Build Advice Upgrading a Pre-Built OMEN PC (Case, Motherboard, & PSU)

[pandaparlor]

Long story short, one of my siblings snagged a Ryzen 7 5700X3D and wanted me to upgrade his pre-built PC. Soon enough, we found out that we couldn't; even though his motherboard supports AM4 CPUs, it only allows upgrades to certain AM4 CPUs for some reason. Still, he's deadset on that cpu, so we're now planning on swapping out the motherboard, as well as the case and power supply (For extra room and power [maybe 850W] for a future GPU upgrade & acc. to others online, the airflow in the case is pretty bad as well) and selling the leftover parts.

These are the current specs of the pre-build, which is an HP Omen 25L (GT12-0157c):

• CPU: Ryzen 7 3700X
• GPU: RX 5700
• Memory: 16 GB (2x 8gb) HyperX Fury (3200 MT/s) (DDR4)
• PSU: 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Cooler Master (PS-4501-2)
• Motherboard: HP Omen Moria 3 (L93972-001) (MicroATX) (AM4)
• Storage: 512 GB NVME SSD & 1 TB HDD

I've never built a PC or upgraded anything before, except for storage, so I'm kinda overwhelmed by all the information and choices out there.
What should I pay attention to to make absolutely sure that the motherboard, case, and PSU are all compatible with each other before buying? We don't want to run into any more surprises, like finding out that our AM4 motherboard isn't compatible with all AM4 CPUs. And should we get a new CPU cooler while we're at it, or should the pre-build's CPU fan be more than enough for the 5700X3D?
If you want to give any part suggestions, we live in Texas and don't have a strong preference for any store or website, just whichever place is cheaper.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[ohio_buckeye]

At that point since you’re swapping the board you might as well get a new case and a new cooler. Sometimes cases can be proprietary.

If you have a Microcenter nearby that would be your best bet imo. The folks there are usually pretty knowledgeable. But you probably will want a b550 motherboard.

For a cooler, this may be overkill but it’s a decent cooler for the money imo.


https://a.co/d/99gpCwX

 

[beyondlogic]

Long story short, one of my siblings snagged a Ryzen 7 5700X3D and wanted me to upgrade his pre-built PC. Soon enough, we found out that we couldn't; even though his motherboard supports AM4 CPUs, it only allows upgrades to certain AM4 CPUs for some reason. Still, he's deadset on that cpu, so we're now planning on swapping out the motherboard, as well as the case and power supply (For extra room and power [maybe 850W] for a future GPU upgrade & acc. to others online, the airflow in the case is pretty bad as well) and selling the leftover parts.

These are the current specs of the pre-build, which is an HP Omen 25L (GT12-0157c):

• CPU: Ryzen 7 3700X
• GPU: RX 5700
• Memory: 16 GB (2x 8gb) HyperX Fury (3200 MT/s) (DDR4)
• PSU: 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Cooler Master (PS-4501-2)
• Motherboard: HP Omen Moria 3 (L93972-001) (MicroATX) (AM4)
• Storage: 512 GB NVME SSD & 1 TB HDD

I've never built a PC or upgraded anything before, except for storage, so I'm kinda overwhelmed by all the information and choices out there.
What should I pay attention to to make absolutely sure that the motherboard, case, and PSU are all compatible with each other before buying? We don't want to run into any more surprises, like finding out that our AM4 motherboard isn't compatible with all AM4 CPUs. And should we get a new CPU cooler while we're at it, or should the pre-build's CPU fan be more than enough for the 5700X3D?
If you want to give any part suggestions, we live in Texas and don't have a strong preference for any store or website, just whichever place is cheaper.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

because of your location texas i would suggest water cooling would be better then air cooled.

also recomending the psu because of the higher quality components inside will be more resistant to wear and tear of heat.



build list renewed
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/B4rcMC

 

[pandaparlor]

At that point since you’re swapping the board you might as well get a new case and a new cooler. Sometimes cases can be proprietary.

If you have a Microcenter nearby that would be your best bet imo. The folks there are usually pretty knowledgeable. But you probably will want a b550 motherboard.

For a cooler, this may be overkill but it’s a decent cooler for the money imo.


https://a.co/d/99gpCwX

I don't live near a Microcenter, so that's out of the question 😓. But thanks for the fan and motherboard recommendations. I don't mind the fan being overkill, it's still cheap compared to all the other parts.
There's so many brands selling the b550 though, is there any real difference between them all? And do you have any tips for choosing a case? I really wanna be sure that the motherboard fits whichever case I get.

 

[beyondlogic]

I don't live near a Microcenter, so that's out of the question 😓. But thanks for the fan and motherboard recommendations. I don't mind the fan being overkill, it's still cheap compared to all the other parts.
There's so many brands selling the b550 though, is there any real difference between them all? And do you have any tips for choosing a case? I really wanna be sure that the motherboard fits whichever case I get.

yes the gigabyte motherboard i mentioned has bios flash button which you dont need the cpu installed to update the bios most b550 need a bios flash to be able to use the 5700x3d

updated part list.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2dKhjn

 

[pandaparlor]

because of your location texas i would suggest water cooling would be better then air cooled.

also recomending the psu because of the higher quality components inside will be more resistant to wear and tear of heat.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/9J4NyW

I'll stick to air-cooling; if a fan breaks down, it's no big deal, we can always just replace it. On the other hand, if the liquid cooling leaks, it could damage all the other components in his PC, and we'll have to replace much more than just the cooling system.
And micro-atx? We're planning on upgrading the gpu to a bulkier one in the future. Is there going to be enough room?

 

[pandaparlor]

yes the gigabyte motherboard i mentioned has bios flash button which you dont need the cpu installed to update the bios most b550 need a bios flash to be able to use the 5700x3d

updated part list.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2dKhjn

Oh, I see. Thanks for explaining. I might go for that the regular atx variant then.
And how do I tell if a case, cpu fan, and motherboard will work together? Or are the sizes all standardized and whatnot?

 

[beyondlogic]

I'll stick to air-cooling; if a fan breaks down, it's no big deal, we can always just replace it. On the other hand, if the liquid cooling leaks, it could damage all the other components in his PC, and we'll have to replace much more than just the cooling system.
And micro-atx? We're planning on upgrading the gpu to a bulkier one in the future. Is there going to be enough room?

micro atx tends to be cheaper. it depends are you going to use all the slots on the motherboard ?

air coolings fine but id suggest something like the assassin iv so you dont get memory compatibility of the fan of cheaper coolers invading the memory slots.

leaks rarely happen pump can die. but thats rare unless you install the water cooler on the bottom of the case. or the tubes at a wrong angle.

also before you run out and look for another motherboard etc

you may want to see if this sorts out the motherboard issue by trying to update the bios threw hp assistant.

https://support.hp.com/si-en/document/ish_4129273-2331498-16

 

[pandaparlor]

micro atx tends to be cheaper. it depends are you going to use all the slots on the motherboard ?

air coolings fine but id suggest something like the assassin iv so you dont get memory compatibility of the fan of cheaper coolers invading the memory slots.

leaks rarely happen pump can die. but thats rare unless you install the water cooler on the bottom of the case. or the tubes at a wrong angle.

also before you run out and look for another motherboard etc

you may want to see if this sorts out the motherboard issue by trying to update the bios threw hp assistant.

https://support.hp.com/si-en/document/ish_4129273-2331498-16

And yeah, we already tried updating the bios, but no dice. It also says on the website too that the motherboard only supports 4 CPU upgrades:
https://support.hp.com/nz-en/document/ish_4124804-1867679-16

 

[beyondlogic]

And yeah, we already tried updating the bios, but no dice. It also says on the website too that the motherboard only supports 4 CPU upgrades:
https://support.hp.com/nz-en/document/ish_4124804-1867679-16

thats a pain in the rear if modified the part sheet.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8ZgPzP


as long as the case supports the cases motherboard size and connectors for front aio its compatible.

motherboards come in 3 main types.

atx standard. full board features
micro atx tends to be cheaper. less board features but less power hungry then atx.
mini itx smaller but more expensive and less power hungry.


bios for new board here
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B550-GAMING-X-V2-rev-10-11-12#kf

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cQLYROKJ_Q



am4 how to install am4 processor

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m80GXqA8oE




cpu cooler install

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmaR_a5d-c0




tips for installing

i recommend installing the cpu ram then cooler. and installing it outside of the case.

then install the top corner power cable for cpu then install the motherboard to the case then route the power cable for cpu which will be indicated on psu. and psu manual.

ram should be installed in slots 2 and 4 on the motherboard

2 from the cpu cooler and last slot. otherwise it wont boot.

if unsure of anything you can drop me a pm.

not a 1 to 1 comparison for psu but to give you a idea how power cables link to motherboard

and front panel headers etc.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT36IDSQBX4

 

[ohio_buckeye]

On the cooler, if you have issues with the fans clearing the ram, you may need to do what I did.

When you mount the fans, you might need to mount the fans in a pull configuration. What I mean is when mounting the fans, instead of putting them on the right side of the towers, I mounted mine on the left side of the towers and set them to pull air out of the case.