[SOLVED] Need advice on mobo upgrade / Windows reinstall

[Theredcelt]

Hey all,

Apologies if this is the incorrect thread - it stems from the mobo, but affects the entire system and Windows so unsure where to post it.

I'm looking to upgrade my motherboard in the near future as it's getting rather dated, and of course that means also upgrading my CPU, RAM (old mobo was DDR3), and a fresh install of Windows (as it was originally a prebuild with retail version). So, I'm hoping some folk with greater knowledge might be able to clarify a few things for me:

My plan is to get an M2 SSD to put a fresh install of Windows OS onto and use as the boot drive, but keep my old 2.5" SSD for programs and storage - is it possible to remove the OS from that drive but while keep all other data including programs and games?
I'm guessing they might not be executable without a reinstall, in which case is it just a case of replacing program/game files with the original copies once installed?
Are there any issues that might arise from this plan that I haven't thought of?
And while on topic, I plan on getting a Ryzen 5 3600 and Aorus X570 Elite mobo - how do these stand in terms of future proofing/performance, with a <£500 budget?

Thanks in advance for the time taken with any replies!

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

is it possible to remove the OS from that drive but while keep all other data including programs and games?

any application or game that needs particular system files or registry settings cannot just be copy\pasted to another OS. but some can.
you'd have to try them all from the new location and see which can still startup correctly.

for games on Steam or other distributors;
since the files would already be in place but using a different drive letter,
you should be able to just reinstall the main client(like Steam) choosing it's new location.
when you launch and sign in it will check game files and only update what's necessary.

I plan on getting a Ryzen 5 3600 and Aorus X570 Elite mobo - how do these stand in terms of future proofing/performance

that depends on what you mean by "future proof".
it's already not the best option out there so a couple years from now it will be even lower on the performance list.

 

[Theredcelt]

that depends on what you mean by "future proof"

I suppose it would be better to say, futureproofing vs price; if I understand the economics, it seems only worthwhile buying newly released components if you are a real enthusiast or keen first adopter with money to burn, as it appears to be a bit of a false economy in relation to slightly lesser performing components that are cheaper but older. So I don't think it's as cost effective against time to buy the latest generation components over the previous, if that makes sense? Or am I a blasphemer lol?

But as for your reply, that makes sense - I was worried about the intricacies over the registry and the finer compatibilities of how everything would react to a brand new OS, but all things considered it seems it might be less headache in this case to just install everything fresh and let Steam cloud do its thing, and just note any other program settings - thanks very much!

One more question: will the SSD play nice straight away if hooked up to the new mobo build as is, or would there be any conflict due to the old OS or file remnants being on it?
In short, do I need to back up what I want to save, then format the SSD to avoid issues?

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

One more question: will the SSD play nice straight away if hooked up to the new mobo build as is, or would there be any conflict due to the old OS or file remnants being on it?
In short, do I need to back up what I want to save, then format the SSD to avoid issues?

always disconnect all other drives when installing an OS.
system partitions may be created on other disks that can cause issues later on.
if the SSD is the only drive available all of the OS & system partitions will be created on that disk and it will be set as the default disk.
later, when connecting the old drive(s) you should be able to access them without any problem.