New motherboard advice

brady121294 · Jan 26, 2014

Hi, Just wondering if the Asus Maximus IV Extreme-Z is any good for Ivy Bridge CPU's, I currently have an i7 3770K inside a Gigabyte GA-Z77x-UD3H but I'm wanting to switch to my computers theme (Red and black) I will be able to get at least $80 for my Motherboard on Ebay, and the only reason I got the UD3H to begin with is because my old PSU shorted my other motherboard.

I know the Asus Maximus IV Extreme-Z is Z68 platform but I hear the latest bios supports Ivy Bridge. I can get this Motherboard for $130 shipped.

jb6684 · Jan 26, 2014

Well, be sure to account for new copy of Windows 7/8 in that motherboard swap, you can Not re-use your old copy (MS License is keyed to motherboard... unless its a Full Retail copy of OS). AND, you have to reload your system from scratch, you can't just move the hard drive over to the new board as due to different driver for old board it may not even boot up....

That said, the ASUS Maximus will support the 3770K, with latest BIOS. BUT, you'll need an OLD CPU installed (that is supported) to load the new BIOS.

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/MAXIMUS_IV_EXTREMEZ/#support

Pricey for a color theme change... I'd recommend some Red LED fans, and some Red UV Tube lights first. Makes everything look Red...

brady121294 · Jan 26, 2014

jb6684 :

Can't do the fans, got 4 140mm and 2 120mm Noctua's in. Doesn't the motherboard support USB Bios Flashback? So I don't need a CPU, RAM or GPU in?

Dark Lord of Tech · Jan 26, 2014

I would get a Z77 board for the IVY chip.

Guest · Jan 26, 2014

Hi, the mobo is fully supported, but you'll have to update the BIOS in order to make the board run with your CPU. I wouldn't recommend doing that, because for that you would need another old CPU and it's a very dangerous proccess, if you don't itncorrectly or anything fails, then goodbye mobo. A good one is the Asus P8Z77-V LK, it already comes with the latest BIOS and is not really expensive. Link to it: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131837

Dark Lord of Tech · Jan 26, 2014

Will be ready right out of the box.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $119.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-26 09:46 EST-0500)

Guest · Jan 26, 2014

However, you're feeling the macho man and want to update the BIOS in the Maximus IV Extreme-Z, yes, it has USB BIOS Flashback

brady121294 · Jan 26, 2014

I've looked everywhere in Australia for a red and black themed Motherboard but cannot find any so it seems Z77 is a no go

. Also, is there any real reason not to go with a Z68 over Z77? Other than PCI-E 3.0 and native USB 3?

I stated in the post that I want a red and black theme..

Dark Lord of Tech · Jan 26, 2014

I wouldn't waste a 3770k on a z68.

brady121294 · Jan 26, 2014

Is there a reason for that? I'm not too familiar with Ivy on Z68. Will I see a performance decrease or an overclockablility decrease?

jb6684 · Jan 26, 2014

Its' an older motherboard, from manual doesn't look like it BIOS update with out a CPU installed....

You need USB BIOS Flashback vs EZ Flash 2 (Disclaimer, as these are "marketing buzz words, I might have this wrong. You'd have to try it out....)

http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?14193-Updating-BIOS-on-ASUS-Maximus-IV-Gene-Z-for-Ivy-Bridge-without-Sandy-Bridge-CPU

Guest · Jan 26, 2014

@brady121294 Dude, if by "theme" you mean the color of the windows, the toolbar and etc, then you can just download one, whatever the mobo.

jb6684 · Jan 26, 2014

On the already have Noctua fans, I'd say, a full New set of fans is cheaper than the motherboard/Operating system route.... (just sell of the Noctua's ...)

brady121294 · Jan 26, 2014

jb6684 :

Hmm, mixed messages on some posts, lol. This is the original thread that made me want to buy it as the Moderator is stating it can flash without the CPU.

http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?15462-Z68-Maximus-IV-Extreme-Z-with-Ivy-Bridge

jb6684 · Jan 26, 2014

Yeah, it's a confusing on IF a board actually supports BIOS update with NO CPU installed. The marketing folks should have come up with a better buzz phase like: "CPU-Less Updater..."

brady121294 · Jan 26, 2014

jb6684 :

100% agreed. Are you 100% sure that I would in fact need a Sandy Bridge CPU to flash it to actually use my i7 with it? I see that the non Z model can do the Bios flash back thing.

Guest · Jan 26, 2014

The Extreme-Z has got the USB BIOS Flashback too, check it out: https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/MAXIMUS_IV_EXTREMEZ/

brady121294 · Jan 26, 2014

jb6684 :

Didn't see this post. I have a red keyboard, mouse and sticks of ram

And to the above, I mean the theme of my hardware, sorry its hard to multi quote as I'm now on my phone.

So you guys think its worth just waiting for ddr4 and rebuilding my whole PC

jb6684 · Jan 26, 2014

Yup, I'm holding out for: DDR4, SATA Express, Haswell-E, and x99 chipset .... w/6 or maybe 8 cores on the CPU

Guest · Jan 26, 2014

I don't think it's worth waiting, because new technologies are usually very expensive when released. If you got a large budget, then it's worth waiting.

New motherboard advice

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