USB devices in the I/O alone plus several more through its front panel headers. The board has an excellent design with multiple heatsinks that take care of the thermals. Moreover, the Debug LEDs and BIOS buttons allow users to troubleshoot faults or upgrade/reset the BIOS if anything goes wrong.

Ryzen 7800X3D is by default non-overclockable and this opens the door to using entry-level motherboards. Now, even though it’s technically possible to use an A620 chipset motherboard, various tests have shown that the thermal problem can lead to lower performance. However, for just a slight price increase, users can get the B650M-HDV/M.2 that costs under $150 and still manages to provide a B650 chipset that allows overclocking.

As for other features, the motherboard is behind most m-ATX motherboards due to it featuring only two DIMM slots. However, there are an adequate number of ports, slots, and headers to support expansion cards, storage drives, and fans. It surpasses even costlier motherboards in providing support for a lot of USB devices from the front panel headers. One of its notable features is the Gen 5.0 support for the primary M.2 slot which makes it ideal for a little future proofing.

The Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master is Game Rant’s best overall pick for the Ryzen 9 7950X3D processor. While the Ryzen 7 7800X3D is aimed at a different tier of consumers that focuses primarily on gaming, it is still one of the best motherboards in the business. Therefore, it makes an appearance as one of the best-performing motherboards available for the Ryzen 7 7800X3D processor.

With excellent VRM design, a very versatile connectivity suite topped off by Wi-Fi 6E support, and dedicated heat spreaders for each M2 slot, the X670E Aorus Master comes packed with features that both gamers and creators would appreciate. The ability to overclock RAM past 6666MHz is also a plus for the motherboard, which works significantly in its favor for gamers who will look to eke out as much performance as possible from the relatively new DDR5 platform down the line.

All in all, the Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master is an extremely versatile and capable motherboard that is truly the complete package one should get if they can splurge on a processor. It would, however, help if they make sure they have a case to go with what is an above-average size E-ATX motherboard. It also trades at a decent discount over MSRP at both Amazon and Newegg currently, making it a better offering than many of its more expensive X670E-based counterparts in 2024.

MSI is the way to go when the budget is low and the requirements are higher. One of the best affordable motherboards users can buy for 7800X3D is the Pro X670-P WiFi which offers satisfactory specifications to get the job done. It isn’t a top-of-the-line motherboard for enthusiast overclocking or such stuff, but has an impressive power delivery, great support for components, and some troubleshooting options. The VRM consists of 14+2+1 power phases with each power phase rated at a good 80A current.

The motherboard can support several expansion cards at the same time and the same goes for storage drives. While most budget motherboards come with 2-3 M.2 connectors, it comes with four plus 6x SATA ports, which will make it excellent for users who need a lot of storage space. The PCI-E slots are made durable using steel armor and can be used for GPUs and sound cards. However, the last PCI-E x16 is of little use as it only supports an X2 mode. Apart from that, there are decent onboard and I/O options for troubleshooting, including EZ Debug LEDs and BIOS Flashback button.

The MEG X670E ACE isn’t just a high-end motherboard for higher-end CPUs, but is one of the best-value motherboards too. While motherboards like MEG X670E Godlike and ROG Crosshair X670E Extreme exist for enthusiast PC builders, they offer very few improvements over the ACE for a significant price increase. The MEG X670E, on the other hand, provides competitive specifications for several hundred dollars less. The ACE is a powerful overclocker with a solid 25-power phase VRM with each VCore phase supporting up to 105A current, which even though are unnecessary for most users, opens the path to nitrogen cooling. So, even if users manage to overclock the 7800X3D via unusual routes or use PBO, the board will make sure it can handle the increase in the voltage and core clock speeds without breaking a sweat.

Made with an 8-layer copper PCB for great durability, the Ace isn’t going anywhere for the next several years. The support for the components and the connectivity options are outstanding as well. While typically, a motherboard with several PCI-E x16 slots doesn’t have enough PCI lanes to provide good bandwidth to every PCI-E slot, the ACE successfully provides sufficient PCI-E lanes to all three PCI-E x16 slots as well as all four M.2 connectors. Basically, there isn’t anything ‘bad’ about this motherboard except that it costs $700, which might turn away a lot of users.

Last but not least, users who own an ITX case or want a compact PC build without compromising on the premium features, can opt for the Gigabyte B650I Aorus Ultra, which is a super durable motherboard with a 12-layer copper PCB. It surely cannot compete with the ATX motherboards when it comes to power delivery or upgradeability, but it is far from an entry-level B650 chipset board and can maintain stable clock speeds for long.

The B650I Aorus Ultra brings large heatsinks all over the board for dissipating the heat quickly from the VRM as well as the M.2 SSDs. The board is also pretty durable, with the PCI-E x16 slot being equipped with steel armor, which can support heavy graphics cards despite the small size of the board. Storage options are also plenty and users will find 4x SATA plus 3x M.2 connectors that are unheard of on any other mini-ITX motherboard.

What Makes The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Special?

The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is an 8-core, 16-thread gaming CPU that offers the best gaming performance any current-generation CPU can offer, including the much more expensive Intel Core i9 13900K/KS and even the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X and its X3D variant, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D. It does so by leveraging the large amount of stacked L3 cache to compute data much faster in a way that ensures better gaming performance than most of its peers.

While productivity performance gains are negligible and the lower clocks to adjust with the 3D V-Cache’s thermal limitations tend to make it a poor multicore processor for most benchmarks, it offers the fastest gaming performance a CPU is capable of currently, establishing a significant lead in multiple titles, making it an excellent gaming CPU. This makes it an excellent recommendation to power users, enthusiasts, and gamers, provided that gaming is the primary use case for the PC in question.

More Options

If users are on the fence about which motherboard to get for the 7800X3D and would like more options to decide, they can also revisit Game Rant’s guide on the best motherboards for the Ryzen 9 7950X3D. It features some more premium offerings than the current list, but all of those would serve users well with a Ryzen 7 7800X3D if they are willing to pay the price.

FAQ

Q: What is the difference between the AMD B650 and B650E motherboards?

While B650 and B650E are identical for the most part, the B650E has support for PCI-E 5.0 while B650 is locked to PCI Express 4.0 speeds for all its components by default.

Q: Do gamers need a PCI-Express 5.0 motherboard right now?

No, currently there are no AMD or Nvidia (or even Intel) GPUs that are compatible with PCI-E 5.0 speeds or even harness PCI-E 4.0 x16 to its full capacity. However, that could change soon. Getting a PCI-E 5.0-enabled motherboard might be more of a future-proof measure than anything else with PCI-E 5.0 storage already on the horizon this year, which will also take advantage of PCI-E 5.0 speeds.