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Build Advice ASUS Z170i Pro

Discussion in 'Tech Support' started by Scroome, 15 Feb 2023.

  1. Scroome

    Scroome Modder

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    Hey all,

    I recently purchased this MB for a retro gaming mini PC.

    I have a question about processor compatibility.

    So it says it's a Socket 1151, but only supports up to 7th Gen Intels.

    Would someone mind explaining to me why it's only supported up to 7th, and not 8/9th which use the same chipset? Is there a way to mod/update the bios to accept these gens?

    Sorry if the question sounds a little silly; I just want to make sure I buy the right items :)

    Many thanks
     
  2. noizdaemon666

    noizdaemon666 I'm Od, Therefore I Pwn

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    8th and 9th gen required different chipsets. Z170 only ever covered 6th and 7th gens unfortunately which means (as far as I know), there's no way of making it work.
     
  3. Scroome

    Scroome Modder

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    Thanks for this.

    I did some research and you can hack the bios to take 8/9th Generation. The board only cost me £40 so I might give it a go.

    The only thing that seems a little vague is whether the board can actually give enough power for 8th gen. I assume it can but I need to do a bit more digging.
     
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  4. noizdaemon666

    noizdaemon666 I'm Od, Therefore I Pwn

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    I would imagine power wise you should be fine so happy hacking! Report back on the result!
     
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  5. Scroome

    Scroome Modder

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    Cheers dude.

    I'll keep my progress updated here, in case someone wants to breathe new life in to an older Socket 1151 :)
     
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  6. Arboreal

    Arboreal Keeper of the Electric Currants

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    I did hear of hacked BIOS action on 6/7th gen boards, but never looked into it in detail. Intel definitely changed the power delivery in 8/9th gen CPU even though the socket was the same 1151 pins.
    I wonder if it was something to do with the introduction of higher core counts with Coffee lake chips. i3 went from 2C/4T to 4C/4T and i5 went from 4C/4T to 6C/6T for example .

    I am also interested to see what you discover with this experiment
     
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  7. Scroome

    Scroome Modder

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    If you want to use something with six cores, then you will need to do some pin removal/isolation.

    For something like an i3 8100 then you don't need to, as it matches maximum core count.

    Definitely some minor witchcraft is needed to get this project going.

    I'm also sending the ITX chassis off to an artist friend to paint it, so I think I might turn this thread in to a project :)
     
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  8. Arboreal

    Arboreal Keeper of the Electric Currants

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    Interesting point about the i3 8100, I did wonder if a quad core would be a straight forward drop in on that.
    The hex core jigger pokery makes sense.
    Keep it coming!
     
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  9. Scroome

    Scroome Modder

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    It certainly would :)

    Decided to update all my build progress here, so others with 1151 intel builds can get a bit of that AMD upgrade goodiness :)
     
  10. Scroome

    Scroome Modder

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    Hey all,

    Me again!

    So the build is progressing. I have most of the parts and power is one of the last things I need.

    I was tinkering in the land of external power bricks, so cooling and space would be better inside the small case.

    I purchased this on the fly, as it can power up to 400w, which is perfect for the build.

    400W Power Supply Module DC 12V input ATX 24pin Pico PSU | eBay

    The problem I have, is trying to find a power brick that can output at 300w+ at 12V.

    Unsurprisingly for those with electrical know how, this is proving kinda fruitless.

    So my question to you lovely folks is, Does anyone know where I can get one from, or B, is there an easy enough way to convert a 19v output brick to work with the 12v input?

    Thanks all!
     

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