I am changing to an AMD build to intel, do I need to re buy windows?

Trevjim

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Dec 22, 2015
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Im upgrading my 3 year old AMD build to a decent Intel one. I am going to change motherboard, CPU and ram. my graphics card and SSD dont really need upgrading yet.

I am currently running windows 10, it was windows 8 OEM but i did the free upgrade thing.

my question is, when I put the intel parts in, will i need to reinstall windows? if I do how do I go about that considering im using the free upgrade windows 10 oem? I know how to put an install iso on a usb, so thats not an issue, im just wondering if the license will still work with the new parts, considering its an OEM verison?

i have googled it, and to be honest it left me more confused, some people said no need to install, some people said its a must, some said windows will reinstall fine, some said ill need to buy a new copy.

thanks.
 
Solution
You will get a lot of opinions on this but the bottom line is that all pre-installed Windows (OEM) are tied to the computer motherboard it came with and lives and dies with that computer. You can replace the motherboard if it fails, but the license does not cover upgrading the motherboard.

You might be able to get the machine to boot but the Windows activation will fail and you will not be able to activate it without a new key. And per the license agreement that key has to be a retail (not OEM) key.

BadAsAl

Distinguished
You will get a lot of opinions on this but the bottom line is that all pre-installed Windows (OEM) are tied to the computer motherboard it came with and lives and dies with that computer. You can replace the motherboard if it fails, but the license does not cover upgrading the motherboard.

You might be able to get the machine to boot but the Windows activation will fail and you will not be able to activate it without a new key. And per the license agreement that key has to be a retail (not OEM) key.
 
Solution