Need help with choosing a new motherboard.

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Mason Luetjen

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Aug 7, 2015
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I got the GTX 1060 6GB for Christmas this year and it was bottlenecked by my AMD Athlon x4 760k. Just 10 minutes ago I went out and purchased an Intel i5 6500 which I have no desire to OC.

Using pcpartpicker I was told that my MSI A78M-E35 would be incompatible with the new Intel processor. I should have saw this coming but I did not.

I am very unfamiliar with motherboards so my question is simple. What motherboard would be compatible with my hardware and what will changing my motherboard result in?

I am running Windows 10 that I installed online after having built my PC with Windows 8.1. My disk for windows 8.1 is at my dads house (divorced parents).

I am hoping that I can find a mobo that won't require me to reinstall my OS as I will not go to my dads until winter break is over.

I have a adjustable budget but I want to keep it under 100 dollars MAX. Preferably under 75.00 as I know I wont need an insane mobo if I'm not OC'ing.

Last thing. If I do need to reinstall the 8.1 disk I have, what will be lost?

Thanks for all your help.
 
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atljsf
you could upgrade the cpu to a 7850k iirc, it is faster, so less obttleneck

other than that, it is basically new cpu, mainboard and ram, for me, that is a new build
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atljsf

atljsf

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you have a amd cpu and amd compatible mainboard

intel doesn't do compatible mainboard for amd and you will require a specific mainboard for that cpu since intel release certain models under certain sockets, one socket is not compatible with the other, so you must buy a compatible mainboard for that cpu

by using pc partpiccker, your cpu uses lga1151 sockect

so from the offerings there i would choose a asus z170-a or a cheaper msi h110m gaming mainboard

if you change the mainboard, the windows 8 license you mention will not be usable on the new mainboard, the windows activation procces depends on the unique serial number of the mainboard, the new one for the new cpu will be different with a new serial number and the license you have will not be usable now so you need a new windows 10 home 64 bit license

the mainboard mentioned uses ddr4 memory, the one on your present machine is surelly ddr3 so you need new ram

i suggest you corsair ddr4 2333mhz, at least 8 gbs, 16 should be better

what psu do you have?

as you see i am doing many questions because you didn't shared all that information

in general what you want is a new pc

i personally would leave the x4 760k assembled and start from clean a new pc including new psu, new case, new hard disks, new ssd, new everything, you already have the cpu and gpu, so that is a big start, almost half of the price
 
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clarkjd

clarkjd

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When changing motherboards, especially from AMD to Intel,I always recommend a clean install of windows. You will not need your 8.! disk, as Microsoft has already activated your Windows 10 installation, and has attached that activation to your Microsoft ID. Simply use the Microsoft media creation tool to download and create a USB key (or DVD). boot to the USB key, and start the install. When it asks for a product key code, Check the I don't have one and continue on with the install.
 
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Mason Luetjen

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Thanks. Will I keep everything I have installed and downloaded on my HDD?

 
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Mason Luetjen

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I wanted this to just be a GPU upgrade. I then needed a stronger PSU and now a new CPU so that I don't bottleneck.

Here is my (current) hardware:

CPU: AMD Athlon x4 760k (bottlenecking, not OC'd)
GPU: GTX 1060 6GB
MOBO: MSI A78M-E35
PSU: Corsair CX750
HDD: Seagate 1TB Desktop HDD SATA 6GB/s 64MB
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR3 8GB (2x) I'm sure there is a ddr3 mobo that will suit my needs since I just bought more of this RAM and it has worked great for me.





 
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clarkjd

clarkjd

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Unfortunately, a clean install means formatting the drive, so unless you have partitioned your HDD with a partition for the OS and a separate one for everything else, then you will lose everything you downloaded. Also with a clean install, you WILL have to re-install ALL additional programs and apps, and that includes any games.

 
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