MSI Z170A Xpower Titanium Modded, Supports Intel Core i3-8350K

[Raevenlord]

The seemingly impossible (as per Intel) has happened: an Intel Z170 motherboard was made to support Intel's latest Core i3-8350K. This news comes after various reports and counter reports went for and against this being actually viable, according to motherboard socket pin count and function allocation. That this happened not on a Z270 motherboard, but on a Z170, really does serve to open our eyes as customers to what sort of games might be being played by tech companies in product refreshes and new motherboard chipsets.





Granted, the mod isn't flawless - but it would hardly be so, anyway. It's being reported by a Baidu user, who has posted pics and CPU-Z validations of the unlikely CPU + motherboard combo. This mod was achieved via custom BIOS modifications and microcode changes, and not by a team of Intel engineers - as such, there are some bugs still to iron out, such as the IGP not functioning, and the primary PCIe slot being unavailable.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Chaitanya]

Modder:
to Intel from modder:

 

[dj-electric]

This is an i3 for a reason, i'm afraid. Power pin number has increased for a reason.

 

[mcraygsx]

" games might be being played by tech companies" enough said.

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

So finally some eye's get opened, I've been telling you what I knew for years, the chips interposer is a circuit board and intel have been having your eye's out often over the years I woke to this pre nehalem ie socket 775/ 778 weva intel.
This is pants down fantastic though.

 

[evernessince]

This is an i3 for a reason, i'm afraid. Power pin number has increased for a reason.

Right, just as I'm sure Intel just has to release a new motherboard chipset every year or sometimes even more. /s

An ASUS engineer said awhile back that Coffee Lake processors would work fine with Kaby Lake motherboards.

 

[efikkan]

It's not surprising at all that someone would get this to "work", Coffee Lake is just a new stepping of Skylake after all. The new LGA 1151 is basically identical to the old one, but with some adjustments in the power circuitry. So in theory, any of the new CPUs should work fine on older motherboards, but apparently the i7-8700K is more power hungry than anticipated. So it seems like Intel broke compatibility to ensure people don't put these on a motherboard and get an unstable machine.

But breaking of compatibility is not a big deal, since no one will upgrade from Skylake/Kaby Lake to Coffee Lake.

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

It's not surprising at all that someone would get this to "work", Coffee Lake is just a new stepping of Skylake after all. The new LGA 1151 is basically identical to the old one, but with some adjustments in the power circuitry. So in theory, any of the new CPUs should work fine on older motherboards, but apparently the i7-8700K is more power hungry than anticipated. So it seems like Intel broke compatibility to ensure people don't put these on a motherboard and get an unstable machine.

But breaking of compatibility is not a big deal, since no one will upgrade from Skylake/Kaby Lake to Coffee Lake.

People would if it were possible , my amd board has seen two generations and 3 different chips.
Your seeing this from your perspective a bit too much imho.

 

[Xpect]

But breaking of compatibility is not a big deal, since no one will upgrade from Skylake/Kaby Lake to Coffee Lake.

I would, but I don't want to buy a new motherboard. Mine has all features I need. And since features are not really different, I go by looks, and there are no motherboards in todays lineup that tickle my fancy as much as my existing Z170 (MSI Z170A Krait Gaming)

 

[OSdevr]

So finally some eye's get opened, I've been telling you what I knew for years, the chips interposer is a circuit board and intel have been having your eye's out often over the years I woke to this pre nehalem ie socket 775/ 778 weva intel.
This is pants down fantastic though.

A bit off topic, but I wonder if those FPGA and ARM SOC BGA packages have all the grounds internally connected too. You might not need a six or eight layer board for fanning them all out if you could leave some of the power pins unconnected and operate at a lower frequency.

 

[HimymCZe]

This is an i3 for a reason, i'm afraid. Power pin number has increased for a reason.

And the reason is MOA MONEY, BIATCH.

 

[XiGMAKiD]

I would, but I don't want to buy a new motherboard. Mine has all features I need. And since features are not really different, I go by looks, and there are no motherboards in todays lineup that tickle my fancy as much as my existing Z170 (MSI Z170A Krait Gaming)

This is the reason why backward compatibility is a wanted feature from a customer point of view, and despised by company since it generate less revenue and more headache

 

[Ruru]

Well this was just a matter of time.

 

[lexluthermiester]

This is the reason why backward compatibility is a wanted feature from a customer point of view, and despised by company since it generate less revenue and more headache

While I agree that technological progression must prevail, some level of future proofing needs to be a part of market planning. To be fair though Intel does tend to support a given socket for at least 3 to 4 years. Needs to be longer.