[SOLVED] My motherboard broke. Should I buy new CPU, RAM, and motherboard, or just replace the motherboard?

[Andrew5]

The motherboard was about 6 years old (Z87 chipset).

The CPU is i7-4790K, and there's about 16 GB of DDR3 RAM.

To be honest, I don't really need more performance... it was good as-is, if not slightly overkill.

 

[Flamebrander]

The motherboard was about 6 years old (Z87 chipset).

The CPU is i7-4790K, and there's about 16 GB of DDR3 RAM.

To be honest, I don't really need more performance... it was good as-is, if not slightly overkill.

Well, you could get a really cheap pc build thats more modern. Try this build, for roughly 300 bucks : https://pcpartpicker.com/user/WilliamLu/saved/#view=dcftnQ
Just add your old boot drive and it should be much faster. Also, the case is a bit overkill, but I think that a modern build deserves some more modern features like a splash of RGB goodness.

 

[TheNightTerror]

How did it break? Are you concerned that the cpu and ram broke too? Or are z97 motherboards too expensive? If what you have is overkill, and everything broke, I would buy a prebuilt i5 system and add a low profile gpu if necessary.

 

[Andrew5]

How did it break? Are you concerned that the cpu and ram broke too? Or are z97 motherboards too expensive? If what you have is overkill, and everything broke, I would buy a prebuilt i5 system and add a low profile gpu if necessary.

It just stopped working; the computer doesn't get to POST and just instantly shuts down. And the CMOS battery was replaced too. I confirmed every other part, except for the CPU, is working. Z97 motherboards are relatively old and hard-to-find, so they're most likely going to be second hand.

I only need a CPU, Motherboard, and RAM... Prebuilt systems will likely be more expensive than those three parts alone. Though yes, I agree that getting an i5 instead of an i7 would work out. I am also considering AMD Ryzen CPUs.

 

[King_V]

Are you certain it's not the power supply dying?

As for replacement, what's the use case on this machine? Gaming, or is it strictly office-type work?

 

[Andrew5]

Are you certain it's not the power supply dying?

As for replacement, what's the use case on this machine? Gaming, or is it strictly office-type work?

I swapped the PSU with a brand new one, same problem.

Both; along with occasional video editing and audio processing.

 

[Archaic59]

The motherboard was about 6 years old (Z87 chipset).

The CPU is i7-4790K, and there's about 16 GB of DDR3 RAM.

To be honest, I don't really need more performance... it was good as-is, if not slightly overkill.

How much are you willing to spend for CPU, board and memory?

 

[Karadjgne]

All Z87/97 motherboards by now are used, you won't find brand new boards of that age unless it's a retro built no-name brand from China. So consider All motherboards you'd likely find to be used. The biggest question being just How used. Did it belong to some teenage hot-rod who ran uber high OC and the VRM's are halfway burned out. Was it a low end model and now drivers are impossible to find. Will it die day after tomorrow and be a waste of money, since it was used and working when you received it.

Used at that age is a gamble, and you are playing Russian Roulette with a 6 shot pistol loaded with 5 bullets.

Sell as much as you can get for it, keep the gpu maybe, get a pre-built from Walmart or similar and you'll be far better off with warranty and new parts. Anything that old you buy used is just sinking money into something that could fail tomorrow for any other reason.