Replacement MB

[PC Newbie]

Hi Folks

My first post and a real PC amateur here, so please take it easy on me.

I built my first PC in early 2012:

i7 3770K @ 4.2GHz
Asus P8Z77-VPRO
16GB Corsair Dominator Platinum
256GB Samsung 850 Pro SSD
EVGA Geforce GTX 670 SC 4GB

My motherboard is now on the blink (outside of warranty) and I need to source a replacement. Problem is, I've no clue what's compatible and whether I can upgrade to a newer platform without replacing any of my components!

Any advice you can give would be great. Am I correct in thinking the Z77 was superseded by Z87 and now 97? Are these backwards compatible?

 

[EarthDog]

You need to stay on Z77 based boards (or Z68). Z87 and Z97 are not compatible with your current CPU.

 

[Mandrake4565]

What makes you think something is wrong with your existing motherboard, just curious?

As ED stated you need a Z77 board, you cannot use a Z87 or 97 with your chip. An Asrock Z77 Extreme 4 is a darn good board for the price.

 

[PC Newbie]

Thanks. I have numerous messages about 'fan errors' despite the fact I've checked/replaced the fans and I have disabled the notiofication in the BIOS. The Wi-Fi Go module has also stopped working completely - indicates no signal.

 

[Theocnoob]

Thanks. I have numerous messages about 'fan errors' despite the fact I've checked/replaced the fans and I have disabled the notiofication in the BIOS. The Wi-Fi Go module has also stopped working completely - indicates no signal.

I'd suggest a cheap fan controller and a cheap PCIE Wifi card. All in you're looking at about $40-60 to restore your board to full functionality.
If you buy a new board you're going to have a very limited selection.

All I saw on Newegg was this ASRock board and a very expensive ROG board.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293&cm_re=z77-_-13-157-293-_-Product

This would be decent but again, has no wifi onboard. You're not going to be likely to find a Z77 board with onboard wifi at this point.

I think you should just apply bandaids to your current board as I mentioned.

 

[jasonlylevene]

So far, spot on advice.

One point: I don't see your power supply listed.

The PSU is often the least considered part in a build. Depending on the unit you have, 3 years could be it's endpoint. Some can last 5 or 7.

There are key component selections in PSU build / design which make all the difference, key among them are the capacitors used. Capacitors age with use, and as they do the power supply starts generating electronic noise into the power rails. This can age the capacitors on motherboards, make VRM's work a little harder, and can even cause damage depending on the PSU and it's feature set.

PSU's can fail instantly, but they degrade gradually and imperceptably. In the latter case, many novices have a puzzle they can't figure out because they assume, since it's providing power, it must be ok - even though it's not.

 

[PC Newbie]

Thanks all. I have a separate wi-fi card and I'm going to ignore the fan warnings for the time being.

I have a corsair 2.5 year old Corsair AX760, so it's unlikely to be that.