Need Help On PC Build Under $750

[nope251]

Budget (including currency): 750$

Country: USA

Other details Hello! I am currently working on building my first PC. I wanted to get some feedback on if I could save some money in some places, and if I will have to use another CPU to flash the BIOS of the mobo or if I will have to do that at all. If I do need to use another CPU are there other options for mobo?

 

My current build: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/GfCpj2

 

[RONOTHAN##]

Not a bad build, but there are a few things I would change

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/cDNLCz

 

Adjusted some parts to give you a better PC for less money. If you remove the Noctua heatsink and fans (pretty unnecessary for a Zen 3 APU build, they don't run hot and come with a pretty decent stock cooler) you can afford a 5700G instead. It has a better iGPU and 2 more cores. Swapped out the RAM for something cheaper and better binned (some people have issues with Vengeance LPX on AMD platforms). Swapped the SSD out for one that's slightly cheaper and better performing. Also got a better PSU in case you want to add in a 3070 in the future once they're available, and modular PSUs are a lot less annoying to work with.

 

Now to answer your question:

There's about a 50/50 chance you'll need to flash a new BIOS. If the board was manufactured in the past 3 months, it will be updated and you won't need to. If it was made before then (which isn't uncommon when buying from somewhere like Amazon) you'll need to flash a BIOS. Luckily, the board you picked comes with BIOS Flashback, so you can update the BIOS with a flash drive, the power supply, and about 5 minutes. The instructions will be somewhere in the manual for how to do that, but the general process is download the BIOS, extract it, rename it to something like "MSI.ROM" (it's specific for every motherboard), load it on a flash drive formatted in FAT32 and put the file at the root of the flash drive. Plug it into a specific port, press the button on the back until you see an LED flashing, then wait till it stops flashing. Double check in the manual, but there will be 2-3 different methods of how to do it, so just follow the one closest resembling those instructions.

[GeorgeMKane]

Not a bad build, like the other person said. I just think you could reduce your cost in a few areas, just by swapping brands really.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/xZ3c68

[BiotechBen]

14 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

Not a bad build, but there are a few things I would change

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/cDNLCz

 

Adjusted some parts to give you a better PC for less money. If you remove the Noctua heatsink and fans (pretty unnecessary for a Zen 3 APU build, they don't run hot and come with a pretty decent stock cooler) you can afford a 5700G instead. It has a better iGPU and 2 more cores. Swapped out the RAM for something cheaper and better binned (some people have issues with Vengeance LPX on AMD platforms). Swapped the SSD out for one that's slightly cheaper and better performing. Also got a better PSU in case you want to add in a 3070 in the future once they're available, and modular PSUs are a lot less annoying to work with.

 

Now to answer your question:

There's about a 50/50 chance you'll need to flash a new BIOS. If the board was manufactured in the past 3 months, it will be updated and you won't need to. If it was made before then (which isn't uncommon when buying from somewhere like Amazon) you'll need to flash a BIOS. Luckily, the board you picked comes with BIOS Flashback, so you can update the BIOS with a flash drive, the power supply, and about 5 minutes. The instructions will be somewhere in the manual for how to do that, but the general process is download the BIOS, extract it, rename it to something like "MSI.ROM" (it's specific for every motherboard), load it on a flash drive formatted in FAT32 and put the file at the root of the flash drive. Plug it into a specific port, press the button on the back until you see an LED flashing, then wait till it stops flashing. Double check in the manual, but there will be 2-3 different methods of how to do it, so just follow the one closest resembling those instructions.

Good call on the Vengeance swap, 3200 c16 kits are the issue (if you've come across the person with the optimum settings for them I. Ryzen, that's me). On Intel builds they are a solid choice. 

[nope251]

17 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

Not a bad build, but there are a few things I would change

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/cDNLCz

 

Adjusted some parts to give you a better PC for less money. If you remove the Noctua heatsink and fans (pretty unnecessary for a Zen 3 APU build, they don't run hot and come with a pretty decent stock cooler) you can afford a 5700G instead. It has a better iGPU and 2 more cores. Swapped out the RAM for something cheaper and better binned (some people have issues with Vengeance LPX on AMD platforms). Swapped the SSD out for one that's slightly cheaper and better performing. Also got a better PSU in case you want to add in a 3070 in the future once they're available, and modular PSUs are a lot less annoying to work with.

 

Now to answer your question:

There's about a 50/50 chance you'll need to flash a new BIOS. If the board was manufactured in the past 3 months, it will be updated and you won't need to. If it was made before then (which isn't uncommon when buying from somewhere like Amazon) you'll need to flash a BIOS. Luckily, the board you picked comes with BIOS Flashback, so you can update the BIOS with a flash drive, the power supply, and about 5 minutes. The instructions will be somewhere in the manual for how to do that, but the general process is download the BIOS, extract it, rename it to something like "MSI.ROM" (it's specific for every motherboard), load it on a flash drive formatted in FAT32 and put the file at the root of the flash drive. Plug it into a specific port, press the button on the back until you see an LED flashing, then wait till it stops flashing. Double check in the manual, but there will be 2-3 different methods of how to do it, so just follow the one closest resembling those instructions.

Thank you!

[nope251]

36 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

Not a bad build, but there are a few things I would change

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/cDNLCz

 

Adjusted some parts to give you a better PC for less money. If you remove the Noctua heatsink and fans (pretty unnecessary for a Zen 3 APU build, they don't run hot and come with a pretty decent stock cooler) you can afford a 5700G instead. It has a better iGPU and 2 more cores. Swapped out the RAM for something cheaper and better binned (some people have issues with Vengeance LPX on AMD platforms). Swapped the SSD out for one that's slightly cheaper and better performing. Also got a better PSU in case you want to add in a 3070 in the future once they're available, and modular PSUs are a lot less annoying to work with.

 

Now to answer your question:

There's about a 50/50 chance you'll need to flash a new BIOS. If the board was manufactured in the past 3 months, it will be updated and you won't need to. If it was made before then (which isn't uncommon when buying from somewhere like Amazon) you'll need to flash a BIOS. Luckily, the board you picked comes with BIOS Flashback, so you can update the BIOS with a flash drive, the power supply, and about 5 minutes. The instructions will be somewhere in the manual for how to do that, but the general process is download the BIOS, extract it, rename it to something like "MSI.ROM" (it's specific for every motherboard), load it on a flash drive formatted in FAT32 and put the file at the root of the flash drive. Plug it into a specific port, press the button on the back until you see an LED flashing, then wait till it stops flashing. Double check in the manual, but there will be 2-3 different methods of how to do it, so just follow the one closest resembling those instructions.

Wait, I’m pretty sure the case doesn’t have fans included.

[RONOTHAN##]

11 minutes ago, nope251 said:

Wait, I’m pretty sure the case doesn’t have fans included.

If that's the case, either get Artic P12s (you can get 5 for $40) or swap the case out for the P300a. It's a very easy to build in case that costs less and includes 2 fans. 

[Somerandomtechyboi]

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/88fMfP

¯\_ (ツ) _/¯ 

 

pretty much just an improved version of @RONOTHAN## build i guess

 

Better board cause pro vdh sucks ass at ram overclock limiting to 4400mhz, ballistix does ~4500 cl18 for high freq but timings are meh and usually this isnt a freq youd care about but it is an apu and apus need all the bandwidth they can get, the fact that apus can run absurd fclk on average from 2100-2400 pretty much means no worries with ram oc decoupling the fclk. Voltage wise id reccomend upto 1.65v on active cooling but if you dont have active cooling (aka a fan over the rams) then stick to 1.5v cause rams too hot = errors, have a look at buildzoid ballistix oc vids for abit more help

 

Actually have a cooler on the damn thing so temps will be good and the cpu can boost to its full potential

 

1tb ssd cause me cheaping out a crap ton on the case and psu + yeeting the hdd allows a bigger ssd, its a decent ssd with dram and its pretty cheap too

 

Yea cheaped out on the psu and case though they should still be of decent quality, case wise it has 3 fans so no need to add more fans