[SOLVED] Z490 motherboards and Intel 11th gen

Apr 24, 2021
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If I were to buy a Z490 motherboard on let's say amazon right now, would it support Intels 11th gen processors (like the i5 11400) out of the box or would the motherboard require a BIOS-update first?
 
Solution
Op, if you have a Microcenter nearby. Check them out. They are often hard to beat if you buy a motherboard and CPU at the same time. Also their prices on Crucial RAM are competitive with online prices. The Samsung 980 1TB NVMe SSD is also competitive with online prices. I just did my system last week for less than anything I could find online.

PSU prices are a bit high. But only like $10 to $15 on the Seasonic and Corsair PSUs I looked at. Overall you should at least break even. But likely come out a little ahead. You'll have everything immediately. Plus support a local retail computer store. There aren't many left.

If you plan on a i5-11400 processor, a B560 based motherboard will do the job and be priced much lower.

If you...
It really depends on when it was manufactured. If it came off the assembly line after Rocket Lake came out. Then it likely has the necessary BIOS update. Otherwise it won’t.

It’s best to stick with Z590 or at least a Z490 which supports CPU-less and RAM-less BIOS updates.
 
Op, if you have a Microcenter nearby. Check them out. They are often hard to beat if you buy a motherboard and CPU at the same time. Also their prices on Crucial RAM are competitive with online prices. The Samsung 980 1TB NVMe SSD is also competitive with online prices. I just did my system last week for less than anything I could find online.

PSU prices are a bit high. But only like $10 to $15 on the Seasonic and Corsair PSUs I looked at. Overall you should at least break even. But likely come out a little ahead. You'll have everything immediately. Plus support a local retail computer store. There aren't many left.

If you plan on a i5-11400 processor, a B560 based motherboard will do the job and be priced much lower.

If you can find one. The cheapest option I saw was a Z590 at Microcenter. Besides some POS H510. When I got my 11400.

Even right now that Z590 is only $10 more than any B560 or H570 on PCPartpicker. After you factor in the $20, CPU plus Motherboard, discount.

Not that I bought that motherboard. I wanted a better one.
 
Solution