I'm planning on buying a new Motherboard and CPU, from what I've heard windows doesn't really like that process. I'd like to know if I can keep all my data and windows when the switch happens. I'm currently running Windows 8.1.
I'd pick up a usb hard drive and copy anything you don't want to lose to it, then reinstall. Especially if you are changing motherboard architecture (B85 to Z97, for example).