Best Motherboard for AMD AM5 in 2026

AMD's AM5 socket is the platform to build on if you want an upgrade path. AMD said at Computex 2026 that it will support AM5 through 2029, AMD documents found by data miners in August also point to its next-generation Zen 6 "Olympic Ridge" desktop chips using the same socket, although AMD has not formally announced Zen 6. Choosing the board is where people waste the most money, though. There are five current chipsets, and boards with the same chipset can differ a lot in quality.

This guide explains what each chipset gets you, then recommends boards at each budget based on published testing.

Forge PC has not tested these motherboards. Our picks are based on TechSpot's 47-board B850 roundup, Tom's Hardware's review of MSI's Tomahawk Max WiFi II, and AMD's own chipset specifications, all credited below. Where we recommend a board on its specifications alone, we say so. All prices are approximate UK prices at Scan on 12 November 2026.

The short version

• Most people should buy a B850 board. It allows CPU overclocking and has a PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot, and good ones cost £125 to £210.

• Best for most: Gigabyte B850M Gaming X WiFi6E, about £154.

• Best value (if you won't use an X3D chip): ASRock B850M Pro RS, about £125.

• Best ATX: MSI MAG B850 Tomahawk WiFi, about £210, or the Tomahawk Max WiFi II at about £260.

• Best budget: MSI PRO B840M-B, about £90, for 65W six-core chips.

• Only buy X870 or X870E if you need USB4 or the extra PCIe 5.0 lanes.

• ASRock and X3D: TechSpot recommends avoiding ASRock AM5 boards if you plan to use an X3D processor, until there is more clarity on reported failures.

AM5 chipsets explained

All of this comes from AMD's AM5 chipset specifications. Older 600-series boards (X670E, X670, B650E, B650) are still on sale too. AMD says every AM5 board works with every AM5 processor, although 600-series boards may need a BIOS update for Ryzen 8000 and 9000 chips.

What this means in practice:

• PCIe 5.0 for the graphics card matters less than VRAM. TechSpot tested the eight-lane RTX 5060 Ti on PCIe 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0. The big drops came when the 8GB model ran out of memory, and they were worst on PCIe 3.0. The lesson TechSpot drew was about avoiding the 8GB card, not about needing a PCIe 5.0 slot.

• PCIe 5.0 M.2 is nice but not essential. Our SSD guide explains why PCIe 4.0 drives are fine for gaming.

• B840 and A620 don't allow CPU overclocking. That rules out tuning, including AMD's Precision Boost Overdrive. Memory overclocking with EXPO is still supported, so you can run DDR5-6000 kits at their rated speed.

Our picks

Best for most: Gigabyte B850M Gaming X WiFi6E (about £154)

TechSpot's roundup named the Gigabyte B850M Gaming X WiFi6E and MSI Pro B850M-A WiFi as the next-best budget options after the ASRock Pro RS. It said the Gigabyte "delivers excellent VRM performance with a decent feature set". TechSpot slightly preferred the MSI at US prices. At Scan on 12 November, though, the only PRO B850M-A WiFi listing we found was the rear-connector PZ version at £189.98, against £153.98 for the Gigabyte. In the UK the Gigabyte is the better deal. It is our pick for most people because it isn't an ASRock board, so the X3D question doesn't apply, and it has a PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot and Wi-Fi 6E.

Best value if you won't use X3D: ASRock B850M Pro RS (about £125)

TechSpot said the B850M Pro RS "works perfectly" with a 16-core Ryzen 9 9950X and called it "the best-value B850 motherboard available right now", setting aside the X3D concern. At £124.99 it is a great board for a Ryzen 5 9600X, Ryzen 7 9700X or Ryzen 9 non-X3D build.

The ASRock X3D question. Since 2025 there have been reports of Ryzen X3D processors, especially the 9800X3D, failing in ASRock AM5 boards. ASRock has released BIOS updates in response. In March 2026, VideoCardz reported three new cases of dead Ryzen 7 9800X3D chips on ASRock BIOS 4.10, which included the latest fix. TechSpot's advice is that it would "only recommend Asrock AM5 motherboards if you are certain you will not be using an X3D processor anytime soon". It said it is unclear how widespread the problem is, and we have seen nothing since that settles it.

Best ATX: MSI MAG B850 Tomahawk WiFi or Tomahawk Max WiFi II

TechSpot's $200 ATX pick was MSI's B850 Tomahawk Max WiFi, which it rated above the ASUS TUF Gaming B850-Plus WiFi and ASRock B850 Steel Legend WiFi. That exact board was out of stock at Scan on 12 November. The two available Tomahawks were the standard B850 Tomahawk WiFi at £209.99 and the newer Tomahawk Max WiFi II at £259.99.

Tom's Hardware reviewed the Max WiFi II in March 2026. It found four M.2 sockets (two PCIe 5.0 x4), a PCIe 5.0 x16 graphics slot, Wi-Fi 7, a larger 64MB BIOS chip and native support for the Ryzen 7 9850X3D. The downsides were no USB4 and one M.2 socket limited to PCIe 4.0 x2. Its verdict: the price "is more than the others, but if you use the features, it's worth it over the Max or original B850 Tomahawk". If you don't need four M.2 slots, the standard Tomahawk WiFi at £50 less is the sensible choice.

Best budget: MSI PRO B840M-B (about £90)

For a Ryzen 5 9600X or Ryzen 5 7500X3D gaming build, a B840 board saves money. MSI's PRO B840M-B has two M.2 slots and 2.5GbE networking, according to Scan's listing. The trade-offs are AMD's B840 limits: no CPU overclocking, and PCIe 4.0 only for both graphics and storage. We use it in our £1,200 gaming PC guide's AM5 build. For an eight-core or bigger processor, or a 9800X3D, we would step up to one of the B850 boards above. They are the ones with published VRM testing behind them, and we haven't seen equivalent testing of B840 boards from the outlets we rely on.

X870 and X870E: only if you need them

The ASUS TUF Gaming X870-Plus WiFi was £219.98 on 12 November (Scan lists it as down from £302.99), only about £10 more than the B850 Tomahawk WiFi. X870 makes USB4 standard and supports PCIe 5.0 for both graphics and storage. If you want USB4, that's a fair premium. The MSI MAG X870E Tomahawk WiFi at £309.98 adds X870E's extra connectivity. We haven't seen independent testing of either board from the outlets we rely on, so these picks are based on specifications only. TechSpot's general point stands, though: once a B850 board approaches $300, X870E boards with features such as USB4 become an option.

Boards to avoid

From TechSpot's B850 VRM testing with a Ryzen 9 9950X:

• Sapphire Pulse B850M WiFi: a hard 150W power limit that can't be removed. That's fine for 65W chips but limits the high-end processors it officially supports.

• ASRock B850M-A and B850M-X: a 160W limit. TechSpot says these are fine for most Ryzen chips that draw 120W or less, but the B850M Pro RS is far better for £10 to £20 more (in US pricing).

• Some cheaper Gigabyte B850 models: TechSpot reports a 150W limit on the Gaming WiFi6 and very hot VRMs on the Eagle WiFi6E. It says there are better alternatives at the price.

Before you buy

• Check the BIOS version if you're using a newer chip such as a Ryzen 7 9850X3D or a 600-series board. Many boards can update the BIOS without a CPU installed. Check the manual.

• Count the M.2 slots you'll need, and check which ones share lanes with PCIe slots or SATA ports.

• Check the rear USB ports and Wi-Fi on the spec sheet. These vary most between boards on the same chipset.

• Memory: AM5 needs DDR5, which is expensive right now. See DDR5 vs DDR4 for gaming and our RAM guide.

Our verdict

For most AM5 builds in the UK today, buy a B850 board between about £125 and £210. The Gigabyte B850M Gaming X WiFi6E at about £154 is our default because it pairs strong VRM results in TechSpot's testing with a sensible feature set, and it has no X3D question mark. If you're certain you won't use an X3D chip, the ASRock B850M Pro RS is better value. For ATX, the MSI B850 Tomahawk WiFi is the safe choice. Save money with a B840 board only for a 65W six-core chip. Spend more on X870 only if you need USB4. See our CPU guide for which processor to pair with it.