Can I Just Format my HDD or Do i need to wipe? (MOBO/CPU/RAM NEW INSTALL)

[drukun]

Hello all,

I recently decided to upgrade from my old mobo, cpu, and ram to something new for the headway of streaming and gaming. I know almost absolutely nothing on this stuff and after a few hours of confusing research, i decided my best bet was you guys as always.

I've heard there are ways around it, but the "easiest" way to upgrade from AMD to Intel is to do a hdd wipe and windows reinstall with the new stuff, but im not exactly sure how to do that. I havent found a guide that makes enough sense to me currently to push me through to doing it myself.

My old set up was;

Raedon RX 480
Gigabyte board (Model 970A-D3P)
8GB Ram (DDR3)
AMD FX 8100
SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

My new setup will keep the Raedon and PSU, but instead have;

Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
MSI Z170-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
G.Skill Ripjaws 4 Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory

Can i just possibly format the HDD, take everything out and swap it and just plug and update to everything new? Or would that still cause the driver issues? Or could someone find me a guide that can basically be read to a 1st grader on how to do it easily and unstressfully?

Thanks all!

 

[fpga123]

Well I have not experienced any problems with Windows 10 while doing what you did. I don't see the need to do a wipe at all. If you do have 10, try to run it with the new config. If it doesn't work then just reinstall windows and in the setup, format the partition you are installing it into. that's it.

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

I agree, Windows 10 can usually reconfigure itself for new hardware, that's one of it's major attractions.
I can forgive it's drawbacks with a killer feature like that.

(I still don't want it though, not until I've absolutely no choice - - - It won't run my version of Photoshop which I can't be without, and upgrade is several hundred pounds which I can't afford just now).

 

[drukun]

Thanks for answering guys! I shouldve clarified that im currently running Windows 8.1, not 10. If i need to ill upgrade to 10, but i prefer my 8.1

I read somewhere recently that even 8 has a similar feature where if i boot from bios with a disc drive or usb iso, i can do a repair of sorts and itll get rid of what i dont need and get me basics of what i need. How legitimate is that?

 

[Vasil_1]

Take a look at this: http://www.thewindowsclub.com/the-system-preparation-tool-sysprep-in-microsoft-windows-7. Just run the sysprep on your old hardware, wait to finish. Shutdown your PC, change your hardware and turn on again. Your system should adapt to the new hardware.