Motherboard CPU Upgrade

[Sandman69]

Hi,

Great forum.

I am wanting to upgrade my Motherboard so I can get a better CPU but I don't want to have to reinstall windows and all my programmes , games etc, which are spread over several SSD's and HDD's. I would like to go from a AMD CPU to a Intel i7-7700K 4.2 or something around that. Will this be possible to do myself?. Also if I mess up and want to go back to my old Motherboard is there a way to totally clone my pc and all the drives etc. Really want to give this a go but need a back up if it all goes pair shaped.

Alternatively is there another option to upgrade my CPU without a new Motherboard. I use this setup to play steam games like ARMA 3 etc and they are really hard on the CPU. Since the Motherboard socket is fm2+ I am not sure if the "AMD - A10-7890K 4.1GHz" , is a big enough upgrade to help me improve my 20 fps. I think the 7890k is the best and recent FM2+ CPU?, but I dont need the integrated graphics in the 7890k CPU as I have a decent GPU already.

Current PC Setup:

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/ZFXCTH

Thanks and appreciate the help

 

[herrwizo]

You should upgrade the entire motherboard and get a new CPU and memory with it. Your current CPU is already one of the fastest for FM2+ sockets, and getting 7890k would only barely improve performance (user benchmarks say it is approximately 5-7% faster). This socket is dead in terms of upgrading, not worth it to invest further.

Although you might not like this answer, the truth is that a mobo upgrade (especially to a completely different platform) usually requires a full reinstall of Windows and apps. Many times, when you simply reuse your current windows installation and put new hardware inside and try to boot, windows will find drivers and at this point it *might* seem to work fine, but in reality problems will likely start surfacing all around sooner or later, and you will have no clue why. Problems like blue screens, USB ports not working, games stuttering and so on.

Your best budget option at this point is a B350 motherboard for AMD, Ryzen 5 1600 CPU and at least 8 (preferably 16) GB of DDR4 memory. You can keep your current GPU and all storage, and even the PSU will work. Alternatively, you can go for Z270 board with i7 7700k. No matter what you pick, windows reinstall is probably unavoidable.

Take note that new intel cpus with 6 cores (coffee lake series) will surface in about a month or so; you could soon get one of those instead of 7700k if you wait a bit.

 

[Sandman69]

Thanks Herrwizo. I thought as much and appreciate the help. Gutted that I will need to do a full reinstall , but I guess it is what it is. Will have a good think about it.

 

[herrwizo]

No problem. Have a nice day!

 

[Calvin7]

Memory for AMD Athlon X4 860K is DDR3-2133MHz. I would not recommend purchasing single modules and combining singles that have never been tested together and carry no guarantee when combined.

 

[aquielisunari]

You should upgrade the entire motherboard and get a new CPU and memory with it. Your current CPU is already one of the fastest for FM2+ sockets, and getting 7890k would only barely improve performance (user benchmarks say it is approximately 5-7% faster). This socket is dead in terms of upgrading, not worth it to invest further.

Although you might not like this answer, the truth is that a mobo upgrade (especially to a completely different platform) usually requires a full reinstall of Windows and apps. Many times, when you simply reuse your current windows installation and put new hardware inside and try to boot, windows will find drivers and at this point it *might* seem to work fine, but in reality problems will likely start surfacing all around sooner or later, and you will have no clue why. Problems like blue screens, USB ports not working, games stuttering and so on.

Your best budget option at this point is a B350 motherboard for AMD, Ryzen 5 1600 CPU and at least 8 (preferably 16) GB of DDR4 memory. You can keep your current GPU and all storage, and even the PSU will work. Alternatively, you can go for Z270 board with i7 7700k. No matter what you pick, windows reinstall is probably unavoidable.

Take note that new intel cpus with 6 cores (coffee lake series) will surface in about a month or so; you could soon get one of those instead of 7700k if you wait a bit.

In addition to those pearls https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree is a popular and relatively easy tool people use to back up or clone their drives.

 

[Sandman69]

Thank you for the help.

I think the best way ahead is for me to just bite the bullet and buy a new MB , Ram and CPU. I have a GTX 1050ti , so hopefully I can keep that. I am looking to see what the new coffee lake CPU's will be like but not sure when they will be issued , how much , how comparable to current generation and also what socket etc. I really want to get a ( as much as possible ) future proof motherboard. But not entirely sure which one to go for?. I think I do want to go for the new i7-8700k coffee lake.

So (and appreciate the help) my questions are

1.Any idea when the 8700k's will be released and how much will they be?
2. Any advice on what motherboard I should get?
3. If I get the 8700k and a (example) Z370 Motherboard and DDR4 Ram will the other parts be ok?
4. Do I really need to wait for the coffee lake? , will the i7 7700 be more than enough for me..? , also nee dhelp wit choosing a motherboard for the i7 7700 build

Adjusted build. (coffee lake)
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/kqCp6X

Abjust build for i7 7700 , just need help with a good motherboard??
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/xvgTKZ

Thanks again,