Will a downgrade from 970A-UD3P to a 970A-D3P require a clean install?

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stebbinsd

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My Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P broke down recently. I placed an order for another one on Ebay, but I recently got this message from the seller: "My apologies but we need to refund you for this part. Part tested good when entered into stock but failed QC before item shipped. It was last one we had in stock."

None of the other Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P motherboards I could find, either on Ebay or Google Shopping, were even remotely an acceptable price (this one I bought was only $53, whereas the cheapest one on Ebay I could find was $249.99).

However, I managed to find a D3P on Ebay for only $65.

I haven't bought it yet, so I can't just install it and see what happens.

Will I need to reinstall the OS on this board swap? Or is it a close enough match that I could keep my current OS install?

The reason I'm so curious about this is because ... my current Windows product key is only valid for this one computer. I'll have to buy another one if I reinstall.
 
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clutchc
I'm assuming the OS is Win. (7 or 10?) If Windows... Chances are very good that you can boot to the desktop when you turn it on. Win will spend a little longer loading new drivers from its database, but it should make it to the desktop since the boards are so similar.

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clutchc

clutchc

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I'm assuming the OS is Win. (7 or 10?) If Windows... Chances are very good that you can boot to the desktop when you turn it on. Win will spend a little longer loading new drivers from its database, but it should make it to the desktop since the boards are so similar.

 
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stebbinsd

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Windows 7


How much longer are we looking at? Twice as long? 50% longer?
 
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clutchc

clutchc

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I don't know. Been too long since I did something like that. But not long enough to make a big difference. And only for the first boot.
After you get to the desktop, you can download/install the latest drivers for the board from the board's website if you want. When all is done, it may be a good idea to run something like CCleaner to clean up junk files, and registry errors.

Btw, you may not have to buy a new license, if you have Win7. Just do the activation and it's a 50/50 chance it will be re-activated. If not, the next option is to contact MS using the online link they will provide. Answer a couple questions and, it will walk you thru getting a new activation key for free. Only if that fails, will you need to buy a license.
 
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