MSI H110I Pro AC Supports My Kaby Lake i3... After BIOS Update

[musclemuffins]

In my infinite wisdom, I ordered the MSI H110I Pro AC with an i3-7100. The conundrum is it will support an i3-7100 (which is a Kabylake CPU), however only after the BIOS has been flashed (which you must have a Skylake CPU to do). I happen to have CPU's that fit sockets LGA1151 (another Kabylake), LGA1150, LGA2011, and LGA775. Of course, the plethora of CPU's I have are zero help here.

Before I "bite the bullet" and buy a Skylake CPU for the sole purpose of flashing my BIOS, I figured I'd see if anyone has any alternative suggestions. The cheapest Sky Lake LGA 1151 I could find is the Celeron G3900, for $35 bucks at Newegg. I guess I could turn around and resell it on Ebay, and it wouldn't be too much of a loss. Are there any alternative CPU's you would suggest I purchase for some reason, or a different route to go about flashing the BIOS?

As a side note, I put together a computer with a i7-7700k (Kabylake) and MSI Z170A Krait Gaming 3X. This motherboard also had a note suggesting it would support Kabylake CPU's after flashing the BIOS. It worked with no problems before flashing the BIOS, so I wrongfully assumed I'd be just as lucky with this new build. Not so much...

 

[Wolfshadw]

You can try going with just replacing the BIOS chip with one that has the latest BIOS already installed. They are available on EBay.

-Wolf sends

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Get the cheap CPU and flash it.

 

[musclemuffins]

You can try going with just replacing the BIOS chip with one that has the latest BIOS already installed. They are available on EBay.

-Wolf sends

I found one I think is a match for my board: BIOS CHIP MSI E3 KRAIT GAMING V5, H110 PC MATE, H110I PRO AC. Two things make me a little hesitant though. The description mentions it will need to be soldered to the board, and I definitely don't want to void the warranty on a brand new motherboard. To be honest, I had no idea you could do this until you mentioned it. Also, with just my luck it ends up being a chip that has to be soldered and not just popped in.

 

[Wolfshadw]

You can try going with just replacing the BIOS chip with one that has the latest BIOS already installed. They are available on EBay.

-Wolf sends

I found one I think is a match for my board: BIOS CHIP MSI E3 KRAIT GAMING V5, H110 PC MATE, H110I PRO AC. Two things make me a little hesitant though. The description mentions it will need to be soldered to the board, and I definitely don't want to void the warranty on a brand new motherboard. To be honest, I had no idea you could do this until you mentioned it. Also, with just my luck it ends up being a chip that has to be soldered and not just popped in.

If that's the case,. then I'd go with SR-71 Blackbird's suggestion to go with the cheap Skylake CPU.

-Wolf sends

 

[musclemuffins]

I ended up buying a G3920 since it was about a dollar more than the G3900. I figured it'd be easier to sell a G3920 for $40 bucks (roughly what it cost), rather than a G3900. Hopefully anyone shopping for this mobo with a Kabylake CPU will come across this thread and avoid the issue I put myself in.

 

[TJ Hooker]

I'm amazed that new H110 boards are still shipping with BIOSs too out of date to support Kaby Lake. The BIOS that adds support for Kaby Lake came out over a year ago. Intel really should have just released an H210 chipset.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

I'm amazed that new H110 boards are still shipping with BIOSs too out of date to support Kaby Lake. The BIOS that adds support for Kaby Lake came out over a year ago. Intel really should have just released an H210 chipset.

And also several post with Z170 still with old BIOS.