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B550M Pro Wifi + Forge 100R Mid-Tower Case + 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3200MHz Expired
$190
& More + Free Shipping
MSI has select Motherboard Bundles on sale listed below. Shipping is free.
Thanks to Community Member hnchen for finding this deal.
Available Configurations:
No Longer Available:
Thanks to Community Member hnchen for finding this deal.
Available Configurations:
- B550M Pro Wifi + Forge 100R Mid-Tower Case + 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3200MHz $189.99
- B550M Pro Wifi + Ryzen 7 5700G $199.99
- Supports AMD Ryzen 5000 & 3000 Series desktop processors (not compatible with AMD Ryzen 5 3400G & Ryzen 3 3200G) and AMD Ryzen 4000 G-Series desktop processors
- Core Boost: With premium layout and fully digital power design to support more cores and provide better performance.
- DDR4 Boost: Advanced technology to deliver pure data signals for the best gaming performance and stability.
- Lightning Gen4 solution: The latest Gen4 PCI-E and M.2 solution with up to 64GB/s bandwidth for maximum transfer speed.
- M.2 Shield FROZR: Strengthened built-in M.2 thermal solution. Keeps M.2 SSDs safe while preventing throttling, making them run faster.
- PCI-E Steel Armor: Protecting VGA cards against bending and EMI
- Mystic Light Extension: Control additional RGB or Rainbow strip added to your system with Dragon Center.
- 2oz Thickened Copper PCB: An enhanced PCB design improves heat dissipation and performance reliability.
- Audio Boost: Reward your ears with studio grade sound quality for the most immersive audio experience.
No Longer Available:
- MSI Forge 100R Mid-Tower Computer Case + B550M PRO-VDH WIFI Motherboard $119.99
- B550M PRO + MSI Forge 100R Mid-Tower
- + AMD Ryzen 7 5700G for an additional $145 (added from Dropdown) $264.99
Original Post
Written by
Edited January 24, 2024
at 12:04 PM
MSI is offering a few bundles with the B550M PRO-VDH WIFI motherboard:
Motherboard Details:
https://us-store.msi.com/B550MCOMBO5
- B550M Pro Wifi + Forge 100R Mid-Tower Case - $120 [msi.com]
- Optionally, add the 5700G for an additional $145
- B550M Pro Wifi + Forge 100R Mid-Tower Case + 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3200MHz - $190 [msi.com]
- B550M Pro Wifi + Ryzen 7 5700G - $200 [msi.com]
Motherboard Details:
- B550M PRO-VDH WIFI CEC Version / Forge 100R Mid-Tower Case
- Supports AMD Ryzen™ 5000 & 3000 Series desktop processors (not compatible with AMD Ryzen™ 5 3400G & Ryzen™ 3 3200G) and AMD Ryzen™ 4000 G-Series desktop processors
- Core Boost: With premium layout and fully digital power design to support more cores and provide better performance.
- DDR4 Boost: Advanced technology to deliver pure data signals for the best gaming performance and stability.
- Lightning Gen4 solution: The latest Gen4 PCI-E and M.2 solution with up to 64GB/s bandwidth for maximum transfer speed.
https://us-store.msi.com/B550MCOMBO5
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He's 12 and has just started working with the insides of computers. He checks the recycle pile at the local transfer station and takes them apart. So part of the appeal of this case and motherboard deal was building his own from scratch and piecing together something that is his own now that he knows his way around a bit.
Returning this deal won't be part of the ultimate end game
Like @_jenn said your PSU is probably not enough.Also your son's current PC also probably does not have enough ram for modern games like Palworld or COD warzone which needs minimum 16gb of ram.
The only part I can see him salvage from his current PC is the CPU or maybe RAM. If the current PC have only have one stick of 8gb of ram you can just add another 8gb stick of ram $17.If it's less than 8gb you basically have to buy a whole set of 16gb ram $35.Its always better to have the same model sticks than different models.Some prebuilt PC companies deliberately made the PSU non standard form so even he transfered to new case it probably won't fit or won't fit perfectly.The motherboard definitely is not a ATX or mATX motherboard so it won't fit at all. If the current PC has SATA drive you should upgrade to NVMe.
Since your son basically have to buy every parts new except for CPU which is selling for only $60 on ebay. Your son is basically building a new PC at this point and would not recommend building a new PC on the AM4 socket. The AM4 socket is in the end of it's life.There's no more new CPU coming out on AM4 with improved performance. I would recommend your son build on the new AM5.There's upgradability in the future.If there's budget constraints, I would wait for deals or prices to go even lower except if you live near a microcenter.They have some great deals right now.
https://www.microsoft.c
But then you have to activate it.
Every tutorial online shows a part where you need to put an activation key in. It tells you to buy from a 3rd party. There's nothing free about it.
He's looking to make it the best it can be for gaming.
His current PC has an AMD Ryzen 5 3500 6-core processor with an NVidia GeForce GTX 1650 Super (4GB ram).
He could use either of those components in his new build, and he has no more than $200 to add either a graphics card or processor instead of what he has.
Anyone have any advice?
I get 90% of my tech info from reading SD comments, and once I have a computer built, I don't pay much attention until years later when I want to update.
Thanks very much!
As usual wiser heads than mine have chimed in here
For example sadly I don't think the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Super video card would be able to run say Baldur's Gate Three or Alan Wake 2 ... but then again your son might be interested in online shooters like say Apex Legends.. which could still be an issue, my daughter's desktop setup features an amd ryzen 3300x CPU, 32 GB of ram and a EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti SC GAMING, 4GB GDDR5 video card and it struggles like heck to run Apex Legends, sometimes Apex won't even launch at all whereupon my PC setup... AMD ryzen 7 , 5700x CPU, 32 GB of ram and nvidia geoforce GTX 1060 , 6 GB video card runs Apex Legends no problem. On the other hand my daughter's PC setup lets her run her beloved Halo Master Chief PC game collection with no problems probably because that's a way old series of games (she still loves them though
I've heard differing opinions on whether or not 32 GB of ram is really necessary for gaming but if possible I would go that route, I noticed my daughter's PC started running a lot more smoothly when I swapped out her 16 GB ram sticks (two 8 GB sticks) for two 16 GB ram sticks for 32 GB total.. do be aware that when you mix and match ram of differing types (different manufacturer and so forth) this can result in "hiccups" as far as the PC's performance.
The used video card thing.. I've heard of many, many people who buy their video cards used without any problems and it works perfectly but personally (being the paranoid and fearful type
If $200 is the current budget one suggestion might be to just accept the video card from his current PC and the CPU and hope it transplants okay .. not sure how much ram is in his current PC? If it's say 16 GB at least maybe you could transplant that too.. One thing that pops up again and again in my online research is how important it is to have a good power supply.. should any of my current power supplies fail for my desktop PC's I have this one wishlisted on amazon
https://www.tomshardwar
https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-RM750x-Fully-Modular-Supply/dp/B08R5W27JS/ref=sr_1_1?ascsubtag=tomsha... [amazon.com]
at $120 plus tax that will demolish most of your $200 budget but it could also be seen as a way of futureproofing your PC build such that the PC can handle say a really good video card when you can afford one for the desktop PC (some thoughts on that below).. Here's a 32 GB ram set (two sticks of 16 GB ram ) that is working out well for me on all three desktop PC builds I have going for $80
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product...=UTF8
The video card would be the big drawback that is in the other PC but at least with 32 GB of ram and the AMD Ryzen 5, 3500 it should be able to handle at least Minecraft and older PC games .. if you think your son would be interested in say the Batman Arkham PC game collection or the rebooted Tomb Raider game collection (the older ones not sure how well say Batman Arkham Knight would run on the video card you mentioned .. but Batman Arkham City and the Tomb Raider game that came out year 2013 should be okay).. Fallout 3 and Dishonored and Dishonored 2 are older games but beloved nonetheless. If you're okay with games with er colorful language
Once you save up enough for a better video card then you could replace the video card and really turn it into a gaming PC at that point. Here's one article you could read
https://www.tomshardwar
being a cheap gamer myself I refuse to spend more than $350 on a video card
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C8BPW1SP/ref=asc_df_B0C8BPW1SP1706180400000?tag=georiot-us-default-20&as... [amazon.com]
I'm guessing you are going to transplant the hard drive from the old PC into the new PC build? That should work fine for Windows though I am guessing you'll have to buy a copy of Windows.. this is a somewhat risky option as far as a Windows 11 license
https://www.gamespot.co
This is one of those things where you'd want to wait until the PC is put together, try the license/product key they give you and let stackcommerce know immediately if the product key doesn't work so they can give you another one and you don't lose out on the $25 .. if you don't have a Microsoft account already create one, set it up on your son's PC and make sure the computer name Windows gives your new PC setup is showing under said microsoft account.. make a note of the product key stackcommerce gives you (I'm guessing they'll give you one) and don't lose that no matter what.
Later on you definitely should install a SSD drive in there that only games are on , the games will run better that way (the sooner the better actually). I've been very happy with the crucial MX500 drives as far as bang for your buck, a 500 GB drive will cost you $50 right now
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product...=UTF8
(the really annoying thing was a short while ago you could get a 1 TB drive for the same $50
but for $63 you could get the crucial P3 m2 format drive too, 1 TB but without DRAM (there's a lot of conflicting opinions as to whether DRAM matters and some fierce debates even here on slickdeals about it
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product...=UTF8
He's looking to make it the best it can be for gaming.
His current PC has an AMD Ryzen 5 3500 6-core processor with an NVidia GeForce GTX 1650 Super (4GB ram).
He could use either of those components in his new build, and he has no more than $200 to add either a graphics card or processor instead of what he has.
Anyone have any advice?
I get 90% of my tech info from reading SD comments, and once I have a computer built, I don't pay much attention until years later when I want to update.
Thanks very much!
https://www.tomshardwar
https://www.tomshardwar
and right now it looks like it's $200 at newegg (technically $190 but let's say the $10 off and the sales tax cancel each other out
https://www.newegg.com/intel-arc-a750-21p02j00ba/p/N82E16814883002?nm_mc=AFC-RAN-COM&cm_mmc=afc-ran-... [newegg.com]
but I've heard some conflicting opinions on it .. there are some complaints as far as older games not running on it
https://www.reddit.com/r/IntelArc...k_on
which could be a problem if you go with my older games suggestion ... on the other hand $200 for a video card with 8 GB of VRAM would be seen by a lot of people as good bang for your buck
On the other hand that takes up the entire $200 budget right there and you still need a power supply, preferably a good one .. I've heard over and over again when doing the research online that people who skimp on power supplies regret it later on when the cheaper power supply fries electrical parts in the PC that are expensive to replace (like the Intel arc video card you just bought for example
I really do feel that you'd be best off getting a good power supply like the one I linked and a decent set of 32 GB ram , letting your son get by with older video games and when you can save say another $300 going for the $300 video card I mentioned. And definitely later on throw another hard drive into the mix too just for games alone.
One thing that can help is doing a google search for the video games that your son is interested in .. for example let's say he wants to play Baldur's Gate 3... you could google search " PC requirements baldur's gate 3" and more than likely it will come up with the Steam store link (they're probably paying google extra money to make sure you get redirected there
https://store.steampowe
so say you take the Nvidia 2060 Super as an example... do a google search " Nvidia 2060 Super vs intel arc a750" .. the RTX 2060 S has a way higher rating than the Interl Arc A750
https://gpu.userbenchma
and sure you could look at the minimum requirements but they're just that, minimum , might not be the most fun gaming experience.
Also my bad looks like Batman Arkham Knight would run fine with your son's video card from your old PC
https://store.steampowered.com/app/208650/Batman_Arkham_Knight/#:~:text=System%20Requirements&text=P... [steampowered.com]
If you can wait until one of the Steam sales, say the spring or summer Steam sale, a lot of the games I mentioned go on sale cheap...it's a long time from now but if you can wait until the Steam Winter sale you can get the games I mentioned crazy cheap, Mass Effect Legendary edition for $6 (three games for $2 each with a lot of content), Dishonored and Dishonored 2 for $3 each , Far Cry 3 for about $5 , Batman Arkham Knight for $4 (game of the year edition is probably a bit more but worth it) , Tomb Raider year 2013 edition for I'm guessing about $5 or less ... in the case of Mass Effect Legendary I'd recommend buying it directly from the EA store (same price last winter $6 ) as some people have complained about problems launching it through Steam but presumably not through EA since they are the original publisher.. do a google search for "steam price tracker (insert name of game here) " to see the lowest price a video game drops to
Also .. if you have the time to do so
https://www.pcgamer.com/epic-game...ames-list/
A lot of their free game giveaways (check Thursday of each week) are kind of "meh" but there have been some really good ones (all the Batman Arkham and rebooted Tomb Raider games for example - even older games like Alan Wake or Dishonored are good giveaways to me personally) they've given away for free. Be sure to google search " epic store's 12 days of xmas" around December 1st of each year, find out the date they start giving away free games , a new game each day, and check the epic store website each one of those days. Even if the game is one your PC rig can't run right now you can always add it to your game library and wait until later on when your PC does have the hardware to run it.
He's looking to make it the best it can be for gaming.
His current PC has an AMD Ryzen 5 3500 6-core processor with an NVidia GeForce GTX 1650 Super (4GB ram).
He could use either of those components in his new build, and he has no more than $200 to add either a graphics card or processor instead of what he has.
Anyone have any advice?
I get 90% of my tech info from reading SD comments, and once I have a computer built, I don't pay much attention until years later when I want to update.
Thanks very much!
In my case I found youtube videos to be very helpful .. your son might be so hands-on with his expertise that he doesn't even need them to begin with
You mentioned you get a lot of your tech advice from here at slickdeals and it's true there are a lot of knowledgeable people here who have also given me a lot of education just from what they post
https://hardwarecanucks
https://forums.tomshard
the hardware canucks guys are super nice in particular and very patient, you'd want to explain you live in America or just look for the American version of say the Canadian newegg or amazon website they might direct you to
I'd mentioned the gamespot link to Windows 11 is a bit of a risk .. there are some people who argue - and I'd say they make a good point - that compared to say the $140 Microsoft wants for just the Home version (perfectly fine btw you don't necessarily have to have the Pro edition) license
https://www.microsoft.c
the $25 gamespot is offering through it's partner associate is too good to be true and there's a chance that the product key will simply stop working one day .. personally I think it's worth the $25 gamble though I will admit that for the $140 my understanding is once you have that license that's it, it lasts for a lifetime - well for say 10 years until Microsoft decides to throw a new version of Windows at us yet again - and no matter how many hardware changes you make to your PC you don't have to buy Windows again.. whereupon with the $25 key even if it doesn't stop working on you all of a sudden, if you make enough hardware changes it might complain there are too many hardware changes and suddenly deactivate your copy of Windows.
The problem with a deactivated copy of Windows is you get no security updates.. there are people on slickdeals who argue that you don't need security updates, you don't need to feed the greedy corporation that is Microsoft the $140 they demand for a license and as long as you're cautious about what you download and what websites you go to on the internet you'll be fine and I see their point.. on the other hand I've had a relative come over and unknowingly install spyware on my PC , I was able to fix the problem but depending on who you have using your PC bad stuff can happen (though I will admit in the relative's case that would have happened regardless of any security updates since she had the permission on the PC to install it in the first place). Personally being a nervous and cautious person myself I'd much rather get those security updates.
I do know of people who have bought say a Windows 7 license key (which again is risky it might simply not work) for cheap off say ebay and then successfully used that product key to install Windows 11.
https://www.makeuseof.com/different-methods-to-install-windows-11/ [makeuseof.com]
that article will walk you through how to install win 11 on a new PC build using method 3 though it's worth noting you need to keep track of what version of Windows .. Home, Pro .. you purchased and then selecting the right option during the install process or you'll have problems later on.. note the requirement for a usb thumb drive so make sure you have one that's at least 8 GB in size or order one (usb 2.0 speed is fine albeit a bit slow but also cheaper, usb 3.0 is faster and probably not that much more expensive , PNY brand usb drives have worked fine for me in the past and are relatively cheap but say a 5 pack of usb 2.0 drives might be your best bet to ensure at least one works and to have the others lying around to make bootable usb drives out of as need be like at the link below )
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product...=UTF8
Make sure the PC is connected to the internet say through an ethernet cable to make the install faster and easier when you're installing Win 11 .. more than likely windows update will install all the necessary drivers for Win 11 but take note of the model number listed for the motherboard on your purchase (hopefully there's an invoice that got emailed to you with the exact model number) and do a google search for that model number , it should turn up a webpage something like one of these two
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B...O-VDH-WIFI
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/P...0M-VC-WIFI
but again make sure you're looking at the one with the right model number for your motherboard... from there you can click on "support" and it will have downloads for both the drivers and the bios .. a bios upgrade may or may not be necessary if the PC has problems and your son can google search how to upgrade the bios (this is another situation where you'll need one of those usb drives) .. or like say in my case when I suddenly started losing my internet connection and realized the driver windows automatically installed for me was some generic driver from the year 2015
If there's enough space on your hard drive.. and this is a situation where having a second hard drive installed (maybe your son can find one from the recycle plant he goes to?) can help in terms of having a second drive just for backups alone can help ... use this program
https://www.ubackup.com/download.html
and do a backup of Windows as soon as you have everything installed and up and running so you can restore Windows back to it's original condition if there's a problem later on. I'm a big fan of Macrium Reflect 7 , which is also free
https://www.elevenforum
but do NOT accept Macrium's invitation to let it update to version 8 or it turns into the "only good for 30 days trial version" (Macirum Reflect 7 has been working out just fine for me personally) , you can safely let it update to the latest version of Macrium 7 , after that just select " never ask me this again" in terms of whether or not you want to update to Macrium Reflect 8. There are youtube tutorials that will walk you through how to use either program you can look up.
If you have a different hard drive in the system just for backup purposes that would give you the space to continue creating backups as time goes by , maybe each month or so and just delete older backups as you run out of room (I would keep the original and first backup you made right after getting the PC up and running for the first time though) ...
The reason I say you want to create a microsoft account in your name and link the PC to it (make sure it's an account with administrator privileges) is that in the event you're forced to reactivate Windows it helps a lot to have a grownup's microsoft account associated with the computer.. hopefully Microsoft will see, once you're logged in using that microsoft account, that you've already activated Windows on that PC before and just let it reactivate without any problems (say if you're forced to clean install Win 11 again due to the PC really giving you problems which PC's and/or Windows has been known to do).. keeping any product key you've been given is hugely important as you may have to re-enter that product key to activate it again (I've had that happen to me at least once). Also, the reason I say "grownup" is even though your son is really good with PC's if you're forced to say call Microsoft support and speak to a live agent the moment the agent realizes they're speaking to a child the agent may refuse to help if you get a particularly dense or stupid agent or one who's just having a bad day.
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Its completely free, I just didn't want to post the whole script..
just google that and free windows activation
This will absolutely fine with the $10 Arctic Alpine 23 [amazon.com]. If you wanna be overkill you can pick up the Arctic Freezer 7 X for $23 [amazon.com].
The first sentence from that page of the article: "We use a Noctua NH-U14S and measured the CPU temperature while running Blender."
So it doesn't exceed 65C with an $80 140mm tower.
The first sentence from that page of the article: "We use a Noctua NH-U14S and measured the CPU temperature while running Blender."
So it doesn't exceed 65C with an $80 140mm tower.
The fact is that a $10 cooler will at least perform as well as the stock cooler does.
DeepCool GAMMAXX AG400 is $20 on Amazon and is well reviewed; it's a budget friendly version of their AK400.
The fact is that a $10 cooler will at least perform as well as the stock cooler does.
For starters, it really doesn't even matter how well it performs with the "stock" cooler if one isn't included in the purchase.
Then there's what should be the glaring problem with the article. No where in those 3 paragraphs of the temps and cooling section do they mention that they bothered to verify the performance of the CPU or IGP during the stress test. All they did was throw a bunch of crap at the chip and see what temp it ended up at without trying to figure out why it was at that temperature. It could have very well been throttling itself in an attempt to stay at 65C which then 68C becomes a massive failure.
My point still stands, due to inflation and shipping cost increases $30 is becoming and generally already is the new $20 for a "quality" air cooler. A weird 92mm or 100mm $10 piece of garbage is still a piece of garbage at the end of the day, and 90% of users would be better off spending 5 to 15 bucks more for something with a flatter mounting surface, a fan with quieter bearings or blades, better spaced rad fins, and isn't going to slice their fingers open while playing with a fiddly mounting mechanism.
I would definitely go with the $22-$27 (price depends if you have Prime) AG400 jenn recommended before any cooler using non-"standard" 120mm or 140mm fans which will be easier and possibly cheaper to replace if ever needed, and they'll run quieter.
I skimmed the temp section... since I'm not going to read a 24 page article about a CPU I will never buy unless it's something really interesting which this isn't.
For starters, it really doesn't even matter how well it performs with the "stock" cooler if one isn't included in the purchase.
Then there's what should be the glaring problem with the article. No where in those 3 paragraphs of the temps and cooling section do they mention that they bothered to verify the performance of the CPU or IGP during the stress test. All they did was throw a bunch of crap at the chip and see what temp it ended up at without trying to figure out why it was at that temperature. It could have very well been throttling itself in an attempt to stay at 65C which then 68C becomes a massive failure.
My point still stands, due to inflation and shipping cost increases $30 is becoming and generally already is the new $20 for a "quality" air cooler. A weird 92mm or 100mm $10 piece of garbage is still a piece of garbage at the end of the day, and 90% of users would be better off spending 5 to 15 bucks more for something with a flatter mounting surface, a fan with quieter bearings or blades, better spaced rad fins, and isn't going to slice their fingers open while playing with a fiddly mounting mechanism.
I would definitely go with the $22-$27 (price depends if you have Prime) AG400 jenn recommended before any cooler using non-"standard" 120mm or 140mm fans which will be easier and possibly cheaper to replace if ever needed, and they'll run quieter.
The fact is it doesn't come with a cooler, if you want something that will perform at least as good as the stock cooler - $10 will do the job. I already linked to a $23 cooler from a well-reviewed brand of good quality that will be more than overkill.
That's it, conversation is done. If you just want to argue with people, take it to Reddit.