I want to upgrade my motherboard, is this possible?

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Skyliinez

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I currently have an i5 3570k with an Asus P8Z77-V LX mobo. I want to upgrade to 6th gen i5 6600k and the Asus Z170-A mobo. Few questions:

Is this possible? Can you upgrade a 3rd gen directly to a 6th gen?

How can I do it WITHOUT a clean install. Is it just a matter of swapping them over and installing the new drivers?

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: After doing a bit of research it looks like it can be done as long as you are upgrading the same manufacturer (i.e intel to intel). Some people are saying you need to uninstall the old chipset drivers first?
 
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The BIOS on the one you have now and the BIOS on the 1151 will be different.

Since it supports UEFI. The 1155 doesnt. So, there will be more options in a 6th gen BIOS

The mobo for the 1151 will come with a cd, but the drivers on the site maybe more up to date than the cd/dvd
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Paul NZ

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No you cant. 6th gen is 1151 yours is 1155. They're not compatible with each other

So you would have to buy the mobo and the CPU to fit on the new mobo

And you may have to do a clean install, due to the different chipsets they use. Otherwise you may get crashes galore


 
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Skyliinez

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Sorry, I did mention that I would also be upgrading the CPU so the socket will be the same. Also will be getting DDR4 RAM as my current DDR3 may not be compatible either. I just want to know how to do the upgrade without reinstalling Windows.
 
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xFeaRDom

xFeaRDom

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" I want to upgrade to 6th gen i5 6600k and the Asus Z170-A mobo"

If you buy those at the same time it is possible.

Whether or not you need to do a clean install depends on the version of Windows, I have changed PCs using the same drive on Windows 10 and have had no issues. Whether or not this works the same for Windows 7 I am not sure. People tend to recommend the clean install to clear any issues from evolving from changing chipsets (IE, Z77 to Z170 is changing the chipset).

If this works or not depends on if there's issues or not. And also depends on how you got the current Windows you have installed, if it came WITH your motherboard, or if you bought it seperate will evolve this into being a yes or no.

If you bought it seperate it is not tied to your motherboard, hence, it may need repairs to change the drivers over. And it would be recommended to uninstall the old chipset drivers, and then Windows SHOULD install the new ones automatically.
 
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aquielisunari

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So, to make sure I understand you, you want to replace your current socket 1155 motherboard and CPU with socket 1151motherboard and CPU. YEs, that can be done. The RAM will not work. DDR4 RAM will be necessary.

You want to do this upgrade without a clean install. First off you should download ALL necessary drivers to a USB stick. Next up is the key question. Do you have Windows 10? No? Then you will need a clean install of a new OS. The activation is invalidated by the motherboard changed which MS makes clear in their OEM disclaimer. You DO have Windows 10? Good. When you press and hold the Windows key and tap R you will be met with the Run/Search box. Type "winver"(no quotes) and press enter. What build does it say you have? Do you have version 1607? You do?!!!:bounce::D Your next step is to go here https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/20530/windows-10-reactivating-after-hardware-change and follow the steps. You may not need to. Click Start, Settings, Update and Security. Click on Activation. Does it say Windows is activated with a digital entitlement? No need to follow those steps. Windows is tied to your Microsoft Account instead of the motherboard.

In short you can change out the motherboard and CPU without a clean install as long as a few conditions are met. 3 wishes with a few caveats.

Your conclusion and advice received are incorrect.

Changing the CPU and motherboard may not be so simple. You may enter(almost) Windows after the upgrade only to be met with a blue screen. It's expecting Ivy Bridge and Asus but it has some foreign dignitaries it's completely unfamiliar with. But going from Intel to Intel MIGHT make the transition easier. I can't promise a reinstall won't be necessary but you won't have to buy a new license which used to be the norm(or someone would steal a digital copy).

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-3164428/windows-build-1607-activation.html
 
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Skyliinez

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Very informative answer, thanks.

Just to let you know, I DO have Windows 10. Whether it's OEM or retail is another story. I did the free upgrade from Win 7 during the upgrade period, and can't remember if my Win 7 license was OEM or retail. Look at it this way, I have a self-built PC and it didn't come with an OEM license (obviously) and I didn't buy a brand new retail license. I will have to wait until I'm home later to check the license with the tools you provided.

The whole licensing thing isn't a major issue for me, as I can always buy a new Win 10 license if I really have to. I just don't want to reinstall the whole OS and all my programs. Some of the disks/licenses for all the software I have is gone, and would be a nightmare if I had to do everything from scratch again.

I wanted to ask the community before I decided to buy the hardware, just to make sure it's possible. The hardware is all compatible with each other, and the mobo will most likely come with the new drivers. Will I need to uninstall the old drivers, or can I just swap the hardware out and run the driver disk? I'll also make a note of the BIOS setup to make sure all setting match to avoid any problems.
 
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xFeaRDom

xFeaRDom

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Windows 10 upgrade. Should be fine.

I've cloned my drives while swapping to another system and had no issues, whether it will be the same for you is the problem. I see no issue though, but it may need a repair drive to change drivers when changing chipset etc. So I would recommend creating a backup of your drives. It is recommended you install the old chipset drivers, if you want to, then you don't have to. You could try to swap them over and just use the driver disk.

Just note, it is definitely recommended you do a fresh install, create a backup of your drive if you need to. This will reduce any issues that may evolve.

 
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Paul NZ

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The BIOS on the one you have now and the BIOS on the 1151 will be different.

Since it supports UEFI. The 1155 doesnt. So, there will be more options in a 6th gen BIOS

The mobo for the 1151 will come with a cd, but the drivers on the site maybe more up to date than the cd/dvd
 
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Skyliinez

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I plan on using the disk then updating them from the manufacturer site once they have been installed, to avoid downloading the wrong drivers by mistake.
 
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aquielisunari

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I have limited internet service. I get a chunk of bandwidth per month. After that it's throttled tighter than a gnat's uhhh ear(aka 17KBps). This means that everything I download needs to be backed up including my games. Battlefield Hardline was 48GB. That is not a download I want to lose. Whether it's 1.6MB o5 50GB I'm not one to waste my bandwidth. AS such my games also need to be backed up. This is not helpful with Uplay. They are the worst gaming client I have been forced to deal with. Steam and Origin games can both be easily restored. They also play on the merry-go-round very well. If you install games to your SSD drive it can fill up very quickly. As you take games to 100% completion is it deleted or saved for future use. With a "choose your own adventure" kind of gameplay where the gamer's actions change the game's ending and responses from actions of the AI and replayability part of the value of games I prefer to keep my games so I can revisit them and have a whole new experience. But for now I want to move on to another game. I use http://lifehacker.com/how-to-move-a-pc-game-to-another-hard-drive-without-re-1714706774 option 2. With my saves in the cloud and my games on my storage drive and backed up on my external I'm not going to lose anything(knock on silicon). I don't want to play games on my 7200RPM drive. BF1 and other game load times can be ridonkulous(sorry). Gameplay is more seamless on a quality SSD and hitching doesn't happen.
 
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Skyliinez

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Good news. My Windows 10 version is 1607 and says my windows activation is linked to my Microsoft account. Great.

Now that I know the activation will be fine, I need to have a bit of research to make sure I don't **** up changing the drivers over when I change the hardware.
 
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