Question i7-2600k-compatible motherboards

[OrNoir]

Recently bought an RX580 8GB to replace my ancient GTX 560 but unfortunately the piece of junk Medion OEM motherboard in my PC was basically never kept up to date with BIOS updates so the two aren't compatible, now looking for a new mobo that'll be compatible with both the 580 and my i7-2600k.

Thing is though, I'd like to get a mobo with PCI-e 3.0 so as not to hamstring the 580's performance, but since (as far as I know) the 2600k is only compatible with PCI-e 2.0 slots, I'm wondering if it's best to upgrade the CPU as well so I can get a mobo with 3.0 slots. Anyone got any advice? On the one hand I don't want to do this because a) it's so expensive and b) it feels as though I'd just be junking an otherwise perfectly good CPU just to optimise the GPU's performance. If anyone does have any suggestions for CPUs (assuming that it is the best idea in the end), it doesn't have to be anything amazing, literally just has to be able to match the 2600k and be compatible with PCI-e 3.0.

Thanks for any help

 

[Dunlop0078]

PCIE 2.0 has more than enough bandwidth to handle a 580, if anything is going to hold back your 580 it will be the 2600k and your RAM.

Any name brand Z68 or Z77 board should do fine. Say ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, or ASRock to name a few.

Personally I would save up for a switch to a modern intel or ryzen platform. This would require a new motherboard, CPU, and DDR4 Ram.

 

[86zx]

Recently bought an RX580 8GB to replace my ancient GTX 560 but unfortunately the piece of junk Medion OEM motherboard in my PC was basically never kept up to date with BIOS updates so the two aren't compatible, now looking for a new mobo that'll be compatible with both the 580 and my i7-2600k.

Thing is though, I'd like to get a mobo with PCI-e 3.0 so as not to hamstring the 580's performance, but since (as far as I know) the 2600k is only compatible with PCI-e 2.0 slots, I'm wondering if it's best to upgrade the CPU as well so I can get a mobo with 3.0 slots. Anyone got any advice? On the one hand I don't want to do this because a) it's so expensive and b) it feels as though I'd just be junking an otherwise perfectly good CPU just to optimise the GPU's performance. If anyone does have any suggestions for CPUs (assuming that it is the best idea in the end), it doesn't have to be anything amazing, literally just has to be able to match the 2600k and be compatible with PCI-e 3.0.

Thanks for any help

as with any upgrade budget is everything, if you want a decent bump in performance I’d get maybe a lga 2011 board and cpu sometimes you can find decent deals on eBay, if you have a bit more you can upgrade to a ryzen system for right around 200ish for a first gen ryzen and motherboard, other than that I’d get a msi or Asus board for your 2600k and maybe a fairly decent aio water cooler and overclock it.

 

[OrNoir]

PCIE 2.0 has more than enough bandwidth to handle a 580, if anything is going to hold back your 580 it will be the 2600k and your RAM.

Any name brand Z68 or Z77 board should do fine. Say ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, or ASRock to name a few.

Personally I would save up for a switch to a modern intel or ryzen platform. This would require a new motherboard, CPU, and DDR4 Ram.

Yeah, that was my thought; don't really want to spend the money but know I'll have to at some point. Glad to hear the 580 wouldn't be badly restricted by PCI-e 2.0 though. Thanks for your help.

 

[OrNoir]

as with any upgrade budget is everything, if you want a decent bump in performance I’d get maybe a lga 2011 board and cpu sometimes you can find decent deals on eBay, if you have a bit more you can upgrade to a ryzen system for right around 200ish for a first gen ryzen and motherboard, other than that I’d get a msi or Asus board for your 2600k and maybe a fairly decent aio water cooler and overclock it.

I'd probably like to stay away from water cooling just because of the horror stories I've heard. Am leaning more towards biting the financial bullet and changing the CPU just for the sake of future-proofing. Thanks for your advice!

 

[86zx]

I'd probably like to stay away from water cooling just because of the horror stories I've heard. Am leaning more towards biting the financial bullet and changing the CPU just for the sake of future-proofing. Thanks for your advice!

Idk I’ve had a water cooler on a pc for almost 10 years now no issues , it’s recommended to change them out every 5-7 years because of the risk of pump failure , though most modern CPUs have thermal protection so you don’t need to worry so much, I’ve heard more horror stories from custom loops and people not building them correctly having fittings loose making fluid leak. Aios aren’t gonna have those problems, but if you are truly worried going with a Noctua cooler is pretty much the beat as far as heatsyncs coolers go and they are very quiet.