pc upgrade help

[DK2019]

I have a older gaming pc and I want to essentially just change the mobo cpu and psu without reinstalling windows. Is that possible? My current system is a gigabyte z68 i5 2500k and I want to go ryzen. The main reason is I really can't be arsed with backing everything etc. How bad of an idea is it?

[kalniel]

I have a older gaming pc and I want to essentially just change the mobo cpu and psu without reinstalling windows. Is that possible? My current system is a gigabyte z68 i5 2500k and I want to go ryzen. The main reason is I really can't be arsed with backing everything etc. How bad of an idea is it?

I did the same thing myself recently.

From a technical point of view it's pretty trivial - windows copes fine with taking the hard drive from an old computer to a new one. It just runs a setup step and then it's done.

From a licensing one it depends on your license type - if it was a retail/transferable license then your new computer will activate fine via MS account or if using local accounts just put in your product key again. If it was an OEM license then it will not activate and you'll need to buy a new applicable license.

But always back up important stuff.

[DanceswithUnix]

That is one time when you almost certainly want to back everything up!

Windows 10 is pretty good these days at surviving a motherboard transplant so chances are good that it will work. Having Intel and AMD drivers installed may hurt performance the tiniest amount (judging from things like Gamer's Nexus who keep those installs strictly separate for benchmarking).

I personally would get a new SSD for the new install if possible, the old one is then your backup and makes it easy to go back to the old PC should things go wrong. Either way, I would have your licence key handy.

[DK2019]

Ok thanks. So it wouldn't cause random crashes etc? I have most of my stuff on separate hard drives it's just programs that I have setup in my own way that I really don't want to have to redo.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Firstly I wouldn't do it - I was lazy too,and did it with my Zen+ system upgrading from an IB Xeon E3 and it was OK. Eventually I just made a fresh install - it was a few years old and I decided it made more sense to have a fresh install. The fact is even if Windows works OK,you are changing to a new CPU uarch which is totally different from the Intel one,even to the extent the schedular needs specific AMD changes.

Also hold off any upgrade until the B550 is released. You will get certified PCI-E 4.0,and at least Zen3 should work in the motherboard as a future upgrade,according to AMD.

[DK2019]

Yeah that makes sense. I will hold off until b550. I might also build a ryzen home server I've heard online that all am4 cpus support ecc. Does anyone have experience with that?

[Helios451]

As you say, it's an 'older gaming machine' - if it's a Core i5 2500, it's likely 8 or 9 years old, in which case it's most likely you have an OEM Windows version. I suspect that if you had a retail/transferable licence then you'd know about that already.

So, as Kalniel said - if you change CPU and Mobo then Windows will not carry over and you'll need to buy a new licence.

[DK2019]

As you say, it's an 'older gaming machine' - if it's a Core i5 2500, it's likely 8 or 9 years old, in which case it's most likely you have an OEM Windows version. I suspect that if you had a retail/transferable licence then you'd know about that already.

So, as Kalniel said - if you change CPU and Mobo then Windows will not carry over and you'll need to buy a new licence.

I built it myself the key was bought online and worse case scenario buying another one wouldn't be a problem. My query was more about system stability etc.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Yeah that makes sense. I will hold off until b550. I might also build a ryzen home server I've heard online that all am4 cpus support ecc. Does anyone have experience with that?

The Zen2 based APUs are probably also arriving in their desktop variants this year too,so I would wait.