ADVICE NEEDED: LGA 1156 MoBo's are SO difficult to find. Is my effort worth it?

[thudrumbler]

I am really dying out here trying to find a socket LGA 1156 mobo with minimal standard features today... usb 3.0, e-sata, atx preferred, mem OC in the 1600-2000 range.

■ The real question is will the i7-875k my friend gave me hold up to comparable 3rd/4th gen i7s (4core versions only)?
note: I see eBay boards listed for $100 or so in this comparable set of features I just dont trust a part this old with 0 warranty)

--OR--

■ Am I better off buying a 4th gen i7 and board. I think spending $279-$300 on the i7 4790k has not that much performance boost for me for the price point, considering Ill need a 1150 mobo and high OC memory... pushing $600 for the internals.

Note: eBay has quality boards, yes I know. I am a 11 year member there. I would rather find a better source for parts in this case if possible, or to scrap this effort all together if the better part of the community thinks I should.

******Opinions on this matter are totally accepted. Im merely looking for a 2-3 year build that can outperform my current AMD x4 for gaming. This i875k is a blessing and a curse I think.*****

Thanks,

dauntedcollegeCSCIstudentwhoisverybrokeguy

 

[gskill support]

Trusting a 1156 mobo at this point is tough. Maybe you can get one from a good source like a trustworthy person on a forum.

Getting all the latest and greatest internals is the nicest way to go about things, but it's surely more costly. Doesn't sound like you'll need the i7, the i5-4690K is definitely good enough.

So $239.99, plus $150 for a nice Z97 mobo, your cost over the first option is ~$290 for a 2 year improvement in technology.. I'd say that's worth it.

http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-4690K-vs-AMD-Phenom-II-X4-965/2432vs606

 

[giantbucket]

what about server boards? newegg has two listed, an intel and a supermicro. you get the socket and the "new in box", but lose out on overclocking.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182235

 

[thudrumbler]

I would be going from the athlon ii x4 635 to this (FREE) i7-875K processor. Comparatively, i'd be gaining a lot here with an incremental purchase in an older, possibly new, 1156 board. OR, like you suggested Gskill Rep... I could dabble into the i5-4690k.... but I honestly dont have the money to make $300 worth of improvements to my rig. Im really just trying to get a working setup again so I can play CS:GO and enjoy some random Steam sales. This seems like a great chip, would hate to waste it. I am in no position to be wasteful. Im too broke truth be told.

http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/AMD-Athlon-II-X4-635-vs-Intel-Core-i7-870/m3369vsm961

 

[thudrumbler]

After all this .... I kept staring at this FoxConn mobo my friend gave me, which had the i7 chip on it, and thouh he said it was DEAD and he couldnt figure it out... I decided to mess with it, reconnect a few things just to make sure it was all seated properly...

well..

it posted! SO HAPPYYYYY! OC's to 3.3 fairly stable, but keeping it at 3.2. I managed to static-shock my GPU and it seems to have disabled the fan on my gtx750 but the GPU itself still works. Do you think the spark/shock fied the fan or just the pci board soldering that holds the pin connector for the gpu fan?

Is there an alternate (CHEAP) fan I can put on this gpu and possibly use a mobo Fan pin for power?