need older Skylake CPU, help please

[Creeky73]

hey guys, long time reader of the website, but first-time participator in the forum, so hello everyone! Here is my question: So back in September of 2016 I ordered some PC parts, fully intending to build the system within about 6 months at the longest. Lo and behold, the system still isn't together. And now the problem seems to be finding a Skylake cpu that will work with the motherboard. The motherboard is an Asus H170 Pro/CSM, which I realize wasn't an "enthusiast" board but I feel like a solid offering from Asus for someone who wasn't intending on watercooling and overclocking. But now what cpu to use? And I also want a cpu that will work right out of the box, my understanding is that later Skylake cpu's would work once you did a firmware upgrade to the mb but I'm not buying two cpu's just to be able to do that upgrade. Any help is appreciated.

 

[wowmow]

So do you want an older Skylake CPU?

 

[Creeky73]

yes I think I have to have a 6th gen CPU, my preference would be an i5 if possible, but honestly just about anything would work at this point just so I hadn't wasted all the money on the other parts. I literally have everything I need but the processor and a copy of Windows 10

 

[jimmysmitty]

Per their site BIOS version 3016 and newer will support the 7000 series of Intel CPUs. That BIOS was released on 12/29/2016 so a bit after you bought the board.

So for your case you can run any of the 6000 series CPUs as they were all supported from the 408 version BIOS which yours most likely has since 408 was released on 9/14/2015.

The best CPU you can run on that board would be the 6700K or you can find a friend or possibly shop that can flash the BIOS for you to the latest then you would be able to run a 7700K, although there isn't much of a performance difference between the two so not sure its even worth the hassle.

 

[WildCard999]

Sell the motherboard, buy a newer Intel Coffeelake refresh system or AMD Ryzen 2nd gen system.

 

[Creeky73]

yeah I could do that Wild Card but I also have 16gb of system memory that matches the board, some 2133 stuff. Just trying to salvage whatever I can to get a computer working, all I really need is an internet station. I could probably get by with a Pentium or i3, I just want an i5 in case I do want to start gaming.

 

[jimmysmitty]

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Skylake-Desktop-Processor-BX80662I56600K/dp/B012M8M7TY

$289. Probably one of the best prices I have seen (Newegg is $329). It might be without the stock cooler though so keep that in mind. I would recommend going with a after market cooler anyways. If you don't want to overclock you can instead move to the non K series for a bit cheaper.

 

[TJ Hooker]

Doesn't really make sense to spend close to $300 on a Skylake quad core when you can get a new 6 core Ryzen or coffee lake CPU and mobo for around the same price. You can use your existing RAM too, although you may lose some performance with a Ryzen build compared to a higher speed RAM kit.

As an aside: you're probably already come to this conclusion on your own, but planning on buying parts for a new build over the course of several months is a bad idea. Maybe for something like a case, PSU, or cooler it might make sense to buy it in advance if you see a really good deal, as those parts don't go obsolete very quickly. Everything else should be bought pretty much at once.

 

[Creeky73]

True Dat, TJ Hooker. However, I didn't intend to take 2 yrs to get the build done, and at the time I bought the mobo, Skylake wasn't exactly long in the tooth. And truth be told, if I would have bought the cpu even as little as 6 months ago, my options would have been better and cheaper than they are now. I just messed up. However, I do have a sweet Fractal Designs tower and a power supply that should still be just fine.

 

[Creeky73]

ok, update. So I actually got a good price on a Skylake 6600k at Amazon, it was low enough to where I really had a hard time justifying new mobo and ram, and esp since I really don't want to go the AMD/Ryzen route. I'm an intel guy. So anyhoo, I don't have a hard drive with a working OS on it, but I assembled everything about the system today minus the hard drive. Correct me if I'm wrong, but even if there is no hard drive installed, shouldn't the PC at least boot up and start the system processes, even allow you to enter BIOS, without having a hard drive installed? I'm getting nothing displaying to the monitor.

 

[jimmysmitty]

Yes you should be able to POST and load the BIOS sans HDD/SSD. If it isn't then you need to troubleshot piece by piece, pull the GPU, one Stick of RAM etc.