The AMD X470 chipset is currently the most powerful chipset AMD offers, which is why it’s purposefully built for overclocking. As you’d expect, there are a wide range of motherboards that boast this chipset with a variety of features– both old and new.
Since the second generation Ryzen processors require hefty power delivery to overclock, especially the octa-core Ryzen 7 2700X, it’s kind of important to have an X470 motherboard comparison to understand what’s available that could meet your needs. Today we will be looking at the best AMD X470 motherboards, so buckle up and enjoy the ride.
Tons Of Premium Features
ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero
- Chipset: X470 ATX With AM4 socket
- Graphics Output: N/A
- Audio: ROG SupremeFX 8-Channel HD Audio CODEC S1220
- Wireless: N/A
- PCIe Slots: 5
- M.2 Slots: 2
Best Value
ASROCK X470 Taichi
- Chipset: X470 ATX With AM4 socket
- Graphics Outputs: HDMI
- Audio: Realtek ALC1220 Codec
- Wireless: Intel 802.11ac WiFi
- PCIe Slots: 5
- M.2 Slots: 2
Best For New PC Builders
MSI X470 Gaming Pro Carbon
- Chipset: X470 ATX With AM4 socket
- Graphics Outputs: DP / HDMI
- Audio: Realtek ALC1220 Codec
- Wireless: N/A
- PCIe Slots: 5
- M.2 Slots: 2
RGB-lighting
GIGABYTE X470 AORUS Gaming 7 WIFI
- Chipset: X470 ATX With AM4 socket
- Graphics Output: N/A
- Audio: Realtek ALC1220-VB codec
- Wireless: Intel 802.11ac WiFi
- PCIe Slots: 5
- M.2 Slots: 2
Best Budget
ASUS Prime X470-Pro
- Chipset: X470 ATX With AM4 socket
- Graphics Outputs: DP / HDMI
- Audio: Realtek S1220A HD Audio CODEC
- Wireless: N/A
- PCIe Slots: 6
- M.2 Slots: 2
Table of Contents
1- ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero
The Best X470 Motherboard That’s Integrated With Tons Of Premium Features
- Chipset: X470 ATX With AM4 socket
- Graphics Output: N/A
- Audio: ROG SupremeFX 8-Channel HD Audio CODEC S1220
- Wireless: N/A
- PCIe Slots: 5
- M.2 Slots: 2
- Offers tons of premium features
- The best overclocking X470 motherboard
- Costs much more than other motherboards
ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero is a part of the ROG Crosshair lineup which is the AMD counterpart of the Maximum lineup for Intel. The Crosshair motherboards are built for extreme overclocking and offer tons of additional features. The Hero variant is usually the second most powerful variant lagging behind the Extreme variant. However, Asus took things in a different direction this time and there is no Extreme variant which is why the Crosshair VII Hero is the best X470 motherboard you can get your hands on.
The motherboard features sophisticated looks-- assuming you think RGB is sophisticated, because that’s what I’m talking about-- with an RGB logo of ROG on the Southbridge heatsink while the I/O cover offers an RGB logo of Crosshair VII. The motherboard also supports Asus Aura Sync and provides addressable RGB headers and a 3D printing mount.
The BIOS of the motherboard is extremely detailed and offers a lot of options for overclocking (although you should check the manual before changing any configuration). The motherboard features a total of eight fan headers, all of which are operable in DC or PWM mode. The I/O ports on the back offer a Clear CMOS button, a BIOS Flash button and a total of eleven USB Type-A ports. Apart from these, there are audio ports, a Gigabit LAN port, a PS/2 port and USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C port.
The motherboard provides a 5+2 VRM phase mode doubled to 10+2 phase by the use of doublers and offers astounding performance for overclocking. Even the Ryzen 7 2700X can be overclocked without worrying about power delivery. The VRM heat-sinks offer decent temps. The motherboard also offers a ROG IC and a TPU IC, which provide a lot of control over the components, such as fan control.
Overall, this motherboard is definitely the best motherboard for the Ryzen 7 2700X, which is currently the most powerful AM4 based processor but it comes at a steep price…
2- ASROCK X470 Taichi
The Best Value X470 Chipset Motherboard
- Chipset: X470 ATX With AM4 socket
- Graphics Outputs: HDMI
- Audio: Realtek ALC1220 Codec
- Wireless: Intel 802.11ac WiFi
- PCIe Slots: 5
- M.2 Slots: 2
- Extremely cheap for the quality and features
- Provides built-in Wifi
- Memory slots are not reinforced
ASROCK X470 Taichi is one of the most widely used motherboards, as it provides great features for the price. The motherboard offers a mechanical-looking aesthetic as the SouthBridge heatsink is designed like a gear. It also offers RGB lighting beneath the heatsink, and in the I/O cover, which looks really nice.
A great feature of this motherboard is the overkill VRM phase, which results in great overclocking.
The motherboard supports built-in Wifi which is handy for any user. There is a total of five fan headers, four out of which operate at 2(amp) and can be used in both DC / PWM mode while the fifth fan header is rated at 1(amp). The rear I/O panel features a Clear CMOS button in this one as well, an HDMI port, two Wifi antenna outputs, a PS/2 port, seven USB Type-A ports, a USB Type-C port, a Gigabit LAN port and audio jacks.
The motherboard features a 12+4 phase VRM which is more than enough for any AM4 based processor. The heat-sinks on the VRM and I/O are quite big so it should be nearly impossible to fry these components, even with extreme overclocking. Speaking of overclocking, the memory overclocking is a bit difficult and needs a lot of tuning for stability.
Overall, none of the X470 motherboards provide features like these at this price and this AMD X470 motherboard is very good in terms of overclocking and power delivery, although it uses a complex firmware and the memory overclocking feels troublesome.
3- MSI X470 Gaming Pro Carbon
The Best X470 Motherboard For New PC Builders
- Chipset: X470 ATX With AM4 socket
- Graphics Outputs: DP / HDMI
- Audio: Realtek ALC1220 Codec
- Wireless: N/A
- PCIe Slots: 5
- M.2 Slots: 2
- Uses high-quality VRM components
- Provides DisplayPort and HDMI graphics outputs
- Comes with a lot of bloatware
MSI X470 Gaming Pro Carbon is a high-end motherboard, which keeps a great balance between features and price; that doesn’t mean it’s cheap, just well priced.
The motherboard uses carbon-fiber textures (probably where it gets its name from, come to think of it) and RGB lighting on the SouthBridge and the I/O cover. The black PCB along with white lines look really attractive and MSI uses Steel-Armor for two of the PCIe 3.0 slots and all four of the RAM slots. The motherboard does not hold back in terms of RGB lighting and offers three RGB headers, which is more than enough.
There are six fan headers on this motherboard and the rear I/O panel features seven USB Type-A ports, a USB Type-C port, a Clear CMOS Button, a PS/2 port, a Gigabit LAN port, DP and HDMI ports for graphics and audio jacks. Speaking of audio, the audio processing capabilities of this motherboard are a bit better than other motherboards due to Audio Boost 4 with Nahimic.
The 8+2 phase power delivery of this motherboard is more than enough for most of the cases but it is still less than some of the other motherboards we’ve listed, however, the heat-sinks do a fine job at cooling the VRM components.
Overall, this X470 chipset motherboard offers great rivalry to the Asrock Taichi with a similar price and better onboard features but lacks a bit in the power delivery department.
4- GIGABYTE X470 AORUS Gaming 7 WIFI
Best AMD X470 Motherboard For Pleasant Aesthetics
- Chipset: X470 ATX With AM4 socket
- Graphics Output: N/A
- Audio: Realtek ALC1220-VB codec
- Wireless: Intel 802.11ac WiFi
- PCIe Slots: 5
- M.2 Slots: 2
- Extensive use of RGB-lighting
- Great Heat-sinks for both M.2 slots
- The UEFI BIOS is troublesome
The GIGABYTE X470 AORUS Gaming 7 Wifi is the Gigabyte’s flagship motherboard for the X470 chipset and offers great visuals. Gigabyte has always been fond of an extensive use of RGB lighting and this motherboard is no exception. You can find RGB lighting in the Aorus logo on the SouthBridge heatsink, the I/O cover, the expansion-slot area, the PCIe slots, the RAM slots and on the right-most edge of the motherboard. All of this RGB lighting is supported by Gigabytes’ RGB Fusion technology and can be customized pretty easily.
There is a total of eight fan headers on the motherboard, among which two of them operate at 2(amp) while all eight fan headers can operate in PWM or DC mode. The rear I/O panel of the motherboard is rich and features almost everything that a high-end user might need (like others entries on this list).
The motherboard uses a digital 10+2 phase power delivery and uses fin-based heat-sinks on the VRM components. These heat-sinks are one of the best heat-sinks you can find on a X470 motherboard. The memory overclocking support of this motherboard is also good with up to 3600MHz official support in OC mode.
One of the few complaints here has to be BIOS, which is needlessly complex and unintuitive at times. While this won’t be a big problem for some, this is really just an unnecessary obstacle.
5- ASUS Prime X470-Pro
The Best Budget X470 Chipset Motherboard
- Chipset: X470 ATX With AM4 socket
- Graphics Outputs: DP / HDMI
- Audio: Realtek S1220A HD Audio CODEC
- Wireless: N/A
- PCIe Slots: 6
- M.2 Slots: 2
- Quite cheaper than other X470 motherboards
- Offers six PCIe slots
- Does not support BCLK overclocking
- Known issues with PWM fan control and I/O chip
The ASUS Prime X470-Pro motherboard is among the cheapest X470 chipset motherboards. The color-theme of the motherboard feels quite unique, as it uses silver-colored heat-sinks. There is some minimal RGB lighting, as it is found only on the SouthBridge heat-sink and lower-edge of the I/O cover. One of the two M.2 slots is covered with heat-sinks while two of the PCIe slots are reinforced.
The motherboard offers five fan headers and two Aura RGB headers. At the rear I/O panel, it provides sufficient options (similar to all motherboards on our list).
The motherboard features a 6+4 phase VRM; in fact, it uses the same VRM controller the Hero VII. This means you shouldn’t expect any issues with power delivery. However, this motherboard does not support BCLK overclocking, which seems like a somewhat arbitrary restriction to inflate the value of the Hero VII motherboard.
Overall, this motherboard is enough for starter overclockers and you cannot go wrong with this X470 motherboard at this price.
Buyer’s Guide
Choosing the best motherboard is essential; however, since it requires a lot of knowledge to understand all of the various concepts regarding motherboards, we put together a guide to help people understand some of the basics. Following are the key aspects when buying an X470 motherboard for your ultimate Ryzen powered computer.
VRM Quality
One of the most important things when buying an X470 motherboard is the quality of the VRM. VRM stands for Voltage Regulator Module and it is responsible for controlling the power delivery.
A higher-phase VRM provides better overclocking headroom for both your processor and RAM. However, make sure that your processor needs such a hefty VRM, such as a Ryzen 7 2700X.
For instance, if you use a 2700X, then you’ll want at least a 6+2 phase VRM motherboard. However, if you’re using a 2600X (or lower) then you could settle for a less beefy motherboard since anything below the 2700X can be overclocked on almost any X470 motherboard.
Memory Overclock Support
Memory overclocking is very complex, especially with AMD Ryzen processors. First of all, make sure that you buy the motherboard before buying the RAM sticks so that you do not run into any kind of compatibility issues.
Then you’ll need to check the motherboard manufacturer’s official memory overclock support because memory support issues are common and are notorious for causing issues when building your new AMD Ryzen platform PC.
Cooling Solution
A motherboard’s cooling solution is not nearly as important as the cooling solution for the processor, however, it is necessary for prolonged use and will make the motherboard durable. This is often overlooked by a lot of enthusiasts and many motherboards get burnt after prolonged usage just because of high temperatures on the VRM components.
BIOS and Ease Of Use
A lot of users do not have deep knowledge about their BIOS which can often lead to them unwittingly not achieving the optimal performance of their build.
Therefore, if you are not a PC-enthusiast and do not know much about overclocking, then you should buy a motherboard which has a great GUI in the BIOS. Currently Asus is considered to be at the top when it comes to user friendly BIOS according to many enthusiasts. However, I find that often the perception of the quality of a BIOS’ UI is strongly affected by the user’s prior experience with that manufacturer’s design.
For instance, different BIOS’ call the same function by different names. So the uncore (L3 cache of the CPU) frequency might be called the mesh frequency with one brand, but the ring frequency on another board. As such, if you’re familiar with a specific brand you might want to stick with it (unless you hate it, then you should probably switch).
Additional Features
Some of the motherboards provide a lot of additional features which can be quite useful, like built-in Wifi. Moreover, most of the motherboards have the standard ALC1220 audio codec; however, some motherboards offer better audio solutions, which might be desirable unless you want to get a sound card anyhow. So keep an eye out for these type of additional features when making your purchase decision.