Worth buying a motherboard without testing?

[AeroMagnus]

Yet another black friday post. This time around I wanted to ask y'all if I should pull the trigger on a motherboard if I see a good deal on it. The thing is that I have no system to test it at all and I would have no way of returning it to the store for other reasons. Is this where an RMA would apply? Even if out of the country? I'm guessing it depends on the brand? 

[L33T BEANS]

I think warranties usually let you get a replacement board for up to a year (sometimes more) if you choose to RMA it. What motherboard you decide to get will dictate what CPU you will get and with new Ryzens on the horizon (rhyme intended) it might be worth waiting to see what they have to offer.

I guess it might depend more on how soon you think you'll be able to have a build put together?

[Otto_iii]

just try to read up on reviews for all the boards you might consider.  with some sockets this might be a lot of research, but you've got time so make it count.  i think buying a crappy board is a more realistic risk then buying a DOA board

[AeroMagnus]

27 minutes ago, Otto_iii said:

just try to read up on reviews for all the boards you might consider.  with some sockets this might be a lot of research, but you've got time so make it count.  i think buying a crappy board is a more realistic risk then buying a DOA board

I was going to get the cheapest I could for a 2600, maybe shill out on wifi but nothing more really, my concern is getting a DOA part and not knowing which one is broken. mobo and psu I've heard are the usual culprits that interfere with a post

[Otto_iii]

With the AM4 stuff try to get something reasonably decent, not a a320.  You can get a wifi dongle and stick it in the back USB, try to get something with decent VRMs 

[AeroMagnus]

5 hours ago, Otto_iii said:

With the AM4 stuff try to get something reasonably decent, not a a320.  You can get a wifi dongle and stick it in the back USB, try to get something with decent VRMs 

yeah I was thinking of a B450, maybe an asrock 

[Otto_iii]

b450(M) pro4 is capable of handling all the latest CPUs and is cheap, MSI Tomahawk is another good one if you can find it for similar or cheap price