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

  • @edgemaster72English
    5•9 months ago

    If you’re going for an iGPU like the 5600g as mentioned in another comment, you’re going to want dual channel RAM. That’ll add $11 to your total. The 5600g actually appears to be $9 cheaper than the 5600 so that’s only a net increase of $2.

    For about $10 more you can get a 1 TB NVMe drive instead of an old spinning drive. Kingston NV2, Solidigm P41 Plus, TeamGroup MP44L should all be fine options. It makes such a huge difference and is absolutely worth it.

    Unless you’re married to that size of monitor there’s a fair few high refresh rate 1080p monitors with VRR support at or below the price of the one you have spec’d out. While you may not take full advantage with the build you have now, it gives the monitor the ability to grow a bit with upgrades you may do in the short to mid term. If you go with the cheapest one on that list, the MSI, that gives you $30 that I personally would put towards a more robust PSU, either this EVGA 600W 80+ Gold or this Silverstone 550W 80+ Gold.

    As for your case, that one appears to only have 1 included rear exhaust fan, so you’d need to pick up some more like the Arctic P12 Max (9.99 single or 35.99 for a 5 pack). If you want to save a little you could consider the regular P12 (non Max, 8.99 single/34.97 5-pack) or the ThermalRight TL-C12C (6.59 single/11.90 3 pack). 2 intake fans with 1 exhaust would probably be sufficient. To offset the cost of added fans you could switch to this Cooler Master case.

    Alternatively you could go with another case with more included fans, such as this Zalman case. Or if you’re feeling adventurous enough to try RGB on your first build you could consider either these options from Deepcool and Sama.

    Here’s the full list with my recommended adjustments, only $7 more than yours but you gain:

    • the iGPU of the 5600G
    • another 8 GB of RAM in dual channel running at slightly higher frequency (remember to enable this in BIOS once you get everything set up)
    • a 1 TB gen 4 NVMe SSD instead of a slower but more spacious hard drive (again absolutely worth the trade off)
    • a case with a side panel (acrylic not glass but better imo than the cougar one) and 2 more fans
    • an extra 50W in the PSU and bumped up to a gold rated unit
    • a 24" 170Hz monitor with VRR
    • @berryjamOP
      4•9 months ago

      Wow, you made a whole new list – thank you!

      The monitor is quite honestly a random one that I picked from PCPartPicker’s recommendations. I def want it to be bigger than 17" but I have no hard requirements beyond that. Similarly for the case, it’s just the one recommended on Logical Increments – I am not set on it, and I will def consider your other options.

      Thanks again for the detailed feedback!