Best AM3+ Motherboard


AM3+ Socket is one of the most well-known CPUs which AMD has produced. It was released in 2011 and is most noted as one of the best computer processors in the gaming segment. It was launched as a replacement for the AM3 Socket, which was recently launched in 2009. In comparison with the past AM3 Socket, the 942 pin count for AM3+ Socket is an expanded and better form.

AM3+ Socket additionally has a long diameter of approximately 0.51 mm. For the purpose of cooling behind the processor, there have been a few changes to it. They have added an updated CPU cooler maintenance bridle permitting better wind current for the CPU to be cooled. AM3+ Socket also has the incorporated memory of DDR3 compared with AM3 Socket, which conveys DDR2 memory. However, even due to these specifications, AM3+ Socket isn’t sufficient for a gaming head.

Users would require the best, compatible motherboard for their AM3+ processor, giving the optimal gaming experience and running some most recent games with no stammer or hesitation. We will provide you with a list of the Best AM3+ Motherboard and talk about their features and what to think about when buying one. Definitely, before the completion of this review, you’ll have sufficient information to settle on an informed choice with regards to which motherboard would turn out best for your necessities!

Our Top 3 Recommendations

Best AM3+ Motherboard Summary

Award Image Model Price
Best AM3+ motherboard for Gaming ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR V FORMULA-Z ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR V FORMULA-Z See On Amazon
Best AM3+ Motherboard ASROCK AMD 990FX EXTEREME 9 ASROCK AMD 990FX EXTEREME 9 See On Amazon
Best Cheap AM3+ gaming motherboard ASUS M5A78L-M PLUS MOTHERBOARD ASUS M5A78L-M PLUS MOTHERBOARD See On Amazon
Best AMD AM3+ motherboard GIGABYTE 1600 MOTHERBOARDS GIGABYTE 1600 MOTHERBOARDS See On Amazon
Best AM3+ Micro ATX Motherboard Gigabyte AM3+ AMD 970 Gigabyte AM3+ AMD 970 See On Amazon
Best AM3+ Motherboard GA-990-FXA-UD3 GA-990-FXA-UD3 See On Amazon
Best Budget Friendly Micro ATX AM3+ motherboard 78LMT-USB3 Motherboard 78LMT-USB3 Motherboard See On Amazon
Best AM3+ motherboard for overclocking GA-970A-DS3P GA-970A-DS3P See On Amazon

Best AM3+ Motherboard At a Glance:

Best AM3+ Motherboard Reviews

ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR V FORMULA-Z (Image credit: Amazon)

ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR V FORMULA-Z

Best AM3+ motherboard for Gaming

The first motherboard that secures top position in our list of Best AM3+ Motherboard, while containing best performance and coming under budget is no other than the ROG CROSSHAIR V FORMULA-Z manufactured by ASUS.

This motherboard manufactured back in 2011 is an excellent compatible motherboard for the AMD AM3+ Socket. This Socket AM3+ Motherboard has a powerful chipset of AMD 990FX/SB950. Motherboard consists of an ATX form factor that supports AMD AM3+/Phenom II/Athlon II/Sempron 100 series processor. Not compromising the audio system, ASUS has added six analog audio jacks and one optical S/PDIF out port at the back panel.

Moreover, the AM3+ motherboard has SupremeFX III with a built-in 8 Channel High Definition Audio CODEC. This supports Jack detection, Multi-streaming, and Front Panel Jack retasking. Its am3+ socket also has a 1500 uF Audio power capacitor. You can insert your audio drivers with gold plated jacks without any hesitation as they will be very prominent. It also has a Blu-ray audio layer content protection to secure it from any difficulties or technicalities.

Adding to it, they provide you SupremeFX Shielding Technology. To enhance your audio experience with ROG CROSSHAIR V FORMULA-Z, ASUS has said DTS ultra PC II and DTS Connect.

This Best AM3+ Motherboard supports DDR3 2400, Unbuffered memory that provides faster data transfer rate and more bandwidth to increase memory computing productivity, enhancing system performance 3D graphics. It also has four DIMM slots with a maximum of 32 GB of memory. Besides, it also includes Dual Channel Memory Architecture. Moving on, the ROG Crosshair V Formula-Z equips three PCIe 2.0 x16 (dual x16 or x16/x8/x8) and one PCle2.0 x16 (x4 mode), and one PCIe 2.0 x1 slot.

This motherboard, in total, has 18 USB ports. The division of motherboard am3+ ports is six USB 3.0 (4 at back panel and two at mid-board) and twelve USB 2.0 (8 at back panel and four at the mid-board). Interestingly, the Best AM3+ Motherboard has a separate and dedicated button to access the BIOS directly.

If talking about the storage that the ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR V FORMULA-Z provides is fascinating. You will be getting an AMD SB950 controller consisting of 6 x SATA 6 GB/s ports, red, supporting RAID 0, 1, 5, 10. It’s not all; they also provide you the ASMedia ASM1061 controller with 2 x SATA 6 GB/s ports, red; 2 x eSATA 6 GB/s ports; red. Also, the LAN supplied to you is a 1 x Gigabit LAN controller manufactured by INTEL.

The specifications are not done yet. Furthermore, if talking about the Multi GPU Support of the motherboard, ASUS has added three of them. One is the NVIDIA Quad-GPU SLI Technology, the other one is the NVIDIA 3-Way SLI technology, and the last one is the AMD 3-Way CrossFireX Technology. This means that you can enhance your system graphics to a very high level without any hesitation. Overall ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR V FORMULA-Z is best am3+ mobo.

ASROCK AMD 990FX EXTEREME 9 (Image credit: Amazon)

ASROCK AMD 990FX EXTEREME 9

Best AM3+ Motherboard

The second motherboard that tops the list as an outstanding competitor specification and budget-wise is the AMD 990FX Extreme 9 manufactured by a very high-end company ASRock. This motherboard was manufactured in 2013. It smoothly supports AM3+ Socket CPUs and also supports an 8-core CPU, isn’t it interesting?. This Best AM3+ Motherboard has two chipsets that are fascinating, one of which is AMD 990FX which is paired to the Northbridge, which links to the CPU and the other one is AMD SB950 which is connected to the Southbridge, which relates to low-speed peripheral buses.

Next, let us talk about the memory capacity of the motherboard. ASRock has added Dual Channel DDR3 Memory Technology, which is up to the notch. Moving forward, we will get four DDR3 DIMM slots. For additional memory, this AMD motherboard am3+ supports DDR3 2450 (OC) max, non-ECC unbuffered memory. The 1600 MHZ memory speed depends on what processor you choose between AM3 and AM3+. Moving on, the max system memory you can utilize in AMD 990FX Extreme 9 is up to 64 GB. But the foremost problem with this is that to access all 64 GB system memory, and you have to put memory modules with 16 GB or above capacity. In the end, this motherboard also supports AMD Memory Profile (AMP).

If talking about the AMD am3+ motherboard audio support and specifications, ASRock has added up some cool stuff. The first is 7.1 Channel HD Audio with Content Protection, also called Realtek ALC898 Audio Codec in simple words. It doesn’t end here. The Premier Blu-ray audio support is also included, which I believe is more than sufficient. This means that it is worth buying this AM3+ ddr4 motherboard at its demanded price. Besides, the Best AMD AM3+ motherboard also provides PCIe x1 Gigabit LAN by Intel 82583V.

Furthermore, This Best AM3+ Motherboard for the money expansion slots includes several PCI slots, most likely PCI Express 2.0 x 16 1 (x4 mode), one PCI Express 2.0 x1 slot, and one PCI slot separately. AMD 990FX Extreme 9 also provides you with the Multi GPU Technology and gives you the option and supports AMD Quad CrossFirex™, three Way CrossFireXTM, and in last you can willingly add CrossFireX™.

In the end, not talking about connectivity can’t do fair to the motherboard. ASRock has provided you with many connectivity options. The AM3+ best motherboard also has six SATA 3 6.0 GB/s connectors, supporting RAID and Hot Plug functions. You will also be getting 2 SATA 3 6.0 GB/s connectors, which support NCQ, AHCL and Hot Plug functions. You will get access to two Front USB 3.0 Gen1 headers by Etron EJ188H, which are compatible with USB 1.1, 2.0, 3 GB/s. Overall considering the specs, this could be the best pair among the rest for your AMD am3+.

ASUS M5A78L-M PLUS MOTHERBOARD (Image credit: Amazon)

ASUS M5A78L-M PLUS MOTHERBOARD

Best Cheap AM3+ gaming motherboard

This third motherboard on our list is manufactured by the world’s most popular and leading tech company, ASUS. It has a strong price point and is a terrific competitor. ASUS launched this motherboard in 2018. Like all of the motherboards mentioned above, this one also supports an AMD AM3+ Socket processor. It also supports more similar Socket AM3+ processors such as AMD FX PHENOM II, ATHLON II, and SEMPRON 100 series.

Talking about the chipsets, it also has two. On the Northbridge, which links to the CPU, you will get AMD 780G, and on the Southbridge, which relates to low-speed peripheral buses, you will be given AMD SB710. As it is a gaming motherboard, its compatibility for graphics and audio should be the best of its time. For this particular reason, ASUS provides you with a Graphic controller of ATI Radeon HD 3000 which makes this motherboard more enhanced and makes it stand out among the others in the list of Best AM3+ Motherboards.

For audio, you will be getting Realtek ALC887 which will provide you with a high definition speed. And it will also include eight-channel HD Audio. The memory of this cheap am3 motherboard has an essential role to play, so this model supports DDR3-SDRAM storage. Two storage slots are available in this model. Memory channels offered will also be Dual channels.

This motherboard supports 1066 / 1333 / 1600 / 1866 MHz of Non-ECC buffered memory. The maximum internal memory that you can get is up to 8 GB. Connectivity also matters a lot nowadays because external devices are essential in these times. For this purpose, M-Plus provides you with 4 USB 2.0 ports and one Ethernet LAN port of RJ-45.

The PS/2 connectors for the connectivity of the keyboard and mouse are given in two quantities. In the end, you will get three headphones plugged in and one microphone with one serial port to end the specifications of the motherboard.

GIGABYTE 1600 MOTHERBOARDS (Image credit: Amazon)

GIGABYTE 1600 MOTHERBOARDS

Best AMD AM3+ motherboard

The most budget and best-performing motherboard for AM3+ Socket processors is the 1600 Motherboard (GA 970A DS3P), launched by a very known and popular manufacturer GIGABYTE. It was manufactured in mid-2013. Just like all the motherboards above, it firstly supports AMD AM3+ Socket. It can also, like all others can support AM3+ FX Sockets processors such as the AMD AM3 Phenom II and AMD Athlon II models. The form factor provided to you is as expected of ATX.

Second comes the motherboard’s chipsets. Here it allows you with two chipsets in Northbridge and Southbridge. At the Northbridge, you will see the AMD 970, and at the Southbridge, you will see the AMD SB950. Audio is also an aspect to see in this motherboard, and Gigabyte gives you an Audio Chipset of Realtek ACL887 with an audio channel of 2 / 4 / 5.1 / 7.1.

Coming forward to the motherboard’s memory, you will get DDR4 DIMM sockets supporting up to 32 GB of system memory. In addition, DDR3 2000 (O.C) / 2000 MHz / 1866 MHz / 1333 MHz / 1066 MHz will be seen in the motherboard. WITH the LAN Chipset, you will get a Realtek GbE LAN chip with the max speed of LAN from 10 Mbps to 1000 Mbps. This motherboard also has the maximum supported RAM of 32 GB.

The 1600 Motherboard (GA 970A DS3P) by Gigabyte is equipped with two PCI Express x16 slots and three PCI Express x1 slots. This motherboard, in total, has 12 USB 2.0 / 1.1 ports on the Southbridge (6 ports on the back panel and six ports found through the internal USB headers). On the VL805 chip, there are 4 USB 3.0 / 2.0 ports (2 ports on the back panel and one available through the internal USB headers).

Last comes the storage capacity of the motherboard. You can find 6 SATA 6 GB/s connectors and can support up to 6 SATA 6 GB/s devices. This Best cheap gaming motherboard can also support RAID 0, RAID 1. RAID 5, RAID 10, and JBOD.

These were the best in the market and budget motherboards you can find for your AMD AM3+ Sockets processors. All the motherboards which we have reviewed are ruling this list of Best AM3+ Motherboard. You can also find more motherboards that might be more compatible than these, but in my and most of the public opinion, these are the motherboards for AMD AM3+ Socket processors.

Gigabyte AM3+ AMD 970 (Image credit: Amazon)

Gigabyte AM3+ AMD 970

Best AM3+ Micro ATX Motherboard

If you are looking for the best motherboard that can give you gaming Performance along with Overclocking, then you are looking at the right one.AM3+ motherboards are one of the bests in business with gaming performance along with reliability.

But the question arises which one is the best. It gets confusing for many people how to find the unique one. Fear Not. We have researched that, and we came up with the best possible result.

With its Stability and Ease-of-Use, Gigabyte AM3+ AMD 970 is one of those motherboards that become popular with its first release and then made its way to the top in the market.

It comes up with Direct Key, LN2 Mode for Subzero liquid nitrogen overclocking, slow mode, reset buttons, and ROG connect (which allows real-time O.C.).

It is one of the Best AM3+ Motherboards in the market right now. It can be reused with different casings, and the colors look amazing on it. The onboard audio card is so useful that a user doesn’t need any other audio card.

This motherboard is Windows 8 support, allowing users to use windows 8 features, including Windows Fast boot, OEM Activation 3.0, Windows Secure Boot, and ASUS feature like Fast Boot Switch. The new 64MB BIOS ROM supports UEFI BIOS and gives windows 8 installation and updates.

The gaming becomes more challenging and effective with the latest AMD AM3+ sockets for hardcore gamers. This motherboard features the AMD 970 Chipset along with the new DDR3 Tree-Topology Design.

A user can overclock it as much as he wants because this motherboard supports up to 1333 (O.C.) MHZ.

If you have a list of Best AM3+ Motherboards, then this one will be harder to beat. It may be the best AM3+ motherboard right now, but it will not be the perfect one for everyone in any situation.

Many users have different desires for gaming; although their prices are low or high, this motherboard costs up to 149$, depending all over its performance and structure. The Color looks amazing, and the creativity defines the best of this motherboard.

With many benefits under its belt, it might be good to know some problems that occur mostly due to its amazing creativity: the voltage points and temperature probes aren’t best located. So due to high overclocking ability, the system may heat up, but it is not the main issue; it can be resolved by moving your system hereafter by changing its position.

Gigabyte always looked ahead, and they should be proud of what they are doing. We might get a better motherboard than this in the future. But it will be the best until that one comes.

GA-990-FXA-UD3 (Image credit: Amazon)

GA-990-FXA-UD3

Best AM3+ Motherboard

Making a gaming computer has its fun for many users. Does the question arise every time which Motherboard is the best? Which AMD/AM3+ processor would be the best possible choice, and which one is the best? There are many questions, and to answer them we thought we might show you some of the best ones.

If you are a user who is looking for a cheap and best Motherboard for AMD FX 9590, then you are looking at the right one. This one is rated amongst the Best AM3+ Motherboard because there are better than this one, but they won’t come as low as this one.

If a user wants to do some serious overclocking at a cheap price, this Motherboard might fit his criteria. It supported DDR3 RAM and was released for the following platforms like Windows XP Home Edition, Windows Vista Business, Windows XP Professional, Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Home Basic. Its Memory Storage capacity is approximately 32GB. GUI Supports PCI, PCI-E.

It supports AM3/AM3+ processors, which provide high-TDP CPU support. 3PCI-E interfaces for 2way Crossfire and SLI multi graphics supported. It provides 6 Native SATA3 Ports with high-speed 6GBPS link speed and supports RAID 0, 1, 5, 10. USB 3.0 with superfast transfer rates up to 5gbps were also provided by ASUS. It supports 3× GIGABYTE USB power with on/off charging USB Ports.

In this Motherboard, a user will never have any issue regarding high temperature because of Ultra Durable 3 Classic Technology with copper cooled quality which helps to work in lower working temperature. Turbo XHD tech accelerates hard drive performance easily. It Supports Easy Energy Saver technology which helps to save energy.

It supports Dolby Home theatre Audio, Hybrid EFI technology for 3TB HDD support, and Blu-ray DVD audio Playback. With its amazing black color, everything looks extremely organized, and it can be used in many casings. With some benefits, there are also some errors in these types of motherboards, like there is some outdated data that may be the reason you update the drivers of this Motherboard and it may stop functioning.

So stop updating through anonymous sites would stop the problem. At some point, if Gigabyte pulls support, then it would become a major problem for so many people. Because of the price, it is affordable, and it will meet the criteria of many users around the world until the company comes up with some major updates.

This unique Motherboard has its worth in the market right now. People still buy older stuff that can give the best gaming performance and overclock along with reliability and stability.

78LMT-USB3 Motherboard (Image credit: Amazon)

78LMT-USB3 Motherboard

Best Budget Friendly Micro ATX AM3+ motherboard

If you are looking for a much cheaper motherboard that can give overclocking ability and a fast, reliable, and much more stable platform, you are looking at the decent option.

This motherboard is officially designed to offer a stable and high-speed platform by delivering fast data transfer with Gigabyte Ultra Durable Technology. It was based on AMD 760G chipset.

It supports the latest 45nm AMD AM3 Phenom II / Athlon II Processors and integrated with a DDR3 memory controller. Linked with Hyper Transport 3.0 technology and supports PCI Express graphics interfaces ATI Hybrid Crossfire.

It can provide user-friendly computing by reaching the maximum system performance, and we can still save the power and environment.

This motherboard provides unique On/Off charging capability for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch. The new Gigabyte Ultra Durable 4 Classic with high-quality components supports AMD AM3+ Phenom II / AMD AM3+ Athlon II Processors. It is integrated with ATI Radeon HD 3000 graphics (DirectX10).

It supports USB 3.0. PCI 2.0 ×16 interface provided for graphics support and integrated with DVI Port and HDCP. This motherboard gives users a solid 50000 capacitors design with Hybrid EFI technology. Dual BIOS is supported for 3TB HDD support.

The memory speed of GA-78LMT-USB3 is 1333 MHZ. Gigabyte not only provides Humidity protection but also gives protection against power failure and electrostatic. With a Voltage Capacity of 1.5V, it will never cause any electric error due to its features.

This motherboard is not only cheap, but it also gives users maximum overclocking ability for gaming. This unique motherboard is extremely durable. Users can recycle it through many casings. The ports are fairly standard.

Of course, with the benefits also come the problems; most of them occur while updating the outdated drivers, so the easy fix is to update it from the official site of Gigabytes or try troubleshooting yourselves sometimes; the errors aren’t as big as they are shown.

This motherboard is older, but it works fine, and it gives users maximum performance. Nowadays, people use a more advanced technology which provides them with more satisfaction for their wants. This one might be called an old horse in today’s race, but it will make a worthy conclusion in the best AMD and AM3+ motherboards list.

GA-970A-DS3P (Image credit: Amazon)

GA-970A-DS3P

Best AM3+ motherboard for overclocking

This one is the same as 78LMT-USB3 with some same features by Gigabyte. It is the old version than that, but it is very cheap, and a user who wants to begin gaming for the first time can start with this motherboard. AMD970 chipset is used in this motherboard. It was released back in 2013 in July; then, the company released 78-LMT-USB3 after one month in August. Both releases were good enough at that time. This motherboard might be an older one but still have some overclocking ability with some better gaming performance. When the price is as low as this one, nobody can stop the users from buying this kind of product. Specs Include:

It supports GIGABYTE UEFI Dual BIOS Technology. The new Gigabyte Ultra Durable 4 Classic with high-quality components supports AMD AM3+ Phenom II / AMD AM3+ Athlon II Processors. It provides 2 PCI-E 2.0 × 16, which interfaces with AMD crossfire. It supports 6 native SATA3 ports with up to 6gbps link speed and RAID 0, 5, 10. USB 3.0 ports are provided with the transfer rates of 5Gbps Gigabyte On/Of technology. Memory speed is up to 1333 MHZ. The voltage required is 1.5V.

This motherboard is very old in its way. It was the first release before 78LMT-USB3, so the features of both motherboards are the same. The performance will be good enough; if a user wants to do some serious overclocking, it will be done, but it may show serious problems for GUI. The graphics user interface is the key here in gaming and overclocking.

Some tech is very overrated on these types of motherboards. In that case, a user can try to download and update from the official site of Gigabyte but if it doesn’t help, then do some troubleshooting on your own.

It can provide user-friendly computing by reaching the maximum system performance.

Nowadays with the new technology is growing the wants are also increasing. The best System can be built with low prices and high prices too, but the tech used inside is the key. That’s why motherboards and processors, and graphic cards are so important for high-performance gaming and stability of the System.

Making a System on your own has some fun in it. Only a true gamer can know what kind of motherboard is the best? Which Graphics Card is the Best?

This motherboard is older, but it works fine, and it gives users maximum performance. Nowadays, people use a more advanced technology which gives them more satisfaction for their wants. This one might be called an old horse in today’s race, but it will make a worthy conclusion in the best AMD and AM3+ motherboards list.

We have made our searches. I hope you like them. There are plenty of AMD and AM3+ supported motherboards right now. If you like anyone or if we missed any worthy inclusion, then please let us know.This one is the same as 78LMT-USB3 with some same features by Gigabyte. It is the old version than that, but it is very cheap, and a user who wants to begin gaming for the first time can start with this motherboard. AMD970 chipset is used in this motherboard. It was released back in 2013 in July; then, the company released 78-LMT-USB3 after one month in August. Both releases were good enough at that time. This motherboard might be an older one but still have some overclocking ability with some better gaming performance. When the price is as low as this one, nobody can stop the users from buying this kind of product. Specs Include:

It supports GIGABYTE UEFI Dual BIOS Technology. The new Gigabyte Ultra Durable 4 Classic with high-quality components supports AMD AM3+ Phenom II / AMD AM3+ Athlon II Processors. It provides 2 PCI-E 2.0 × 16, which interfaces with AMD crossfire. It supports 6 native SATA3 ports with up to 6gbps link speed and RAID 0, 5, 10. USB 3.0 ports are provided with the transfer rates of 5Gbps Gigabyte On/Of technology. Memory speed is up to 1333 MHZ. The voltage required is 1.5V.

This motherboard is very old in its way. It was the first release before 78LMT-USB3, so the features of both motherboards are the same. The performance will be good enough; if a user wants to do some serious overclocking, it will be done, but it may show serious problems for GUI. The graphics user interface is the key here in gaming and overclocking.

Some tech is very overrated on these types of motherboards. In that case, a user can try to download and update from the official site of Gigabyte but if it doesn’t help, then do some troubleshooting on your own.

It can provide user-friendly computing by reaching the maximum system performance.

Nowadays with the new technology is growing the wants are also increasing. The best System can be built with low prices and high prices too, but the tech used inside is the key. That’s why motherboards and processors, and graphic cards are so important for high-performance gaming and stability of the System.

Making a System on your own has some fun in it. Only a true gamer can know what kind of motherboard is the best? Which Graphics Card is the Best?

This motherboard is older, but it works fine, and it gives users maximum performance. Nowadays, people use a more advanced technology which gives them more satisfaction for their wants. This one might be called an old horse in today’s race, but it will make a worthy conclusion in the best AMD and AM3+ motherboards list.

We have made our searches. There are plenty of AMD and AM3+ supported motherboards right now. These are a few Best AM3+ Motherboards which would fulfill your search, If you like anyone or if we missed any worthy inclusion, then please let us know.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why AM3+ Socket motherboards so expensive?

It is the same as any other overclockable platform; the best socket CPU (and usually the down next CPU) is expensive, as is the better OCing motherboard. Because the supply is small, and people who like OCing and want them, thats why usually people pay a lot for them.

How good is AM3+ CPU ?

Their AM3+ CPU has attracted a large number of users and is very popular over the years. His popularity continues today. Many PC builders prefer AM3+ CPUs because of their high level of performance; furthermore, AM3+ CPU providing smooth gaming and general operating experience.

Ryzen fit in AM3+?

All Ryzen processors use am4 sockets, and Ryzen am4 sockets are not compatible with am3+ sockets or am3 sockets.

Austin Contreras
Hi, My name is Austin Contreras and I'm the Writer of Techfrugal. I have been played games for over 18 years, and I like to share my gaming knowledge with People.
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