Having decided to switch back to a desktop from a laptop for my main computer after 5-6 years, I am now researching motherboards and CPUs, although I'm in no hurry. I already have a working computer and don't want to buy new stuff until I start earning paychecks from my new job soon.

Anyway, I have tentatively narrowed my choices down to two pairs. Any opinions?

• the Gigabyte H370M-D3H motherboard - https://www.frys.com/product/9522602...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG . Looking at CPU Intel Core i3-7320: https://www.frys.com/product/9085637...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG.
  
• Or: Asus Prime B350M-A - https://www.frys.com/product/9118898...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG. With CPU: AMD AM4 A6 9500 - https://www.frys.com/product/9267239...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG .

I am neither a power user nor a gamer. You can probably figure that out when I mention that I've been using 8-10 year-old Thinkpad T series laptops for the last 5-6 years. I don't do much except word process, use the internet, and play the sort of retro games that require DosBox. I don't know what the latest popular games are, much less play them. The Linux distro I use is MX of the Debian family, currently version 16.

Curious choices. My last two new motherboard purchases were Gigabyte with i3-7100T and Asus with G4600. Both were picked largely for having 4 different video outputs, like your Gigabyte selection except with regular DisplayPort instead of USB-C. For lack of both DisplayPort and USB-C I would not pick that B350M-A. A VGA port I can do without, but having neither DisplayPort nor USB-C wouldn't work for me. I'm not keen on the tiny size of USB-C except maybe for a tablet. I suspect here in the long run it would suffer from the cable weight hanging off of it and frequent display cable switches. In the forums, Ryzen seems to cause more consternation for Linux users than Intel, which I think is mostly about new Ryzen models taking longer to flesh out proper support for. Between your two choices, I'd go Gigabyte, likely with a 35W TDP CPU instead of your 51W selection (if I could find one). Either way you go, take advantage of that M.2 connector.

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A most helpful response. Then what do you think of this Gigabyte board? https://www.frys.com/product/9498751...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG

My computers have been so dated, I hadn't heard of either USB-C or DisplayPort anyway. I am perfectly content to use the VGA port on the H370M. It was what worked before. And USB-C? My USB port design worked fine. [shrug]

The Z370 has neither VGA nor DisplayPort nor USB-C, but accepts 3 PCIe cards instead of only 2. Otherwise it's little different from the H370.

USB-C isn't just "USB". It's more sophisticated, and includes DisplayPort functionality.

DisplayPort allows chaining multiple displays off the single port, as many as 8 I think. I find it more reliable than HDMI. I've had HDMI ports die five different times on three types of devices.

I used VGA on a display with both DVI and VGA for many years before I took the trouble to see what if any difference there was. Until doing a serious comparison, the difference might be of little or no notice. Now that I've done it, I'm disinclined to use my PCs that have only VGA. In a side by side comparison, the difference can be stunning, and now my eyes recognize the difference without a side by side. Gone is any need to adjust screen size or position, to use the full area without having any edges cut off.

VGA on new displays probably won't be around much longer, especially on the 2K and 4K models, where it's already scarce.

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