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MSI H97M-G43 and Intel Pentium G3258

Building An Intel-Based MicroATX Gaming PC On A Budget
By , Arne Weigold

Small and Overclockable: Intel Pentium G3258 Anniversary Edition

For the 20th anniversary of the Pentium, Intel released a cool entry-level CPU for hardware enthusiasts. We've already established in our previous stories about the processor that this is a rare piece of equipment from the more conservative company.

Previously, if you wanted to overclock a budget CPU, AMD was your only outlet. Its Athlon X4 750K/760K fared well, even if it was hot at 100 W. Finally, Intel showed up to compete in this space, though.

Depending on your luck (where on the wafer your CPU die comes from, among other factors), up to 4.7 GHz can be achieved with the Pentium G3258 if you're willing to push crazy voltages. Aside from the two G3258s tested in our SoCal lab, the Tom's Hardware Germany team experimented with an additional five and found that all of them hit 4.4 GHz without a voltage increase. Only a multiplier adjustment was needed, and the motherboard automatically increases the core voltage, if needed.

A Suitable Platform: MSI's H97M-G43 + Custom BIOS

For the record, Intel only allows mainboards with the more expensive Z-series chipset to sport overclocking functionality. But for end users, it doesn’t make sense to put a $67 entry-level CPU on a high-end motherboard. Find out how to use an inexpensive H-series motherboard anyway, with this one weird trick:

You can use this motherboard for overclocking if you flash it with the BIOS from one of the following download links. This BIOS is not officially supported by MSI and was purportedly leaked from MSI’s R&D department.

Using the leaked, unofficial BIOS may void your motherboard’s warranty and MSI support cannot be contacted about any issues arising from its use. You have been warned!

While not officially supported, it worked perfectly. We found the unofficial BIOS at various file hosting sites, all of which hosted the very same image:

MSI H97M-G43 BIOS Download Links
Dropbox:
Download-Link #1
Google-Drive:
Download-Link #2
Mega:
Download-Link #3

Naturally, a $90 motherboard doesn’t sport a luxury-grade bundle, but everything you need is there: an ATX I/O shield, two SATA cables, a comprehensive manual, a quick-start guide, and a CD containing drivers and tools.

Since the two 16x PCIe slots are amply spaced, a CrossFire setup seems possible. However, the USB and HD Audio connectors would interfere with the second graphics card. Plus, most mATX enclosures have room for only four expansion slots; that bottom card could only be one slot-wide to work.

Then again, if you're on a budget, buying a Pentium and an inexpensive motherboard, multi-GPU arrays probably aren't on the menu anyway. Rather, this platform is aimed at a more value-oriented demographic.

Apart from the typical six-channel analog audio jacks, you also get an optical output. There are four USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports, one combined PS/2 port for a keyboard or mouse, and one GbE jack.

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Top Comments
  • 33 Hide
    TheMentalist , September 5, 2014 2:27 PM
    AIO watercooler, $100 case, $150 SSD in a budget build? Nice joke.
  • 25 Hide
    Nestor Turizo , September 5, 2014 2:43 PM
    Noob question: Isnt a stock, on air i5 for 200 usd aprox. a better option than a cheap processor + fancy cooler for 200+ usd?
  • 24 Hide
    bernie456 , September 5, 2014 2:22 PM
    Anyone in their right might is not going to spend $100 on the case in a budget build, let alone one as ugly as that one.
Other Comments
  • 3 Hide
    Amdlova , September 5, 2014 1:45 PM
    What i can say. Ugly. Prefer the bitfenix cage... all that cheap plastic...
  • 14 Hide
    Amdlova , September 5, 2014 1:50 PM
    Promoted by DeepCool. and MSI.
  • 24 Hide
    bernie456 , September 5, 2014 2:22 PM
    Anyone in their right might is not going to spend $100 on the case in a budget build, let alone one as ugly as that one.
  • 3 Hide
    Ben Van Deventer , September 5, 2014 2:25 PM
    It's not ugly, it's "steampunk"
  • 33 Hide
    TheMentalist , September 5, 2014 2:27 PM
    AIO watercooler, $100 case, $150 SSD in a budget build? Nice joke.
  • -2 Hide
    pierrerock , September 5, 2014 2:34 PM
    And this is why i would not buy a G3258 if i have to get a Z97 Board. I know H81 Boards can now overclock this CPU, but there is a lot of chances that this board would not have a bios recent enough for this CPU. and since you buy a G3258, there is little chance you have another LGA 1150 CPU in your sleeve to flash the bios.

    I would get a X4 760K with a better GPU instead of a G3258 with a more expensive motherboard...
  • 7 Hide
    Ethan Feinhaus , September 5, 2014 2:35 PM
    The only problem I have with this is that you're trying to describe a budget system with a water cooler. When one is building a budget system, there's no reason to have a water cooler when the stock cooler would function well enough.
  • 25 Hide
    Nestor Turizo , September 5, 2014 2:43 PM
    Noob question: Isnt a stock, on air i5 for 200 usd aprox. a better option than a cheap processor + fancy cooler for 200+ usd?
  • -3 Hide
    pierrerock , September 5, 2014 2:46 PM
    Quote:
    Noob question: Isnt a stock, on air i5 for 200 usd aprox. a better option than a cheap processor + fancy cooler for 200+ usd?


    Yeah a I5 would totally be better, but as for gaming, it would not push a 750 TI much more than a G3258 would. But you are right to think that a water cooling is not a good idea budget-wise
  • 3 Hide
    lp231 , September 5, 2014 3:42 PM
    Why isn't the total mentioned for this budget build? Also the price for the ram, aio cooler, optical drive are missing. I had to add those in by guessing the most acceptable price for those missing parts and total with what was price listed came out to almost $840. At that price, it's not a budget build. Budget build is suppose to be around $500 or less. $600 is consider a huge headroom.
    AIO $ 80, ODD $16 , RAM 8GB (2x4GB) $73
    Most of these budget build makes no sense when there is no strict budget cap. Next time when there is another budget build and there is something that just got to have it, but cost like $100 more, let's up the price cap and still call it a budget build!
  • 4 Hide
    JackNaylorPE , September 5, 2014 3:52 PM
    I'd have to call that build "Nebuchadnezzar" .... reminds me of Morpheus' ship in the Matrix movies
  • 2 Hide
    dovah-chan , September 5, 2014 4:08 PM
    Could have said that it was a balanced intel build instead of a budget build. Kinda not very balanced either.... not sure how to feel other than wat.
  • 12 Hide
    iam2thecrowe , September 5, 2014 4:17 PM
    Would have been better off forgoing the watercooling and ssd in favour of a haswell i3 and a better gpu.
  • 1 Hide
    Riemenschneider , September 5, 2014 7:09 PM
    Quote:
    AIO watercooler, $100 case, $150 SSD in a budget build? Nice joke.

    exactly my first thoughts. I'd go with a Fractal Design Core 1000, an EKL Alpenfohn Sella, and just get a MX100 256GB instead of the HDD. If you really need more space, you can always get a big HDD later, or just buy an external USB 3.0 one, or use an NAS or cloud. Also a good 300W PSU should be more than enough for this system, even if you overclock to 4.5 GHz.
  • 6 Hide
    zero2dash , September 5, 2014 7:14 PM
    I would never buy a computer case that looks like a cheap electric razor. Could just be me though...
  • 6 Hide
    Avus , September 5, 2014 9:03 PM
    for a budget build, i won't use a $100USD case...
  • 1 Hide
    TheMentalist , September 5, 2014 9:05 PM
    Quote:

    exactly my first thoughts. I'd go with a Fractal Design Core 1000, an EKL Alpenfohn Sella, and just get a MX100 256GB instead of the HDD. If you really need more space, you can always get a big HDD later, or just buy an external USB 3.0 one, or use an NAS or cloud. Also a good 300W PSU should be more than enough for this system, even if you overclock to 4.5 GHz.


    Yeah, but in a budget build I would use a HDD only. Games these days are about 20-40gigs. That's a lot. SSD's will only increase the loading times, nothing else, no graphical improvements. I would just go with a WB black and spend the saved money on a better CPU/GPU.

    And a 400-500W PSU would be the better way, since good 300W PSU's are hard to find everywhere. Plus if the graphics card gets pumped up, the power will too. The Seasonic S520II is the best budget PSU right now.
  • -5 Hide
    Baumy15 , September 6, 2014 12:30 AM
    for $801 dollars (aus) I got an
    G3258 $79
    MSI Z87M GAMING motherboard $179
    Kingston hyper x fury black $99
    western digital caviar blue $69
    2nd hand 500W psu $15
    2nd hand GTX 660 $140
    3 coolermaster sickleflow x green fans x3 $12 ($36)
    1 bitfenix spectre pro 200mm green $27
    gigabyte k7 force keyboard $59
    razer naga hex green $79
    and a generic cd rom $19

    this is a nice looking budget build and performs really well

    and if you where to buy a new GTX 660 it would be $199
    and a new 500 w psu it would be $49 so it would be $895

    and the G3250 can be overclocked to 4.5 on the stock cooler for me.

    I play watchdogs a lot high textures and ultra graphics setting and I get between 25-50 fps average is around 40fps

    this is a high performance budget build and stays really cool
  • 0 Hide
    Baumy15 , September 6, 2014 12:34 AM
    and this case is also a ripoff of the aerocool ds cube same internals just different panels and different exterior
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