PC for Friend on a Budget

[opponentmule2]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 2200G Quad-Core Processor ($99.99)
Motherboard: MSI - A320M PRO-VD PLUS Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($35.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($93.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.49 @ OutletPC)
Case: DIYPC - Zondda-O ATX Mid Tower Case ($19.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA - BT 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($21.99 @ B&H)
Total: $318.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-02-12 19:47 EST-0500

Rate, comments, suggestions?

 

[drbones8472]

Looks good to me. I wouldn't say no to it if somebody gave it to me.

 

[ohiou_grad_2006]

Could definitely be worse. If he can stretch the budget for a b350 board, then he should be able to overclock.

 

[ArchitSahu]

See this video first:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1FUKgOh1pM&t=367s

Seems like some bios problems going on with Ryzen APU's, be very careful.

 

[ohiou_grad_2006]

That said, i would also say to get a board from a known manufacturer like gigabyte, Asus, etc. When the original ryzen CPUs came out they had ram issues etc. His issue could be something as simple as the timings on the ram not set correctly, but I'd say it's more likely because the apus literally just launched what yesterday? So I think that probably as bios/driver updates are released that those issues will start getting ironed out.

 

[zoltan.boese]

Would the ASRock AB350M be better?

 

[ohiou_grad_2006]

I have the ASRock AB350m pro 4 in my personal system with my ryzen 5 1600 and I like it pretty well. Not the greatest board but you can see do worse for the money. I've been running mine since last summer and I'm happy with it

I know there's a thread here somewhere where someone had their power supply go out during a bios flash and bricked their board. But for your power supply to go out or power to cut off during a bios flash is just bad luck imo. And usually, unless there is a specific issue you are needing to fix, most people on here don't recommend flashing the bios if everything is working properly.

 

[ohiou_grad_2006]

To clarify, I think this is the board I have.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dWL7YJ/asrock-ab350m-pro4-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-ab350m-pro4

The one you linked, I have not used that specific one, so I can't tell you completely on that one.

 

[SSBrando]

Since the new Ryzen line has had issues, I would pick a RAM set that is certified to work on the MSI board from their website:
https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/support/A320M-PRO-VD-PLUS#support-mem-12
And don't worry, MSI is also a known brand just like Asus, Gigabyte, ASRock(owned by Asus) etc.
I still run an MSI board with a Pentium 4 Prescott Socket 478 and it's still kicking.
The Power Supply is suitable as long as you don't plan on putting a video card of sorts in there. If you do at some point, I'd recommend at least 600w by Corsair or EVGA or Thermaltake.
*Personal experience, never buy ANYTHING made by Rosewill FYI*