Struggling to choose motherboard

[luckol3]

Hello all- I am planning on building my first PC in the summer, with a budget of 1500 CAD (can be 20-30 more) before tax. This is the current one I have but I'm struggling to find a mobo- I want an ATX board with WiFi and bluetooh. https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/qwbpYN

I looked into the specs list on the MSI website but it says I can only run win 11 with it. Is this because the page is old and I should be fine?
"CPU SUPPORT | Support for Windows® 10 64-bit"

Thank you!

EDIT: This Reddit post suggests that the audio card and LAN are really terrible. Do my speakers (bose companion 2) and headset (Hyperx stinger core) have their own sound card? I am new to all this techy stuff.

 

[Why_Me]

B550 AORUS ELITE AX V2 (rev. 1.0) Key Features | Motherboard - GIGABYTE Global

Lasting Quality from GIGABYTE.GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ motherboards bring together a unique blend of features and technologies that offer users the absolute ...

www.gigabyte.com

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D 3 GHz 8-Core Processor ($329.99 @ Memory Express)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($41.90 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: *Gigabyte B550 AORUS ELITE AX V2 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($184.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($89.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Crucial MX500 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 7700 XT 12 GB Video Card ($589.00 @ Amazon Canada)
Case: Montech AIR 903 MAX ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: Corsair RM750e (2023) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($139.99 @ Canada Computers)
Monitor: Asus VG278QR 27.0" 1920 x 1080 165 Hz Monitor (Purchased For $0.00)
Keyboard: HP HyperX Alloy Origins Core RGB Wired Gaming Keyboard (Purchased For $0.00)
Mouse: Logitech G603 Wireless Optical Mouse (Purchased For $0.00)
Mouse: Razer Viper Ultimate w/Dock Wireless Optical Mouse (Purchased For $0.00)
Mouse: Logitech M545 Wireless Laser Mouse (Purchased For $0.00)
Mouse: Razer Basilisk X HyperSpeed Wireless Optical Mouse (Purchased For $0.00)
Headphones: HP HyperX Cloud Stinger Core Headset (Purchased For $0.00)
Speakers: Bose Companion 2 Series III Speakers (Purchased For $0.00)
External Storage: Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2 TB External Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $1475.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-08 01:15 EDT-0400

 

[luckol3]

May I ask why you decided to go with this board?

 

[Colif]

The reason most motherboards only work with windows 11 now is because many hardware makers aren't releasing windows 10 drivers any more. The motherboard makers can only support what they can buy. Intel and AMD stopped making newer drivers.

Some things like sound and lan drivers may have win 10 versions, but the rest is mostly all 11.
There isn't a massive difference between 10 & 11 drivers, but it depends on how installer works as to if you could install win 11 drivers on 10.

there is also not a massive difference between 10 & 11 and if you buying a new PC, better to get 11 now as 10 loses all support in the next year or so.

 

[Why_Me]

Hello all- I am planning on building my first PC in the summer, with a budget of 1500 CAD (can be 20-30 more) before tax. This is the current one I have but I'm struggling to find a mobo- I want an ATX board with WiFi and bluetooh. https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/qwbpYN

I looked into the specs list on the MSI website but it says I can only run win 11 with it. Is this because the page is old and I should be fine?
"CPU SUPPORT | Support for Windows® 10 64-bit"

Thank you!

EDIT: This Reddit post suggests that the audio card and LAN are really terrible. Do my speakers (bose companion 2) and headset (Hyperx stinger core) have their own sound card? I am new to all this techy stuff.

May I ask why you decided to go with this board?

B550 AORUS ELITE AX V2 (rev. 1.0) Specification | Motherboard - GIGABYTE Global

Lasting Quality from GIGABYTE.GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ motherboards bring together a unique blend of features and technologies that offer users the absolute ...

www.gigabyte.com

Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200
WIFI a, b, g, n, ac with wave 2 features, ax, supporting 2.4/5 GHz Dual-Band
BLUETOOTH 5

 

[luckol3]

B550 AORUS ELITE AX V2 (rev. 1.0) Specification | Motherboard - GIGABYTE Global

Lasting Quality from GIGABYTE.GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ motherboards bring together a unique blend of features and technologies that offer users the absolute ...

www.gigabyte.com

Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200
WIFI a, b, g, n, ac with wave 2 features, ax, supporting 2.4/5 GHz Dual-Band
BLUETOOTH 5

How about all that VRM stuff I've been hearing about? Is that any good?

 

[luckol3]

The reason most motherboards only work with windows 11 now is because many hardware makers aren't releasing windows 10 drivers any more. The motherboard makers can only support what they can buy. Intel and AMD stopped making newer drivers.

Some things like sound and lan drivers may have win 10 versions, but the rest is mostly all 11.
There isn't a massive difference between 10 & 11 drivers, but it depends on how installer works as to if you could install win 11 drivers on 10.

there is also not a massive difference between 10 & 11 and if you buying a new PC, better to get 11 now as 10 loses all support in the next year or so.

So I shouldn't be getting considering the MSI board at all?

 

[Colif]

I am not saying its a reason to avoid the board, just explaining why some makers might only support win 11 on their boards. I don't know why MSI chose to do that on a B550 board since AMD still do support win 10 on those.

EDIT: This Reddit post suggests that the audio card and LAN are really terrible. Do my speakers (bose companion 2) and headset (Hyperx stinger core) have their own sound card? I am new to all this techy stuff.

The Bose speakers seems to need another sound source like onboard sound to get anything out of PC. you attach it on back of pc via a cable. See instructions:

https://assets.bose.com/content/dam/Bose_DAM/Web/consumer_electronics/global/products/speakers/companion_2_series_iii_multimedia_speaker_system/pdf/AM361680_01_QSG_Comp%202%20sIII_AST_MLvo.pdf

Bose® Companion® 2 Series III Multimedia Speaker System

Explore the Bose® Companion® 2 Series III multimedia speaker system: it can deliver better performance than the speakers that came with your computer.

www.bose.com.au

https://au.hyperx.com/products/hyperx-cloud-stinger-core-wireless-7-1 being wireless must use a dongle? AS such it is controlled by probably its own software. USB audio not generally controlled by motherboard audio solutions.

The Aorus has good enough sound, I am using an Aorus X570 Elite myself, picked it out for the sound options.

 

[luckol3]

Thank you!

 

[Colif]

Apart from replacing four mice, with chassis fans, your listing looks similar to my PC. Different peripherals but same ram amount and maker, same nvme maker, a 7000 series GPU, same PSU maker...

Spoiler

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor ($517.77 @ JW Computers)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 A-RGB 48.8 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($159.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 AORUS ELITE WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($125.00 @ Amazon Australia)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($179.00 @ Computer Alliance)
Storage: Samsung 870 Evo 4 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($376.33 @ Amazon Australia)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 3 TB 3.5" 5400 RPM Internal Hard Drive ($191.50 @ Amazon Australia)
Video Card: PowerColor Red Devil Radeon RX 7900 XT 20 GB Video Card
Case: Fractal Design Meshify S2 ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair RM1000x (2021) 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($269.00 @ Centre Com)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit ($144.49 @ Amazon Australia)
Case Fan: Noctua A14 PWM chromax.black.swap 82.52 CFM 140 mm Fan ($52.00 @ Centre Com)
Case Fan: Noctua A14 PWM chromax.black.swap 82.52 CFM 140 mm Fan ($52.00 @ Centre Com)
Case Fan: Noctua A14 PWM chromax.black.swap 82.52 CFM 140 mm Fan ($52.00 @ Centre Com)
Monitor: LG 32GK650F-B 32.0" 2560 x 1440 144 Hz Monitor
Mouse: Logitech G502 X Plus Wired/Wired/Wireless Optical Mouse
Speakers: Logitech Z906 500 W 5.1-Channel Speakers ($509.00 @ Umart)
Total: $2627.09
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-09 00:40 AEST+1000

looks like a good system from where I sit.
What VRM stuff have you heard about?

 

[luckol3]

All the videos I've watched tell me to look for a good VRM, I kind of understand what it is but not how to choose them.

 

[Why_Me]

How about all that VRM stuff I've been hearing about? Is that any good?

The VRM's on that board are fine.

 

[Colif]

i think key is to make sure they get adequate cooling. IE, does motherboard have heatsinks over them.
Both the aorus and MSI sell themselves on their power management.
I don't know if its a major concern on a B550 board

An Aorus board was at top of the cooling charts here - https://www.techspot.com/review/2044-amd-b550-motherboard-vrm/

 

[luckol3]

Thank you!