Need to buy a motherboard to pair with AMD 5600x
I want an ATX motherboard so I dont have to worry about where and how to plug all of the things like on my old motherboard the graphics card would cover one of the sata 3.0 ports, things like that.
Apart from that I have no idea what makes one motherboard better than the other and what any of these terms b450/550 etc mean. I have tried googling but its too complicated for me to wrap my head around.
Any reccos / explanations appreciated <3
This is going to be fun. Motherboards are defined by the chipset they use - a set of chips that extend/add functionality to your computer as a whole. An archaic term since it's just one chip these days.
For AMD chipsets, you have the A-series, B-series and X-series. A is the most basic, barebone, absolute no-frills platform. X is the enthusiast/extreme series that brings the best of everything available. B is a one or two steps down from X, and is usually the best value in terms of features and price. Features here mean things like I/O interfaces, USB 5Gbps vs 10Gbps vs 20Gbps, Thunderbolt, Wifi, expansion card slots, m.2 SSD slots and of course, overclocking support.
Then you have different generations of these three chipsets, 300-series which is the first generation, 400 which is the second generation, and 500 which is the third and latest generation. 100 and 200 series never existed for AMD Ryzen, they just started with 300. Each generation generally stays current for a year or two before it is replaced with a successor. Once replaced, a manufacturer almost never introduces a new model with the older chipset series. With each succesive generation, you get newer technology. As an example, you'll need a 500 series motherboard if you want Thunderbolt 4, as this technology did not exist when 400 or 300 series chipsets were introduced and no manufacturer is going to realistically release a new 300 or 400 series model with Thunderbolt 4.
B450 is currently the best value for price-conscious builds. That's the previous generation's best value chipset that's still relevant today and compatible with your third (and current) generation processor.
The B550 board
@bssunilreddy linked above is arguably the perfect all rounder for your processor.
And X570 would probably only make sense if you never had to ask this question in the first place.
Lastly, any letters after the three digits usually hints at the form factor:
- A320m - the 'm' is for MicroATX
- B450i - the 'i' is for Mini-ITX
- X570 - no letter here usually means ATX
