[SOLVED] Asrock h61m-vg3 replacement

[Angela91]

My motherboard is burnt (Asrock h61m-vg3) and because of how old it is, i can't find this same motherboard in my country, so I was wondering what other motherboards I could use or what does the motherboard need to be compatible with my current specs.
Specs:

• Processor: Intel i7-3770 3.40GHz
• Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
• RAM: 16 GB
• Hard Disk: TOSHIBA DT01ACA100 (930 GB)
• Also thinking of adding a Crucial SSD MX500 of 1tb or 500gb

My budget would be anything below 100 dollars if possible and then I'll try to find if it's available in my country (Uruguay)

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

You can look into a B75 chipset or a Z77 chipset or an H77 chipset or even an H75 chipsetted motherboard. Can you mention your preferred site for purchase? Make and model of your PSU and it's age? You might want to revisit the cause of how the current motherboard got afflicted, since the issue can and will recur with your new investments and leave you dry.

I'm suggesting the 7 series chipsets since you have a3rd generation processor from Intel's camp. Got a link to the ram you're working with?

 

[Aeacus]

what other motherboards I could use

Any LGA 1155 socket and Z77, Z75, H77, Q77, Q75 or B75 chipset. That's the latest/best you could get with your Ivy Bridge CPU.
Or if you want the older series, like your MoBo was, then Z68, H68, P67, Q67, Q65, B65 or H61 chipset.

All these MoBos will do,
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/motherboard/#s=14&c=75,26,34,35,36,50,51,52&sort=name&page=1

Note: i didn't include the rare Q and P chipsets. Also, list is ordered by name.

Even when you take the best chipset alone, Z77, even then you have loads of options,
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/motherboard/#s=14&c=52&sort=name&N=4,16

Happy searching if any of them is available at your country under 100 bucks.

or even an H75 chipsetted motherboard.

There is no H75 chipset in Intel 7 series lineup.
Chipsets: https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/series/98460/intel-7-series-chipsets.html

 

[Angela91]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

You can look into a B75 chipset or a Z77 chipset or an H77 chipset or even an H75 chipsetted motherboard. Can you mention your preferred site for purchase? Make and model of your PSU and it's age? You might want to revisit the cause of how the current motherboard got afflicted, since the issue can and will recur with your new investments and leave you dry.

I'm suggesting the 7 series chipsets since you have a3rd generation processor from Intel's camp.

Thank you!
Sadly I don't know the name of the PSU as I currently don't have the pc with me, but it's most likely over 5 years old (I'll edit this comment or post another one once I find the name). The motherboard got burnt because of a thunderstorm, probably through the hdmi cable (as it was the only thing connected on the pc at the moment), so I doubt it might happen again with a new motherboard. As for the preferred page, probably https://articulo.mercadolibre.com.uy but it's in Spanish so it might be a bit difficult to use so I'm fine with any other page from my country.

Btw, i found a gigabyte Ga-z77x-ud3h, would that one work?

 

[Aeacus]

Btw, i found a gigabyte Ga-z77x-ud3h, would that one work?

Yes, it will work fine.
MoBo specs: https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-Z77X-UD3H-rev-10/sp#sp

The motherboard got burnt because of a thunderstorm, probably through the hdmi cable (as it was the only thing connected on the pc at the moment)

HDMI cable is between GPU and monitor. This is closed circuit and doesn't connect to electricity grid.

Now, if your PC was plugged in to electricity grid, it is quite likely that the surge traveled from main grid to your PSU and then to your MoBo. In such cases, PSU also dies since the surge is way too much for it to handle.

I'd go with new PSU as well, just in case. Since if your current PSU is damaged, which it most likely is, it can fry your new MoBo as well, once you hook up to it and power up.
Oh, do note that when your old PSU failed, there's a chance that it fried everything it was connected to. And just because you only see damaged MoBo, doesn't mean other parts (CPU, GPU, RAM, HDD) survived. So, be prepared to face all of it being dead.

 

[Angela91]

HDMI cable is between GPU and monitor. This is closed circuit and doesn't connect to electricity grid.

Now, if your PC was plugged in to electricity grid, it is quite likely that the surge traveled from main grid to your PSU and then to your MoBo. In such cases, PSU also dies since the surge is way too much for it to handle.

I'd go with new PSU as well, just in case. Since if your current PSU is damaged, which it most likely is, it can fry your new MoBo as well, once you hook up to it and power up.
Oh, do note that when your old PSU failed, there's a chance that it fried everything it was connected to. And just because you only see damaged MoBo, doesn't mean other parts (CPU, GPU, RAM, HDD) survived. So, be prepared to face all of it being dead.

Actually, the only things that were connected to the PC when the thunderstorm happened, was the monitor, keyboard and mouse. I was using the PC when the thunderstorm started and just a few minutes after that, I unplugged the PC from the power outlet, turned off a switch it has next to the PSU connector and unplugged the ethernet cable (because the person that installed my modem told me i should disconnect it during thunderstorms because electricity can travel through the ethernet cable and burn my pc). So the only things still connected to the PC were the monitor (thorugh a HDMI to VGA adaptor, with the monitor still connected to electricity), the mouse and the keyboard. A few minutes after that, the power went off in my house becuase of a thunder and the next day, when I tried to turn on my PC after plugging everything back to normal and after the thunderstorm, it wouldn't turn on (it would try to but then before displaying anything, it would restart and stay in that loop until you switched off the power). When I sent it to a technician and explained that maybe the thunderstorm damaged the PC, they told me that yes, the motherboard was burnt and that I had to replace it. So I don't really know how it got burnt, as I was using it just seconds before unplugging it and before the power went off in my house, the PC was already disconnected. What DID happen though is that my friend accidentaly kicked the PC pretty hard like 3 times while it was unplugged and maybe that broke the motherboard? At first I just assumed power travelled through the HDMI and burnt the motherboard that way but if you say that's not possible, then I guess my friend accidentally broke my motherboard by kicking it.

Luckily I already bought the motherboard I mentioned before that I had found and it's already installed on my PC + a new SSD. The PCU and everything else is working perfectly well (same thing with the brand new motherboard). I guess nothing else was damaged. I've been using it for a few weeks now.

 

[DSzymborski]

"Everything it's connected to" means the CPU, RAM, GPU, etc.

 

[Aeacus]

my friend accidentaly kicked the PC pretty hard like 3 times

One time can be accident, but 3 times is not. And strong hits to the PC can (and most likely will) kill the delicate hardware in it.