Upgrade order suggestions

[richison]

I am looking to do an upgrade for my gaming rig. Here's the following I'm considering:

Upgrade from XP to Win 7 (Fresh Install to a new drive)
Upgrade motherboard
Upgrade CPU to i5-760
Upgrade RAM to 8GB from 2GB

What order would you do the upgrade? I'm assuming it would be better to do this in parts to make debugging easier.

Would you upgrade the current system to Win 7 first? (Add new drive and do a upgrade fresh install) Then upgrade the MB, CPU, and RAM?

Would you stay on XP and upgrade MB, CPU and RAM? Obviously 8GB will not be recognized in XP.

Any other paths?

 

[Zenthar]

What are you upgrading from?

Depending on what you have, you might not have other choice that to change everything at once because of inter compatibility; the i5-760 needs a LGA1156 socket and DDR3 memory. If you have something like a Core2Duo, a Core2Quad or older CPU, they were using LGA775 or older sockets with DDR2 memory, nothing can be upgraded without being incompatible.

The only thing you can probably change is Windows XP to Win7, but depending on your setup, it might not be recommended. Moreover, an OEM license is supposed to be tied to the MB, so legally you shouldn't transfer it to your new PC when you get it (you can if you buy a Retail license, but they cost twice as much ...).

 

[richison]

Thought the new motherboard was a giveaway that I was upgrading from a lower chipset. Coming from a Core2Duo. I realize that there is some compatibility issues, which is why I was combining the MB, CPU and RAM together and the OS seperately. I can upgrade either combo first (Hardware or OS), but would obviously run into issues with XP recognizing the RAM. That's why I was asking for thoughts on which to do first or if there was an approach I was not thinking of.

As to the OEM vs Retail...I was going Retail since it was only about $10 difference. $99 vs $109. Unless you are talking OEM vs Full version.

 

[Zenthar]

Yes I was comparing OEM with Retail Full version.

 

[richison]

OEM is only $99. Unless you need free support there is no need for the Full version. That's what forums are for.

 

[Zenthar]

But legally speaking, an OEM version is tied to the MB so he "shouldn't" switch to Windows 7 OEM then change MB or else he should purchase another license. Same thing for his Windows XP actually, if OEM, he legally shouldn't install it on his now MB.

I'm just being technical here, but there is a reason why OEM is 50% less, they are made to be installed on a single computer and that is it.

 

[richison]

If I went the OEM route I would just do a brand new install on the new motherboard, not a switch. Probably the best course since I'm putting the OS on a new SSD.

This is only going on a single computer.

 

[Zenthar]

If you are just installing the OS on your brand new updated machine then yes, OEM is perfect.

 

[richison]

See this thread malmental:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/300909-31-feedback-system-upgrade#t2233116