I'm expecting the final shipment of parts for my new build this afternoon. My current computer is more than nine years old, so it's been a while since I've done a build.
For reference:
CPU: Ryzen 3600
Mobo: MSI X570 Gaming Plus
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 3600 (2X8GB)
SSD: 1TB M.2 Patriot Viper VP100
HDD: 2TB Seagate FireCuda
PSU: Antec HCG750 Gold (rebadged Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 750)
GPU: Gigabyte NVidia 1050 OC (already in use for a month in my current computer)
Case: be quiet Pure Base 600
First, the case has only 8 standoffs for mobo screws. Instead of a standoff in the center of the ATX board, there's a pin. That makes some sense, as it would seem to make it easier to align the motherboard properly when installing it. Once the pin is in the hole, it's just a matter of rotating the motherboard until all the holes line up with the standoffs.
The problem is this particular motherboard uses that center hole to mount an M.2 heatsink. That shouldn't matter for me, as the SSD has its own heatsink. I'm not using the mobo heatsink, which won't even fit over it. But should I remove the pin anyway and install a standoff and screw? (I have a few of those left over from previous builds.)
1. If the build is successful, I assume I'll see some sort of splash screen from the BIOS? Since there would be no bootable media, I assume I'll have to press DEL when I see that splash screen, or else POST will fail with the "Boot" LED? I've bought a little speaker for easier testing, but the manual doesn't specify any beep codes.
2. I will partition and set up the (non-bootable) hard drive with my current system, and copy all the non-system data to it so everything will be there once I've installed Windows. I know that when installing Windows 10, only the SSD to which Windows will be installed should be present. But would it be a good idea to install the hard drive for that initial startup to be sure the BIOS can see it (and unplug it before installing Windows)?
3. After the BIOS comes up, I next plan to boot a thumb drive with MemTest to verify the RAM before I try to install Windows. The RAM is 3600MHz. Should I first adjust the RAM setting in the BIOS to run at that speed? Or run MemTest at whatever setting the BIOS defaults to, set it to 3600MHz, and run it again?
4. There has been one BIOS update so far for the X570 Gaming Plus, released on July 2. If the mobo doesn't ship with the latest version, at what point should I flash the BIOS?
For reference:
CPU: Ryzen 3600
Mobo: MSI X570 Gaming Plus
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 3600 (2X8GB)
SSD: 1TB M.2 Patriot Viper VP100
HDD: 2TB Seagate FireCuda
PSU: Antec HCG750 Gold (rebadged Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 750)
GPU: Gigabyte NVidia 1050 OC (already in use for a month in my current computer)
Case: be quiet Pure Base 600
First, the case has only 8 standoffs for mobo screws. Instead of a standoff in the center of the ATX board, there's a pin. That makes some sense, as it would seem to make it easier to align the motherboard properly when installing it. Once the pin is in the hole, it's just a matter of rotating the motherboard until all the holes line up with the standoffs.
The problem is this particular motherboard uses that center hole to mount an M.2 heatsink. That shouldn't matter for me, as the SSD has its own heatsink. I'm not using the mobo heatsink, which won't even fit over it. But should I remove the pin anyway and install a standoff and screw? (I have a few of those left over from previous builds.)
1. If the build is successful, I assume I'll see some sort of splash screen from the BIOS? Since there would be no bootable media, I assume I'll have to press DEL when I see that splash screen, or else POST will fail with the "Boot" LED? I've bought a little speaker for easier testing, but the manual doesn't specify any beep codes.
2. I will partition and set up the (non-bootable) hard drive with my current system, and copy all the non-system data to it so everything will be there once I've installed Windows. I know that when installing Windows 10, only the SSD to which Windows will be installed should be present. But would it be a good idea to install the hard drive for that initial startup to be sure the BIOS can see it (and unplug it before installing Windows)?
3. After the BIOS comes up, I next plan to boot a thumb drive with MemTest to verify the RAM before I try to install Windows. The RAM is 3600MHz. Should I first adjust the RAM setting in the BIOS to run at that speed? Or run MemTest at whatever setting the BIOS defaults to, set it to 3600MHz, and run it again?
4. There has been one BIOS update so far for the X570 Gaming Plus, released on July 2. If the mobo doesn't ship with the latest version, at what point should I flash the BIOS?