Hi, I am looking to build my first PC. It will be for general use (web browsing, programming, office work; no gaming).

Here is my part list: PCPartPicker

I based it on the Logical Increments minimum tier. I will be using Arch Linux for the OS.

Some questions…

  1. How painful is it to update the motherboard BIOS?
  2. Am I missing anything obvious? I’m unsure if I need a sound card, for example. Newegg says this motherboard has a wifi and bluetooth module. Is there anything else I should consider getting?
  3. Is there a way to check if any of the parts will not work/be incompatible with my chosen OS? I’ve never had a problem with Linux drivers on any of my laptops, so I’m fairly confident it will be fine, but I still want to make sure.

Thanks :)

Edit: I made an updated list based on your suggestions New updated link

  • @grueEnglish
    3•9 months ago
    1. The tricky thing about updating the motherboard BIOS to support a new CPU is that the computer has to be running, which means you have to have an older, supported CPU installed to do it. If this is your only Ryzen computer, you’ll have to borrow an older Ryzen CPU from a friend or something to do the flashing.
    2. You do not need a sound card these days unless you are doing something unusual (pro-audio, retro gaming while being a purist on getting the MIDI synthesis exactly right, etc.)
    3. I don’t know about a way to check ahead of time, but I’m 99.9% sure those parts will work in Linux. In fact, it wouldn’t even cross my mind to worry about such a thing unless I was picking out something much more exotic.

    By the way, ditch the hard drive for an SSD, even if you have to settle for less capacity to meet your budget. Spinning-disk drives murder performance these days.

    I also concur with the other reply about the RAM.

    I think you could probably shave a bit of cost off your monitor and keyboard to compensate (a 1080p ~20" monitor can be had for $100 or less, and I wouldn’t pay more than $10-$15 for a membrane keyboard, wireless or not). Also, did you forget the mouse or do you already have one?

    • @berryjamOP
      2•9 months ago

      Thank you! I will double the RAM and look into SSD options.

      Yeah, I already have a mouse, and the keyboard/monitor are not set in stone. I just picked those based on the options available in PCPartPicker for a price estimate. I will be buying the keyboard after testing a few in person.

      Also thanks for the info about needing a spare CPU - I don’t have a way to borrow one at the moment.

      • @grueEnglish
        3•9 months ago

        Regarding your updated list:

        • @Contramuffin made a good catch on the lack of GPU; I concur with his 5600G recommendation.

        • I noticed you switched the motherboard from the ASRock B450M/ac R2.0 to the Gigabyte B550 UD AC for +$10. It’s got a newer chipset (B550 instead of B450) and more connectivity (PCIe 4.0 instead of 3.0 and more of them, a second M.2 slot, and USB3.2 including type-C connectors) so it’s definitely “worth” the extra 10 bucks, but based on your list you wouldn’t actually be using any of the stuff that makes it better, at least not initially. Also, it’s a physically bigger card (ATX vs. Micro-ATX for the ASRock), so you’d really need that whole ATX mid-tower case you picked out instead of being able to use a smaller one with the other motherboard. Don’t get me wrong: I think it was a good change, but it’s just stuff to keep in mind.

        • Frankly, if you’re sure you’re just doing “general use” – or even if you’re not, but you’re sure you won’t need more than 1 PCI card, 2 sticks of RAM and 1 M.2 slot – you might consider a Mini-ITX board like this, which would let you use a much smaller case. There are even some cases half the size of that, like this one, but if you go that small you might need to spend extra on a CPU cooler because the stock one that comes with the CPU might be too tall to fit. (OTOH, if you don’t care about size then keep the big stuff to maximize future expandability.)

        • I don’t know if the supposed performance/reliability/compatibility benefits of matched RAM are real, but the price benefits certainly are. Switch to a 2x8GB matched dual-channel “kit” instead of 2 8GB sticks of RAM purchased separately and save about $10.

        • Your storage budget apparently went up by a lot: $54 for the 2TB HDD you started with vs. $40+$90=$130 for the 1TB HDD + 1TB 2.5" SSD you have spec’d now. That’s more than enough budget to get you into a 2TB NVME M.2 SSD. Regardless, that Samsung 870 Evo is not what you want: a 1TB SSD – whether 2.5" SATA or M.2 NVME – should be more like $60, not $90.

        • I’ve tried a vertical mouse before and didn’t like it at all, but YMMV.

        • @berryjamOP
          1•9 months ago

          Yes, I switched out the motherboard because I do not have another CPU to use for updating the BIOS. I don’t really care about the form factor tbh; I might upgrade the build in the future. (I do think the small case is pretty cute…)

          I don’t know if the supposed performance/reliability/compatibility benefits of matched RAM are real, but the price benefits certainly are. Switch to 2x8GB matched dual-channel “kit” instead of 2 8GB sticks of RAM purchased separately and save about $10.

          For sure, thanks for pointing that out! I did notice that on Amazon they had separate options for “1x8GB” and “2x8GB”.

          As for storage, I will probably just buy a 1TB SSD first and then consider buying more. Budget is not a major concern, I just want to keep it under $1k with peripherals + taxes.

          I use a vertical mouse at work and quite like it :)