Installing a new Processor + Motherboard

[Duffsam]

This thread ideally could've been in both "CPU & Components" and "Motherboards and Memory".

I'm thinking of making the jump from my Dual Core CPU/AM2 Motherboard to a Quad Core/AM3 Motherboard.

Will i need to re-install windows if i were to make these changes? Also can someone supply me with detailed tutorials how to swap out the CPU + Motherboard on my system .

I currently have Windows 7 Home Premium .

Current System:
AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition AM2 CPU @ 3.4gz
Foxconn A7VMX-K AM2+ Motherboard
4GB DDR2 Ram
1TB HDD @ 7200rpm
ATI Radeon 5770 HD 1GB Graphics Card

Ideal/New System:
AMD Phenom II X4 960T Black Edition AM3 CPU @ 3.0Ghz
Asus M5A78L-M LX AM3+ mATX Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz CL9 1.5V Non-ECC Unbuffered
1TB HDD @ 7200rpm (same as old system)
ATI Radeon 5770 HD 1GB Graphics Card (same as old system).

I have heard rumours that you will need to re-install windows, and re-activate the system. Would it be easier if i bought a fresh copy of windows (as my pc wasn't supplied with the Windows disc)? Also, would these components go together? .

I have a backup disc from a couple months back, upon which i changed my HDD, could i use this if necessary if i had to re-install windows?

Many Many Many Thanks
Sam

 

[Guest]

your new motherboard should come with a step by step guide with pretty pictures to help you.

and IMHO your new system deserves a fresh install anyway. and having the disc itself may can handy in the future. so consider buying a W7 disc.

 

[firo40]

First of all no you will not need to reinstall windows, when you boot windows will detect the new hardware and install the new drivers over the previous ones. Secound if your going for a am3 quadcore go for the phenom 2 x4 980, the reason i say this is amd processors core per core are weaker then intel, but substantially cheaper so if your going for amd atleast go for the best it dosnt cost much and your preformance will be alot better at 3.8ghz then just 3.0

the first thing that you want to do is take the side off of your case that is opposite to the side that your motherboard is on, then unplug all the power connectors on the mother board, then unplug all the case cables from the mother board, then unscrew your graphics card and release the pci-e lock by pushing it to the side, some pci-e ports dont have any but most do. Then unscrew the screws on the motherboard holding it to the case, when all are out slide the motherboard out and place the new motherboard in. screw the new mother board in. Take the processor out of the box and lift the proccessor lock on the socket and line up the arrow on the processor with the arrow on the motherboard, the processor should slide in with no effort, then push the socket lock down holding the cpu in place. Now you need to put a half a dimes worth of thermal paste in the center of the processor and place the metal heat synch ontop of the processor and lock it down on the heat synch mounts that are located on the sides of the socket. Now make sure the fan is already on the heat synch if not screw it in yourself, and make sure to plug it into the 3 pin power connector on the motherboard labelled cpu fan. now plug in your R.A.M into the 2 closest sockets to the processor as it reduces latency to the memory slightly. now plug in and screw in your graphics card and makes sure you plug in its 2 6 pin power connectors make sure you plug in the 24 pin power connector on the motherboard and the 4 pin cpu connector on the motherboard as well when that is done make sure that you plug in all the case cables into the corresponding pins labeled on the board.

hope this helps post if i missed anything i typed this in a rush

 

[firo40]

P.S most games on support 2 cores anyways so having the higher core speed is crucial with amd

 

[whatsthatnoise]

While there's a good chance that you don't need to install windows again. You should really think about doing it. It's a pretty heavy impact and might affect your systems stability in the long run.

It might be necessary to re-activate windows. At least it was when I had to replace the motherboard in my old system, without re-installing the OS.

 

[Brett928S2]

Hi

Yes ..you WILL have to reinstall Windows...

All the best Brett

 

[whatsthatnoise]

Hi

Yes ..you WILL have to reinstall Windows...

All the best Brett

And you say that ... why? Prove? Background? Explanation?


It has been done before, in fact I did it myself. With different hardware, ofc. But also AMD ... and it worked just fine.

 

[loneninja]

I've had mixed results with changing the motherboard and not reinstalling windows, it works flawlessly sometimes and other times I wind up with an unstable system that suffers random program crashes.

 

[amuffin]

Did not work for me^^

 

[emesis]

So far, I've tried to switch a mobo/CPU without reinstalling three times, and had failure three times. Once, it would almost finish loading windows and hang. Once it would just barely start and reboot. And the third time, it would POST and them immediately reboot, I'm assuming once Windows had started up but before it could put anything on screen.

So myself, I would plan on a reinstall. There seems to be mixed experiences here, so if you decide to try it, have a backup plan.

 

[loneninja]

^ I think it matters how similar the new motherboard is to the old one, and what version of Windows.

 

[firo40]

No responce from OP what a shame