Advice needed on sourcing a new Z77 LGA1155 Motherboard

[Grasshopper]

About 6 months ago my main PC developed an intermittent fault, that gradually got worse over time. After carrying out many tests (both hardware and software) I concluded that the most likely cause was a hardware fault related to the PC's motherboard (Asrock Z77 Extreme6).

The Motherboard was still just about within its warranty period so I contacted Asrock to try and arrange an RMA. Unfortunately, their customer service is appalling. They told me that it was the seller's responsibility to honour the manufacturer's guarantee (which is nonsense). However, as a special concession, they were willing to exchange the motherboard for another one if I was willing to pay the postage to and from their warehouse in Holland. I live in the UK so the postage would have cost me about £15 each way. I then did some googling, and found out that when you do an RMA with Asrock, the replacement motherboard they send you is 'refurbished' (i.e. one that has probably already been returned by another customer), and that quite often the replacement motherboard is also faulty.

I wasn't impressed with Asrock's offer to put in mildly. So, more in hope than expectation, I contacted the seller I'd bought the board from (Amazon) to see whether they would be willing to honour Asrock's guarantee. I expected them to tell me to get lost. I mean, why on earth should they be willing to honour another company's guarantee? However, to my astonishment, they instantly apologised, gave me a full refund, and asked me to return the motherboard within 30 days, which I did.

As you would expect, I was initially delighted by this outcome, and thought I'd dodged a bullet. However, I'm now really struggling to find a replacement motherboard with a Z77 chipset to replace the one I returned. I can't believe that my expensive processor (i5-3570k) that was considered cutting edge a couple of years ago is now considered so obsolete that no one appears to be selling motherboards for it any more.

The only seller I've found in the UK is www.pcupgrade.co.uk, and for various reasons, they look a bit shady. So I'm now considering whether I can import a suitable motherboard from either the US or Europe. I'd obviously prefer Europe as the shipping would be lower, and there would be no additional tax to pay. However, I'm not ruling out the US at this stage.

Can anyone here from mainland Europe or the US recommend any local companies that are still selling Z77 chipset LGA1155 motherboards, and that are willing to ship abroad?

Thanks in advance.

[knave]

Newegg, I think they ship to UK

[JDFan]

Newegg, I think they ship to UK

Just keep in mind tHat's also a REFURB though and it even says "No accessories or backplate." So might work for your use but since it is shipping to the UK could get expensive to return if something is not working !

[Grasshopper]

Thanks for the replies. This is becoming really frustrating.

I had a look at Newegg's site and didn't see a lot there. And yes, I'm not prepared to risk buying a refurbished motherboard from abroad. The problem with motherboard faults is that they're often very subtle and intermittent. It's highly likely that a refurbished board was returned with a genuine (but intermittent) fault, and the fault didn't show up when it was retested by the seller.

The only board I've found that can be bought immediately is this one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASRock-Z75-Motherboard-Socket-Intel/dp/B007P709YI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443800315&sr=8-1&keywords=z77

After my recent experience, I'd vowed to never buy another Asrock board again. However, I'm getting desperate enough to seriously consider getting it. To be fair, it does look like a decent board for the price, and it ticks most of my boxes. And just as importantly, buying through Amazon helps shield me from Asrock's crappy warranty.

The other possibility is this board:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-GA-Z77-DS3H-SKT-1155-Z77-DS3H-Motherboard/dp/B007KZQFOS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1443800315&sr=8-2&keywords=z77

However, I'm always suspicious when Amazon says 'Usually dispatched within 1 to 3 weeks'. In my experience, items in that status rarely come back into stock again. Also, apparently that board is very bad at overclocking because you can't adjust the vcore value in the BIOS.

[knave]

Any reason you wouldn't accept one of the other chipsets? It might open up your options a bit.

in any case I found this at Amazon UK.

[Grasshopper]

Any reason you wouldn't accept one of the other chipsets? It might open up your options a bit.

The only reason I'm trying to stick with the Z77 (or possibly Z75) chipset is because I bought an overclocking processor so it seems a bit crazy not to use it with an overclocking motherboard. Also, my gut feeling (admittedly not based on any hard evidence) is that overclocking boards are generally made with higher quality components and therefore last longer.

That being said, I'm not particularly into overclocking. So perhaps I should lower my sights a bit.

in any case I found this at Amazon UK.

I was just looking at that motherboard five minutes ago and yes it looks tempting. The seller's located in Germany but that's definitely not a dealbreaker. The only real downside I can see is the lack of heatsinks on the VRMs.