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

  • @henfredemarsEnglish
    4•3 months ago

    Mobo BIOS upgrades are usually really easy. You can typically connect an Ethernet cable and simply instruct the BIOS to update itself on many recent models and this has been my experience with that brand.

    I haven’t heard anyone needing a dedicated sound card unless you’re specifically doing audio workstation type stuff.

    I’m not qualified to answer your other questions IMHO.

    You should consider more than 8GB of RAM. I think you’ll have a better experience with 16GB on a new build because office apps can be surprisingly chunky. It’s a cheap upgrade that I feel would pay dividends. Also, not having a pair of RAM sticks means your memory won’t operate in dual channel mode, cutting your potential memory bandwidth in half.