Motherboard replacement dilemma

[Wizzardoz]

Having got response  here to my Q-Fan not working issue, I may be forced to replace the Motherboard. Cannot afford to spend more than necessay at present, so can I just replace the motherboard with AM4 and DDR4 spec?

 

Any suggestions on the Motherboard would be welcome. 

 

My current PC:

Case                  be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 Rev. 2
Motherboard    Asus Strix X50 – E Gaming
CPU                   AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
Memory            GSkill F4 3200 - 2 x 16Gb
CPU Fan           BE QUIET Dark Rock Pro 4
Power              750W be quiet! Straight Pwr 11

[-rascal-]

Update the BIOS first.

You are using a REALLY old BIOS version.

 

The best method, to minimize the chance of corrupting the motherboard, is by using the tried-and-trued method -> putting the BIOS file onto a USB flash drive.

Updating it through internet or within Windows adds complexity, and more chances for things to go wrong.

 

Some reminder tips:

1. Download the latest BIOS file onto your PC / another PC / laptop.
2. Unzip / extract the downloaded folder.
3. Format a USB stick to FAT 32.
4. Copy JUST the BIOS file (XXXX.CAP) onto the USB flash drive.

As someone already mentioned, your higher-end motherboard has the USB BIOS Flashback feature.

Even if you DO corrupt the BIOS, you can recover it.

 

[Tetras]

26 minutes ago, Wizzardoz said:

Having got response  here to my Q-Fan not working issue, I may be forced to replace the Motherboard. Cannot afford to spend more than necessay at present, so can I just replace the motherboard with AM4 and DDR4 spec?

Unless I'm missing something.., if your board can't adjust the fan speeds, wouldn't it be a lot cheaper to buy a fan controller?

 

28 minutes ago, Wizzardoz said:

so can I just replace the motherboard with AM4 and DDR4 spec?

Yeah, so long as it isn't ancient, but I'd avoid paying a lot for anything on AM4 at this point.

[Wizzardoz]

2 hours ago, -rascal- said:

Update the BIOS first.

You are using a REALLY old BIOS version.

 

The best method, to minimize the chance of corrupting the motherboard, is by using the tried-and-trued method -> putting the BIOS file onto a USB flash drive.

Updating it through internet or within Windows adds complexity, and more chances for things to go wrong.

 

Some reminder tips:

1. Download the latest BIOS file onto your PC / another PC / laptop.
2. Unzip / extract the downloaded folder.
3. Format a USB stick to FAT 32.
4. Copy JUST the BIOS file (XXXX.CAP) onto the USB flash drive.

As someone already mentioned, your higher-end motherboard has the USB BIOS Flashback feature.

Even if you DO corrupt the BIOS, you can recover it.

 

Can I update to the latest 5001 Bios or do I go through intermittent versions?

 

As for the point 4 above, the Asus bios firmware page states Before running the USB flashback tool，please rename the BIOS file (SX570EG.CAP) using BIOSRenamer

 

Surely I cannot use the CAP file?

[-rascal-]

4 hours ago, Wizzardoz said:

Can I update to the latest 5001 Bios or do I go through intermittent versions?

 

As for the point 4 above, the Asus bios firmware page states Before running the USB flashback tool，please rename the BIOS file (SX570EG.CAP) using BIOSRenamer

 

Surely I cannot use the CAP file?

 

You can go just straight to 5001.

 

If you are NOT using the USB BIOS Flashback method (e.g. plugging the USB stick in and updating through BIOS), you do not need to rename it.

You have to rename it if using USB BIOS Flashback because the motherboard is in bare-to-the-bone-minimum "headless" mode.

The XXXX.CAP IS the BIOS image.

 

You don't have to use the BIOSRenamer tool...

It is LITERALLY the same as YOU right-click -> Rename -> type in "SX570EG"

[Wizzardoz]

One further question - I use Windows 11 Pro and using slmgr.vbs/dli command, it states that the key is Retail and licenced.

So, worst case option, if I have to change the Motherboard (hardware per Microsoft) will this key still work?