Question Cheap mini itx motherboard for Coolermaster Elite 130

[thomas4204]

I am looking for a cheap mini itx board to fit in this case i just got. Thanks
Ryzen 5 3600
MSI GTX 1660
Corsair vengence 2400mhz

 

[Darkbreeze]

There are ZERO mini ITX B450, X470 motherboards with support for Ryzen 3000 series out of the box OR with BIOS flashback to make updating the BIOS possible without an earlier Gen CPU.

There are no X570 mini ITX motherboards that are "cheap".

So you have two choices really. Maybe three.

Buy a 200 dollar X570 board, like this one.

PCPartPicker Part List

Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 I AORUS PRO WIFI Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($219.00 @ B&H)
Total: $219.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-01-04 23:57 EST-0500


Or, buy an X470/B450 board AND a cheap CPU to flash the bios with, and then sell the cheap CPU afterwards, unless you know somebody with a first or second gen Ryzen CPU that will let you borrow it to flash the BIOS to a version that supports Ryzen 3000 series CPUs.

Or, buy an X470/B450 board and then contact AMD about taking advantage of their "loaner CPU" program in order to flash the BIOS.

If you decide to use either of the later two options, then this might be a good choice.

PCPartPicker Part List

Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty B450 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($123.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $123.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-01-05 00:00 EST-0500


There are no other options cheaper than that unless you want to look at older first gen Ryzen chipset boards and I'd avoid doing that if you were wise.

 

[ocer9999]

IT's a risk to buy a B450, but I'm pretty sure most are already coming out from the factory with a bios supporting the newest CPU. If not you can always ask the shop where you bought it to do it for you.

 

[Darkbreeze]

What might be "coming out of the factory" is irrelevant. There is no way of knowing whether you will get one with a newer BIOS or one that's been sitting on a warehouse shelf for the last year. And if you live someplace other than the US or UK, the chances just increase especially if you are in a region with limited availability and sales.

That's another option as well, so good call on that. If, IF, you live somewhere that has trustworthy repair facilities you MAY be able to get a shop to update an older BIOS for you. Places like Microcenter and Fry's will usually do it for a small fee as well, but it's still an additional step and process that will be involved. You're simply not going to find ANY motherboard that is mini ITX and supports Ryzen out of the box unless it's X570 OR you're feeling lucky enough to roll the dice. The fact that mini ITX is a very niche market, means it's MUCH less likely you'll get a newly shipped board with a newer BIOS than if you were using a full sized ATX model that has a much faster turnover.

 

[Calvin7]

Ryzen 5 3600 supports 3200MHz memory out of the box.

MSI B450I Gaming Plus
https://www.newegg.com/msi-performance-gaming-b450i-gaming-plus-ac/p/N82E16813144190?

You can get loaner CPU from AMD or buy a cheap processor to update BIOS version.
https://www.newegg.com/p/1FR-0001-000D9

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yeah, it technically supports it, if you get the right memory kit. If you don't, good luck with that. Ask the 500 or so people I've had to help find compatible memory, that actually WORKED after they did so, over the last five months or so.