Motherboard repair help needed

Does anyone happen to know a decent electronics tech in Chicago who can handle motherboard repairs?

placidgull21 Which motherboard are we actually talking about here? Because if it’s an older socket or just some budget-tier board from a low-end line, trust me—don't waste a single cent trying to fix it.

Larry Ortiz5 said:placidgull21 Which motherboard are we actually talking about here? Because if it’s an older socket or just some budget-tier board from a low-end line, trust me—don't waste a single cent trying to fix it.

The AsRock P67 Pro3 SE used to go for around $233 when it was new. I just did a quick scan on Best Buy and eBay, and there really aren't any cheap alternatives left. It seems like most of what's out there are low-end models that don't even support overclocking, though some people online seem totally delusional and overprice their own boards way more than they're worth (if I were even considering buying one).

The damage isn't catastrophic, I guess. A lightning strike hit a nearby utility pole, which fried my router, the onboard LAN, and probably some minor component. The motherboard actually boots into Safe Mode—it'll run for maybe five to ten hours before hitting a BSOD—but in normal mode, it either crashes immediately on startup or after an hour or two of regular use.

I'm currently trying to track down a local repair tech who might be able to fix this cheaply, since I'm leaning toward the idea that it's a relatively minor issue. Honestly, they don't even need to bother fixing the onboard LAN...

That’s an LGA 1155 socket, so if you're looking to push some overclocking, just focus on finding a Z77 chipset. The catch is that decent stock is pretty slim right now—most of what's out there is refurbished or RMA units with barely a 3 or 6-month warranty. This one is supposedly different, though:

Keep in mind this is a bulk unit (no fancy retail box), but since MSI typically offers a 3-year warranty, it's easily your strongest option. Alternatively, just shoot an email over to Micro Center and ask them which Z77 boards they currently have in stock.

Kimberly Gomez34 said:That’s an LGA 1155 socket, so if you're looking to push some overclocking, just focus on finding a Z77 chipset. The catch is that decent stock is pretty slim right now—most of what's out there is refurbished or RMA units with barely a 3 or 6-month warranty. This one is supposedly different, though:

Keep in mind this is a bulk unit (no fancy retail box), but since MSI typically offers a 3-year warranty, it's easily your strongest option. Alternatively, just shoot an email over to Micro Center and ask them which Z77 boards they currently have in stock.

I'm looking for cheap alternatives 🙂 $283that's hardly cheap🙂

Honestly, my cheapest move might just be finding someone who can repair my current motherboard without charging me an arm and a leg. I just googled a few local repair shops to get a ballpark idea of the cost, and once I know what we're looking at, I'll decide if it's worth the hassle.

I was kind of hoping one of you hardware wizards might know a guy who does solid electronics repair for a reasonable price.🙂

Look, if you check out the various mechanics around Chicago, they’ll all give you their own take. However, I find the whole value proposition pretty questionable. You have to weigh the cost of the diagnostic fee against whether the car can even be fixed in the first place. Then there's the hourly labor rate, plus you have to consider how long the repairs will actually hold up once the job is done.

For now, I’m looking at disk arrays first... they offer free diagnostics and should be fixed within one to three business days. The only real catch is that they won't be back in rotation until September 1st.

From what I've gathered from this thread, if it actually holds up after three months, it'll probably perform just as well as a standard motherboard. Honestly, I'd be pretty happy if it lasts two or three years; I'm planning on picking up a new PC soon anyway, so I'll just toss this one into my backup setup...

Have you had a chance to double-check your RAM or maybe some of the other components to see if they're actually holding up? Honestly, looking at the symptoms, I’m leaning more toward a memory issue rather than the motherboard causing the crashes. If it does turn out to be the board, there isn't much anyone can do to fix it—it's pretty much a lost cause. If you suspect it's the motherboard, I'd say just go ahead and grab a replacement, because I doubt anyone is going to bother trying to repair it.

Even if they manage to patch it up, I can't help but wonder how long it'll actually hold before things start breaking all over again.