[SOLVED] Advice on a new system

[brigadioras]

Hello!

I hope you guys are doing well.

The time has come to build a new PC. I thought what would be a better place than tomshardware to ask for some advice.

My budget is around 500 EUR (will be using my old GPU for now) and I have a few questions.

I have settled on the new i5-13400f (since the price difference between the 12400f is only 40 EUR)
For the motherboard I chose the Gigabyte B660M DS3H DDR4.
For RAM I chose the Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200Mhz CL16 4x8GB.
PSU: EVGA 650 BR 650 W.
M.2: Gigabyte M30 512GB (looking for a fast and a cheaper one).
I plan on upgrading my GPU to something like a RTX 3060-3070 later.

I wanted to hear your opinion on the parts, maybe something could be changed. Also I heard that choosing a good motherboard is actually important these days (something to do with power hungry CPU's and VRM's if planning to upgrade later). Would the motherboard also be compatible with the CPU out of the box?

Looking forward to your answers!

 

[Why_Me]

Hello!

I hope you guys are doing well.

The time has come to build a new PC. I thought what would be a better place than tomshardware to ask for some advice.

My budget is around 500 EUR (will be using my old GPU for now) and I have a few questions.

I have settled on the new i5-13400f (since the price difference between the 12400f is only 40 EUR)
For the motherboard I chose the Gigabyte B660M DS3H DDR4.
For RAM I chose the Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200Mhz CL16 4x8GB.
PSU: EVGA 650 BR 650 W.
M.2: Gigabyte M30 512GB (looking for a fast and a cheaper one).
I plan on upgrading my GPU to something like a RTX 3060-3070 later.

I wanted to hear your opinion on the parts, maybe something could be changed. Also I heard that choosing a good motherboard is actually important these days (something to do with power hungry CPU's and VRM's if planning to upgrade later). Would the motherboard also be compatible with the CPU out of the box?

Looking forward to your answers!

You want 2x16GB, not 4x8GB. I would look at a board with better VRM's.

 

[Lafong]

What stores will you buy from? Links to them?

RAM: I'd try to get 2 sticks of 16 GB each, rather than 4 sticks of 8....but I might consider 16 total (2 sticks of 8 each) since your budget is a bit tight. Maybe there is a better spot to spend money on than 32 GB RAM.

 

[brigadioras]

What stores will you buy from? Links to them?

RAM: I'd try to get 2 sticks of 16 GB each, rather than 4 sticks of 8....but I might consider 16 total (2 sticks of 8 each) since your budget is a bit tight. Maybe there is a better spot to spend money on than 32 GB RAM.

I'm from Lithuania and I'm kinda picking parts from different stores. What I have listed should cost me around 580 EUR total (including case and ect.), so yeah around 500 - 600 EUR.
CPU: 220 EUR, PSU: 65 EUR, MOBO: 113 EUR, RAM: ~100EUR, SSD: 50 EUR.

Does performance differ from 4x8 to 2x16?

 

[Why_Me]

I'm from Lithuania and I'm kinda picking parts from different stores. What I have listed should cost me around 580 EUR total, so yeah around 500 - 600 EUR.
CPU: 220 EUR, PSU: 65 EUR, MOBO: 113 EUR, RAM: ~100EUR, SSD: 50 EUR.

Does performance differ from 4x8 to 2x16?

four sticks stresses the memory controller.

 

[rickypicky5]

I wouldn't buy that PSU. It only has a 3 year warranty.

 

[brigadioras]

four sticks stresses the memory controller.

Okay, thanks! And that would also leave some headroom for later if I ever would need more lol. The purpose is of course gaming, with some rendering here and there. How could I pick a better motherboard, what should I be looking for?

 

[Lafong]

Other motherboards to consider; a bit more expensive

Gigabyte B760M Aorus Elite DDR 4

Gigabyte B760M Aorus Pro DDR 4

MSI MAG B760M Mortar WiFi DDR 4

 

[Why_Me]

If you go with a B660 board you want to get a Gigabyte board with Q-Flash Plus so that you can update the bios before installing the cpu & RAM. I'll use this board as an example. Check other sites for better prices.

https://www.skytech.lt/b660m-gaming...essor-family-intel-processor-so-p-578470.html
Gigabyte B660M GAMING X DDR4 €136.69

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B660M-GAMING-X-DDR4-rev-1x#kf

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www.skytech.lt

https://www.kilobaitas.lt/

https://www.senukai.lt/

https://www.rde.lt/

https://pigu.lt/lt/

https://www.topocentras.lt/

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spacebar.gg

 

[brigadioras]

If you go with a B660 board you want to get a Gigabyte board with Q-Flash Plus so that you can update the bios before installing the cpu & RAM. I'll use this board as an example. Check other sites for better prices.

https://www.skytech.lt/b660m-gaming...essor-family-intel-processor-so-p-578470.html
Gigabyte B660M GAMING X DDR4 €136.69

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B660M-GAMING-X-DDR4-rev-1x#kf

SKYTECH.LT - kompiuteriai, televizoriai, namų elektronika

SKYTECH.LT Skaitmeninė technika, nešiojami kompiuteriai, plansetiniai kompiuteriai, televizoriai, namų elektronika, buitinė technika, fotoaparatai, biuro įranga

www.skytech.lt

https://www.kilobaitas.lt/

https://www.senukai.lt/

https://www.rde.lt/

https://pigu.lt/lt/

https://www.topocentras.lt/

Žaidimų įranga iš tikrų žaidėjų rankų - SPACEBAR.GG

Žaidimų įranga žaidėjams - kompiuteriai, pelės, klaviatūros, ausinės ir kita žaidimų įranga. Greitas prekių pristatymas, akcijos ir platus pasirinkimas.

spacebar.gg

Oh that is perfect! So I can flash that board from skytech easy right? And its such a good price as well.

So from what I understood, get 2x16GB 3200Mhz, that board, for PSU 650W should be enough I guess.

Anything else? 😀

If not, then thank you so much, saved me money and time!!

 

[Why_Me]

Oh that is perfect! So I can flash that board from skytech easy right? And its such a good price as well.

So from what I understood, get 2x16GB 3200Mhz, that board, for PSU 650W should be enough I guess.

Anything else? 😀

If not, then thank you so much, saved me money and time!!

You might find that board for cheaper on another site. I just used Skytech as an example. All you need to flash that board is a cheap USB stick.

 

[brigadioras]

You might find that board for cheaper on another site. I just used Skytech as an example. All you need to flash that board is a cheap USB stick.

Yeah that board looks like it knows what its doing.

Thank you so much!

 

[brigadioras]

You might find that board for cheaper on another site. I just used Skytech as an example. All you need to flash that board is a cheap USB stick.

One more thing, I see here that there are a few options for the bios. https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B660M-GAMING-X-DDR4-rev-1x/support#support-dl-bios
There is some kind of warning. How would I install that driver without having an older CPU?

 

[Why_Me]

One more thing, I see here that there are a few options for the bios. https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B660M-GAMING-X-DDR4-rev-1x/support#support-dl-bios
There is some kind of warning. How would I install that driver without having an older CPU?

Google Q-Flash Plus

https://glennsqlperformance.com/2020/12/22/how-to-flash-a-gigabyte-motherboard-with-q-flash-plus/

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CujWytnuWRg

 

[brigadioras]

Google Q-Flash Plus

https://glennsqlperformance.com/2020/12/22/how-to-flash-a-gigabyte-motherboard-with-q-flash-plus/

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CujWytnuWRg

Yeah, just looked into it, but there is this driver warning for that board:
Please make sure Intel VMD driver is updated to v19.5 or above before installing 13th Gen Processors.
Windows crashes with 13th Gen Processors when Intel VMD (RAID) has been configured on 12th Gen without v19.5 updated.

I'm guessing this is for upgrading from 12th to 13th gen?

 

[Why_Me]

Yeah, just looked into it, but there is this driver warning for that board:
Please make sure Intel VMD driver is updated to v19.5 or above before installing 13th Gen Processors.
Windows crashes with 13th Gen Processors when Intel VMD (RAID) has been configured on 12th Gen without v19.5 updated.

I'm guessing this is for upgrading from 12th to 13th gen?

All B660, Z690 and H670 boards need a bios update in order to run a 13 gen processor. Q-Flash Plus allows you do update your bios without a cpu and RAM installed. All you need is a USB flash drive.

 

[brigadioras]

All B660, Z690 and H670 boards need a bios update in order to run a 13 gen processor. Q-Flash Plus allows you do update your bios without a cpu and RAM installed. All you need is a USB flash drive.

That I understood. Should I worry about this tho?:

 

[Why_Me]

That I understood. Should I worry about this tho?:

That update will take care of itself after you update the bios.

 

[brigadioras]

That update will take care of itself after you update the bios.

Thank u so so much man!

 

[Lafong]

Are there any B660 boards that support Q Flash Plus?


As opposed to Q Flash?

 

[Why_Me]

Are there any B660 boards that support Q Flash Plus?


As opposed to Q Flash?

I believe most of the Gigabyte B660 boards come with Q-Flash Plus.

 

[Lafong]

I believe most of the Gigabyte B660 boards come with Q-Flash Plus.

Thanks for that.

I see a few online comments about Q Flash Plus being buggy. Not sure how far I'd trust it if I didn't have a CPU. All the more reason to get a B760 for 13th gen. Haven't pounded Youtube for videos.

Apparently MSI "M Flash" requires CPU and system running, with no equivalent to Gigabyte's Q-Flash Plus on B660?

Following paste from MSI B660M Mortar Wife manual:

Updating BIOS:

1. Insert the USB flash drive that contains the update file into the USB port. 2. Please refer the following methods to enter flash mode. ▪ Reboot and press Ctrl + F5 key during POST and click on Yes to reboot the system.

 

[brigadioras]

I believe most of the Gigabyte B660 boards come with Q-Flash Plus.

Hey,

So I was about to buy all of the parts and noticed that my PSU was out of stock... I'm looking at reviews and I'm having trouble picking out a decent one that would cost around 60-80 EUR. Looked at the PSU tier list, all seem to be in the C tier. Do you have any recommendations from the stores you have listed before? Would be very appreciated, because I'm getting a bit frustrated since there are so many options...

 

[Why_Me]

Hey,

So I was about to buy all of the parts and noticed that my PSU was out of stock... I'm looking at reviews and I'm having trouble picking out a decent one that would cost around 60-80 EUR. Looked at the PSU tier list, all seem to be in the C tier. Do you have any recommendations from the stores you have listed before? Would be very appreciated, because I'm getting a bit frustrated since there are so many options...

I'm not seeing any in that price range.

 

[brigadioras]

I'm not seeing any in that price range.

My options were:

Cooler Master MWE V2 650W BRONZE 230V
EVGA BR or the EVGA BQ 650W 230V

I would consider buying a more expensive one, just I'm getting really close to my budget🙁