Mobo Dying - Need Suggestions

[WackyWRZ]

Hey all - looking for some advice on my dying motherboard - and TIA to any comments! I currently have an i5-3570 (non-k) and a P8Z77-V motherboard. The board is starting to act up on me and randomly shut off under load so I need to fix it. I have no warranty because it was second hand and there MAY be pin damage. I'm stuck on what to replace it with. I am 100% sure its the board and the rest of the system is fine.

Option 1: $130 for an Asrock Z77 E4 board which seems like a lot of money for something pretty outdated (has to be Z77 for CFX). I haven't seen used boards on ebay for a whole lot cheaper than that either.

Option 2: My buddy will sell me his 3570K + Asrock Z77 board for $260.

Option 3: Buy a 4690K + MB - OR - something from the AMD side like an 8310 + MB.

The machine is used mainly for gaming and internet surfing. Games are LoL, BF3/4, MechWarrior, NFS, etc... Right now with the current setup I have no performance complaints. BF4 give me 90+ FPS avg. I have heard that the newer i3's are also good value, but I would think that would be a bottleneck for the rest of the system:

850W PS (EVGA 850G2)
2x Sapphire 7950
Swiftech H220x

 

[ranger10700]

If it was in my budget I would go for broke and get the third option because i have heard so many good things about the 4690K from friends and colleagues. Keep the computer chugging for hopefully a long time

 

[mfenn]

Are you sure the board is at fault? Many times an unexpected hard power off is the result of a PSU problem.

 

[WackyWRZ]

I should clarify that it doesn't always "power off". It sometimes BSODs or just freezes as well. I know that can also be a bad PSU, but the PSU is actually only a couple months old and is high quality (EVGA 850G2).

I'm pretty confident it has to do with the bent / missing pins in the cpu socket. If I move the coolant lines on the CPU block around, or bump the tower I can often duplicate a crash or poweroff. I have tested the RAM with MemTest86 and it was OK. When I built this rig originally, it took a few tries of re-seating the CPU to get it to boot and I have been afraid to touch it ever since!

 

[Termie]

Fourth option: have your friend sell just his motherboard to you. He should have no problem selling the cpu elsewhere, and there's certainly no reason for you to buy it. There's very little market for old boards, so he should feel lucky to have you as a buyer.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

http://www.ascendtech.com/

The "other" storefront:

http://www.ascendtech.us/intel-lga1155-motherboard_cp1_mb1155.aspx

I see one ASUS Z68/Gen3 board, and an ASUS Z77 -V LX or similar.

With those you're looking at an outlay less than $100, and the "reseller" has thoroughly evaluated, refurbished and tested these boards.

the other possibility would be EBay. There are several online businesses that work through EBay, who obtain RMA replacement boards or surplus, new unopened stock of the older models you're looking at: Z77 boards.

Your existing board and those offered by Ascendtech (at the moment) are so-so midrange boards. Look hard enough and you can find sources for models that are a notch above.

 

[WackyWRZ]

Hmm, I didn't realize a Z68 would work with Ivy Bridge - I thought that I needed Z7x. Is there anything I am losing by going with a Z68? That probably really opens up my options - and my searches!

 

[Burpo]

$80 on Amazon for refurbs..
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B007MKGF82/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all

 

[mfenn]

Hmm, I didn't realize a Z68 would work with Ivy Bridge - I thought that I needed Z7x. Is there anything I am losing by going with a Z68? That probably really opens up my options - and my searches!

It needs to have had the BIOS flashed to a version with Ivy Bridge support, so if you don't have a Sandy Bridge chip laying around, you're a little bit at the mercy of the seller having updated the BIOS.

 

[WackyWRZ]

It needs to have had the BIOS flashed to a version with Ivy Bridge support, so if you don't have a Sandy Bridge chip laying around, you're a little bit at the mercy of the seller having updated the BIOS.

I do actually have an i3-2100 lying around, so that's no issue. Looks like there really isn't much difference between Z68(G3) and Z77 so I will broaden my search.

And thanks Burpo, I didn't even think to look on Amazon. I think I am too conditioned to looking for "Prime" items lol!