Question Would like confirmation that this mobo will work for new i5-6500 Skylake build

[Ken90630]

Hey, All,

I've been out of the soup, so to speak, for several years. Long story -- family stuff, medical stuff, school, moving a couple times, etc.

A good friend has asked me to build her a new Windows 7 custom PC. She hates Windows 10, and I told her we need to do this NOW while I can -- I hope -- still get Win 7-compatible parts. And yes, I CAN still get Windows 7 Professional 64-bit, so no problem there.

I've successfully built a number of PCs before, so I know what to do. I want to use an i5-6500 Skylake CPU (which I've already found), but I'm having a little trouble finding a mobo that'll take a 100-series Sky Lake i5. I'm partial to Gigabyte and Asus brands, as I've always used those exclusively in the past and am familiar with them.

I found this board

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

and it LOOKS like it'll work, but because I'm so rusty at this after being away for several years, I was wondering if you guys could give it a look-see and confirm for me that it'll work with the Sky Lake i5. I can't get a newer CPU because Sky Lake is the last one that'll work with Windows 7 w/o a third-party hack (a road I don't want to go down). If any of you guys know of a better 100-series board that'll work, that's either Asus or Gigabyte and that I can still get somewhere (new, not used), by all means chime in.

Thanks in advance.

 

[VirtualLarry]

If any of you guys know of a better 100-series board that'll work, that's either Asus or Gigabyte and that I can still get somewhere (new, not used), by all means chime in.

Well, I've got a pair of ASRock Z170 Pro4S ATX boards, that take Skylake, and run Win7 64-bit. In fact, I had them running that exact configuration in the past.

I'm curious why you excluded ASRock (not my boards, but the mfg) from your list? They tended to support "Port 60/64 emulation", which, if you don't have a physical PS/2 keyboard and PS/2 mouse, is a virtual requirement to shoe-horn Win7 64-bit on there.

You'll want a SATA DVD/DVD-RW drive to install Win7 64-bit SP1 from disc, too. USB stick generally won't work, unless you've used one of those "Win7 installer USB creators, that injects the USB3.0 drivers (either Intel, or AMD) and the NVMe driver, and whatnot, into your Win7 install image.

Anyways, if you want to purchase my boards, let me know by PM. I'll include free tech support (by PM, or even by phone), to get you up and running. That assumes that ASRock hasn't pulled down their Win7 64-bit drivers for that board, but most of them are supported out of the box. Just need the LAN driver (Intel ProSet with support for Win7 64-bit), and RealTek audio chipset drivers for Win7 64-bit.

 

[Ken90630]

Well, I've got a pair of ASRock Z170 Pro4S ATX boards, that take Skylake, and run Win7 64-bit. In fact, I had them running that exact configuration in the past.

I'm curious why you excluded ASRock (not my boards, but the mfg) from your list? They tended to support "Port 60/64 emulation", which, if you don't have a physical PS/2 keyboard and PS/2 mouse, is a virtual requirement to shoe-horn Win7 64-bit on there.

You'll want a SATA DVD/DVD-RW drive to install Win7 64-bit SP1 from disc, too. USB stick generally won't work, unless you've used one of those "Win7 installer USB creators, that injects the USB3.0 drivers (either Intel, or AMD) and the NVMe driver, and whatnot, into your Win7 install image.

Thanks for the reply, Larry.

I didn't care much for AS Rock boards back when I used to do more builds. They're Asus's budget brand, right? I seem to recall them not being up to the caliber of 'regular' Asus or Gigabyte boards. Money's not an issue here -- my friend is willing to spend for high quality -- so like I said, my preference is to go with Gigabyte or Asus since I'm familiar with how they do things, mobo-wise.

And yes, a SATA DVD drive is part of the plan. I have an extra one here, so if I can't find one new, I'll be okay. She already has a physical PS/2 keyboard & mouse, so no problem there either.

BTW, like I said earlier, I've been out of the soup for several years. What happened to Newegg? The offerings seem few & far between, with most of the products I'm seeing only being available from other companies (Corn Computer, etc.), often overseas. I read they got bought out. If they've gone down the tubes, who are you guys buying from now? ZipZoomFly disappeared 10 years ago, Fry's has empty shelves whenever I go in there, and SVC seems to be gone too. What the heck happened? Is everyone just using Amazon & Best Buy now?

 

[UsandThem]

I didn't care much for AS Rock boards back when I used to do more builds. They're Asus's budget brand, right? I seem to recall them not being up to the caliber of Asus or Gigabyte boards. Money's not an issue here -- my friend is willing to spend for high quality -- so like I said, my preference is to go with Gigabyte or Asus since I'm familiar with how they do things, mobo-wise.

Asrock used to be Asus' "house brand", but they were spun off a while back. They make some great boards (Taichi line for example).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASRock#History

Gigabyte used to be my go-to brand for a long time, but their BIOS / software support isn't as good as Asus, Asrock, or MSI's is. I would personally place them at the bottom of my list nowadays. Of course this is my personal opinion from experience, and seeing people here dealing with their RMA department.

 

[Ken90630]

Asrock used to be Asus' "house brand", but they were spun off a while back. They make some great boards (Taichi line for example).

Gigabyte used to be my go-to brand for a long time, but their BIOS / software support isn't as good as Asus, Asrock, or MSI's is. I would personally place them at the bottom of my list nowadays. Of course this is my personal opinion from experience, and seeing people here dealing with their RMA department.

Okay. Good to know. Guess I'll reconsider AS Rock then. I had mixed feelings about MSI back in the day -- how are they now? Better? Worse? About the same? (I'm referring to 5-10 years ago, which was the last time I was dialed in and "in the know" about this stuff.)

 

[UsandThem]

Okay. Good to know. Guess I'll reconsider AS Rock then. I had mixed feelings about MSI back in the day -- how are they now? Better? Worse? About the same? (I'm referring to 5-10 years ago, which was the last time I was dialed in and "in the know" about this stuff.)

They got their act together (for the most part). They recently had some issues because they installed too small amount of memory on some of their AMD BIOS (B450 and X470 motherboards). So they to remove some CPU support, and write a "lite" version of the UEFI to get it fit. They then released new versions of the boards with a "MAX" moniker.

On the Intel side, I think they've been pretty solid for a while now.

 

[Ken90630]

They got their act together (for the most part). They recently had some issues because they installed too small amount of memory on some of their AMD BIOS (B450 and X470 motherboards). So they to remove some CPU support, and write a "lite" version of the UEFI to get it fit. They then released new versions of the boards with a "MAX" moniker.

On the Intel side, I think they've been pretty solid for a while now.

Okay. Thanks. Think I'll lean toward AS Rock for now unless I can't find one of theirs to my liking. How are 'mainline' ASUS boards nowadays (on the Intel side)? Still good like they've always been, or better or worse than 5-10 years ago?

 

[UsandThem]

Okay. Thanks. Think I'll lean toward AS Rock for now unless I can't find one of theirs to my liking. How are 'mainline' ASUS boards nowadays (on the Intel side)? Still good like they've always been, or better or worse than 5-10 years ago?

They are fine. Gigabyte would be the only brand I wouldn't personally consider if I were choosing a motherboard today.

All manufacturers have a few "duds", so I would just read some user reviews, and see if there is a common theme with problems. I really don't pay much attention to some negative reviews as they are most likely PEBKAC problems, but sometimes you can see there might be a particular shortfall of a particular model.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Oh, another possible solution, if they don't need a higher-end GPU, or gobs of RAM.... the DeskMini H110W bare-bones Mini-PC platform / package, will run Win7 64-bit, and I believe, with a Skylake CPU, in a supported manner as well. That's an ASRock product.

In that particular case, a SATA DVD and a PS/2 keyboard and mouse are basically out of the question, so you would HAVE TO use a USB installer stick prepared with a "Win7 64-bit installer patch" program. Which I have done in the past, I don't know if they still offer that program.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Is there some particular reason that she HAS to have Skylake? Yes, I know it's the newest, fastest, CPU that Win7 64-bit "officially supports", but what about this deal?

[DEAD] REFURB Lenovo Thinkcenter M93p SFF desktop w/Haswell i5, 8GB/500GB, SSD options for more $, $144.99 from Surplus Products @ Newegg

https://www.newegg.com/lenovo-thinkcentre-m93p-student-home-office/p/1VK-0003-069Y9?reviews=all&Item=9SIA5YV8TH6922&cm_sp=Homepage_SS-_-P5_9SIA5YV8TH6922-_-10202019 Reviews are good, clean refurbs, minimal bloat, etc. Supposedly live support. This is IMHO a fairly good price for a Haswell i5...

forums.anandtech.com

Could be an option, for those Win7 64-bit junkies. It's cheap, and should run a good long time.

 

[Ken90630]

Well, I've got a pair of ASRock Z170 Pro4S ATX boards, that take Skylake, and run Win7 64-bit. In fact, I had them running that exact configuration in the past.

I'm curious why you excluded ASRock (not my boards, but the mfg) from your list? They tended to support "Port 60/64 emulation", which, if you don't have a physical PS/2 keyboard and PS/2 mouse, is a virtual requirement to shoe-horn Win7 64-bit on there.

You'll want a SATA DVD/DVD-RW drive to install Win7 64-bit SP1 from disc, too. USB stick generally won't work, unless you've used one of those "Win7 installer USB creators, that injects the USB3.0 drivers (either Intel, or AMD) and the NVMe driver, and whatnot, into your Win7 install image.

Anyways, if you want to purchase my boards, let me know by PM. I'll include free tech support (by PM, or even by phone), to get you up and running. That assumes that ASRock hasn't pulled down their Win7 64-bit drivers for that board, but most of them are supported out of the box. Just need the LAN driver (Intel ProSet with support for Win7 64-bit), and RealTek audio chipset drivers for Win7 64-bit.

Thanks for the offer, Larry. If this were a build for me I might take you up on it, but because it's for a friend, I need to get brand new parts for her. Her previous computer lasted 8 years, and while that's a bit of an outlier nowadays, you know how people are -- she wants the new one to do the same or close to it (even if that's not a realistic expectation). So I prefer to go with all new parts on this one. Thanks again, though.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Well, to be honestly, this sounds to me, to be the wrong tact to take.

Does she have applications (line-of-business or otherwise), that HAVE to have Win7 64-bit? As in, they WILL NOT RUN on Win10 64-bit (1903)?

Because if that's not really the case, then this is sort of a bit of a fool's errand, IMHO.

The reason being, is the need for updates, and security, and the fact that Win 7 64-bit (officially, at least) goes EOL Jan 2020.

But there could be a valid argument made, about the lack of privacy with Win10 64-bit, and that alone could make it a valid reason to stick with an older OS (largely unpatched, if she's going to run Win7 64-bit for another 8 years, so 2028).

I will say, though, maintaining a working and workable rig, using an outdated OS, gets harder by the year. Not just the security holes, should they be lingering and unpatched (best practices, is not to have it on the internet at all, in that case), but because hardware mfgs will stop supporting drivers for the old, outdated OS.

No new sound cards. No new GPUs. No new XYZ USB gizmos, that brew coffee and read books aloud at the same time for you.

(For a blatant example of that, ask an AMD GPU owner, running Windows 8/8.1, how they like the lack of driver support for their cards. Heck, Win8.1 isn't even EOL yet!)

I mean, it all makes some sense TODAY, because there's STILL hardware support in the market for Win7 64-bit. But a few years down the line, where will she be, if her printer breaks down, and she needs a New one, especially if she's shy about buying used devices? Up the creek, that's where.

Lastly, Windows 10, with something like the (free!) "Shutup10" app, that purports to shut off most all of the (known) spying features of Windows 10, isn't really THAT bad. It's actually, generally, very usable, better-performing in some cases than Windows 7, especially with newer platforms like Ryzen and AM4, AND, it has a wonderfully-useful "Windows Reset" feature, when things need to get re-installed, because something is FUBAR enough that you want to reach for a re-install. I had to do that myself just recently, with a build I was working on, that upgraded to 1903, but then Windows Update wasn't working quite right. I mean, Windows 10 is still mostly sort of like a work-in-progress, and yeah, it has bugs, but it mostly holds together.

Edit: And after that rant, if you/she still wants to go through with it, the closest Z170 board that I am aware of that's still available NEW from Newegg, is this one:

ASRock Motherboard ATX Ddr4 LGA 1151 Z170a-x1/3.1 for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for ASRock Motherboard ATX Ddr4 LGA 1151 Z170a-x1/3.1 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

I'm going to check if they still have Win7 64-bit drivers posted for that board.

Edit: YEP, that one's a "goodie". They've still got Win7 32-bit, 64-bit, Win8.1 32-bit, 64-bit, and Win10 64-bit drivers posted for that board. Seriously, consider getting over your fear of ASRock, and get that board. You're going to find a scarcity of workable Z170 boards these days. (Edit: I mean, within the context of your request of buying "New". They haven't made any of these in the last 3-4 years.)

ASRock > Z170A-X1/3.1

ASRock Super Alloy; Supports 7th and 6th Generation Intel Core™ Processors (Socket 1151)<div class=Remark><span style=color:red;>*</span>8th Gen Intel Core™ desktop processors are supported with Intel 300 Series chipset motherboards only; 5 Power Phase design; Supports DDR4 3466+(OC); 2 PCIe 3.0...

www.asrock.com

This was a more-or-less "Gamer Oriented" budget Z170 board, so the only onboard output it has is a DVI-D port, no HDMI. So you'll want to budget for a GPU in there too. If she doesn't play games, then an RX 550, GTX 1050/ti, GTX 1650, GT 1030 (eww!), would probably suffice. If she needs a VGA output, for an older monitor or projector, consider a 750ti card with a VGA-out connector.

Ok, there's ONE LEFT of the Z170 Pro4S (my boards) NEW from OutletPC on ebay, for ~$130:

ASRock ATX Ddr4 LGA 1151 Motherboard Z170 Pro4s for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for ASRock ATX Ddr4 LGA 1151 Motherboard Z170 Pro4s at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

That one has onboard HDMI output as well as DVI-D, I think.

 

[Ken90630]

Well, to be honestly, this sounds to me, to be the wrong tact to take.

Does she have applications (line-of-business or otherwise), that HAVE to have Win7 64-bit? As in, they WILL NOT RUN on Win10 64-bit (1903)?

Because if that's not really the case, then this is sort of a bit of a fool's errand, IMHO.

The reason being, is the need for updates, and security, and the fact that Win 7 64-bit (officially, at least) goes EOL Jan 2020.

But there could be a valid argument made, about the lack of privacy with Win10 64-bit, and that alone could make it a valid reason to stick with an older OS (largely unpatched, if she's going to run Win7 64-bit for another 8 years, so 2028).

I will say, though, maintaining a working and workable rig, using an outdated OS, gets harder by the year. Not just the security holes, should they be lingering and unpatched (best practices, is not to have it on the internet at all, in that case), but because hardware mfgs will stop supporting drivers for the old, outdated OS.

No new sound cards. No new GPUs. No new XYZ USB gizmos, that brew coffee and read books aloud at the same time for you.

(For a blatant example of that, ask an AMD GPU owner, running Windows 8/8.1, how they like the lack of driver support for their cards. Heck, Win8.1 isn't even EOL yet!)

I mean, it all makes some sense TODAY, because there's STILL hardware support in the market for Win7 64-bit. But a few years down the line, where will she be, if her printer breaks down, and she needs a New one, especially if she's shy about buying used devices? Up the creek, that's where.

Lastly, Windows 10, with something like the (free!) "Shutup10" app, that purports to shut off most all of the (known) spying features of Windows 10, isn't really THAT bad. It's actually, generally, very usable, better-performing in some cases than Windows 7, especially with newer platforms like Ryzen and AM4, AND, it has a wonderfully-useful "Windows Reset" feature, when things need to get re-installed, because something is FUBAR enough that you want to reach for a re-install. I had to do that myself just recently, with a build I was working on, that upgraded to 1903, but then Windows Update wasn't working quite right. I mean, Windows 10 is still mostly sort of like a work-in-progress, and yeah, it has bugs, but it mostly holds together.

Edit: And after that rant, if you/she still wants to go through with it, the closest Z170 board that I am aware of that's still available NEW from Newegg, is this one:

ASRock Motherboard ATX Ddr4 LGA 1151 Z170a-x1/3.1 for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for ASRock Motherboard ATX Ddr4 LGA 1151 Z170a-x1/3.1 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

I'm going to check if they still have Win7 64-bit drivers posted for that board.

Edit: YEP, that one's a "goodie". They've still got Win7 32-bit, 64-bit, Win8.1 32-bit, 64-bit, and Win10 64-bit drivers posted for that board. Seriously, consider getting over your fear of ASRock, and get that board. You're going to find a scarcity of workable Z170 boards these days. (Edit: I mean, within the context of your request of buying "New". They haven't made any of these in the last 3-4 years.)

ASRock > Z170A-X1/3.1

ASRock Super Alloy; Supports 7th and 6th Generation Intel Core™ Processors (Socket 1151)<div class=Remark><span style=color:red;>*</span>8th Gen Intel Core™ desktop processors are supported with Intel 300 Series chipset motherboards only; 5 Power Phase design; Supports DDR4 3466+(OC); 2 PCIe 3.0...

www.asrock.com

This was a more-or-less "Gamer Oriented" budget Z170 board, so the only onboard output it has is a DVI-D port, no HDMI. So you'll want to budget for a GPU in there too. If she doesn't play games, then an RX 550, GTX 1050/ti, GTX 1650, GT 1030 (eww!), would probably suffice. If she needs a VGA output, for an older monitor or projector, consider a 750ti card with a VGA-out connector.

Ok, there's ONE LEFT of the Z170 Pro4S (my boards) NEW from OutletPC on ebay, for ~$130:

ASRock ATX Ddr4 LGA 1151 Motherboard Z170 Pro4s for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for ASRock ATX Ddr4 LGA 1151 Motherboard Z170 Pro4s at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

That one has onboard HDMI output as well as DVI-D, I think.

Wow -- thanks a mil for taking the time to put all that together for me. O_O I REALLY appreciate it.

To answer your questions: She's one of these people that doesn't like change. She's actually using Windows XP right now (stop laughing). I couldn't believe it when I saw her PC, but yeah, she's running XP. The PC is dying (I suspect leaking caps on the mobo, although I didn't have time open the case and look). But she's had it 8 years, and she just wants a new computer. It's time. She's heard horror stories about how different Windows 10 is, and I don't care for it either (I'm still using 7 Pro), so I suggested building her a Windows 7 machine now -- to lessen the shock of transitioning from XP -- but with hardware that's Windows 10 compatible for when the switch to it can't be postponed any longer. She concurred. She doesn't do much on the Web or with e-mail, so I'm not overly nervous about the end of Windows security patches come January. I intend to install Bitdefender A-V for her, and also set her up so she's running a Limited Account (rather than as an administrator) for daily usage, so between the two and my standard polite admonitions about e-mail/Web safe practices, she should be fine. I'll probably also set her up with Acronis True Image and create a master backup in case the bad guys DO get in and/or anything goes FUBAR. That has saved my bacon a number of times over the years.

Complicating matters, slightly, is the fact that she does medical billing from home. That's her job. And the current software is XP-compatible only. But the company she works for gave her a CD-ROM with Windows 7-compatible software so she can switch over. She just never got around to it until now. She doesn't have Windows 10-compatible billing software, and I didn't ask about the ease (or lack thereof) of getting it since we'd already decided to go the Win 7 Pro route with this new build.

You're right, of course, about the declining availability of Win 7-compatible hardware/accessories moving forward. I don't intend to install a video card or sound card since she really just uses her PC for the medical billing, MS Word, lite Web surfing & e-mail, and watching occasional YouTube videos. The only reason I'm going with an i5 CPU is that if I use an i3 instead , inevitably someone will tell her her chip is "slow" (which you and I know isn't true) and then she'll ask, "Why did you put the slowest Intel chip in my PC?" That's happened to me before. It's not worth the trouble vis-a-vis her perception (or anyone else's) when the i5 is affordable for her.

Her current printer has Win-7 64-bit driver availability, but of course I'll keep my eye on that situation moving forward. If she ever gets to the point where her printer dies and we can't get her a replacement that's Win 7-compatible, that can serve as the impetus to make the switch to Windows 10. As you've figured out, we're simply postponing the inevitable for as long as reasonably possible.

I like the looks of that last board you posted (the new version of your board) from Outlet PC. I may just grab that today while I can. I like the other board as well, but like you say, no HDMI. Since she's going to get a new monitor as well (a 27" or 30" LCD), I'm thinking having HDMI right on the board is better & cheaper than having to add a video card.

If you don't mind taking a quick look, can you confirm for me that this Skylake Socket 1151 chip will work with that board? I really want to be sure, and since I'm so rusty, I don't want to miss anything.

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

Again, THANKS A MIL.

 

[VirtualLarry]

The i5-6500 should work with any Z170 board, or really, any 100-series chipset board, with the stock BIOS even, I believe. That shouldn't be a problem.

One thing that (I hope that you don't mind, I was conversing with a friend on Skype about this thread - it is public, after all) he mentioned was, about the printer situation. He said, "If I were that person, I would go looking for a Win7 64-bit printer NOW, while they're still available." And just mothball it for five years and sit on it.

Likewise, I wonder if perhaps, you shouldn't buy TWO of those Z170 boards, while they're available new, and stow one of them away safely. (I tend to do that myself, I buy "backup boards" for important systems, like my unRAID server, my main desktops, etc. Just in case.) Yes, that is kind of a luxury, but it's way better than paying outrageous prices for boards five years after they've stopped making them, and you have to pay 3x-4x the original MSRP for one of them, because "scalper pricing" for obsolete and discontinued, but popular hardware.

 

[VirtualLarry]

She's heard horror stories about how different Windows 10 is, and I don't care for it either (I'm still using 7 Pro), so I suggested building her a Windows 7 machine now -- to lessen the shock of transitioning from XP -- but with hardware that's Windows 10 compatible for when the switch to it can't be postponed any longer.

Well, perhaps, possibly, part of your job could be to assuage her fears about Windows 10, and let her know that most of the "horror stories" aren't actually true, or that they were due to bugs that have been since fixed.

If she has to re-learn a new OS version, why make her go through that twice (once for Win7 64-bit, and then once, eventually, to Win10 64-bit)? Why not just make a "clean break" to Win10 64-bit?

Complicating matters, slightly, is the fact that she does medical billing from home. That's her job. And the current software is XP-compatible only. But the company she works for gave her a CD-ROM with Windows 7-compatible software so she can switch over. She just never got around to it until now. She doesn't have Windows 10-compatible billing software, and I didn't ask about the ease (or lack thereof) of getting it since we'd already decided to go the Win 7 Pro route with this new build.

Well, that explains a few things. However, I have to ask, I'm not nearly that well-versed in this area (I've never consulted with a medical office), but what are the HIPPA considerations here, with using an EOL OS that is no longer receiving security patches (as of Jan. 2020)? That seems to be a big "Red Flag" here, and her job SHOULD be providing whatever software is necessary to do her job, and remain HIPPA-compliant while doing so. They shouldn't be requiring her to obtain third-party services, to put together a custom PC, with intentionally outdated parts, to intentionally run an EOL OS with no security patches, still connected to the internet, for the next, presumably, eight years.... (!)

Edit: I mean, I hate to be a downer here, on your neat project, but really, legal considerations for her job, take precedence over your personal dislike for Win10.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Summoning some second opinions about this whole thing... @UsandThem , @JackMDS , @Markfw

Maybe they know something about medical billing and HIPPA. I honestly don't know that much about it, but if it has rules anything like credit-card PCI Compliance programs, having out-of-date OSes without security patches is a big NO-NO.

 

[Ken90630]

The i5-6500 should work with any Z170 board, or really, any 100-series chipset board, with the stock BIOS even, I believe. That shouldn't be a problem.

One thing that (I hope that you don't mind, I was conversing with a friend on Skype about this thread - it is public, after all) he mentioned was, about the printer situation. He said, "If I were that person, I would go looking for a Win7 64-bit printer NOW, while they're still available." And just mothball it for five years and sit on it.

Likewise, I wonder if perhaps, you shouldn't buy TWO of those Z170 boards, while they're available new, and stow one of them away safely. (I tend to do that myself, I buy "backup boards" for important systems, like my unRAID server, my main desktops, etc. Just in case.) Yes, that is kind of a luxury, but it's way better than paying outrageous prices for boards five years after they've stopped making them, and you have to pay 3x-4x the original MSRP for one of them, because "scalper pricing" for obsolete and discontinued, but popular hardware.

Okay.

No, I don't mind you conversing with a friend about this thread. Not a problem. That's a good idea about getting another Win 7 64-bit compatible printer NOW and mothballing it. I'll suggest that to my friend. I don't know if my friend will want to go to the expense of buying an extra board. but I'll ask. But I suspect by the time this new board dies (whichever one I choose), it'll be time to go Windows 10 anyway so having a Win 7 board won't be critical. But again, I'll ask & let her decide.

One new problem that just cropped up though: Reading thru the description of that Z170 Pro4S board, it says, "*To install Windows® 7 OS, a modified installation disk with xHCI drivers packed into the ISO file is required. Please see our online tutorial or check our User Manual for more detailed instructions."

This is exactly the sort of thing I DON'T want to deal with. I don't know how to do that, nor do I want to take the time to mess with it. I'm buried with schoolwork right now and don't really even have time to be doing this build at all, but I'm doing it because a friend asked. I need to get the parts, put it together, install the software, set it up for her and be done. So I think I'll just go with that other board -- the 170A-X1 -- and add a decent-but-inexpensive video card with HDMI. I don't want problems with setup where I have to get online and bother you guys and go back & forth for hours. Been there, done that, and I just don't have time for it.

One other question: If I happen to find an LGA 1151 board with an H170 chipset instead of the Z170, will that still work with that CPU I plan to get? What's the difference between the Z and the H?

 

[VirtualLarry]

And before you go out and purchase those DIY/White-box channel mobos, consider the need for BIOS patches and fixes for Spectre and Meltdown, and now ZombieLoad.

I don't know if those mobos have them, in fact, I don't even know what, if any, mitigations that Win7 64-bit has for those issues, like Win10 I know does.

Just musing if perhaps, a factory-refurbished, branded-OEM system, might be more appropriate, with more up-to-date BIOS fixes available.

In fact, I would be surprised, if you know the "right people" to call at Dell or HP, or know the right web pages to look up, they may still be selling branded OEM, BRAND-NEW, workstations with Skylake and Win7 64-bit, specifically for people like you, or other bigger businesses that have line-of-business requirements to still run Win7 64-bit..

 

[VirtualLarry]

One new problem that just cropped up though: Reading thru the description of that Z170 Pro4S board, it says, "*To install Windows® 7 OS, a modified installation disk with xHCI drivers packed into the ISO file is required. Please see our online tutorial or check our User Manual for more detailed instructions."

This is true of ANY Skylake or Kaby Lake system, 100-series or 200-series chipset.

Win7 only, by default (Without patching) has EHCI USB controller drivers (USB 2.1). xHCI is used by USB3.x controllers. AND.... as it turns out, even the physically "USB 2.0" ports on the 100-series chipsets. They're all xHCI controllers, and ALL USB PORTS ON THESE BOARDS ARE *UNSUPPORTED* on Win7 64-bit's stock install images.

You need to either:
1) Use a physical PS/2 keyboard and mouse, and a SATA DVD-ROM to install Win7 64-bit from a stock ISO image / DVD disc.
2) Enable "Port 60/64 emulation" in BIOS, and use a USB 2.0 keyboard and mouse, to install Win7 64-bit from a stock ISO image / DVD disc. (But not a USB stick!)
3) Then, using the mobo's included driver DVD, put that in, and install the Intel USB 3.0 driver package (xHCI drivers). Then reboot, and go into BIOS, and disable "Port 60/64 emulation". Save and Exit, boot into Window 7 64-bit, your USB mouse, USB keyboard, and USB flash drives should now be WORKING.

Part of the difficulty is, you can't just put the USB drivers on a USB stick and install them without the USB drivers already installed. Catch-22.

You can also use a workaround, make a Linux Mint boot USB stick (on another PC, use the latest ISO image), and then plug that into the newly-built system (after installing Win7 from DVD disc), and boot off of the Linux LiveUSB, open a web browser, navigate to the PC's NTFS filesystem / Windows HDD/SSD, and then DOWNLOAD THE Intel USB 3.0 driver from the web DIRECTLY TO THE WINDOWS FILESYSTEM DOWNLOAD DIRECTORY.

Exit/shut-down Linux LiveUSB, remove the USB stick, boot up into Win7 64-bit, using either a PS/2 mouse/keyboard, or "Port 60/64 emulation" still, and then navigate to the USB 3.0 driver file that you downloaded onto the HDD using Linux, and then install it, and reboot. Then you should be able to boot into BIOS, disable Port 60/64 emulation, and your USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports should work in Win7 64-bit.

Edit: Maybe buying a pre-built OEM system with Skylake and Win7 64-bit Pro sounds easier than this? If so, explore that option.

Windows 7 Recovery Image Download Available With USB 3.1 And NVMe Driver Support | Dell US

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/11675/windows-7-windows-8-1-skylake-systems-supported

Dell support for Windows 7 and 8.1 on the Skylake chipset | Dell US

Here's a rig on Amazon, a Dell with 6th-Gen Core i3 (Skylake) and Win7 Pro 64-bit (*only appears available as "Renewed"):

Amazon.com: Dell Inspiron 3650 High Performance Desktop PC, Intel Core i3-6100 Processor 3.70 GHz, 8GB RAM, 1TB 7200RPM HDD, DVD +/- RW, WIFI, Bluetooth, HDMI, VGA, Windows 7 / 10 Professional: Computers & Accessories

Amazon.com: Dell Inspiron 3650 High Performance Desktop PC, Intel Core i3-6100 Processor 3.70 GHz, 8GB RAM, 1TB 7200RPM HDD, DVD +/- RW, WIFI, Bluetooth, HDMI, VGA, Windows 7 / 10 Professional: Computers & Accessories

www.amazon.com

 

[Ken90630]

And before you go out and purchase those DIY/White-box channel mobos, consider the need for BIOS patches and fixes for Spectre and Meltdown, and now ZombieLoad.

I don't know if those mobos have them, in fact, I don't even know what, if any, mitigations that Win7 64-bit has for those issues, like Win10 I know does.

Just musing if perhaps, a factory-refurbished, branded-OEM system, might be more appropriate, with more up-to-date BIOS fixes available.

In fact, I would be surprised, if you know the "right people" to call at Dell or HP, or know the right web pages to look up, they may still be selling branded OEM, BRAND-NEW, workstations with Skylake and Win7 64-bit, specifically for people like you, or other bigger businesses that have line-of-business requirements to still run Win7 64-bit..

So I think I'm going to call Gigabyte tomorrow morning and ask about their GA-H170-HD3 (rev. 1.0) board. It looks like it has everything I need, and unlike those two AS Rock boards, it looks like I'll only have a Win 7 installation problem if I'm going to install it via a USB drive -- which I'm not. I plan to just use a Win 7 Pro CD instead of a USB drive. I'll also ask them about Spectre and Meltdown, which I admittedly know nothing about. Like I said, I've been out of this soup for awhile. *shrug* I've had good luck getting knowledgeable people on the phone at Gigabyte in the past, so hopefully that'll still be the case. Getting anyone at Asus on the phone is a waste of time (or at least it used to be).

Those two AS Rock boards look good otherwise, but they look like too much hassle getting Win 7 installed. Both have the same caveat mentioned at the end of their spec info. I almost didn't see it.

I thought about going the route of a branded OEM system, but neither Dell nor Best Buy nor Fry's sell any and the only option I'm likely to find anywhere will be a "refurbished" system, which is definitely NOT what my friend wants. I remember Dell was phasing out Windows 7 several years ago, so I'm not surprised that the OEMs only sell Win 10 systems now.

So, I'll see what Gigabyte has to say tomorrow. If it doesn't look like that board of theirs will do the trick, I'll have to tell my friend that a Win 7 build just isn't going to happen anymore and that she'll have to bite the bullet and switch to a Windows 10 system. Either that or maybe I'll take a last-second look at some MSI boards.

 

[Shmee]

I would advise your friend just to switch to windows 10, for the exact reasons and more that Larry mentioned. HIPPA issues being the most important one. That said, it will be easier on you to setup, and easier for her in the long run. You should even be able to configure it to be closer to what she is used to, with apps like classic shell.

 

[Iron Woode]

I would advise your friend just to switch to windows 10, for the exact reasons and more that Larry mentioned. HIPPA issues being the most important one. That said, it will be easier on you to setup, and easier for her in the long run. You should even be able to configure it to be closer to what she is used to, with apps like classic shell.

Classic Shell is now Open Shell.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Summoning some second opinions about this whole thing... @UsandThem , @JackMDS , @Markfw

Maybe they know something about medical billing and HIPPA. I honestly don't know that much about it, but if it has rules anything like credit-card PCI Compliance programs, having out-of-date OSes without security patches is a big NO-NO.

I don’t know much about this however I do know if we are talking liability it would look a lot better to a court if she can say she is using a current & fully supported OS vs using an old unsupported OS.
Never used windows 7 at home but from work experience windows 10 is basically identical to me.