Question High end Motherboard for Win 7 x64 install

[Bob.]

Given that Win 7 EOL is upon us, I'm looking to rebuild a few of my machines with quality high end components and install win 7 x64. The Asus ROG line has proven to be problem free and durable (as well as high-performing), so I've been looking at Asus ROG & TUF. There are plenty to choose from, but given the Win 7 x64 install, I'm thinking I may be limited. I've checked Asus's support site, and while many boards show support for win 7 x64, the latest offerings show limited 'drivers. In fact, some show only BIOS and a vendors list when selecting Win 7 x64 as the OS.

What high end board would y'all recommend, taking into account Win 7 x64 driver issues, etc?

Since I want to use win 7 for as long as possible, the price of the board isn't a factor. I'll spend what I have to.

Further, any comments on CPUs with whatever board as well. The i9-9900K looks good to me, unless there are caveats with win 7 or general problems. I understand the temps can get a bit high, but an after-market cooler should handle that.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Furious_Styles]

I do not recommend Asus, their support is one of the worst.

Most boards will work fine with win 7, I am currently using a z370 board and this is the 3rd or 4th mobo/CPU change that has worked without issue. It's a tad bit more tricky on fresh installs (you will need to load a driver during install) but other than that it's not terribly difficult.

 

[Bob.]

I do not recommend Asus, their support is one of the worst.

Thanks for your comments. I've had Asus boards, but haven't needed support. They've been very reliable. The one in my production machine has been in service since 2013 without incident. It's a Maximus VI Hero. What mfr do you use?

Most boards will work fine with win 7, I am currently using a z370 board and this is the 3rd or 4th mobo/CPU change that has worked without issue. It's a tad bit more tricky on fresh installs (you will need to load a driver during install) but other than that it's not terribly difficult.

3rd or 4th in different machines?

I don't have a problem going with Z370, but I haven't found one that meets the high-end std. I like ROG boards because they use high grade parts, but the new ones lack win 7 drivers. What boards did you use?

 

[Furious_Styles]

Be glad you haven't had to. I've dealt with warranty service for gigabyte, msi, asrock, and asus was the worst.

I've had the same win7 install for multiple generations in the last 5 years. You should go z390, I'm just saying I'm on the current gen (1151) and it works fine.

 

[Bob.]

Do you know of any good primers for getting win7 on a z390? One thing I've been reading is the lack of native USB support, and that using a PCIE to USB expansion card is workaround. which driver did you have to load...did you load it from a usb or...?

 

[Furious_Styles]

I don't sorry. I haven't checked out Z390's issues much. I guess you might have to consider W10 if you go 390 and if you stick with 370 you can keep W7. W7 is at EOL at this point (microsoft is going to stop giving out security updates) so keep that in mind too.

 

[Bob.]

Thanks for your input. It all helps and contributes to the learning process. At any rate, I think I'm going with the Asus Strix Z370-H. It seems to fit the bill and is of decent quality. And more importantly, supports win 7 and is available. I see it also supports the i9-9900k, but I'll have to research for issues.
As to EOL, I have all current security updates downloaded and the 7R2 update pack. I'm serious about security and exercise common sense. Plus, I keep rolling Macrium images of data & system drives. I guess I'm saying that I'm not going into this blindly.

That said, you mentioned a driver that has to be loaded during a fresh install? Can you expand on that? Again, thanks for your help.