Re: Custom Build for TS4 - What are the best specs for maximum performance?

@jenjane  The build looks good.  Now that you're building though, you have more flexibility to choose exactly what you want, and you may want slightly different, perhaps slightly cheaper, components.  In my example of a custom Newegg build, I chose the cheapest quality options rather than the absolute best, because a) the absolute best is often twice or three times as expensive, and b) the performance improvement above a certain level is in the 2-3% range.  There's no point in buying an $800 motherboard just to squeeze every bit of performance out of your system—if you wanted to spend that kind of money, you'd upgrade the GPU instead for a much larger benefit.

The point is, you may want to choose other components, in particular the motherboard and RAM.  (Or I can look if you're still not sure what to choose.)  The important parts for the board are that you get an X570 model with an ATX form factor.  X570 is the best category in terms of build quality, included features, and support from the manufacturer.  ATX is basically the size and shape, and while smaller boards can work fine, it's easier to work with a larger board, which is important for your first build.

As far as RAM is concerned, a wise person once told me to pick a model from a quality manufacturer that was compatible with the board and wasn't too expensive.  It's relatively cheap to manufacture quality memory, and most of the good vendors offer lifetime warranties for a reason.  For compatibility, each board's specs page should list suitable RAM by part number, for example this is the board you've picked out:

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/X570-GAMING-X-rev-10/support#support-doc

(The 5000-series models are Vermeer CPUs.)

On the other hand, maybe I'm making things overly complicated here, and if that's the case, feel free to ignore the above.

As for the BIOS update, on the same support page for your motherboard:

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/X570-GAMING-X-rev-10/support#support-cpu

You'll see that the 5000-series CPUs are supported and have been since BIOS version F30.  The BIOS is basic software for your board, and manufacturers will release updated versions as new components are released and new features become available.  The X570 boards are older than the 5000-series CPUs, so of course their first BIOS revisions wouldn't support those processors.

Whether this is a problem for you depends on two factors.  One is whether you happen to get a board with a more recent BIOS version, which is impossible to tell from the website.  The other is that some boards allow you to flash a new BIOS without a processor installed, in which case you don't need to worry about compatibility because you can just install the new BIOS before the processor.  In case you want more info:

https://rog.asus.com/technology/republic-of-gamers-motherboard-innovations/usb-bios-flashback/

I don't think the Gigabyte board has that feature, although I'd have to check.  This is a common but not universal feature.  I didn't go over it before because a system integrator would take care of that for you along with the rest of the build process.

And just to be clear, if your BIOS doesn't support the CPU, the computer doesn't boot, just like that.  I've seen it happen.

@puzzlezaddict You're not making things overly complicated at all, I really appreciate the explanations. I am so so so grateful for all of the time and help you've given me. I'm sorry that my questions are never ending. I do at least feel like things are evolving and I'm getting closer to the end goal.

Would you mind recommending a motherboard and RAM? If you think anything else should be changed I am always open to suggestions, but again I feel like I keep creating more work so I do apologize for that! Now that I have gotten further into this I've realized that $5000 was probably an unnecessarily high budget lol! So I have been aiming for around $3000, but it's still flexible if need be.

I'm slowly feeling better about the basics of being able to put this together, but when it comes to really understanding the knitty gritty of the function of pieces and the "why" I still feel nervous. Obviously this is a learning process, and I promise I am trying to do my research too, but I feel so much better actually speaking to someone and receiving explanations, because I'm not entirely confident in my decisions. I really hope it doesn't seem like I'm being lazy! There's no way I would be able to do this without your help.

@puzzlezaddict Please ignore my questions about the BIOS above lol! I've been doing more research tonight and watched more videos. Based on what you said and what I'm reading, it sounds safest to go with a board where I can flash the update. 

Since some of my questions above are obsolete now, I wanted to simplify my ask (but no rush or pressure to reply) - if you were going to recommend a motherboard (that allows for the BIOS flash update) and RAM that are "better," what would you recommend? I've attached a picture of the current list. I'm open to any other pieces you'd recommend I change - again I really appreciate your advice.

I'm sorry if some of my questions are silly at times. I hope I am not overcomplicating things. I know I still have a lot of research to do, and I will keep doing that. Thank you so much again for your help. 

@puzzlezaddict Hey! I finished my computer a couple of months ago. I really buckled down with research and am so happy with the final result: