Unlocked Intel Pentium G3258 + MSI Z97 mobo $90 AR, B&M Microcenter

[Replay]

http://www.microcenter.com/site/brands/G3258Bundle.aspx

EDIT Aug 2nd 2014: New rebate for August & the combo deal is still alive at Microcenter B&M
New $10 mobo rebate form: http://images10.newegg.com/uploadfilesfornewegg/rebate/SH/MSI26MIRsAug01Aug3114cd12us.pdf
Z97 is the "overclocking" chipset, VCore is adjustable beyond the 1.2V limit of many other chipsets. Running at 4.7 GHz Prime95 stable with 1.375-1.400 VCore on an old rebate deal Thermaltake V1 air cooler (92mm fan + heatpipes, not a high end cooler).
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Microcenter, in store only, has a combo for the new unlocked Pentium dual core G3258. Order online for in-store pickup. Sale is probably good through July 4th, but I'm not sure about that. The SD deals site has a long thread going about the deal.

CPU was out of stock yesterday at the St Davids/Philly location, then 25+ showed up in stock this morning, so now I am $100 poorer. The MSI board is nothing special ($100AR@Newegg), but it does have a USB3 header, plus USB3 rear ports. Looks like the 2nd PCIe-16x is a 4x slot (only 1/2 the pins are in use).

SKU 248401 MSI Z97 PC Mate LGA 1150 $40.00
SKU 333328 Intel Box Pentium G3258 $59.99

$10 July rebate form, channel wide, (Newegg link). Edited title, forgot to adjust for the $10 rebate.
http://images10.newegg.com/uploadfilesfornewegg/rebate/SH/MSI26mirJul01Jul3114yh62us.pdf

Microcenter still has unlocked AMD FX4130 oem quad cores at $40. Clocked one up to 4.8 GHz prime95 stable on air with the expired deal $15AR ECS A970 board.

 

[Samus]

Microcenter, in store only, has a "hidden" combo for the new unlocked Pentium dual core G3258. Order online for in-store pickup. Sale is probably good through July 4th, but I'm not sure about that. The SD deals site has a long thread going about the deal.

CPU was out of stock yesterday at the St Davids/Philly location, then 25+ showed up in stock this morning, so now I am $100 poorer. The MSI board is nothing special ($100AR@Newegg), but it does have a USB3 header, plus USB3 rear ports. Looks like the 2nd PCIe-16x is a 4x slot (only 1/2 the pins are in use).

SKU 248401 MSI Z97 PC Mate LGA 1150 $40.00
SKU 333328 Intel Box Pentium G3258 $59.99

$10 July rebate form, channel wide, (Newegg link).
http://images10.newegg.com/uploadfilesfornewegg/rebate/SH/MSI26mirJul01Jul3114yh62us.pdf

Microcenter still has unlocked AMD FX4130 oem quad cores at $40. Clocked one up to 4.8 GHz prime95 stable on air with the expired deal $15AR ECS A970 board.

I got in on the 4690K for $199 and a Asus H97 mATX for $60. It's running at 4.6GHz on water at 1.3v completely stable. 300MHz higher than my 4670K could handle.

I'm going to retire my i3-330m ASRock miniPC and built an ITX system out of that G3258. Dual core is usually perfect for video playback, and ideally I can undervolt it with a mild overclock. It's crazy how Microcenter can practically give you a motherboard after you consider their CPU's are already so inexpensive, and then they knock off $40 on a motherboard.

Love this store. Fry's and CompUSA all went to shit but Microcenter has kept it real for decades.

 

[richierich1212]

Samus, does that Asus H97 give you all the overclock options?

 

[Replay]

Microcenter deal is still on, still B&M only, $99.99 + tax less a $10 rebate.
New $10 mobo rebate for August: http://images10.newegg.com/uploadfilesfornewegg/rebate/SH/MSI26MIRsAug01Aug3114cd12us.pdf
http://www.microcenter.com/site/brands/G3258Bundle.aspx

 

[Samus]

Samus, does that Asus H97 give you all the overclock options?

Yes, my Asrock H87M-ITX and Asus H97-Plus both overclock the i5-k parts to 4.2GHz and 4.6GHz. I don't really understand why the Z is so important when many OEM's have unlocked K-overclocking on the H-chipsets.

 

[Replay]

Don't always get VCore VRing voltage control when you don't have the Intel "Z" overclocking chipsets. CPU & Motherboard forums have some threads about non-"Z" success. Some non-"Z" rigs seem to be limited to 1.2 on the VCore, which is limiting the overclocks (when they OC at all, some don't). My chip wants 1.375 1.400 VCore for 4700 MHz.