What happens when you swap out a motherboard?

[Hydra453]

hi,

i wanted to swap my motherboard out with a newer one for better performance (my pc is custom). i want to know if you can just un plug everything and put it into the new motherboard and turn on the pc and its fine, or if it takes some sort of windows reboot thing. basically, is it plug and play?

[Himommies]

Just now, Hydra453 said:

d out with a newer one for better performance

I don't belive that's how it works

Are you getting a new CPU too

[gundamMC]

3 minutes ago, Hydra453 said:

or if it takes some sort of windows reboot thing

You will need to turn it off before actually swapping it.. So it is kinda a reboot.

And it isn't just "plug and play," it's more like "unplug almost everything and then plug them back and play"

[AvocadosGuac]

1 minute ago, gundamMC said:

You will need to turn it off before actually swapping it.. So it is kinda a reboot.

And it isn't just "plug and play," it's more like "unplug almost everything and then plug them back and play"

Funny...

 

Windows 10 has the ability to boot with new hardware more often than earlier OS's. You still MIGHT need to reinstall windows, so backup your data first.

[Moress]

13 minutes ago, Hydra453 said:

swap my motherboard out with a newer one for better performance 

That's not how it works

[Gikero]

13 minutes ago, Hydra453 said:

hi,

i wanted to swap my motherboard out with a newer one for better performance (my pc is custom). i want to know if you can just un plug everything and put it into the new motherboard and turn on the pc and its fine, or if it takes some sort of windows reboot thing. basically, is it plug and play?

Generally you can reconnect everything and boot. Like others have said, back up all important data beforehand. There is a good chance it won't be as smooth as you hope. If your question refers to your previous post's i5-6400, that is a locked processor. Meaning that overclocking isn't supported and will be limited, even on a Z series motherboard. The "K" and "X" (i7-6700K as an example) series of CPUs from Intel are generally needed for any significant amount of overclocking.

If my assumption is correct, you're most likely going to be frustrated unless you get a Z series motherboard and a K series processor.

[AshleyAshes]

I've taken the same install of Windows 7 from a P67 mobo with i5 2500K to an i7 3770K, then swapped in a Z77 board, then swapped both CPU and mobo for a Z79 with i7 4930k, each time the worst thing that happened was Windows needed to be reactivated with a phonecall to MS.

[ProjectBox153]

You don't upgrade just the motherboard for a performance upgrade. 

[Thermosman]

29 minutes ago, Hydra453 said:

hi,

i wanted to swap my motherboard out with a newer one for better performance (my pc is custom). i want to know if you can just un plug everything and put it into the new motherboard and turn on the pc and its fine, or if it takes some sort of windows reboot thing. basically, is it plug and play?

mobo generally doesnt affect performance

[Hydra453]

58 minutes ago, Thermosman said:

mobo generally doesnt affect performance

yeah i meant for overclocking

[Hydra453]

1 hour ago, AshleyAshes said:

I've taken the same install of Windows 7 from a P67 mobo with i5 2500K to an i7 3770K, then swapped in a Z77 board, then swapped both CPU and mobo for a Z79 with i7 4930k, each time the worst thing that happened was Windows needed to be reactivated with a phonecall to MS.

Thanks for the answer i was looking for. So im assuming when you turn it on it says windows isn't activated? Can you just put in your key from before, or is it more technical

[AshleyAshes]

5 minutes ago, Hydra453 said:

Thanks for the answer i was looking for. So im assuming when you turn it on it says windows isn't activated? Can you just put in your key from before, or is it more technical

Yes, windows starts and runs just fine if it's not activated, but some features might be locked but it'll still 'work' and you just need to activate it.

 

Windows will also do it's best to install drivers for the driver but the hardware will likely be different.  Windows should have every driver necessary for BASIC function (I mean, it has to have those to even do the first install in the first place) but you should still install the latest chipset drivers and such from the motherboard's support page once you're up and running.

[Hydra453]

Just now, AshleyAshes said:

Yes, windows starts and runs just fine if it's not activated, but some features might be locked but it'll still 'work' and you just need to activate it.

 

Windows will also do it's best to install drivers for the driver but the hardware will likely be different.  Windows should have every driver necessary for BASIC function (I mean, it has to have those to even do the first install in the first place) but you should still install the latest chipset drivers and such from the motherboard's support page once you're up and running.

okay so i can just re-use my old key for windows 10 pro?

[AshleyAshes]

3 minutes ago, Hydra453 said:

okay so i can just re-use my old key for windows 10 pro?

Hopefully.  I'm no expert but there COULD be problems if the PC is a prebuilt and the key is effectively baked into the BIOS of the OEM motherboard.  But if you just built it yourself, yes, MS will let you move the activation to another machine.  You will at WORST have to speak to customer service and it may just carry over WITHOUT issue.

[Hydra453]

27 minutes ago, AshleyAshes said:

Hopefully.  I'm no expert but there COULD be problems if the PC is a prebuilt and the key is effectively baked into the BIOS of the OEM motherboard.  But if you just built it yourself, yes, MS will let you move the activation to another machine.  You will at WORST have to speak to customer service and it may just carry over WITHOUT issue.

Yeah built my PC. I shoud be good

[SupaKomputa]

One thing for sure, changing motherboard won't make your PC run faster.

 

Before you change your motherboard you may want to remove the license in current windows installation, because windows key is linked with the motherboard. Your key is safe as long as you keep them outside your computer (write them in a paper).

https://www.groovypost.com/howto/transfer-windows-10-license-new-pc/

This is the safest method as it would save the hassle of reinstalling everything.

 

But if you already changed your motherboard, you can reactivate your windows, that is if it boot successfully. 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/20530/windows-10-reactivating-after-hardware-change

 

Also if you cannot activate windows, you may have to call microsoft to have them reset your installation key, unlink them from the last installation, this i've done many times even with the same motherboard.

 

If it wont boot, burn your windows installer to dvd or usb and boot and select refresh / reset this pc but keep files.

If you select keep files, your files will be in windows_old directory. Reinstall all programs and copy your user files to /user/name folder.

 

Last option would be start from scratch.
Backup your windows partition to another drive to keep important files like documents etc.

[zimba77]

On ‎12‎/‎5‎/‎2017 at 11:27 AM, Dell780 said:

You don't upgrade just the motherboard for a performance upgrade. 

Of course just the motherboard upgrade can improve performance!
Some ways of achieving this are getting a motherboard that:
1. has better ventilation/cooling
2. has more overclocking functions
3. has more slots eg. for RAM/CPU/GPU/HDD/SSD
4. can handle more power (from PSU)
5. is more conductive eg. copper vs silver tracks
6. implements current (better) standards eg. USB3.1
7. better designed eg. without redundant/outdated components

 

An example of better performance just with mobo upgrade is if your RAM chip is rated at 1600MHz, and the max your current mobo supports is 1066Mhz, then getting a mobo which can handle over 2GHz clock speed or even extra 2 memory slots (filled & paired in dual channel preferrably), and allows overclocking, with better cooling can use your current components like HDD, GPU, etc and boost your RAM performance, resulting in your increased computing performance.