A couple of hardware-questions..

[Xiauj]

Alright so..,

I'm currently doing a little Personal Project which is basically gonna be Me re-doing my other Pre-Built-PC a little bit that I've had now for quite a few years and I'm thinking about swapping out the 'crappy-stock' motherboard especially, which was and still is a part of the Pre-Built-PC when I got it at first, of course. And before anybody asks, lol, I don't actually know what motherboard it is  It's an Acer one I think. I don't know the full, actual name/model/code(s) of it currently. But anyway..., I'm thinking about changing to a Mini-ITX sized or possibly mATX sized Motherboard. I'm still not fully decided on the form-factor though.

 

But... yeah. I have a couple of concerns not only about the motherboard but also the CPU :

Spoiler

 

A) I recently seen an LGA-1156 (Socket) Motherboard for sale which I'm thinking about getting and, I assume this is the manufacturer..: According to the description on the website it says "Advent". Has anyone ever heard of this manufacturer before?

Because I have never heard of them before and don't know if their motherboards are good or not. It doesn't look too bad condition-wise on the pictures and the price isn't too bad either. 

When/If I swap out the motherboard however.. and transfer everything like the CPU/RAM/HDD/etc... over to the new one if I decide to get it or not, will everything attempt to start/boot up as it normally should if I hopefully correctly get all the cables in the right location(s)..? I 100% hope that I don't lose any data or it wipes everything or resets the system < It shouldn't hopefully do these things, should it?

 

 

Spoiler

B) Not now..., but at some point, maybe in like a month or two, I might swap out the i3-CPU that's in the PC currently. Dunno yet. But because I've never swapped out a CPU for another before.... and because I have a few programs installed on the PC that have/required a Product-Key when installing them, those certain programs are ones like certain Adobe-Programs and another example is a 3D-Modelling-Program that I use every now and then.... Will they get affected in any possible way?? I hope not because I DO NOT want to obviously lose anything, at all.

 

Spoiler

 

Oh and I have a question which I figured I might as well include in this Topic instead of making another:

C) Because the Hard-Drive in this Pre-Built-PC is getting INSANELY full currently and has a very tiny amount of space but not much, I am thinking about getting another Hard-Drive with much more space and then swapping the OS + Everything else over to that Hard-Drive. Will the Programs that require a Product-Key get affected at all?? They should not get affected, hopefully?

 

 

Spoiler

 

And one last question, lol:

D) If... this new motherboard that I might get has NO On-Board-USB-3.0-Headers but the new case does have USB-3.0 Ports..., is it gonna connect fine and work as it should?

 

 

Would appreciate the help

Thanks guys! <3

~Xiauj

[Electronics Wizardy]

a, nope never head of the brand, and any lga 1156 board will be pretty old and used by now. 

 

b, there is a always a chance of data loss, this is why you have backups.

 

c,You can normally clone it over and not have to touch activation, But get a ssd, its so much faster.

 

d.If the board doens't have usb3 you can use the usb3 ports on the case.

[Mr.Meerkat]

I've only heard of Advent as a pre-built OEM but not as a motherboard manufacturer. 

 

For the rest, look above as @Electronics Wizardy has already stated more or less what I would have said and I can't be bothered regurgitating all that  

[QuirkyRobot]

Here are some answers that I know...

A) Don't know brand

B) Backup your hard drive. Sometimes programs licenses are tied to hardware. In those cases you can try to look up if they allow you to deactivate the key so you can reactivate it with the same key to a different setup. (like you would if you had to move Office or Adobe CC to a different computer).

C) Swapping the hard drives usually does not result in product deactivation. Just use backup/cloning software to copy your drive to a new one.

D) If your new motherboard has no USB 3.0 header for the case's USB 3.0 ports to plug into, those ports will not work.

[AT0MAC]

A) Advent seems to have something to do with very generic boards made at Foxxconn, under either their owm brand or MSI, in the time when MSI was going by the name Micro Star International (according to a quick search on ebay and google)
But no, you should not be scared of the things you mentioned.

 

B) Adobe and the 3D programs im aware of, don't tie them selves to the CPU. But remember, Windows do tie itself to a combination many things, one of them being motherboard, so when you swap the board you will for sure need a new license key for Windows.

 

C) As stated above, you will need to do a fresh install of Windows, or try getting a fresh key working in your installation. If you fresh install, then its also bye bye to the special software you use, and will need to reinstall. should not be a big deal if you actually own a license key, just deactivate it on your current rig and reinstall adobe and your 3D program in the new one, solved.

 

D) My new motherboard have a internal USB 3.1 header, but my case dont, it works just fine. Your situation is the oposite, and that will also work just fine. If it's a problem to you, then get a PCIe card that gives you the USB 3.0 ports you need.

--by the way, remember that some prebuild systems dont fit other types of motherboards, sometimes the stand offs are in wack positions and cant be easily moved arround.
I have a HP machine thats like that (not my primary rig, but one of the secondary ones)

[Xiauj]

1 hour ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

a, nope never head of the brand, and any lga 1156 board will be pretty old and used by now. 

Yeah it is a used second-hand motherboard, sorry, I probably should have worded that a bit clearer. My apologies.

 

1 hour ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

b, there is a always a chance of data loss, this is why you have backups.

So....... it's basically 50%-Yes / 50%-No ..?  Oh boy. Lol.

You say about having backups, but, how would I go about backing up the Programs that have/required the Product-Key when installing them/I-currently-use though?  I have no idea on how I would do that if possible which I assume it is..?

 

1 hour ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

c,You can normally clone it over and not have to touch activation, But get a ssd, its so much faster.

Ohhh I see. Ok cool, I'll look up a tutorial or like a YouTube-Guide or something as I've never done so before, haha 

As for the SSD-Comment you said about, I honestly wish I could but I don't want to spend a crazy amount on this Personal-Project and I'm gonna definitely need a lot of space, soo..... yup.

 

1 hour ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

d.If the board doens't have usb3 you can use the usb3 ports on the case.

So... Yes then?  

Awesome! 

 

1 hour ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

I've only heard of Advent as a pre-built OEM but not as a motherboard manufacturer. 

Yeah same here -^, I've not heard of them at all, not even only as a motherboard manufacturer

 

1 hour ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

For the rest, look above as @Electronics Wizardy has already stated more or less what I would have said and I can't be bothered regurgitating all that  

Haha lol

Edited March 28, 2018 by Xiauj

[Xiauj]

22 minutes ago, QuirkyRobot said:

A) Don't know brand

Same here lol

 

22 minutes ago, QuirkyRobot said:

B) Backup your hard drive. Sometimes programs licenses are tied to hardware. In those cases you can try to look up if they allow you to deactivate the key so you can reactivate it with the same key to a different setup. (like you would if you had to move Office or Adobe CC to a different computer).

Ohhh Ok

 

22 minutes ago, QuirkyRobot said:

C) Swapping the hard drives usually does not result in product deactivation. Just use backup/cloning software to copy your drive to a new one.

But that's where I'm a bit confused, like I asked to @Electronics Wizardy, I know how to backup documents/pictures/videos/similar-stuff but how, if possible, would I backup/clone the software that requires/currently-uses the Product-Key to function?

 

24 minutes ago, QuirkyRobot said:

D) If your new motherboard has no USB 3.0 header for the case's USB 3.0 ports to plug into, those ports will not work.

35 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

d.If the board doens't have usb3 you can use the usb3 ports on the case.

Err...  Ok, now I'm confused on this question also..  Because Electronics-Wizardy had said the opposite to that -^ as quoted above:

So.. will the ports work? Question to both of you.

 

9 minutes ago, AT0MAC said:

A) Advent seems to have something to do with very generic boards made at Foxxconn, under either their owm brand or MSI, in the time when MSI was going by the name Micro Star International (according to a quick search on ebay and google)
But no, you should not be scared of the things you mentioned.

So, do you think the motherboard should still be good to use/buy even if nobody here including myself has heard of them at all?

That's what I'm trying to decide on currently, lol. I mean, condition-wise it doesn't look too bad although I did notice it comes with no IO-Shield and the Onboard-Graphics are broken but I've got an old NVIDIA GeForce GPU that should(?) work hopefully.

 

12 minutes ago, AT0MAC said:

B) Adobe and the 3D programs im aware of, don't tie them selves to the CPU. But remember, Windows do tie itself to a combination many things, one of them being motherboard, so when you swap the board you will for sure need a new license key for Windows.

16 minutes ago, AT0MAC said:

C) As stated above, you will need to do a fresh install of Windows, or try getting a fresh key working in your installation. If you fresh install, then its also bye bye to the special software you use, and will need to reinstall. should not be a big deal if you actually own a license key, just deactivate it on your current rig and reinstall adobe and your 3D program in the new one, solved.

Ohh Ok so, I can't use Windows 7 which is what's installed on there currently? Damn

I probably should change over to Windows 10 I suppose, haha.

 

19 minutes ago, AT0MAC said:

D) My new motherboard have a internal USB 3.1 header, but my case dont, it works just fine. Your situation is the oposite, and that will also work just fine. If it's a problem to you, then get a PCIe card that gives you the USB 3.0 ports you need.

Wait what?  Motherboards are beginning to get Onboard-USB-3.1-Headers meant for cases?? I did not know about that.

I knew certain cases are beginning to get USB-3.1-Type-C ports but I just assumed/guessed that, for power they would just be using power from the Motherboard's Onboard-USB-3.0-Headers

 

23 minutes ago, AT0MAC said:

--by the way, remember that some prebuild systems dont fit other types of motherboards, sometimes the stand offs are in wack positions and cant be easily moved arround.

What do you mean? Wait so, do you mean there's a 50/50 chance that my CPU won't work with another second-hand LGA-1156-Motherboard..?

And in reply to/about the Stand-Offs, I assume they are gonna be a pain to take out when I get round to removing the motherboard  lol --- But it'll be easier with the Stand-Offs on a different motherboard, I hope.

[QuirkyRobot]

@Xiauj Your case's front panel usb 3.0 ports have a cable that needs to be plugged into the motherboard's usb 3.0 header to work. If your motherboard does not have one, you can add an adapter to make it work.

 

adapter looks like this: This adapter allows you to plug the USB 3.0 cable into your USB 2.0 header on your motherboard.

It will only run at usb 2.0 speeds of course.

[Xiauj]

1 minute ago, QuirkyRobot said:

@Xiauj Your case's front panel usb 3.0 ports have a cable that needs to be plugged into the motherboard's usb 3.0 header to work. If your motherboard does not have one, you can add an adapter to make it work.

-snip-

 

adapter looks like this: This adapter allows you to plug the USB 3.0 cable into your USB 2.0 header on your motherboard.

It will only run at usb 2.0 speeds of course.

-snip-

Ohh Ok cool  I might have to get an adapter from say.. Amazon-UK or somewhere then.

 

Do you know, perhaps, if someone does a adapter just like that one you shown above but can convert USB-2.0 from the Mobo-Header to USB-3.1 instead..?

Just in case I for example see a better case and it has USB 3.1 on the front of it

[Electronics Wizardy]

45 minutes ago, Xiauj said:

So....... it's basically 50%-Yes / 50%-No ..?  Oh boy. Lol.

You say about having backups, but, how would I go about backing up the Programs that have/required the Product-Key when installing them/I-currently-use though?  I have no idea on how I would do that if possible which I assume it is..?

You should always have backups, drives will fail. Get a external hdd and use a backup program that makes a image.

 

 

[QuirkyRobot]

3 minutes ago, Xiauj said:

Ohh Ok cool  I might have to get an adapter from say.. Amazon-UK or somewhere then.

 

Do you know, perhaps, if someone does a adapter just like that one you shown above but can convert USB-2.0 from the Mobo-Header to USB-3.1 instead..?

Just in case I for example see a better case and it has USB 3.1 on the front of it

No, lol a USB 3.1 front panel to a USB 2.0 header is an extreme case. If someone has such a nice case with a front USB 3.1 port, usually they would want to use it with the much faster speed of the 3.1 standard.

[Xiauj]

8 minutes ago, QuirkyRobot said:

No, lol a USB 3.1 front panel to a USB 2.0 header is an extreme case. If someone has such a nice case with a front USB 3.1 port, usually they would want to use it with the much faster speed of the 3.1 standard.

-snip-

Oh Ok.

I might just go ahead and look for cases with USB-3.0 on the front of the case I guess  Was gonna go for a case with some possible USB 3.1 Ports and possibly a USB 3.1 Type-C Port but... I guess not, lol

 

Though saying that actually..., they do have PCI-E-Cards with USB 3.1 Type-C, I think? Only reason I was wanting it was because I have a couple of devices that use USB-Type-C.

 That's why I wanted at least one port haha

[QuirkyRobot]

3 minutes ago, Xiauj said:

Oh Ok.

I might just go ahead and look for cases with USB-3.0 on the front of the case I guess  Was gonna go for a case with some possible USB 3.1 Ports and possibly a USB 3.1 Type-C Port but... I guess not, lol

 

Though saying that actually..., they do have PCI-E-Cards with USB 3.1 Type-C, I think? Only reason I was wanting it was because I have a couple of devices that use USB-Type-C.

 That's why I wanted at least one port haha

There are many options, even some with two type c ports in the same card.

[Xiauj]

36 minutes ago, QuirkyRobot said:

-snip-

Hmm yeah, I might just get one of those instead  Maybe..

 

Btw, I know I've kinda already asked this but as said, this is just as an example-question/scenario. This might have already been explained/answered above but.. yeah 

 

IF... for example, I were to keep my current Acer motherboard (instead of swapping it for another) that's in the Pre-Built-PC currently but change the CPU to something like an LGA-1156 Intel-i7-CPU for example.., the Product-Key-Required-Programs and Operating System etc.. should not be affected at all, either? Hopefully? It should try to boot up normally, as normal? Also..., before taking out the current CPU, would I need to change any settings in Windows or anything like that? Or does that get changed by itself?

Edited March 28, 2018 by Xiauj

[QuirkyRobot]

1 minute ago, Xiauj said:

Hmm yeah, I might just get one of those instead  Maybe..

 

Btw, I know I've kinda already asked this but as said, this is just as an example. This might have already been explained/answered above but.. yeah 

 

IF... for example, I were to keep my current Acer motherboard (instead of swapping it for another) that's in the Pre-Built-PC currently but change the CPU to something like an LGA-1156 Intel-i7-CPU for example.., the Product-Key-Required-Programs and Operating System etc.. should not be affected at all, either? Hopefully? It should try to boot up normally, as normal? Also..., before taking out the current CPU, would I need to change any settings in Windows or anything like that? Or does that get changed by itself?

Generally, if the motherboard supports the CPU, it will just work. As for your licenses, I am not 100% sure, but it should work. If not, you can always just put back the old cpu and get things working again.
If you want a more detailed response, you should really post what kind of prebuilt computer you have (SPECS).

[Xiauj]

3 minutes ago, QuirkyRobot said:

Generally, if the motherboard supports the CPU, it will just work. As for your licenses, I am not 100% sure, but it should work. If not, you can always just put back the old cpu and get things working again.
If you want a more detailed response, you should really post what kind of prebuilt computer you have (SPECS).

It's a "Acer Aspire AX3950" Pre-Built-PC.

Also, I don't know what motherboard it is as mentioned in the original post so I dunno if it were to support say FOR EXAMPLE.... an i7.. but the Motherboard is an Acer one I think. I don't know the full, actual name/model/code(s) of it currently.

Edited March 28, 2018 by Xiauj

[QuirkyRobot]

4 minutes ago, Xiauj said:

It's a "Acer Aspire AX3950" Pre-Built-PC.

Also, I don't know what motherboard it is as mentioned in the original post. It's an Acer one I think. I don't know the full, actual name/model/code(s) of it currently.

I found the service manual online:
https://www.advance.no/Pdf.aspx?id=962
 

It lists your motherboard as: MAINBOARD AX1900 INTEL G41 ICH7 GMA X4500 W/RTC BATTERY W/O CPU&MEMORY

 

Because it is a custom board meant for that prebuilt computer, I am not sure how well it will work the type c pcie card. If you do use Amazon to get it, just test it and return it if it doesn't work.

If you are planning to get this system running in a different case, I don't see why not attempt to replace the motherboard with a standard motherboard. Just make sure you have the spare cash because this is money that could be spent on a current up to date system instead. Everything will work.

• Just do some research and see if there is an deactivate/reactivate option to your programs. Or just try Googling if anyone else has tried to move those programs to a different computer. My past experience is with Adobe and Microsoft Office licenses which let you uninstall/deactivate the licenses and reactivate on a different computer.

[Xiauj]

44 minutes ago, QuirkyRobot said:

It lists your motherboard as: MAINBOARD AX1900 INTEL G41 ICH7 GMA X4500 W/RTC BATTERY W/O CPU&MEMORY

Aha.. Interesting!  I'll write that down somewhere now as a note. Thanks for finding that btw dude, I appreciate it! <3

Ohh and it's a custom-one..... that explains why I couldn't find it anywhere at all 

 

44 minutes ago, QuirkyRobot said:

If you are planning to get this system running in a different case, I don't see why not attempt to replace the motherboard with a standard motherboard.

Well..., It's mostly because I'm just a little bit concerned,  and because of this ( Below ->\/ ) which is what would happen as AT0MAC said/explained (in bold) and also what I said just below the quote ->\/

2 hours ago, AT0MAC said:

C) As stated above, you will need to do a fresh install of Windows, or try getting a fresh key working in your installation. If you fresh install, then its also bye bye to the special software you use, and will need to reinstall. should not be a big deal if you actually own a license key, just deactivate it on your current rig and reinstall adobe and your 3D program in the new one, solved.

I didn't buy the Software/Product-Keys from the actual-software/program-websites because the retail-price(s) can be/get insanely high/expensive.. of course. Lol.

Edited March 29, 2018 by Xiauj

[QuirkyRobot]

23 minutes ago, Xiauj said:

Aha.. Interesting!  I'll write that down somewhere now as a note. Thanks for finding that btw dude, I appreciate it! <3

Ohh and it's a custom-one..... that explains why I couldn't find it anywhere at all 

 

Well..., It's mostly because I'm just a little bit concerned,  and because of this ( Below ->\/ ) which is what would happen as AT0MAC said/explained (in bold) and also what I said just below the quote ->\/

I didn't buy the Software/Product-Keys from the actual-software/program-websites because the retail-price(s) can be/get insanely high/expensive.. of course. Lol.

If you software is cracked, I don't think reactivation will be an issue. My advice is if you want to continue this process is to clone your hard drive and test it by just placing it in another computer. (Have that computer boot up from your clone drive). I have done this before when I had issues with my main PC boot drive and I used a portable ssd with Windows 10 installed (which has all the programs I use to run bootcamp windows on my macbook pro). caveat is both my main pc and the portable ssd ran Windows 10, no experience with older OS

 

https://www.pcgamer.com/how-to-clone-a-hard-drive-or-ssd/

 

[AT0MAC]

21 hours ago, Xiauj said:

So, do you think the motherboard should still be good to use/buy even if nobody here including myself has heard of them at all?

That's what I'm trying to decide on currently, lol. I mean, condition-wise it doesn't look too bad although I did notice it comes with no IO-Shield and the Onboard-Graphics are broken but I've got an old NVIDIA GeForce GPU that should(?) work hopefully.

Yes, I would not be afraid of buying a Foxxconn board, they do after all make a big share of the worlds electronics under other brand names, like Apple or HP just to mention some that have used their services. You should however check up on how well driver support is before buying, that could be a real pain if you cant find the right drivers because the brand is basically unheard of.

 

Quote

Ohh Ok so, I can't use Windows 7 which is what's installed on there currently? Damn

I probably should change over to Windows 10 I suppose, haha.

If you swap motherboard you break your Windows licens and will need either a fresh install or a new key. Especially if it's a OEM licens you use.

 

Quote

Wait what?  Motherboards are beginning to get Onboard-USB-3.1-Headers meant for cases?? I did not know about that.

I knew certain cases are beginning to get USB-3.1-Type-C ports but I just assumed/guessed that, for power they would just be using power from the Motherboard's Onboard-USB-3.0-Headers

 

That's a USB 3.1 header, my board have one and a growing number of other new boards.

Quote

What do you mean? Wait so, do you mean there's a 50/50 chance that my CPU won't work with another second-hand LGA-1156-Motherboard..?

And in reply to/about the Stand-Offs, I assume they are gonna be a pain to take out when I get round to removing the motherboard  lol --- But it'll be easier with the Stand-Offs on a different motherboard, I hope.

No, was not referring to your CPU, was talking about your motherboard as a whole, if you reuse the same case, then the little metal stand offs it sit atop of, they are sometimes located in strange positions on brand name builds, like HP, Compaq, IBM and such pre-builds. If it's a system that use general parts, just put together in a bundle, like the pre-builds NZXT make now or the ASUS towers you can buy, then there is no problem reusing the case.

 

 

I have a HP Z220 SFF build as one of my machines, there the board looks like this and both shape and stand of holes are not any kind of standard size.

So I can not use a different case, unless Im going to seriously mod it first.

 

 

Your board look like that now:

 

 

To me it looks very similar, so another motherboard in the same case is not an option, you will have to change case - and if you only wanted to change case, then you would need to either mod the new case, or get a different mboard