Tips for choosing and RAM as well as 37 example models

A processor requires a suitable motherboard and RAM – so today we'll give you tips on what you should consider when buying a motherboard and whether it's important to buy an expensive motherboard for a gaming PC. There are also a few tips on the topic of RAM, and for the three important current mainstream sockets, the AM4, AM5 and 1700 sockets, we have selected a total of 37 mainboards as purchase examples.

The socket of a mainboard into which the CPU is inserted determines which processors actually fit into it from a purely mechanical point of view. The processors from the same family always have the same socket type, so that all CPUs in a series with this socket are suitable for these mainboards.

At AMD, the AM4 and AM5 sockets are relevant for a gaming PC; at Intel, the socket 1700 is the method of choice. The AM4 CPUs include the Ryzen models from the 1000, 2000, 3000 and 5000 series, although we strongly recommend the latest series with models such as the Ryzen 5 5600X or Ryzen 7 5800X3D when purchasing a new one.

Because the future lies with the newer 7000 series with the top CPU Ryzen 7 7800X3D, which belongs to the AM5 socket. With Intel's Socket 1700, the 12th to 14th generation processors are compatible, i.e. models like the Core i5-12400F, Core i3-13100F or Core i7-14700K.

Source: MSI


This MSI Pro B760M G DDR4 still has the transport lock in socket 1700 (in the middle of the upper half).

Motherboard socket

But how do you know which motherboard supports which socket? The simplest thing is that you only select the socket that corresponds to the CPU you already have or are planning to purchase as a filter from the manufacturer of the mainboard or in shops or on price comparison websites.

However, it is not yet clear whether the CPU is really 100 percent compatible. The Socket AM4, for example, has been around for over five years, and it's easy to imagine that one of the first Socket AM4 motherboards, when the Ryzen 1000 series CPUs were brand new, might not recognize a 5000 series processor, or at least not correctly works with him.

Therefore, you should check with the motherboard manufacturer to see which CPUs are compatible with the model – older models can often be upgraded for the latest CPUs via BIOS updates, and most of the older models that are in stock at retailers come from production periods, in which a relatively new BIOS was already used. Therefore, problems are rare when purchasing a new motherboard – but if you want to be on the safe side, you should consider the motherboard's chipset.

Motherboard chipset

The chipset is a kind of basic equipment on the mainboard, which also determines its suitability for certain CPUs. Whenever a new socket is launched, there are new chipsets, and even if a CPU update in the form of new models is released for the existing socket, new chipsets are often released in parallel.

The chipset name is traditionally included in the name of the mainboard and at the same time shows you how current the chipset is. With the AM4 socket, 300, 400 and 500 chipsets have gradually appeared, for example X370, B450 or B550. For the AM5 socket there are 600 names like B650 or X670. For Intel's Socket 1700 there are 600 and 700 chipsets such as B660 or Z790. The following table shows the chipsets for sockets AM4, AM5 and 1700 in an overview:

You can see that there are similarities – but Intel's B660 chipset, for example, is of course not compatible with AMD, although AMD's AM5 socket has the B650 chipset, which seems to be related from the name. So when buying, pay attention first to the socket suitability, then to the chipset. Depending on the chipset, a feature may be missing that is not entirely unimportant. We will delve into this on the next page.