Best AM3+ Motherboard For High-Performance PC Build
The best am3+ motherboard can be essentially defined as the heart of a computing device or system. The essential components of a system are present on the motherboard, and your motherboard decides the quality of performance that your system delivers.
It is home to several components like the CPU socket, the power connector, slots for memory, and ROM chip. The base of an am3+ motherboards consists of a very firm sheet of non-conductive material, typically some rigid plastic.
An am3+ is a type of the CPU socket of the motherboard, out of the many types of like am2, am2+, am4, etc. It was released in mid-2011 designed for CPUs that use the AMD Bulldozer micro-architecture and retains compatibility with am3 processors. There are a lot of companies manufacturing the am3+ motherboards with various features coming with different price tags.
I have done the treacherous job of finding out the best am3+ motherboard available in the market, just for you. Let us know have a look at the list of the best am3+ motherboard along with their features, advantages, and disadvantages.
Table of Contents
- BEST AM3+ MOTHERBOARD LIST
- BEST AM3+ MOTHERBOARD REVIEW
- 1. GIGABYTE GA-78LMT-USB3 - BEST MICRO ATX AM3+ MOTHERBOARD
- 2. ASUS M5A97 PLUS - BEST BUDGET AM3+ MOTHERBOARD
- 3. ASUS CROSSHAIR V FORMULA-Z - BEST AM3+ MOTHERBOARD FOR OVERCLOCKING
- 4. MSI 970A-G43 - BEST ATX AM3+ MOTHERBOARD
- 5. ASUS M5A99X EVO R2.0 - BEST AM3+ MOTHERBOARD FOR GAMING
- 6. MSI NF725GM-P43 - BEST DDR3 MOTHERBOARD
- 7. ASROCK 970 PRO3 R2.0 AM3+ MOTHERBOARD
- 8. ASROCK MICRO 970M PRO3 AM3+ MOTHERBOARD
- CONCLUSION
BEST AM3+ MOTHERBOARD LIST
Product Image | Product name | Specifications | buy now |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 | ||
 | ASUS M5A97 Plus | ||
 | ASUS Crosshair V Formula-Z | ||
 | MSI 970A-G43 | ||
 | ASUS M5A99X EVO R2.0 |
BEST AM3+ MOTHERBOARD REVIEW
1. GIGABYTE GA-78LMT-USB3 - BEST MICRO ATX AM3+ MOTHERBOARD
I am starting the list of the best am3+ motherboard with the Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 motherboard. This motherboard is loved by people because of its performance with a budget-friendly price tag.
It provides a great foundation for AMD Ryzen processors and is easy to install and provides you with out of the box compatibility for all Ryzen offerings. But, if you are buying an older stock, you have to find a way to flash the latest BIOS for improved compatibility with the latest CPUs.
This motherboard gives you an M.2 slot, for using PCIe NVMe SSDs and a PCIe x16 slot for running high-end GPUs. It also has an HDMI, D-SUB, and DVI-D outs in the offering.
The onboard Realtek GbE LAN includes cFosSpeed optimizations for low network latency, which helps in online gaming. The BIOS is easy enough to get used to and overall, you won’t have any issues in using the Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3, unless you have an old stock of board, and is powerful enough to power a lower budget gaming PC.
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2. ASUS M5A97 PLUS - BEST BUDGET AM3+ MOTHERBOARD
Next up in my list of best am3+ motherboard comes the Asus M5A97 Plus motherboard. The M5A97 is a mid-range motherboard, but has some premium features and is great for gaming.
It supports both, the Crossfire and SLI multi-GPU configurations and supports the full range of AMD processor. The M5A97 includes 6 SATA ports, a couple of M.2 slots for storage including an M.2 Key E slot for a WiFi module, premium audio, Gen 1 USB 3.2 ports. It supports the AMD Quad-GPU CrossFireX™ Technology.
The AMD 970 chipset allows for overclocking, comes with the standard SATA port allotment, a couple of M.2 slots, and USB ports, including a USB Type-C port, running 3.2 Gen 1 speed. Overall, the motherboard is an asset to any task.
PRODUCT DETAILS:
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3. ASUS CROSSHAIR V FORMULA-Z - BEST AM3+ MOTHERBOARD FOR OVERCLOCKING
If you are looking for a high end AM3+ motherboard in the list of best am3+ motherboard, then check out the Asus Crosshair V Formula-Z motherboard. It is a moderately priced board that features with AMD 990FX.
This motherboard has a Extreme Engine Digi+ II that provides reliable power to your CPU. The AMD 990FX chipset is not for overclockers, but you can use CPUs from the AMD Ryzen 1st and 2nd generation. The Crosshair V Formula-Z motherboards also come up with Asus’s 5x Protection III hardware-level safeguards.
The Crosshair V Formula-Z features numerous protective mechanisms such as SafeSlot core, surge-protected networking, overvoltage protection, and integrated stainless steel I/O plate. The board boasts the Fan Xpert monitoring software, which provides an overview of the PWM/DC fans and offers one-click optimization for all supported fan types.
The BIOS offers good-enough tuning and monitoring controls. With this, you can organize settings by favorites, use Fan Xpert, improve the DRAM performance, and update the latest version of the BIOS.
Overall, the Asus Prime A320M-K is one of the best A320 motherboards for AMD3+. Despite the lack of overclocking features, it is a worth for all the features it has in the offering.
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4. MSI 970A-G43 - BEST ATX AM3+ MOTHERBOARD
Next best am3+ motherboard in the list is MSI 970A-G43 motherboard. This board is built on the AMD 970 + SB950 chipset that supports 2nd and 3rd-generation AMD processors with an AM3 socket, and is loaded with optimum quality features.
The motherboard is equipped with 2 PCI-E x16 (1 x16, 1x4), 2 PCI-E x1 and 2 PCI and 2x Rear USB 3.0, 1x USB 3.0 onboard connector, 6x Rear USB 2.0 with SATA III x6 for memory. It can support AMD FX, Phenom II X6/X4/X3/X2, Athlon II X4/X3/X2 and also Sempron processors.
This MSI 970A-G43 also features Studio Grade audio quality with Audio Boost, Advanced Military Class 4 Components, Reliable Gaming Device Port, Smart Fan Control for top performance.
PRODUCT DETAILS:
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5. ASUS M5A99X EVO R2.0 - BEST AM3+ MOTHERBOARD FOR GAMING
The fifth spot in this list of the best am3+ motherboard is taken up by the ASUS M5A99X EVO R2.0 motherboard. This motherboard is built on the AMD 990X/SB950 chipset and supports 3rd generation AMD processors with the AM3 socket.
The board features DVI-D, VGA, and HDMI outputs for integrated graphics. It also comes with a PCIe 3.0 x16 slot for a dedicated graphics card. The ASUS M5A99X EVO R2.0 also has Dual Intelligent Processors 3 with New DIGI+ Power Control.
The board is equipped with 4 memory slots that support a maximum of up to 32GB of DDR3 RAM, which can be overclocked up to 1333MHz. There are 6 SATA III ports and an M.2 slot utilizing the PCIe 3.0 x4 interface, for storage purposes.
The I/O interface of the board consists of 2 Type-A USB 3.1 connections, as these ports are capable of achieving speeds of up to 10 Gbps per port. The ASUS M5A99X EVO R2.0 motherboard features PCIe steel armor to protect GPUs from bending and EMI.
The audio boost offers HD audio processor, dedicated amplifier, and high-quality audio capacitors that provide you with optimal results. The ASUS M5A99X EVO R2.0 gives you the performance you want to build your gaming rig and has all that you need to enjoy your gaming sessions.
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6. MSI NF725GM-P43 - BEST DDR3 MOTHERBOARD
Another best am3+ motherboard in the list is MSI NF725GM-P43 motherboard. The nVidia GeForce 7025 & nForce 630a chipset natively supports an M.2 slot over the PCIe to enable compatibility with super-fast NVMe SSDs, as well as Intel Optane. The board comes in micro-ATX cases and is compatible with DDR3 memory, plus HDMI, DVI, and VGA display outputs.
The I/O panel comes with 8 USB 2.0 ports. The peripheral devices can be connected using the 8 USB 2.0 ports, and devices can be inserted in either orientation. The motherboard has a PCIe x16 slot and a couple of PCIe x1 slots.
The M.2 slots are connected using 4 PCIe 3.0 lanes to support the fast NVMe protocol. Additional drives like SSDs, HDDs and optical drives can be connected using the 4 SATA 2 ports.
The MSI enhances the memory stability and performance of the board by improving trace isolation between PCB layers to maintain signal integrity.
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7. ASROCK 970 PRO3 R2.0 AM3+ MOTHERBOARD
The ASROCK 970 PRO3 R2.0 MotherBoard looks very cool. The ASROCK 970 PRO3 R2.0 comes with some good additional overclocking features for CPU and memory. Comparing to the previous one, it has more headroom for overclocking and it’s targeted to the AMD processors.
Along with 64GB of memory support this motherboard has many additional features including Audio boost 2.0 which enhances the audio quality and provides the original audio. It improves online gaming and reduces lag in gaming.
The board has 6 SATA III ports and a single M.2 slot that supports Intel Optane Memory. The motherboard has 4x USB 3.0 Ports (2 rear, 2 via header), 12x USB 2.0 Ports (6 rear, 6 via headers), 1x PS/2 keyboard/Mouse Combo Port, 1x RJ45 LAN Port, Audio I/O Jacks.
This best am3+ motherboard is great for gaming purpose, as the Gaming Hotkey assigns functions to any key to launch games, load profiles, and overclock in real-time.
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8. ASROCK MICRO 970M PRO3 AM3+ MOTHERBOARD
The ASROCK 970M PRO3 supports North Bridge AMD 970 & South Bridge AMD SB950 Chipset, which is a powerful and super efficient motherboard especially for gaming.
It comes with 2 USB 3.0 ports and 6 USB 2.0 ports. With the USB 3.0 Boost setting you can use the port into three different modes: normal, turbo, or UASP. It will give the most standard transfer speeds to read and overwrite data as fast as possible.
ASROCK 970M PRO3 has 1x PCI-Express 2.0 x1 Slots, 2x PCI-Express 2.0 x16 Slots (one run x4), 1x PCI Slot and 64GB DDR3 memory of 4x DDR3-2400+(OC), 1066 DIMM Slots with Dual Channel, Non-ECC.
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CONCLUSION
This was my list of best am3+ motherboard with their features, advantages, and disadvantages. I hope this list helps you choose amongst the best am3+ motherboard in the market. See to that the motherboard which you choose satisfies your expectation and budget. Cheers!!
