Question Aorus Z790 CPU tray appears to be too big for Intel i5 CPU

[Roberto Tomba]

I haven't installed a CPU in years...many years. Back then, there were pins on the bottom of the CPU, and the big danger was not bending them when you pressed them into the socket on the motherboard. Obviously, a lot has changed since then.

According to instructional videos, there are supposed to be notches that align to the indentations in the CPU. And, there's supposed to be a marker somewhere on the motherboard to align with the triangle of the CPU. But, there's space at the top and bottom of the CPU...I expected a square tray for my square CPU, but I got a rectangular one. Should I replace the tray with a square one, or can it work like this? Hmm...I think I answered my own question.

Is the connectivity to the copper enough for it to work, even if it's not in exactly the right spot? There's no way I'm going to try it without knowing for sure. Note here that the rectangular area underneath the CPU could be made to line up. But, again, I'm thinking I need to get a new CPU tray.

Please let me know if my instincts about needing a new tray are correct, or if it can work as-is. Thanks!

 

[BFG-9000]

You have a board that accepts 12th to 14th gen LGA1700 CPUs. And a 7th gen LGA1151 CPU so it's not supposed to fit.

 

[Roberto Tomba]

You have a board that accepts 12th to 14th gen LGA1700 CPUs. And a 7th gen LGA1151 CPU so it's not supposed to fit.

Thank you for the fast reply. So, I need a whole new motherboard, and not just the tray?

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

let me know if my instincts about needing a new tray are correct, or if it can work as-is

considering that this is an old i5 7500 and you're using a new LGA1700 motherboard, there's no way to make it fit.

replacing the CPU tray would never be a good idea, but this would be an impossible situation in this case.

 

[BFG-9000]

Thank you for the fast reply. So, I need a whole new motherboard, and not just the tray?

You'd need a different motherboard for that CPU. But it would make much more sense to buy a cheap new CPU that fits instead, even though you'd need new DDR5 RAM too.

 

[Roberto Tomba]

Thanks for the fast replies. This is why I've always loved Tom's Hardware. The good news is that I got the board and the CPU on Amazon, and it's within the return window. I think I'll keep the board and get a 12th generation CPU....it's not even that much more expensive.

It looks like this would work, as long as I get the DDR5 RAM to go with it:

Amazon.com

 

[BFG-9000]

Amazon and their "recommended" combos strike again.

That's an "F" CPU, which lacks integrated graphics. If you have a discrete GPU that's fine, but if not the non-F model CPUs are about $20 more. Any modern i3 is way faster than that old i5.