Need advice. i7 6700k was damaged. Replace with i7 8700k and upgrade MB?

Pure-Power · 12 Jan 2018 at 05:04

Hello, recently my cooling pump failed and damaged my i7 6700k. The manufacturer agreed to replace the pump and cut me a check for the CPU. So my question is, should I use this opportunity to upgrade the CPU to say an i7 8700k? The thing is though, my motherboard is a ROG Maximus VIII Hero, and from my understanding is not compatible. I no longer have access to the Skylake processor, so I wouldn't be able to flash the bios.

Is it worth it to take this chance and upgrade the motherboard, and if so would the ROG Maximus X Hero be my best bet? Would I need to worry about any other compatibility issues, or would all of my other components work just fine? Ram (DDR4 3000), GTX 1080, etc. I built the PC 1 1/2 years ago, so I assume everything should work.

With the whole meltdown and spectre debacle, is now a horrible time to buy? I do need this soon so I can get my PC up and running again.

I'm open to any suggestions.

orbitalwalsh · 12 Jan 2018 at 07:33

I'm sure your board has a usb flash port , means as long as your board has power , you get a blank usb with bios file on it , plug it in, activate flash and will do it for you to drop in 7700k

P1Fanatic · 12 Jan 2018 at 07:36

If all you have to cover is a new Z370 mobo and the price diff of the 8700 over your refund then seems like a good time to move forward. What do you need from a mobo to spend that much as could save yourself money buying a Strix?

Pure-Power · 12 Jan 2018 at 15:31

P1Fanatic said:
If all you have to cover is a new Z370 mobo and the price diff of the 8700 over your refund then seems like a good time to move forward. What do you need from a mobo to spend that much as could save yourself money buying a Strix?

I thought that it would make sense to replace a ROG Hero with another ROG Hero. It supposedly has better audio, and I do use the front headphone port. I am slightly hesitant in getting another asus board though. I doubt the board contributed to my pump failing, but how can I be sure? I've never done a motherboard swap before, and not sure what to expect. I still have all of the asus stuff on my PC. Am I going to run into any issues or need to reinstall windows? What's the best way to minimize the pain? Also, does it make sense to get an i7 8700k right now with it being vulnerable to meltdown?

pastymuncher · 12 Jan 2018 at 19:14

As Orbitalwalsh states, your ROG Maximus VIII Hero has USB flashback so you can flash the bios without even a cpu being in the board. Once the bios has been updated you can just drop in a 7700k.

Pure-Power · 12 Jan 2018 at 19:36

Thanks for the feedback. I was actually asking about upgrading to the i7 8700k, which is incompatible with my motherboard. I know the 7700k would work.

orbitalwalsh · 12 Jan 2018 at 20:25

Pure-Power said:
Thanks for the feedback. I was actually asking about upgrading to the i7 8700k, which is incompatible with my motherboard. I know the 7700k would work.

If you want best audio , Aorus 7. Has the same DAC the £500 Asus zenith uses . Google the DAC and you'll find the shorter lower serial number is better quality then that on the Hero. Also sound quality is the same for both rear and front speaker /headphone ports

Also have UK RMA .

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Gigabyte Z370 AORUS Gaming 7 Intel Z370 (Socket 1151) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £254.99

Total: £265.49 (includes shipping: £10.50)

121dB SNR AMP-UP Audio with ALC1220 & High-End ESS SABRE 9018 DAC with WIMA audio capacitors

Sound BlasterX 720°, the top-of-the-line audio engine solution for 4K gaming and entertainment

USB DAC-UP 2 with Adjustable Voltage

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/Z370-AORUS-Gaming-7-rev-10#kf

Best work checking out how much you can get for your board if you really want to step up to Hex core

pastymuncher · 13 Jan 2018 at 13:55

Pure-Power said:
Thanks for the feedback. I was actually asking about upgrading to the i7 8700k, which is incompatible with my motherboard. I know the 7700k would work.

I understand that but don't see the point in a expensive platform change for the sake of a pair of extra cores. If you shop around you can find the 7700k massively cheaper (£100+) than a 8700k plus you already have a excellent motherboard to drop it in. Switching to a 8700k means another expensive motherboard, rebuilding the pc and possibly going through the hassle of reactivating windows. I just think that it's a lot of money and effort for minimal gain.

Plec · 13 Jan 2018 at 14:38

pastymuncher said:
I understand that but don't see the point in a expensive platform change for the sake of a pair of extra cores. If you shop around you can find the 7700k massively cheaper (£100+) than a 8700k plus you already have a excellent motherboard to drop it in. Switching to a 8700k means another expensive motherboard, rebuilding the pc and possibly going through the hassle of reactivating windows. I just think that it's a lot of money and effort for minimal gain.

@pastymuncher's, usual succinct observation have summed up your situation perfectly.

For a relatively small outlay you'll be up and running and the 7700K is still an excellent performer/choice for gaming - the flack it received last year was when comparing to Ryzen and new builds (bang for buck). The reality is, it's still a great gaming CPU - and at ~£280 compared to ~£540 for the price of an 8700K and MB it would seem the simpler/logical choice.

That said, if you have money to burn, stream and game at very high frame rates/monitor then the 8700K can't be beaten - but if not the 7700K is great choice in your situation.