H81 + i5 Haswell Refresh <

[Mauru]

Ciao.

Q> Does some H81Mobo work out of the box?

Q> Is updating the bios easy? 

 

Q> is it worth it to buy H97Mobo instead?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[79wjd]

Just get a non haswell refresh chip; every Haswell refresh chip has a non refresh version which is .1ghz slower. 

 

Technically, by now, all h81 boards should have a compatible bios, but I would rather not chance it. 

[Mauru]

@djdwosk97 Difference negligible?

[vlkn´]

Q> Yes, some work out of the box with the haswell refresh

 

Q> Yes, if you got a compatible cpu. No, if your cpu is not supported (some boards work, some not)

 

Q> I guess? The time you´ll waste sending the h81 to let the manufacturer flash it, can take up months.

[79wjd]

@djdwosk97 Difference negligible?

Between Haswell refresh chips and the non-refresh version? The two are identical except the Refresh has a better heat spreader, overclocks more consistently, and is clocked .1ghz higher. Now temps and overclocking are irrelevant since you shouldn't be getting an overclock ready cpu (4670k/4690k) and an h81 board, and a .1ghz difference is nothing.  

[Faceman]

Get a non Haswell refresh i5, they perform the same, and it will save you a lot of money.

[Linux User]

Take it to a friend (or if you don't, a computer shop; not having friends is typical among tech nerds) and say "Do you have a Haswell non refresh CPU I can borrow for 30 seconds to flash a bios"