Advice needed regarding mobo replacement please

RussB00 · 6 Nov 2017 at 13:55

Hi all,

Appreciate any assistance (or redirection if necessary) that anyone can offer please.

I need to replace an obsolete MSI P67A-C45 motherboard, other components listed below. The question is: is there a product out there that can support this, or do I need to update the entire system? Obviously, I’m looking to replace as few items as possible!

Many thanks in advance,

Russell.

SOCKET 1155

CPU i5 2500K

DDR3 MEMORY 2x2GB DDR3 1600

Case ATX/ATX Micro

PCI graphics card ASUS GTX 460

mickyflinn · 6 Nov 2017 at 18:49

Adding at least another 4 gb of ram a newer graphics card and an SSD should revitalise your system.

pastymuncher · 6 Nov 2017 at 19:12

Hi and welcome to the forums.

Is the motherboard faulty or is it a upgrade you are looking for? If it's faulty then you are limited to whatever you can pick up used on the likes of Ebay as socket 1155 is long dead. Look for a Z77 board preferably. If it's a upgrade is your 2500k overclocked at all? If not most should hit around 4.5Ghz with a decent cooler which is a significant boost over stock. Overclocking the cpu and upgrading to at least 8Gb of memory (preferably 16Gb) along with a decent gpu will give you a significant performance boost over what you have now.

Unfortunately if you want to upgrade to a modern platform then you will have to replace the cpu/motherboard and get DDR4 memory.

mistersprinkles · 6 Nov 2017 at 23:47

Any board you get for that machine will be obsolete.

RAM prices are insane right now. DDR3 is obsolete and spending money on it is crazy.

You need a whole new machine.

pastymuncher · 7 Nov 2017 at 09:07

The 2500k is still a very capable cpu, especially when overclocked. Not everyone needs the latest cpu's (stupidly overpriced cpu's in Intel's case). A gpu and memory upgrade will give him a very nice performance boost along with overclocking the cpu if it isn't already.

RussB00 · 7 Nov 2017 at 12:06

Hi all, thanks for coming back, feedback is much appreciated. I probably didn't make it clear that the motherboard is faulty, but for my needs (basic internet and home office) the rest of the system was fine. Like I say, I want to spend as little time and money as possible!
Cheers

pastymuncher · 7 Nov 2017 at 13:18

In which case you need a replacement motherboard so your best bet is to look on Ebay for a secons hand board. If it's just for internet and office use with no gaming then a H61 chipset board will be fine. You won't be able to overclock but for those uses it should be fine. If you do want to overclock then I would be looking for a Z77 chipset motherboard but they are going for stupid prices on Ebay.

RussB00 · 8 Nov 2017 at 14:50

Thanks again and apologies to keep bombarding you with questions! I found this on the PC Upgrade website.

MSI Z77MA-G45 Z77 Socket 1155 8 Channel HD Audio mATX Motherboard USB 3.0 Xfire PCI-E 3.0 THX TruStudio PRO for ~£100

Can you see any obvious reason to steer clear of this? I'd like to keep options open regarding gaming!

pastymuncher · 8 Nov 2017 at 19:08

Yes, it's a MSI board. I hate MSI motherboards with a passion. Every one I ever had failed (stopped buying them after the chipset on a P45 Platinum just failed) and they are the brand that has the highest risk of a bios flash bricking the board (especially of that era and earlier). Just do a search online and you will see what I mean. We even had loads of threads on here about MSI Z68/Z77 motherboards being bricked by flashing the bios. There simply is no sure fire way to successfully flash the boards. Stick with Asus and Gigabyte and you can't really go wrong.

On a side note I don't even think that board cost that much when it was brand new.

RussB00 · 9 Nov 2017 at 11:11

That is also my experience with MSI, but I hoped I'd just been unlucky! So the next one I'm looking at is:

Gigabyte GA-Z77-DS3H Socket 1155 VGA DVI HDMI 7.1 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard Xfire PCI-E 3.0

Which is coming in at about £120

pastymuncher · 9 Nov 2017 at 13:17

That board would have been around £80 or less when launched so another rip off. I have just had a look on Ebay and near enough all fully working Z77 motherboards are being sold for much more than they were when new. Have you looked for any H61 boards because for internet and home office use you don't really need to be able to overclock. I saw a Gigabyte GA-H61M-S2PV on Ebay for just under £36 with free delivery. It's a ok board that will get you back up and running for a reasonable price.

RussB00 · 9 Nov 2017 at 13:32

That's the one for me then, Ebay order placed. Many thanks again for all your help.
All the best,
Russ.

pastymuncher · 9 Nov 2017 at 18:54

You are very welcome. Check it over thoroughly, especially the socket pins, when you get it. It looked ok from the photo's but you never know. Let us know how it works out.

RussB00 · 14 Nov 2017 at 15:02

Hi. I managed to get everything working with a surprisingly little amount of stress! Board works fine, but unfortunately, the problem that I had which made me think I needed a new board is still there! I thought the USB ports were playing up as my Network Adaptor was dropping in and out and the same is happening on the new board. But that's something for a different forum I think. At least I have a spare working board without spending a small fortune! So thanks once again for your time and help.

pastymuncher · 14 Nov 2017 at 19:09

At least it's rules out a faulty board plus you now have a spare. You never know, the way the prices are going you may be able to sell it for a profit in a couple of years.

Noughtboy · 23 Nov 2017 at 09:26

pastymuncher said:
Yes, it's a MSI board. I hate MSI motherboards with a passion. Every one I ever had failed (stopped buying them after the chipset on a P45 Platinum just failed) and they are the brand that has the highest risk of a bios flash bricking the board (especially of that era and earlier). Just do a search online and you will see what I mean. We even had loads of threads on here about MSI Z68/Z77 motherboards being bricked by flashing the bios. There simply is no sure fire way to successfully flash the boards. Stick with Asus and Gigabyte and you can't really go wrong.

On a side note I don't even think that board cost that much when it was brand new.

I was one of those. Had to find a guy who soldered in a new ROM with the updated BIOS.

Wasn't impressed!