Help an AMD guy figure out what Intel build to put together for Win7

So I just put together a new Win7 build, with an AMD FX-8310 in an Asrock 970M Pro 3 mobo. I didn't realize at the time the overheating issues that motherboard has.

I have always built AMD systems, I know nothing about Intel. According to my Googling, if I wanted tp put together an Intel system, I am looking at the Skylake family of processors. I looked at Skylake (microarchitecture) - Wikipedia. I would assume I would want to get something in the Core i7 category, probably a 6700? It seems that is close to what I was getting performance wise from the AMD FX-8310, which I was fine with

My real confusion is the motherboard, I have no idea what chipset I am looking for. I need a mATX motherboard, with 4 DDR3 RAM slots, because I want to re-use the RAM and Case I already have. I also really hate onboard video and have my own video, but according to that wikipedia page, the Intel chip has build in graphics? So onboard video in unavoidable?

What would be a reccomended mATX motherboard that supports the i7 6700 and has 4 RAM slots? Any advice is appreciated

I have a Skylake i5 6500K, Gigabyte Z170 MB, 4+4G DDR4 3200, 450W Gold PS.
You can always disable internal graphics (IG) on BIOS and use your graphics card.
I wouldn't buy any second hand unlocked CPU (K)
I never used mATX, so I cant recommend one. Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, Asrock are good brands.
To install Win 7 on a Skylake computer you need to add SATA, USB3.x and NVMe drivers to the installation files.
Update your Win 7 installation media

For the updates, use Single file with all updates - Simplix

Windows 7 support drivers in Gigabyte motherboards goes up to the Intel socket 2066 which encompasses the X gen CPUs for extreme up to i9 10xxx series. So, Cascade Lake-X, Skylake Refresh- X, and Skylake-X. All are for a X299 chipset motherboard. That's if you want as fast as you can get with Windows 7 and 10 compatibility under Intel. No idea about AMD.

Or you can go socket 1151 with a z270 chipset. The fastest CPU there would have to be the i7 7700K and next in line the i7 7700. These are Kabylake CPUs.

The i7 7700 has a TDP (Thermal Design Power) of 65 watts versus the i7 7700K's of 95 watts for a difference of 30 watts. So the 7700 will be cooler. Now, my i5 6600K has a TDP of 95 watts and on idle the CPU goes to about 75F/~24C. I use air cooling with a Coolermaster Evo 212. This has been a very good CPU cooler and you can use two fans for a push in/out configuration. I just use one fan since it's cool enough. And believe me when I tell you there's little difference with air and water cooling and thermal grease used.

Having said that, your motherboard is not the heat issue, it's most likely the CPU and/or the CPU cooler and its thermal grease used. Most AM3+ sockets (the one you have now) are 95 watts. Again, the 7700 is 65 watts. The Evo 212 can be used with an AM3+ socket. If you're using a stock CPU cooler, then that's probably your issue. On the other hand, I don't know if an Evo 212 will fit your case. Hyper 212 EVO CPU Air Cooler | Cooler Master

Many may say there's better CPU coolers out there this and that. I bet there's only an average of ~3 F or C difference than mine at load. This thing has been a solid performer and supports a wide set of sockets for both Intel and AMD and is cheap, too! I bought it based on the design with thermal considerations.

The other thing about heat is your case. This is one reason why I go mid tower. I have two side fans, two front fans, and a rear fan with room for a top fan. HOWEVER! It doesn't mean you use all available fan space. There has to be room for air inflow. You want positive air pressure in and out. So the fans have to be setup accordingly. You don't blow air in. That'll trap heat and dust... A smaller mATX type case is going to trap lots of heat, so you'll want a lower TDP type CPU or lots of cooling fans in the correct orientation... Some lower TDP CPUs are the the Intel S or T variants of the i7 or what ever. Those should be around 35 watts.


In conclusion, fix your cooling situation first.

Edit-

To slipstream updates and drivers, I'd use NTLite...

Megahertz07 said:

You can always disable internal graphics (IG) on BIOS and use your graphics card.

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I know but I hate doing that.

I wouldn't buy any second hand unlocked CPU (K)

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Fear of heat damage from OC'ing?

To install Win 7 on a Skylake computer you need to add SATA, USB3.x and NVMe drivers to the installation files.

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Win7 handles SATA out of the box, right? I don't have an NVMe drive and I have a Win7 install with USB3 drivers added

For the updates, use Single file with all updates - Simplix

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Simplix is garbage. It's a good idea but they crammed tons of completely unneeded and useless "updates" into the program as to render is unusable.

Having said that, your motherboard is not the heat issue, it's most likely the CPU and/or the CPU cooler and its thermal grease used.

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I tore down the entire system and found the issue: It had nothing to do with heat or overheating. There was some kind of residue on the PCI-E plastic slots and on the motherboard around that area,. Must have not been cleaned well from the factory. I spent a while scrubbing it with IPA and the odor is mostly gone now, just some residual in the PSU from it being sucked up into it and I don't feel like taking the PSU apart to clean in.

This is one reason why I go mid tower. I have two side fans, two front fans, and a rear fan with room for a top fan. HOWEVER! It doesn't mean you use all available fan space. There has to be room for air inflow. You want positive air pressure in and out.

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I have an mAT mid tower case. My fan setup is fine. I have a 120mm instake fan on the front grill blowing outside air into the case. I have a 120mm fan on the side of the case blowing air into the case directly onto the Northbridge and PCI slot area. The CPU cooler is a side mounted 92mm fan blowing air towards the back of the case, the back of the case has a 92mm fan blowing air out of the case, and the PSU has a 120mm fan blowing air out of the case. So the entire airstream of the case is air coming in the front and side and going over all the components and then being exhausted right out of the back.

I am not using a stock cooler, I have a Noctua NH-U9S Chromax 92mm Cooler

Thanks for the chipset and CPU info I will check that out. I will be on Windows 7 for quite along time so know what the top of the line Win7 build I can run is helpful

You never ever open a PSU. Ever! It can and will kill you due to the capacitors stored electricity.

Win 7 works fine on intel 8th gen. Without jumping through many hoops.

Works perfectly on this system:
intel i5-8400 ( or any other 8th gen intel, even the i7-8700)
gigabyte b365 ds3h motherboard.

The biostar graphics drivers work fine for the integrated graphics on the 8th gen cpus https://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/event/H310_windowstool/win7_8th_i3_i5_Driver_2.0.rar

You can pre integrate the "universal" usb3 update and drivers - they are in my sig.

There is no point in buying 6th gen for win7, because the 8th gen works fine and is much more capable.

Since you seemed to have sorted out the problems with your motherboard have you changed your mind and will continue to use Windows 7 with that motherboard?

I have the following:
CPU: AMD FX-8350
MBD:: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3

It started with Windows 7 Ultimate and worked well with that. Currently it is duel boot with Windows 7 Home and Windows10 Pro.

I stopped using it for a while after I built a AMD Ryzen system. The old system seemed so much slower in comparison.

I did a simple change to the old computer that made it worth using again. I replaced the 1TB SATA boot HDD with a 1TB SATA SSD. It booted a lot faster as I expected but surprisingly it was also more responsive at the desktop.

If you aren't using a SSD boot drive with your computer you might consider one.

If you aren't using a SSD boot drive with your computer you might consider one.

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Agreed. However nvme ssd are now as cheap as sata ssd, so might as well get an nvme if the mobo supports it.

I notice Amazon has 500gb wd sn570 nvme ssd for about £43, which is less than the cost of a crucial sata ssd (£47) or samsung sata ssd (£58) of the same capacity.

WD_BLUE SN570 500GB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 NVMe up to 3500 MB/s read speed : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

F22 Simpilot said:

You never ever open a PSU. Ever! It can and will kill you due to the capacitors stored electricity.

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Appreciate the warning, but I am electronic repair hobbyist and am quite capable of measuring the voltage in a capacitor and discharging it safely if need be. I just don't feel like taking the PSU apart and spending an hour with a Q tip and IPA scrubbing it all down, the odor is so faint it will likely just quickly dissipate by itself over time.

Win 7 works fine on intel 8th gen. Without jumping through many hoops.

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What are 6th gen and 8th gen? Intel CPU versioning and compatible chipsets naming conventions are always confusing to me. What are the "I" numbers for and what are the 4 digit numbers after that for?

If you aren't using a SSD boot drive with your computer you might consider one.

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I know they are faster but honestly raw responsiveness isn't what I care about too much, I mostly do Photoshop, NET programming, and virtual machine stuff, so resources are what I care about. The reason I built this PC was I had most of the parts already sitting in a closet as hand me downs (Case, video card, PSU, HDD's, Monitor) so all I had to do was get a mobo, CPU, and RAM, so for around $200 I was able to double the number of CPU cores and quadruple my RAM. I'm not going to pay for an SSD when I happy with the performance of the SATA drive I got for free (when the previous owner upgraded his drive to SSD)

You can pre integrate the "universal" usb3 update and drivers - they are in my sig.

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I have a Win7 install media with the USB3 drivers already added in, thanks. I used the MSI tool to do it and made a USB stick with Rufus

I notice Amazon has 500gb wd sn570 nvme ssd for about £43, which is less than the cost of a crucial sata ssd (£47) or samsung sata ssd (£58) of the same capacity.

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Neither of which is as cheap as free

i5-8400 8th gen

i5-6400 6th gen

or

i7-8700 8th gen

i7-6700 6th gen

i3 is less capable ( and less expensive ) than i5 which is less capable (and less expensive ) than i7 for any given generation.


Usually the number of cores and/or threads and price increases from i3 to i5 to i7

There was a big jump at 8th gen because i5-8400 has 6 cores
the i7-8700 has 6 cores 12 threads

big change from i5-6400 and i5-7400 which only had 4 cores
the i7-6700 and the i7-7700 only had 4 cores 8 threads

Intel have suffixes on some cpus . K indicates overclockable, and F indicates no graphics included with the cpu.
S or T suffix indicates low power consumption.

So there are three "models" for every Gen, the i3, i5, and i7. The Gen is indicated by the first digit after the "i" designation. What are the remaining three digits for?

There are others, xeon, pentium , i9 for example.

Most consumers use i3 or i5 or i7

the following is not a complete list:

List of Intel processors - Wikipedia

SIW2 said:

Agreed. However nvme ssd are now as cheap as sata ssd, so might as well get an nvme if the mobo supports it.

I notice Amazon has 500gb wd sn570 nvme ssd for about £43, which is less than the cost of a crucial sata ssd (£47) or samsung sata ssd (£58) of the same capacity.

WD_BLUE SN570 500GB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 NVMe up to 3500 MB/s read speed : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

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For my newer computer I also recommend an NVME SSD but not an older computer running Windows 7.

A 2.5-inch SATA SSD easily replaces an old 3.5-inch SATA HDD because all the connections are the same.

On the other hand NVME SSD drives have a M.2 form factor. Since a Windows 7 era computer will not support that you will have to use a PCIe adapter. Even then you will probably not be able to boot from it unless you can bootstrap a driver into the Windows 7 boot disk to do so.

If you have a relatively new motherboard that has Windows 7 drivers and at least one M.2 connector then I see no problem using a NVME SSD. The problem is this is probably a small minority of people that are using Windows 7.

BTW, my main desktop has two 2TB NVME SSDs and no hard drives. The computer that is similar to the OPs had one 1TB SATA SSD and two 2TB HDDs. I doubted trying to get an NVME drive to work with the old computer was even worth it so I figured why bother. Price difference was no consideration at all.

MisterEd said:

For my newer computer I also recommend an NVME SSD but not an older computer running Windows 7.

A 2.5-inch SATA SSD easily replaces an old 3.5-inch SATA HDD because all the connections are the same.

On the other hand NVME SSD drives have a M.2 form factor. Since a Windows 7 era computer will not support that you will have to use a PCIe adapter. Even then you will probably not be able to boot from it unless you can bootstrap a driver into the Windows 7 boot disk to do so.

If you have a relatively new motherboard that has Windows 7 drivers and at least one M.2 connector then I see no problem using a NVME SSD. The problem is this is probably a small minority of people that are using Windows 7.

BTW, my main desktop has two 2TB NVME SSDs and no hard drives. The computer that is similar to the OPs had one 1TB SATA SSD and two 2TB HDDs. I doubted trying to get an NVME drive to work with the old computer was even worth it so I figured why bother. Price difference was no consideration at all.

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Yeah, if I ever did add an SSD to this PC, it would be SATA. the motherboard doesn't have an NVMe slot on it. But I was handed two 1TB SATA HDD's for free, so I am using them for now. This is not a build I want to spend any amount of $$ on really, I will someday build a top of the line Intel Windows 7 PC and will put $$ into that

sluggerb said:

Yeah, if I ever did add an SSD to this PC, it would be SATA. the motherboard doesn't have an NVMe slot on it. But I was handed two 1TB SATA HDD's for free, so I am using them for now. This is not a build I want to spend any amount of $$ on really, I will someday build a top of the line Intel Windows 7 PC and will put $$ into that

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I hadn't planned on spending money on this computer either but on a whim put an SSD in it. Now I am mad I hadn't done it a lot earlier. It almost seems like a different computer it seems so much faster. I thought that a 1TB SSD drive would be enough for all the programs and games. Unfortunately, I quickly ran out of space. I solved the space problem by moving the Steam games to one of the HDDs. It makes sense to move Steam games because Steam is set up to easily do this.

Just note what I had already written. A 9th and 10th Gen Intel CPU (Skylake-X/Cascade-X) will work under Windows 7 with certain X299 chipset motherboards. At least for certain x299 Gigabyte varieties that have Windows 7 drivers. Now, whether you should reuse RAM or not, I wouldn't. You might be able to get away with it, but motherboard manufacturers have something called a QVL (Quality Vendor List) for compatible RAM for that motherboard. This list is at the motherboard website. Sometimes it's damn hard to find RAM that's compatible and withen your budget.

I say this because I've seen so many BS reviews on RAM and I know damn well these PC builders didn't take the time to make sure their RAM was compatible in the first place. It's very important because data that is read/written on the drive can be affected with bad RAM. Sometimes certain software or OS oddities are due to bad or incompatible RAM.


This motherboard supports 9th and 10th Gen CPUs and has Windows 7 and 10 drivers. X299 AORUS Gaming 9 (rev. 1.0) Key Features | Motherboard - GIGABYTE Global

Unfortunately, it doesn't look Gigabyte's line of x299 motherboards have an mATX version. Probably because the X CPUs are for gamers and what not.

Next best on the list is a 270x chipset and a 7th Gen CPU which would be the 7700 or 7700K. GA-Z270MX-Gaming 5 (rev. 1.0) Key Features | Motherboard - GIGABYTE Global

Poke around here: Intel Z270 / H270 | Motherboard - GIGABYTE Global

Wanna know your CPUs? Go here: WikiChip

Depending on your browser, if you have a search box you can add that website to it be clicking the drop down arrow in the search box and adding the search engine for wikichip.


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MisterEd said:

Unfortunately, I quickly ran out of space. I solved the space problem by moving the Steam games to one of the HDDs. It makes sense to move Steam games because Steam is set up to easily do this.

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This is why I have four 2TB enterprise grade Hitachi platters and a 5.25 bay HDD selector switch made by Kingwin. Due note however that some games will perform sluggishly on a platter. GTA V works well, but games like ARK, PUBG or 7 Days To Die may suffer. Of course, you could always RAID 1 two 2TB Hitachi platters. I would never use 0.

Next best on the list is a 270x chipset and a 7th Gen CPU

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No it isn't. Win7 works fine with 8th gen, which is much better than 7th gen.

"Next best" in terms of a budget.

You can pick up 8th gen quite reasonably now if you go second hand. My 8th gen system was a bargain - i5-8400 cpu, 2x8gb 3200mhz ram and gigabyte b365 ds3h mobo for less than £170.

If you have case and psu and some sort of storage already.

SIW2 said:

You can pick up 8th gen quite reasonably now if you go second hand. My 8th gen system was a bargain - i5-8400 cpu, 2x8gb 3200mhz ram and gigabyte b365 ds3h mobo for less than £170.

If you have case and psu and some sort of storage already.

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What chipsets support 8th gen CPU's and have Win7 drivers?