MemoryExpress will update the firmware for you for no charge. FYI

Is it free only if you ordered the parts from MemEx?

Canada Computers quoted me $50 for a BIOS update for my B450.
Luckily for me, a helpful guy let me borrow his older Ryzen CPU a few pages back.

I have an MSI B450 motherboard too. Apparently these have good VRMs (not sure the benefit of VRM is though)
The mobo product page says —Supports DDR4-3466(OC) Memory, but I was able to use 3600MHz via XMP profile without any issue.
I plan on keeping the CPU stock though, so it works fine enough for me.

I would imagine it’s no charge only if you actually buy it from them, yes.

I believe some B450 mobos are already pre-flashed with updated BIOS. Unless the store has old stock sitting around for a while.

It should have a sticker on the box
https://st.overclockers.ru/images/ne...06/16/b450.png

I imagine all b450 stock is Ryzen 3xxx ready these days, but maybe as mentioned a store is sitting on 2+yo stock. I'm sure that'd be pretty rare.

Some boards can update the bios even without a CPU using a flash drive (MSI B450 Tomahawk comes to mind). There's a special USB port on the back that is for reading firmware updates.

Good VRMs are necessary for stability during OCing. Since you're keeping things stock, good VRMs would be a nice to have not a necessity.

Depending on sales, I realized the B550 is actually not that much more.
But money is still money, is it worth upgrading?

How much better is the B550?

I always build my PC's leaving them open ended for OC'ing or upgrading, but based on my history, I tend to just build and leave it for 6-7 years before I do a new overhaul again. So I don't know how much should I really bother "future proofing". Would any mobo I buy today be capable of surviving a 2nd build cycle?

might as well go for the b550 no?

Im leaning towards the Asus TUF GAMING X570-PLUS for my 5600x build

There's not a huge benefit to going B550, but if the price difference is minimal I'd go for it because it's a release newer, meaning it could survive a 2nd build cycle (your second question).

I believe AMD is slated to move off of AM4 soon. If not after the 5xxx series, the release after that is where they'll do it. So to answer your second question, no I don't think any mobo would survive a 2nd build cycle if you're looking to upgrade past the 5xxx series. I think almost all B450 boards support 5xxx chips, but if they move to a different socket after this release then neither B450 or B550 will help if you want a newer CPU then.

EDIT: here's some reference material: https://www.pcworld.com/article/3542...t-support.html

It looks like AM4 will support the "tock" Zen 3 chip. So you'd be good for the "6xxx" chip or whatever they choose to name it.

am4 has been around for 4-5 years and they were ready to lock out zen 3 but didnt because of backlash
so buy whatever is best value for your needs since you cant futureproof it

I believe for the PLUS, you will need an older 3000x CPU to do the bios update before you can use your 5600x. The PRO is the one with the flashback option which doesn't require the older CPU first.

Or as I think someone mentioned, you can take it into some stores to do it for a fee or free if you cannot borrow one from someone.

so weird...my b550 has quick bios flash and its own usb port for bios...


first boot on 3200mhz ram & 5600x, Fuck all happened, DRAM warning lights all lit up EleGiggle completely dead.


uploaded latest non-beta bios on usb stick...held down the bios button 3 seconds on boot and started flashing like crazy the usb stick & tiny led light on motherboard....5 minutes later it automatically rebooted its self and picked up the ram and new chip.


Yay.

I wonder if it would've worked without a BIOS flashback.

Upon the first boot of most installs, the system will cycle a few times to get the correct memory clock and timings. This will also happen when you reseat or install a new CPU or RAM as well.

But as long as it works.

:fuckyea:

build complete
RGB lights add 10+ fps


the Strix 3070 is insanely over-engineered for cooling let alone adding a fan underneath it, hah! you can add 2 but the front fan its already insanely windy pushing back,enough i feel it with my hand...no thanks,1 is good enough, esp with a 3 slot GPU.

is that the capellix?

i added it to cart to replace a failing 360mm aio but decided to just use a spare 120mm until i upgrade actual components, back to old penny pinching ways FeelsGoodMan

but yeah glad lian-li expanded beyond server cases, sacrifice a bit of practicality (that you might only work with once every 3 years) for better build quality/presentation is worth it

yup it's capellix elite.. icue reports 30 degree idle on 5600x,but HWmonitor says 40 degree. :suspicious:

in the first place i was interested in the O11 Dynamic model but figuring out $180 for a case and ton more $$$ on the fans it needs to breathe proper is way out of my plan to spend that much, Amazing looking case but i'm super happy with this.. i can pay the strix tax but not $260+ on led fans to make use of that case EleGiggle

$140 for mesh 2 on black friday from newegg
than $150 for the RBG G.SKILL Trident Z Neo 3600mhz ram cl16.

cl14 was like $250 and most of the review sites use 16cl for tests so if its good enough for them its good enough for me, plus am i gonna notice 0.50 nano seconds faster ram? most likely not but a lighter wallet.

Need advice.

I've been out of the pc scene for probably 6 years now... Lol have no idea what's what anymore.

My current rig has two GTX760s running two monitors. Due to moving I needed to get rid of the duals and bought one single 24" which supports a bunch of stuff. The monitor is this one.
https://www.costco.ca/acer-nitro-xz2...100671014.html

Is there any benefit to getting a new low range video card to take advantage of new features? I don't game on the pc, mild image editing and the odd video editing but nothing professional or demanding.

No benefit if you aren't going to game.

GTX760s are okay for photo editing, Light room, Photoshop.

won't notice any speed increase editing with anything recent , you can make thing's load faster with a Solid state drive if you didn't already invest in one.
https://www.amazon.ca/Blue-NAND-1TB-...dp/B073SBQMCX/

Thanks, just the answers i was looking for lol. If I use a displayport cable can I take advantage of the higher refresh rate? Any other monitor features I may miss out on?

I do have an SSD :)

Another question - why that monitor particularly? I'd get a good IPS monitor for photo editing etc instead of high refresh.

Photoshop is quite GPU intensive these days

And I agree on the monitor. Don't use a gaming monitor if your main goal is photo editing. Their colours generally range from "fine" to "ugh", especially the ones with very high refresh rates (200+)

I bought it mostly for the price lol, and the curvature, and funnily enough because it haa built in speakers.

The main main goal is just general usage, and I had read IPS panels have light bleed problems that VA panels don't. Also it's Costco so i can return easily lol.

Can you recommend a monitor sub $250 at the 24" range? I can't do 27"

Edit: it needs to have built in speakers. I know it's stupid but it's a need... Lol

I mean, just browsing the Costco webpage there's a few that are a lot cheaper, have IPS, have speakers. Curved monitors are a personal preference, if you like it then you should look for one but for graphics work I think flat is preferred.

https://www.costco.ca/benq-gw2480---...100480842.html - this one has speakers. Again, built in speakers tend to be ass so as long as you're ok with that...

I bought mine in store, the online selection is far better, yes, but they take long to ship...

I am fully prepared for ass sounding built in speakers, it's just the benefit of not having clutter on the desk is very high on the priority list.

So of these IPS panels, which one?

https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX00114504
https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX00115034
https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX00112664
https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX65672

The last one is a QHD, which I like because I'll be sitting quite close to the monitor (2~3 feet), but apparently screen quality is a hit/miss.

Any other ones? I suspect they're all roughly the same at this price point, no?