New MSI A320M-A PRO Motherboard with AM4 Socket and Micro ATX Form Factor...Windows 10 Home Available (Last One)
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Listing Update...This is not so much an update as it is a brief comment about the computers and related parts I have available for sale. Personal computers (and in particular desktop computers) have always been a hobby of mine. I\'ve enjoyed tinkering with this stuff over the years and have accumulated a number of items during this time...some new and some used. I am not an expert on the subject...more of an enthusiast...but I will still do my best to answer any questions as it relates to my computer related listings. Thank you.
Original Listing...
This offering is for a new MSI A320M-A PRO motherboard with a licensed (OEM) copy of Windows 10 Home. Please see below for the history of these motherboards, which explains the reason why a licensed (OEM) copy of Windows 10 may be installed in the computer that has one of these motherboards.
It\'s dimensions indicate that it\'s a micro ATX (form factor) and includes a basic set of features (as expected from an A320 chipset). My research (and physical inspection) indicates this motherboard has a3 (Vcore) + 2 (Vsoc) phase VRM (Voltage Regulator Module) without any heatsinks. So this is an entry-level motherboard from a respected brand that is going to have its limitations. For example, if you are interested in running a Ryzen 7 or 9 processor, then I would spend more money and get a motherboard with superior power delivery. Although, if you are more interested in running a Ryzen 3 or 5 processor and prefer more of a value-priced motherboard, then this offering may be worthy of your consideration. As an FYI, if you are interested in overclocking a Ryzen processor, then you will need to upgrade to a motherboard with at least a B450 chipset. The A320 chipset does not allow for overclocking. I realize overclocking is usually not a priority at this price point, but I still wanted to share this limitation.
As for my reason for selling this motherboard, I have a handful of them on the shelf and probably won\'t use them all over the near term, especially since the bike business has got me a bit overwhelmed at the moment. Although, I have built a few value-based computers with these components and Ryzen 5 processors (mostly Ryzen 3400Gs with 4 cores and 8 threads). These builds have turned out well and I am pleasantly surprised with the power delivery of this motherboard. I realize the Ryzen 5 processors running at stock speeds do not put a lot of stress on a motherboard\'s VRMs, but even after running some of the processor intensive stress testing programs (i.e., IntelBurnTest, Prime95, etc.), the recorded power delivery (VRM) temperatures leveled off in the low 80\'s (Celsius). I understand this is not a stellar result, but still a good result for this motherboard and a Ryzen 5 processor that I am stressing beyond anything most folks will put it through on a daily basis.
As a follow-up to my notes above, I am getting some questions as to the history of these motherboards, since I am calling them new (open box). They were originally installed in new prebuilt systems I purchased and disassembled. Each prebuilt system also included a licensed (OEM) copy of Windows 10 Home. There were really two reasons why I opted to disassemble these new prebuilt computers. First, they did not include graphics cards and second, the selection of parts was interesting at best. There was nothing wrong with the parts individually, but I did not think the collection of parts was a good match. Having said all of this, I did install a graphics card (temporarily) to power up each of these systems (into Windows 10 Home) before I disassembled them. So I know everything works as new. I am using some of these parts in other new computer builds, but as alluded to above, I still have some extra parts on the shelf that I do not need right now. So I thought I would make them available to folks that may have a need before I get around to using them.
This brings us to the Windows 10 Home discussion. It\'s available (an OEM version), because it existed with the aforementioned prebuilt system and is linked to the motherboard. That\'s the way OEM versions of Windows 10 generally work...they are connected to the motherboard they were originally installed on, and may not be moved to another motherboard. Retail versions of Windows 10 are mobile and may generally be installed/uninstalled from one computer (motherboard) to another computer (motherboard). Although OEM versions generally do not have this same level of portability. As a result, even if I wanted to retain the copy of Windows 10 Home that came with the prebuilt that included this motherboard, I could not without the motherboard. So it only seems fair to make the next owner of this motherboard aware of the fact that a licensed (OEM) copy of Windows 10 Home is available to them for no additional charge. You will see in the images for this listing that I have also created a Windows 10 Installation Media flash drive from the Microsoft website (using an ADATA 32 GB thumb drive). This flash drive is included with the offering and will install Windows 10 Home (OEM version) on the SSD or hard drive you connect to this motherboard. Once installed, Windows will recognize the motherboard and automatically update its status to a digital licensed copy, and you are all set. As I mentioned above, I have used some of these motherboards in other new computer builds and this is exactly what I have done to gain access to a licensed copy of Windows for those new computer builds (without having to buy another license). Now if you have any questions, I can do my best to help, or you can view one of the many online video tutorials on the subject (installing Windows from a Windows 10 Installation Media flash drive).
Having said the above, I thought it might also be helpful if I shared a specifications sheet of sorts that provides more details. So here it is...
Chipset / Socket Type: A320 chipset that supports the AM4 processor socket and best suited for AMD first generation Ryzen 1000 series processors (Zen micro-architecture), second generation Ryzen 2000 series processors (Zen+ micro-architecture) or third generation Ryzen 3000 series processors (Zen 2 micro-architecture). Regarding the latter, this motherboard was pulled out of a new prebuilt system that was running a Ryzen 5 third generation processor (a Ryzen 3600 to be more specific), so it\'s already had a factory BIOS update to achieve this level of compatibility. You will likely not be able to run newer fourth generation Ryzen 5000 series processors (Zen 3 micro-architecture) on this motherboard, because I do not believe a BIOS update exists for this level of compatibility. This is okay, because I like newer model (B550 or X570) motherboards with fourth generation processors. I just think the newer chipsets on the B550 and X570 motherboards are a better match for the Ryzen 5000 series processors.
Size: Micro ATX form factor that measures 8.9\" x 7.4\"
Memory: 32 GB (max) of DDR4 memory (2 x 288 pin slots)...dual channel supported and max clock speed of 3200 MHz (with 2933 MHz likely more realistic).
Audio: Integrated Realtek ALC892 audio that supports up to 7.1 (8 channel) surround sound w/8 speakers (integrated means the sound card is built onto the motherboard)
LAN: Integrated Realtek RTL8111H LAN chipset w/transfer rate up to 1000 Mbps or 1 Gbps
Wireless LAN (aka WiFi) and Bluetooth: Not applicable on this motherboard. So if desired, will need to be added via a PCIe expansion card (recommended) or a USB adapter.
Input/Output ports (rear shield): two PS/2 (mouse or keyboard), two video (HDMI and DVI-D), twoblack USB Type-A (2.0running at 480 Mb/s),four blue USB Type-A (3.2 Gen 1 running at 5 Gb/s), a RJ-45 Network (LAN) with LED indicator, blue audio input (various devices), green audio output (headphone, two-channel speakers or front speakers), pink audio input (microphone)
Storage ports/sockets: four SATA 3.0 ports. Note: data transfer rates are as follows...SATA 3.0 is stated at 6 Gb/s (750 MB/s, but it\'s actually less due to the overhead caused by the 8b/10b SATA encoding scheme. This lowers the actual transfer rate to about 80%, or 4.8 Gb/s, which when divided by 8 bits gives us 600 MB/s.).
Expansion slots: one PCIe 3.0 x16 slot running at x16 lanes and one PCIe 2.0 x1 slot running at x1 lane.Note1: performance assumes a Ryzen CPU is installed on this motherboard. If a Ryzen APU or Athlon processor is installed, the performance may be less (with fewer lanes dedicated in some cases).Note2: data transfer rates are as follows...PCIe 2.0 is 4 Gb/s (500 MB/s) per lane and PCIe 3.0 is 8 Gb/s (1 GB/s) per lane. So just multiply the number of lanes available in a particular slot by the applicable PCIe transfer rate and this will give you the theoretical maximum bandwidth for that slot.
Other: I also want to mention another limitation to this motherboard...and that is the single case fan header. This is fine if all you want to do is plug-in a rear exhaust fan, but I will often times want to install one or more intake fans at the front of the case to achieve better overall airflow. Now there is a fairly easy workaround for this limitation, and that is to use a fan cable splitter that will allow for multiple case fans to be installed using this one fan header. So while the solution is an easy and inexpensive one, I still wanted to mention this so anyone considering one of these motherboards can plan accordingly...rather than finding out about this fan header limitation when they are ready to build with multiple case fans and no fan cable splitter immediately available. I guess the other option here is to use case fans that have the old style 4-pin molex connector and then connect the case fans directly to the power supply (assuming your power supply has available molex connectors). I generally do not prefer this latter option, but that may just be my personal preference with no real basis (to be honest). There are other available headers/connectors on the motherboard and I can try to answer related questions or refer you to the manufacturer\'s website for a full motherboard description.
As I mentioned above, this is a new motherboard was removed from a new prebuilt system. It has been tested and work as new, but there is no retail packaging. I also want to confirm that what you see in the pictures...the motherboard I/O shield, six (6) mounting screws and the Windows 10 Installation Media flash drive (using an ADATA 32 GB thumb drive)...are all included with this offering. Then there is the preinstalled stock/standard AM4 backplate (with the hard plastic brackets) that is also included. Finally, we will carefully pack the motherboard and other included items to ensure safe transit. Listing Update...This is my last one available.
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