[SOLVED] I'm dumb...recommend a motherboard replacement?

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PewterScreaminMach

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Let's get the dumb part out of the way. I was having an issue with my computer shutting down, so I opened it up to check connections. Saw a few PWR-related cables that looked like possible culprits, but I couldn't get them plugged back in properly with the 1080 Ti in the way. I've removed it a bunch of times before but was having trouble with the release latch for the card, so as I pressed and pulled, it literally pulled the PCIE socket right off of the motherboard. Many of the pins are bent and, while it appears to be something that "plugs in", actually doing so doesn't look possible with the dozens of bent pins.

Everything still works with the video cable hooked up directly to the motherboard, but I need to be able to use my 1080 for work-related video editing, along with occasional gaming, so I'll need to replace the motherboard sooner than later.

While I'd love to replace the CPU while I'm at it to a 10850K or similar, I don't have the funds right now, so hoping to keep it to $150 or under shipped for just the mobo. $100 or so would be even better. Other build specs below.

Current mobo: ASRock Z370M Pro4
Must be micro ATX for my case (Fractal Design Define Mini C Silent)
8700k
1080 Ti
4x8GB DDR4 2666
Dark Rock Pro 3 CPU cooler
RM650i PSU

Ironic side note: I fixed the shutting down issue, and it was the wires I suspected.
 
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Also, out of curiosity, has anyone recently attempted to just boot off of the same OS drive without reinstalling Windows after installing a new motherboard?

I'm not asking to try to be lazy, it's just that I got the mobo swap completed, plugged in everything (including the 1080 Ti), and then hit the power button to check that I had power everywhere and the fans were working. BIOS popped up and asked me which drive to boot from, so I selected my main OS drive for the heck of it, and after a few "Windows is updating devices" situations, the computer is now working perfectly.

I've checked temps on hardware, tested a few different programs for video, audio, etc. No issues at all that I can see yet. Waiting for that other shoe to...

PewterScreaminMach

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Also, out of curiosity, has anyone recently attempted to just boot off of the same OS drive without reinstalling Windows after installing a new motherboard?

I'm not asking to try to be lazy, it's just that I got the mobo swap completed, plugged in everything (including the 1080 Ti), and then hit the power button to check that I had power everywhere and the fans were working. BIOS popped up and asked me which drive to boot from, so I selected my main OS drive for the heck of it, and after a few "Windows is updating devices" situations, the computer is now working perfectly.

I've checked temps on hardware, tested a few different programs for video, audio, etc. No issues at all that I can see yet. Waiting for that other shoe to drop and be like, "Oh yeah just kidding, you do need to reinstall." But so far it seems to be all good.
 

TommyTwoTone66

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I could probably remove some of those that I play less often to save space, but it seems like every time I do that, those games end up being the ones I want to play, and then I have to redownload and reinstall.

Yeah if you’re actually playing 1TB of games all at the same time I’d be extremely surprised.

When you move to NVMe for storage then the pain of reinstalling a game isn’t really too bad, since everything happens pretty much instantly.

I used to have a list of games that I would always have installed, “just in case”. But then I realised I was taking them from system to system, hard drive to hard drive, but never playing them.

What I do now is just delete everything every few months, then if I actually want to play a game, I install it. That way you end up with only the games you’re playing right now installed.

I have 500mbit internet now and near-instant NVMe storage, so even installing a big game on steam takes a couple of minutes. It’s not like on HDD when you have to wait half an hour.
 

TommyTwoTone66

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Also, out of curiosity, has anyone recently attempted to just boot off of the same OS drive without reinstalling Windows after installing a new motherboard?

I'm not asking to try to be lazy, it's just that I got the mobo swap completed, plugged in everything (including the 1080 Ti), and then hit the power button to check that I had power everywhere and the fans were working. BIOS popped up and asked me which drive to boot from, so I selected my main OS drive for the heck of it, and after a few "Windows is updating devices" situations, the computer is now working perfectly.

I've checked temps on hardware, tested a few different programs for video, audio, etc. No issues at all that I can see yet. Waiting for that other shoe to drop and be like, "Oh yeah just kidding, you do need to reinstall." But so far it seems to be all good.

You do need to reinstall. It might seem fine but the activation will screw up in a few days.

In terms of running both fans on the dark rock from the same fan header, yes, that is how that cooler works. Pretty much every motherboard only has one CPU fan header.
 
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PewterScreaminMach

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You do need to reinstall. It might seem fine but the activation will screw up in a few days.

In terms of running both fans on the dark rock from the same fan header, yes, that is how that cooler works. Pretty much every motherboard only has one CPU fan header.
Thanks. My Z370M did have two CPU Fan headers, so that's what threw me off (just looked at it, definitely two right next to each other - CPUFAN1 and CPUFAN2 - and that's how they were plugged in to the mobo on the previous setup). Just installed the second fan on the Dark Rock and all appears to be working.

Ran some tests in games, as well, and no issues, so at least it's all working from a hardware point of view. I'll keep an eye on the Windows thing. I have a retail version that's supposedly transferrable to different hardware and have had luck in the past with Microsoft when I call and explained similar situations, so I'll see how it goes when that pops up.

In the end, I really just need to pony up for the 1TB m.2 main drive and reinstall on that, as you said, rather than trying to deal with Microsoft. Based on my setup, which drive would you go with in the $100-ish range? And same question if I decide to just go big and get a 2TB?
 

TommyTwoTone66

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Thanks. My Z370M did have two CPU Fan headers, so that's what threw me off (just looked at it, definitely two right next to each other - CPUFAN1 and CPUFAN2 - and that's how they were plugged in to the mobo on the previous setup). Just installed the second fan on the Dark Rock and all appears to be working.

Ran some tests in games, as well, and no issues, so at least it's all working from a hardware point of view. I'll keep an eye on the Windows thing. I have a retail version that's supposedly transferrable to different hardware and have had luck in the past with Microsoft when I call and explained similar situations, so I'll see how it goes when that pops up.

In the end, I really just need to pony up for the 1TB m.2 main drive and reinstall on that, as you said, rather than trying to deal with Microsoft. Based on my setup, which drive would you go with in the $100-ish range? And same question if I decide to just go big and get a 2TB?

I’d get either the Corsair MP400 or the Crucial P5 in both cases. Whichever drive you can find cheaper.
 
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PewterScreaminMach

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I’d get either the Corsair MP400 or the Crucial P5 in both cases. Whichever drive you can find cheaper.
Thanks. That P5 looks like it.

Man, I just know that if I go 1TB I'm going to regret it since it will probably be 90%+ full all the time, and I'll definitely find myself browsing for stuff to delete that I don't actually want to when it's most inconvenient.

I'm sure this is pretty common, but I feel like with storage space I'm always one size away from where I'm comfortable upgrading to based on my needs.
 

TommyTwoTone66

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I'm sure this is pretty common, but I feel like with storage space I'm always one size away from where I'm comfortable upgrading to based on my needs.

I used to be the same way then I just got a NAS, and offloaded every media file and game installer, all my roms and so on onto that. Anything that didn’t need to be on fast storage basically, and I just got into the habit of deleting steam games regularly that I wasn’t playing right now.

I’m perfectly happy on 500gb but with games getting bigger I do have another 500gb for games
 

PewterScreaminMach

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You do need to reinstall. It might seem fine but the activation will screw up in a few days.
Just FYI on this, the whole "you need to activate Windows" thing popped up. Before swapping motherboards, I confirmed that I had a "Retail" version of Windows 10 Pro and that it was linked to my account, though. So I went to Settings etc., then clicked on the Activation troubleshooter, then "I've recently changed hardware", or something like that.

It ran its little wizard stuff, then asked me to confirm which account/computer I was using, so I did, then it simply activated the software for me and I'm all set. Windows activated, still the retail version, no issues at all.

Is there still something I should be expecting here that will require a reinstall? Everything is working perfectly, temps and benchmarks solid, no issues with drivers in Device Manager, and Windows is properly activated. Still waiting for the other shoe to drop, but now I'm intrigued at how well this appears to be going.
 

InvalidError

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Is there still something I should be expecting here that will require a reinstall? Everything is working perfectly, temps and benchmarks solid, no issues with drivers in Device Manager, and Windows is properly activated. Still waiting for the other shoe to drop, but now I'm intrigued at how well this appears to be going.
Doing a platform swap without re-install is hit-or-miss and you won't know you missed until you start running into random crashes or weird behaviors for no apparent reason that are often impossible to sort out without a re-install unless you are an OS guru or happen to know one.
 

PewterScreaminMach

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Doing a platform swap without re-install is hit-or-miss and you won't know you missed until you start running into random crashes or weird behaviors for no apparent reason that are often impossible to sort out without a re-install unless you are an OS guru or happen to know one.
Basically what I figured, thanks. Sounds to me like the perfect opportunity: stick with it as-is until something goes wrong, then use that as an excuse to finally purchase the 2TB NVME drive I've been wanting forever and use it for a fresh Windows install. Would be much more of a pain to do multiple transfers/backups of everything on my C drive just so I can reinstall Windows on that same older drive...

My wife says I can justify anything once my mind is set on it. I'm starting to think she's right.
 

InvalidError

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Basically what I figured, thanks. Sounds to me like the perfect opportunity: stick with it as-is until something goes wrong, then use that as an excuse to finally purchase the 2TB NVME drive I've been wanting forever and use it for a fresh Windows install.
I do more or less the same thing: buy a new HDD/SSD whenever I have to re-install Windows and could use more storage anyway. That way, I can leave my previous install as-is until I'm done moving everything over and have the option to just boot back into my old install if I realize I missed something I don't have time to re-install at the moment.
 
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PewterScreaminMach

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I do more or less the same thing: buy a new HDD/SSD whenever I have to re-install Windows and could use more storage anyway. That way, I can leave my previous install as-is until I'm done moving everything over and have the option to just boot back into my old install if I realize I missed something I don't have time to re-install at the moment.
Exactly. I'm sticking with this plan and will do as you said as soon as there's any hint of something being wrong with this current install on the new mobo, or as soon as I realize I can justify the expense of the new primary drive at the size I know makes the most sense for my situation.