Dead Z97I ITX Mobo - now unavailable - Replacement options?

Buttoneer

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 27, 2014
Messages
134
Hi all. I know that I still haven't finished my NCase build yet but I'm already looking to try and do something with the dead PC it replaced. There's a lot of good compnents going to waste and I'd like to try and bring it all back to life and looking for suggestions.

The pcpartpicker list is here; https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/Buttoneer/saved/#view=mGTFf7 In summary it's a i7 4790k with 16GB DDR3 and M2 system drive and some other stuff on a Z97 motherboard inside a Silverstone ML07 chassis. GPU is Geforce 980.

The Asus Z97I-Plus is borked and outside of warranty. Everything else is, I believe, still good.

Can anyone suggest options?

PCPartpicker seems to only allow me a choice of Z97 boards when I turn on the compatibility filter presumably because something in the setup requires it - possibly the M2 drive but not really sure.

I can't source a replacement ITX motherboard anywhere but there are some ATX sized ones still around. I'm not familiar with the various brands and models but I do have a massive Silverstone HTPC case I could use if I absolutely must. I don't really want to do this but better than wasting the kit. Total cost of rebuild around £160.

I could get a current barebones AMD mobo/CPU/RAM combo, probably around £300 but also an ITX motherboard which would be nice. Perhaps a better way to future proof for the additional price? Should I be worried about future proofing? Not sure about performance though - Moore's law says that a basic system now ought to be as good as what was a pretty great system four years ago.

I have no idea about AMD CPU's though, only that they represent good value for money and I need mine to meet VR spec.

Have I missed anything out? I don't think there's likely to be a repair option for the motherboard - certainly no RMA.
 
I feel your pain man. About 1.5 years ago my custom loop leaked and killed my motherboard. It was a z87 mini itx board and it was very difficult to get a good replacement even that long ago. I got a cheap h87 msi replacement, but the lack of WiFi and overclockability drove me to keep looking for a replacement. I was looking for both z87 and z97 boards and finally found a z87 that was a bit overpriced. There are a few places online that will be happy to sell you a replacement for double MSRP or more. It is just hard to find old parts.
I don’t think you have any other options besides h97 or z97 for motherboards because of your processor. There might be a possibility of using your 4790k on a z87 or h87 with a bios update, but I can’t confirm that. Also, z87 and h87 have m.2 slots, but I think they can only be used for WiFi cards.
 
Hi all. I know that I still haven't finished my NCase build yet but I'm already looking to try and do something with the dead PC it replaced. There's a lot of good compnents going to waste and I'd like to try and bring it all back to life and looking for suggestions.

The pcpartpicker list is here; https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/Buttoneer/saved/#view=mGTFf7 In summary it's a i7 4790k with 16GB DDR3 and M2 system drive and some other stuff on a Z97 motherboard inside a Silverstone ML07 chassis. GPU is Geforce 980.

The Asus Z97I-Plus is borked and outside of warranty. Everything else is, I believe, still good.

Can anyone suggest options?

PCPartpicker seems to only allow me a choice of Z97 boards when I turn on the compatibility filter presumably because something in the setup requires it - possibly the M2 drive but not really sure.

I can't source a replacement ITX motherboard anywhere but there are some ATX sized ones still around. I'm not familiar with the various brands and models but I do have a massive Silverstone HTPC case I could use if I absolutely must. I don't really want to do this but better than wasting the kit. Total cost of rebuild around £160.

I could get a current barebones AMD mobo/CPU/RAM combo, probably around £300 but also an ITX motherboard which would be nice. Perhaps a better way to future proof for the additional price? Should I be worried about future proofing? Not sure about performance though - Moore's law says that a basic system now ought to be as good as what was a pretty great system four years ago.

I have no idea about AMD CPU's though, only that they represent good value for money and I need mine to meet VR spec.

Have I missed anything out? I don't think there's likely to be a repair option for the motherboard - certainly no RMA.
What's broken, specifically? How is it broken? What are the symptoms? I do some component-level troubleshooting at my day job as a broadcast engineer.
 
What's broken, specifically? How is it broken? What are the symptoms? I do some component-level troubleshooting at my day job as a broadcast engineer.
Thanks M4rk - I outlined the problems in a post here which didn't get much traction; https://hardforum.com/threads/help-asus-z97i-plus-problem-hard-to-diagnose.1957771/

I have since bought an SF600 and plugged that into the old system, and the keyboard is in use currently with the NCase. So I'm fairly sure that it's something about the motherboard - as sure as I reasonably can be since the system would otherwise boot - but if you do have other suggestions I certainly have enough kit here now to swap things around and try.
 
I'll respond in the other thread for troubleshooting. This conversation about replacement options should continue here.
 
Sorry, I was mistaken in my last post. My cheap replacement motherboard was an MSI h81i, and I can confirm that it works with a core i5 4690 processor, because that is the combo I have in my htpc right now. I did a bios update using a cheap pentium processor that I bought used before I tried the 4690. So it should work with your 4790k as long as you can update the bios. If you don’t need to overclock and you don’t need WiFi, then the h81i is not a bad little board. I got it new for $65 back then, but I can’t say what would be charged for one now.

Oh, and make sure to save your m.2 WiFi/Bluetooth card from your broken board. I’m still kicking myself for not saving mine. My h81i has a slot for the m.2 WiFi/Bluetooth card, it just didn’t come with one.
 
This isn't going to help you but this is why I will always vehemently disagree with anyone who apologizes for Intel changing sockets every 6 months for a CPU refresh.
 
Yes we all want a new, killer CPU .. and if we got a few years outta the rig, may pony up for it .

Now you start pricing your board and find you need to buy different ram ..thats some real money .

After eating another $180 for RAM that you didn't intend too after deciding to upgrade ..wait for it ...you MUST move to Win10 if you haven't all ready .


You may wish to source a Z97 itx board via eBay or CL ..no warranty no guarentees, but if it works the money paid will buy you the time not having to spend all the other money right now.

Kenny
 
Yes we all want a new, killer CPU .. and if we got a few years outta the rig, may pony up for it .

Now you start pricing your board and find you need to buy different ram ..thats some real money .

After eating another $180 for RAM that you didn't intend too after deciding to upgrade ..wait for it ...you MUST move to Win10 if you haven't all ready .


You may wish to source a Z97 itx board via eBay or CL ..no warranty no guarentees, but if it works the money paid will buy you the time not having to spend all the other money right now.

Kenny

You really hit it on the head here. When my motherboard died, I looked in to upgrading, but adding in the cost of new ram and CPU, I decided to pay inflated costs for an old board. When I first built my own PC, I thought it was a great idea, because I thought I would be able to save money when it came time to upgrade by only upgrading the parts I need. Now I realize that building your own PC is definitely not about saving money come upgrade time, because you basically have to replace everything anyway.
 
I'm still exploring options to see if the existing setup can be salvaged but thanks for that you're right - even aiming at the same level of performance from an i74790 and 16GB using lower end current technology is an expensive prospect. There seems to be a few ATX Z97 boards around just a massive shame I can't find ITX. Changing case is a compromise I'll have to live with.
 
And noise dampening kit is available - nice. I do already have a case with an old i5 2600k build I can repurpose but it's a good option if for any reason I have problems fitting it all in, thank you.
 
Just a quick bump to say that the computer is fixed - seems that it was a driver failure of some sort rather than a screwed motherboard. At massive cost I have bought myself an NCase M1 with loads of new kit. I don't begrudge it because it's great kit, and I now have two very capable PC's which I wanted anyway. Hurrah!
 
Just a quick bump to say that the computer is fixed - seems that it was a driver failure of some sort rather than a screwed motherboard. At massive cost I have bought myself an NCase M1 with loads of new kit. I don't begrudge it because it's great kit, and I now have two very capable PC's which I wanted anyway. Hurrah!

Good to hear. You will love your Ncase, it is a great case.
 
It is, but I'm struggling with my GPU at the moment. Tried to pull it apart and I can never get to the last couple of screws whether I approach from front or back.
 
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