How do I tell the minimum BIOS version of my Asus H81I-Plus? Will Core i7 4790 work on it?

[zack_falcon]

I'm building a new PC from scratch.

My motherboard is an Asus H81I-Plus Mini-ITX board, and I'm selecting a CPU for it. The box says it is compatible with LGA1150 (Haswell) Cores, and I want to get the best that I can afford for it (Intel Core i7 4790), but threads online indicate that it won't work out of the box, and at least one said that Amazon (where I bought mine) stocks are old and don't even support Haswell out of the box without a BIOS upgrade.

The BIOS upgrade bit is a problem for me. I will need another CPU that I don't have, just to upgrade my motherboard to support the CPU I want.

ASUS website indicates that the motherboard supports Core i7 4790 by BIOS version 0803, then goes on to suggest that a BIOS update is recommended. The Core i7 4770 (my 2nd choice) is supported by BIOS version 0204.

So, if my BIOS version is 0803, it will run it? Is there a way to find out the default BIOS version, without needing to boot up the thing?

I've heard that the sticker on the bottom of the motherboard may help (the one with the barcode), so here's what mine says:

233545-00342-MB0F30-A2E 1005

 

[alexoiu]

The BIOS version on board is 1005, so the 4790 is supported.

 

[zack_falcon]

The BIOS version on board is 1005, so the 4790 is supported.

Where'd you glean that from? The 1005 part of "233545-00342-MB0F30-A2E 1005"?

I'm not seeing it in the BIOS / CPU version support list here.

 

[alexoiu]

Yes, even if not listed there.