[SOLVED] B450 or A320?

[OblivionsEdge]

I have planned on buying a Ryzen 3 3200g for a build. I have a very tight budget and am therefore looking for cheaper alternatives to the b450 motherboard to accompany it. I'm not looking to overclock or any fancy business. Not running crossfire or SLI and only need like a max of 2 RAM slots. I want to know if there would be any problems using an A320 board rather than an B450. I've looked online and most thread are saying that A320 usually need BIOS updates for newer Ryzen CPUs, but after putting together a build on PCPartPicker, there is a notification about some motherboards needing updating. Are there any low price b450 or a320 choices that I could consider?

 

[punkncat]

I cannot be sure that the a320 will boot from a 3200G without a BIOS update either.
Considering the strength of the graphics card option in the onboard of the above...something to consider at an alternative would be to go with a first gen Ryzen 3 or 5 (1200/1600) for instance. It is my understanding in another thread that the AF variants that are coming and famously cheap may also have that BIOS limitation with the A320 chipset. If you found a cheap 1200 and had a low spec GPU already on hand, or perhaps look for a 750/1050ti on the cheap (or the RX570 mentioned) although it would overall raise the price back up again.

Down the road the A chipset is going to limit you much more than even a cheap B450 offering (which could actually also offer issue with BIOS outside the "max" variants). Ryzen is a funny world.

 

[Karadjgne]

It's not so much the board, but getting the bios to recognise the cpu. There's only so much room in a bios chip, and with the amount of info with 1st and second gen, all the ram stuff etc, then you try updating fixes, any new info, instructions for changes and fixes etc, it's too much. So it's got to be done in stages.

First you find out exactly what bios you get, look at the revisions list, and go from there. There'll be notes on every revision.

This will have to be done with every motherboard that was manufactured prior to 3rd gen release, and PCPartPicker or any other site can't guarantee you get a motherboard with a current bios or one that's 2 years old. So all the 1st gen and 2nd Gen boards are subject to bios update warnings. The only boards that guarantee 3rd gen are the X570's and the upcoming B550's since they are 3rd gen boards.

Some manufacturers like MSI have designated a MAX version, specifically stating 3rd gen bios already installed or most will have a 3rd gen ready sticker on the box, donating they were manufactured after 3rd gen release and have a 3rd gen bios. Other than those, you'll need to update.

With your conditions, any mobo will do, as long as it fits your case, and your needs. No point in going with mATX if you have an ATX mid tower and more than 2x 3pin case fans. For example. It would also help if the motherboard output for video also matched or could match your monitors requirements, if planning on using a discrete gpu, I'd not bother with any of the 'G' APU's, a R5 1600 AF will be far superior and cheaper.

 

[OblivionsEdge]

I cannot be sure that the a320 will boot from a 3200G without a BIOS update either.
Considering the strength of the graphics card option in the onboard of the above...something to consider at an alternative would be to go with a first gen Ryzen 3 or 5 (1200/1600) for instance. It is my understanding in another thread that the AF variants that are coming and famously cheap may also have that BIOS limitation with the A320 chipset. If you found a cheap 1200 and had a low spec GPU already on hand, or perhaps look for a 750/1050ti on the cheap (or the RX570 mentioned) although it would overall raise the price back up again.

Down the road the A chipset is going to limit you much more than even a cheap B450 offering (which could actually also offer issue with BIOS outside the "max" variants). Ryzen is a funny world.

So the motherboard I found is the gigabyte GA-A320M-S2H:

https://www.gigabyte.com/uk/Motherboard/GA-A320M-S2H-rev-1x#kf

it says it supports Ryzen 3, so would this be a better option than a b450. Also theres not very much chance there will be any upgrades in the future, and if I do, this motherboard i can get second hand for around £25, so buying another one wont be too much of a problem

 

[Karadjgne]

Will it work yes, shouldn't be an issue at all, has multiple ports for video, moreso than any of the upgraded motherboards, so Gigabyte clearly intends this board for usage with the G series APU's. It will be fully functional.

It's a hat. A plain jane, nothing special hat. It's not a Nike or Adidas, it's not an Official team sports hat, it's not signed by a star, it's just a hat and you need something to cover your head. It'll work. Are the B450 better? Yes, better options, better VRM's, better audio, better storage. But you just need a cheap hat.

So that Gigabyte board will suit just fine.

 

[OblivionsEdge]

Will it work yes, shouldn't be an issue at all, has multiple ports for video, moreso than any of the upgraded motherboards, so Gigabyte clearly intends this board for usage with the G series APU's. It will be fully functional.

It's a hat. A plain jane, nothing special hat. It's not a Nike or Adidas, it's not an Official team sports hat, it's not signed by a star, it's just a hat and you need something to cover your head. It'll work. Are the B450 better? Yes, better options, better VRM's, better audio, better storage. But you just need a cheap hat.

So that Gigabyte board will suit just fine.

Love the way you explained that haha. Thanks for the help. Am planning on building this soon once I source all the parts for as cheap, but reliable places I can

 

[Karadjgne]

😁 Most welcome. Good luck with the build