What's a good bargain board for an i5-7600K Kaby Lake

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DarkCyber

[H]ard|Gawd
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I'm not looking to overclocking, game or anything major. Just looking for a good budget to mid range board. Hopefully with an updated bios...ha! Is it a must to get the Z270 chipset?

Suggestions?
 
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I have this exact same question. I'm looking for the cheapest decent quality mobo that'll run the 7600k without neutering it. I'm not aware of any of the skylake specific 100 series motherboards comiing with an updated BIOS with a 100% certainty.
 
i have a Gigabyte Z170 Gaming 7 Kaby Lake Ready if you're interested.

like new condition :)
 
The Z270 Extreme would be my choice! Very good solid board for the price.
 
What features do you need? If you just need a basic mobo without OCing ability etc there are allot of stable Z270 boards for cheap. And with no OCing, and assuming single GPU, you don't even need a Z chipset, a H270 would be fine, again, depending on what you need/want. You don't need to spend over $150, and there are a number of options around/under $100.
 
In the UK the ASrock Z170 Extreme4 is extremely cheap and is a very good motherboard.

I had the Extreme4+ board and it was great.
For a recent build I used the Extreme4 with a 7600K and again it was a great board.
It must be flashed with the latest bios to be compatible with Kabylake. It needs a Skylake chip to perform the bios flash.
If you have access to a Skylake chip this is a very cheap and worthy alternative to Z270.
 
Well, sad to say, I really don't gaming anymore :( I know...that sucks...but just don't have the time. I played original PC Halo CE with my son about 2 weeks ago and that's been it. I'm just building a new pc to replace an older one (AMD Phenom II X6 1090T) and then moving the old one down the line. About the maximum I do with my computers is rip an occasional DVD or encode some video and that's about as hardcore as it gets now...LOL! I'm just looking for something good, solid and on the cheaper end, but not stripped down. I will probably just use the on-chip video (I might through in an ATI Radeon HD 5850 or a GeForce GT 730 I have laying around), but nothing ground breaking. Just wondering if I really need the Z270 chipset or not. Most of those boards are on the high $$$ end. Is there much of a difference between the various 270 chipsets...B, G, F...etc?

Also, here is part of the problem...I do not have access to a Skylake chip. My latest Intel chip is an Ivy Bridge :( i7-3770.
 
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Hopefully you can get hold of a skylake chip otherwise you will have to pay more or lose features.
 
So, will any 1151 board work with the Kaby Lake chips (just may have to update the BIOS)...you just get less features if you don't go with a Z270?

Is there anyway to tell if a board actually has an updated BIOS and will work out of the box, without having to update the BIOS?
 
darkcyber1 said:
So, will any 1151 board work with the Kaby Lake chips (just may have to update the BIOS)...you just get less features if you don't go with a Z270?

Is there anyway to tell if a board actually has an updated BIOS and will work out of the box, without having to update the BIOS?
Click to expand...
Yes, they will say if there is an updated bios.
It cannot function without an update.
 
darkcyber1 said:
I'm not looking to overclocking, game or anything major. Just looking for a good budget to mid range board. Hopefully with an updated bios...ha! Is it a must to get the Z270 chipset?

Suggestions?
Click to expand...

If you aren't overclocking or gaming, why are you buying a K series CPU?
 
darkcyber1 said:
Well, sad to say, I really don't gaming anymore :( I know...that sucks...but just don't have the time. I played original PC Halo CE with my son about 2 weeks ago and that's been it. I'm just building a new pc to replace an older one (AMD Phenom II X6 1090T) and then moving the old one down the line. About the maximum I do with my computers is rip an occasional DVD or encode some video and that's about as hardcore as it gets now...LOL! I'm just looking for something good, solid and on the cheaper end, but not stripped down. I will probably just use the on-chip video (I might through in an ATI Radeon HD 5850 or a GeForce GT 730 I have laying around), but nothing ground breaking. Just wondering if I really need the Z270 chipset or not. Most of those boards are on the high $$$ end. Is there much of a difference between the various 270 chipsets...B, G, F...etc?

Also, here is part of the problem...I do not have access to a Skylake chip. My latest Intel chip is an Ivy Bridge :( i7-3770.
Click to expand...

Most of the changes from the 270 chipsets are PCI lanes (you are not gaming, so who cares) OCing and RAID support, those are really the only main changes, any of them will work with the new CPUs, so if you find one of the others for cheaper, no reason not to get it, like I said, you can find a number of them for 100-120.
 
Terpfen said:
If you aren't overclocking or gaming, why are you buying a K series CPU?
Click to expand...

Well, I got a good price on it (why buy a lower level cpu when I could get the K at about the same price) and I didn't say I would "never" overclock it...just have no plans to right now :) I have been reading a lot of reviews on Newegg and that seems to be the biggest complaint right now...a lot of people are getting new 1151 boards and they do not have the updated BIOS to run the Kaby Lake chips. Some are like me, do not have a Skylake laying around to update the BIOS. So, I'm not sure they are listing if the boards actually have the current update to run the Kaby Lake chips. So, I guess it is a safe bet if you get a board with the Z270 chipset on it...it should be up to date for the Skylake?

BlueFireice,

I have even seen some 1151 boards around $50-$60 range...these are micro or mini boards. Just looking for something cheap and good right now to throw this all together. I will probably upgrade the board later...unless I can't find one now with the updated BIOS.
 
darkcyber1 said:
Well, I got a good price on it (why buy a lower level cpu when I could get the K at about the same price) and I didn't say I would "never" overclock it...just have no plans to right now :)
Click to expand...

You won't be overclocking very well, if at all, on a budget board. So you'd better figure out very soon if you want to overclock or not: your motherboard purchase depends on it.
 
darkcyber1 said:
Well, I got a good price on it (why buy a lower level cpu when I could get the K at about the same price) and I didn't say I would "never" overclock it...just have no plans to right now :) I have been reading a lot of reviews on Newegg and that seems to be the biggest complaint right now...a lot of people are getting new 1151 boards and they do not have the updated BIOS to run the Kaby Lake chips. Some are like me, do not have a Skylake laying around to update the BIOS. So, I'm not sure they are listing if the boards actually have the current update to run the Kaby Lake chips. So, I guess it is a safe bet if you get a board with the Z270 chipset on it...it should be up to date for the Skylake?

BlueFireice,

I have even seen some 1151 boards around $50-$60 range...these are micro or mini boards. Just looking for something cheap and good right now to throw this all together. I will probably upgrade the board later...unless I can't find one now with the updated BIOS.
Click to expand...

Updated BIOS only has to do with 1xx chipsets, not the 2xx chipset, those should all be fine out of the box. You will not find the Z chipset for $50-60, you will find some H and B chipsets for 60-70 however, unless you are talking about 1xx chipsets, which I would stay away from seeing as you said you have no CPU for updating the BIOS, spend the extra 10-20 bucks and get one you know will work out of the box. If you REALLY want something that cheap, there is a B250M-HDV for $62.
 
IMHO, it's not worth all of the headaches of old or lower end boards to save $30-$40.
Get a current board that fully supports your CPU.

Just go on Newegg or your favorite vendor and search Z270 and sort by price.
Watch and search for the one you want to see if it's on sale someplace.

.
 
BlueFireIce said:
Updated BIOS only has to do with 1xx chipsets, not the 2xx chipset, those should all be fine out of the box. You will not find the Z chipset for $50-60, you will find some H and B chipsets for 60-70 however, unless you are talking about 1xx chipsets, which I would stay away from seeing as you said you have no CPU for updating the BIOS, spend the extra 10-20 bucks and get one you know will work out of the box. If you REALLY want something that cheap, there is a B250M-HDV for $62.
Click to expand...

BlueFireIce,

Thanks for the suggestion on a board. Also, thanks for the explanation about the different chipsets...that's what I was looking for. Trying to find which ones DO NOT have to be updated. Looks like I need to go for at least a 250 board and avoid having to update. I'm seeing some H270 boards around $100.00...like an ASRock H270 Pro 4 LGA 1151. Also, see an MSI Z270M Mortar for $119.00...both of those are within reason for the price I'm looking at spending.

So, looks like to overclock any with the Kaby Lake the motherboard has to have the Z270 chipset...correct? 250's will not overclocking.

Sorry for all the "dumb" questions. I have built a lot of computers over the years, but have just been out of the loop the last several years, bought pre-built.
 
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darkcyber1 said:
BlueFireIce,

Thanks for the suggestion on a board. Also, thanks for the explanation about the different chipsets...that's what I was looking for. Trying to find which ones DO NOT have to be updated. Looks like I need to go for at least a 250 board and avoid having to update. I'm seeing some H270 boards around $100.00...like an ASRock H270 Pro 4 LGA 1151. Also, see an MSI Z270M Mortar for $119.00...both of those are within reason for the price I'm looking at spending.

So, looks like to overclock any with the Kaby Lake the motherboard has to have the Z270 chipset...correct? 250's will not overclocking.

Sorry for all the "dumb" questions. I have built a lot of computers over the years, but have just been out of the loop the last several years, bought pre-built.
Click to expand...

Only the Z270 supports OCing.

Intel comparison of new chipsets.
 
Probably a little late to the game, but I recently picked up this z270 board for $140:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...746&cm_re=As_rock_z270-_-13-157-746-_-Product

Felt like a good board with a very decent feature list for the price. Due to where my desktop is set up in my condo and the lack of network cabling, I've been taking advantage of the built in WiFi. Not overclocking too much right now, but still nice to have some additional headroom for it. Using a 7700k on it without issue. Overall, a stable build. Board doesn't feel all that flimsy either, which is one of the complaints with Asrock boards (and probably part of the reason they are less costly).
 
jhzero1984 said:
Probably a little late to the game, but I recently picked up this z270 board for $140:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...746&cm_re=As_rock_z270-_-13-157-746-_-Product

Felt like a good board with a very decent feature list for the price. Due to where my desktop is set up in my condo and the lack of network cabling, I've been taking advantage of the built in WiFi. Not overclocking too much right now, but still nice to have some additional headroom for it. Using a 7700k on it without issue. Overall, a stable build. Board doesn't feel all that flimsy either, which is one of the complaints with Asrock boards (and probably part of the reason they are less costly).
Click to expand...

Been looking at the board some already. So, you like it pretty well? Also, I looked at the images on Newegg and got a question...am I missing something...where are the SATA connections on the board? I'm not seeing any.
 
What about the MSI Z270 sli plus? Only $109 and has all the beautiful features needed!
 
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