The best motherboards for Ryzen 3 3300X
Competitive gaming doesn’t stress the hardware much, but it’s been proven that better framerates with adaptive sync can improve aim in games like Fortnite. The AMD Ryzen 3 3300X (Amazon) is an ideal entry-level gaming processor introduced in the year 05/2020 but still maintains an intense gaming performance of 200+fps in competitive games at 1440p. We have included an X570 chipset as it can utilize the CPU capacity to its true potential. If you want to install a 3000 series Nvidia GPU, then X570 is a better option. The money saved from the processor can be invested in a better GPU as it’s likely that the CPU won’t bottleneck any gaming performance. Keeping the budget theme in mind, we have included a B450 chipset motherboard, which makes an ideal partner for 3300X. It’s an unlocked processor, and as gamers, you can utilize the extra overhead frequency for overclocking.
To ensure that all the connected hardware can utilize the CPU capability, you need the best motherboard for Ryzen 3 3300X. It can handle DDR4 RAM speed up to 2667+MHz, supports USB 3.1, provides x16 lanes for the GPU, supports StoreMI, and takes only 4.8W TDP. However, if you own a 2000 series Nvidia GPU, then B450 is more suited and economical between both options. We have included products that are ATX and mITX so that gamers have the option of an average-sized gaming rig build and a miniature size mITX motherboard-based HTPC. The CPU is a 65W TDP processor, which an 8 or less phase VRM can easily power. We recommend going through our review to understand each product on our list.
Our recommendations for The best motherboards for Ryzen 3 3300X
- MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
- ASRock B450M PRO4-F
- MSI B450 Gaming Plus Max
- MSI B450I Gaming Plus AC
- ASUS ROG STRIX X570-E GAMING
MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
Best overall
View on Amazon
PROS
+8+4 pin power connector
+DDR4 Boost with steel armor
+AMD Turbo USB Type-C port
CONS
-No support for SLI
-Limited high-speed USB ports
Overall, well-balanced specifications are hard to find, but MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC is an exception. As the name suggests, it’s meant for gaming, and the carbon fiber look with a dark interior will make any gaming build look stunning. CPU needs power for stable operation, especially under overclocked situations where voltage and current regulation allows higher frequency operation. The 2 power VRM phases are used for RAM overclocking, taking it to 3466MHz under A-XMP mode. With X-Boost by MSI, you can tune your USB performance and boost it by 20%. MSI command center is in one application that has options to adjust your frequency, voltage, and overclocking profiles with simple clicks. Driver updates are crucial, and MSI Live Update keeps your gaming hardware drivers updated.
Accurately hearing the in-game sounds is the most critical part of competitive gaming. It features a Realtek ALC1220 Codec with high-grade capacitors and separate left and right audio layers for maximum isolation. The automatic detection of connected headphone impedance is ideal for high-end audio drivers with up to 600Ω impedance. Golden connectors provide flawless connectivity without any worry of corrosion. This motherboard can fully support all the latest generation of RTX 2000 series graphics cards, and the anti-bending slot will keep the operation reliable. The mounting holes are provided with double ESD protection to prevent damage to the motherboard. Online gaming requires low-latency internet connectivity, and MSI ensures it using the MSI gaming LAN manager. 15Kv of surge protection will keep the motherboard protected.
ASRock B450M PRO4-F
Best runner-up
View on Amazon
PROS
+42A power chokes
+Two PCIe x16 slots
+AMD crossfire technology
CONS
-No 8+4 pin power connector
-Diagnostic LEDs not featured
Are you looking for decent storage capacity alongside fast processing power in a micro-sized motherboard package? Then ASRock B450M PRO4-F is a perfect answer to your requirement. Thanks to the 8+1 VRM phases for overclocking processors and RAM, it can handle gaming and productivity-related tasks. Dual M.2 slots run at 32Gb/s owing to the PCIe 3.0 interface. No heatsinks are pre-installed onto the M.2 drives, so be sure that aftermarket products are purchased to avoid thermal throttling. On heating of M.2 drives, they reduce their speed to remain within limits. Users can prevent it by using an oversized heatsink. ASRock included an ARGB header and two standard RGB headers for lighting up your system interior.
ASRock has used a 2oz copper inner layer for lower resistance to the moving electrons and lower temperatures when overclocked. The 3300X supports StoreMI, smart software that moves frequently accessed files to the SSD to make them accessible faster. 42A power chokes allow the motherboard to overclock 3300X to its max potential without damaging the VRM. A digital controller controls the supply of electricity to the RAM and CPU. It adds to a cleaner power resulting in better performance. You can connect up to three displays using the D-Sub, DVI-D, and HDMI combined. Although the Ryzen 3 3300x does not have integrated graphics, this motherboard would make your PC future-proof. Its features and aesthetics land it as the second one on our list.
MSI B450 Gaming Plus Max
Best mid-range
View on Amazon
PROS
+EZ Debug LEDs
+4133+MHz RAM overclock
+Flash BIOS for overclocking enthusiasts
CONS
-No dual M.2 drive slots
-Thunderbolt connectivity is not featured
Team Red (AMD) has been leading the gaming scene for a significant time. Their processors are efficient and made with finer lithography, giving the competitive edge of having lower TDP compared to Team Blue. To give your PC build a look that matches the Ryzen theme, MSI B450 Gaming Plus Max is an excellent choice. It comes in a black and red color scheme even on the DIMM slots to make installation easier. Two main features are significant for overclockers to make the best motherboard for Ryzen 3 3300X. If you corrupt your BIOS, it can be flashed with a USB and press a button without needing a CPU or graphics card. The other feature is the EZ debug LEDs; you can pinpoint the hardware causing the system not to boot at a glance.
Nvidia RTX and AMD Radeon are heavy graphics cards that require a reinforced PCIe slot. MSI improved the reliability of their product by making their reinforced PCIe slot fitted with XL clips for ease of access and better grip. Mounting standoffs are strategically placed to avoid damage and are preinstalled onto the motherboard, and users could remove them as per requirement. A legacy PS/2 port for old-school keyboards did not require an NKRO feature to allow multiple keypresses, thus making for better alternative hardware. It also features AMD Turbo USB 3.2 Gen2 port for high-speed data transfer, and a dual display are the high-end features of a B450 motherboard. Overvoltage protection, load-line calibration, and digital power controller add to the stability required for enhanced overclocking capability. De-pop filter prevents damage to ear drums while plugging in the 3.5mm pin into the golden audio jacks.
MSI B450I Gaming Plus AC
Best mITX
View on Amazon
PROS
+VR ready
+M.2 Slot on the bottom
+Power dense design with PCIe x16
CONS
-No Type-C USB ports
-Dual-GPU functionality
Our favorite form factor features all the essential ports and slots for a high-end build. Thanks to VIA Technologies for coming up with a truly compact motherboard design, and MSI B450I Gaming Plus AC is driven from the essence of being a power-dense PC build component. Making a compact design requires a lot of research and development costs which may affect the price of the motherboard. However, the price tag of this Mini-ITX motherboard is right in the sweet spot, ideal for gamers. In a small package, it can handle a 16 GBps bandwidth on the PCIe x16 slot and an 8 Gb/s data transfer rate with the M.2 drive. Any modern game will be able to load in seconds with such hardware capabilities.
Users can significantly reduce the long loading times with GTA V before indulging in the online experience with friends. The wireless connectivity with WiFi-5 delivers up to 433Mbps of internet speeds with BT 4.2 to support all wireless gadgets and accessories. Under A-XMP mode, you can take your 64GB RAM speeds up to 3466MHz. It is achieved by using the optimized memory layout onboard for uninterrupted signals. MSI features a user-friendly BIOS that enables an A-XMP profile with a single click. Users can set up multiple profiles for the RAM or tweak the CAS latency for stability at higher clock speeds. For a longer lifespan, MSI used Japanese capacitors for reliability, and dark chokes added stability to the power supply while overclocking.
ASUS ROG STRIX X570-E GAMING
Best X570
View on Amazon
PROS
+USB 3.2 Gen2 and WiFi-6
+Powerful 12+4 phase VRM
+PCIe 4.0 x16 and M.2 slots
CONS
-No legacy port
-Light illuminated ports not featured
We wanted to keep our most powerful featured product for the last. The ASUS ROG STRIX X570-E GAMING is a 12+4 power phase VRM-based motherboard design to overclock and utilize the Ryzen 3 3300x to its maximum potential. Its heatsinked VRM modules are fitted with a heat pipe to homogenize heat transfer capability and add thermal padding to improve performance. Asus ensures that no M.2 drives are uncoordinated, taking thermal throttling out of the equation. You can enjoy fast data transfer rates without the bottleneck caused by heating. X570 chipset provides PCIe 4.0 lanes of its own and supports PCIe 4.0 lanes from the CPU for communication. It leads to the opportunity for the RTX 3000 series to run at its max potential.
The rise of AI and DLSS makes the latest Nvidia and AMD graphics card a necessity. However, there is a need for an active chipset cooling fan for X570 due to its higher TDP than the B450 featured, but it’s definitely worth the extra watts. Digi+ power control module provides precise power delivery to the CPU, improving its performance with stability. It also has the latest generation of WiFi-6 (AX), which enables better transfer speed with multiple users using the MU-MIMO (multi-user, multiple input, and multiple outputs) and OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing). Combining all the technologies, WiFi-6 can deliver up to 2400Mbps data transfer speeds. The dual LAN capability with 2.5G+1G allows pass-through internet connectivity and provides small networking capability that users might require for certain games.
Final Words
As we already mentioned that the Ryzen 3 3300X is an excellent choice for intense gaming. It features PCIe 4.0 and has the potential of overclocking to provide 240+fps gaming on top AAA titles with DLSS enabled on 1440p. We focused more on the B450 and less on the X570 chipset because of the CPU compatibility with both the chipsets. B450 lies in the similar performance category with the Ryzen 3 3300X, while X570 is intended for more advanced and high-end processors focused on productivity. A competitive gamer like Ninja, who makes millions from gaming, goes for a better framerate with the best motherboard for Ryzen 3 3300X while running games like Fortnite, Call of Duty, Dota 2, and PUBG. To get these framerates, you do not need PCIe 4.0; instead, you need an adaptive sync monitor and DLSS-capable graphics card.
Gaming is strictly performed on LAN connection rather than WiFi due to the apparent latency issues. So we recommend a faster LAN with surge protection to be a better partner for gaming rather than a motherboard with a high-end WiFi module. Fater storage devices are critical as they can significantly bottleneck your game loading and change between scenes. The RAM speed determines how fast your PC fetches the frequently accessed data. Benchmarks have proven that the RAM frequency can improve 7-8fps for a 100+fps game and remove significant stutter frames from the game while running. So a powerful VRM-based motherboard can never go wrong. We focused on gaming rather than productivity-enhancing application as the Ryzen 3 3300X is more gaming-oriented than streaming or video editing. We hope you find the correct motherboard that perfectly fits your requirements.
Other Guides When Building a PC
- GPU
- Motherboard
- CPU Cooler
- RAM