Why does the BIOS experience matter if you're not overclocking? You'll go into it like once to get your system set up and never touch it again.
Yeh - you're right. I mean I do plan to setup custom fan curves to ensure positive pressure but after that I'll have no reason to go back into it. I'm really just grasping for things that I'll actually notice and understand. When choosing power supply and case, reviews made it really easy to pick but it seems that MOBOs of the same chipset aren't much different. I guess I was hoping for
feedback like this that compares and contrasts specifically the options put forward. Unfortunately it seems people saw that I had got a reply and decided not to add thier two-pennies-worth.
I wouldn't base my purchasing decision on whether or not I could plug in a USB port I don't use over the quality of the components and the board's performance. A powered port splitter in the back of the case is preferable over than discounting a board because my front panel won't be plugged in.
I kind of have to disagree with you here. Nice and efficient cabling is a big priority for me. I see a lot of crappy haphazard builds with terrible cable management that people have put together and then I have to fix as they don't really know what they're doing. There's value in direct, simple-to-understand cabling without intermediaries.
That said, what I should have considered is a 3.1 Gen 2 Header -> 3.0 19-pin Header adaptor as a lot of the Motherboards are going with a 1xUSB 3.1 Gen 2 header and 1xUSB 3.0 header.
If AMD require proof that you've exhausted all options with your chosen vendor to get a board working, then the vendor will have to support you. They can't just flog you a 300 series board with an outdated BIOS and just leave you to it. So it's worth asking before you purchase if a) the BIOS is up-to-date and b) upon purchase will they check and flash it for you if required.
UPDATE: Contacted [big online electronics retailer] regarding BIOS version of the MSI B350 Gaming Pro Carbon and whether they could update it and got this reply:
The motherboards we stock are currently mixed, so yours would likely require a BIOS update.
This isn't something we normally facilitate, however, if you are looking at placing the order, we can get our technicians to update it before it ships.
This would be at no extra cost to yourself.
So you're totally right - it's worth asking - even if they are a big company like Overclockers. The 'order' they reference is in relation to my assertation that I would also buy the CPU from them. Don't know whether thier agreement to perfom the BIOS flash was dependant on me doing a £200+ order but that's kinda fair enough even if it was and the price was good.
That's the takeaway for people who find this thread - ask if the retailer will update the BIOS on a B350 or X370 board. Saying that I do admit to feeling a bit pressured by the quick, accomadating response so maybe make sure you're in a position to afford/buy before investigating.
So yeh I went with that offer. The reviewers seem more positive about the MSI B350 Gaming Pro Carbon than the Gigabyte X470 Aorus Ultra Gaming and it's ~£50 cheaper. I also prefer the aesthetics - apparently the 'carbon fibre' elements are stickers you can peel off revealing plain black metal. By a lot of accounts it has a lot in common with the X370 Gaming Pro Carbon which is well reviewed.
It is an older chipset but the newer features like StoreMI don't really interest me. AMD have said that the AM4 socket will be supported by Ryzen 2 and potentially beyond so I'll be reasonably future-proofed - certainly more so than the LGA775 I am currently using
.
I did condider waiting for Ryzen 2 (and possibly new chipsets) but there's no guarantee I'll be able to find a MOBO I'll like then either and the small remaining stock of the MSI B350 Gaming Pro Carbon will likely be gone by then.
I was a bit disapointed to discover in this
new post that I may not be able to turn off the RGB and I probably won't be able to use the keyboard for setting fan values :/ but I'm not going to cancel my order over it.
. After-all I got the Case and PSU from Overclockers and I'd love to give the Red/Black Primera 02 more exposure. All the reviewers got White ones which make the black fan leads really ostentatious.