Question Upgrade Motherboard only (on older system) ?

Oct 26, 2022
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I've been out of the "build your own rig" for a while. My son has an older system that has the following key components:

ATX Case with a 750 Power Supply
Gigabyte 297X-SLI motherboard that supports PCI Express 3.x
Intel i7-4790K processor
18 GB RAM @ 1600MHz
2 TB SSD that I installed
AMD Radeon RX 580 GTS Black Edition 8GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Graphics card

I was wondering if I can just upgrade the Motherboard to a new Gigabyte MB that supports PCI Express 4.0 so he can upgrade the graphics card. Could I just move the CPU and RAM and other components into the system or would that create problems that I'm not foreseeing?
 

USAFRet

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I was wondering if I can just upgrade the Motherboard to a new Gigabyte MB that supports PCI Express 4.0 so he can upgrade the graphics card. Could I just move the CPU and RAM and other components into the system or would that create problems that I'm not foreseeing?
There no motherboard that talks to both that i7-4790k AND PCIe 4.0.

Time for a whole new system.
The above mention for a PSU is due to age.
 

Zerk2012

Titan
Ambassador
I've been out of the "build your own rig" for a while. My son has an older system that has the following key components:

ATX Case with a 750 Power Supply
Gigabyte 297X-SLI motherboard that supports PCI Express 3.x
Intel i7-4790K processor
18 GB RAM @ 1600MHz
2 TB SSD that I installed
AMD Radeon RX 580 GTS Black Edition 8GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Graphics card

I was wondering if I can just upgrade the Motherboard to a new Gigabyte MB that supports PCI Express 4.0 so he can upgrade the graphics card. Could I just move the CPU and RAM and other components into the system or would that create problems that I'm not foreseeing?
That can't be done only the newer boards support 4.0 but your 4790 will not work with any newer boards.

You can still use a 4.0 card on that motherboard without problems. It would take about a RTX 3080 or so to saturate a 3.0 lane.

This is just one game but shows almost no difference.
https://static.techspot.com/articles-info/2104/bench/RE3-p.webp
 
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Oct 26, 2022
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The OS install will not work in the new hardware.
The OS license might.

2 different things.

Where did the current WIndows license come from?
I bought the PC used. It was a custom built PC and has Windows 10 pro on it.

I was reading on one artilce that you can move a Windows 10 OS HDD to a n upgraded build and it will detect the hardware changes but that seems (from you) that it wouldn't work.
 

USAFRet

Titan
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I bought the PC used. It was a custom built PC and has Windows 10 pro on it.

I was reading on one artilce that you can move a Windows 10 OS HDD to a n upgraded build and it will detect the hardware changes but that seems (from you) that it wouldn't work.
You're conflating 2 different things...the license and the operation.

The license may well be transferable to new hardware.
The drive+OS will almost certainly NOT work in 8 generation newer hardware.

Assuming you have a Microsoft account, is this current system and its license listed there?
What does it say about the licensing?

The new system will need a fresh OS install, and maybe you can apply your license tot he new system and the OS.
 
Oct 26, 2022
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0
10
You're conflating 2 different things...the license and the operation.

The license may well be transferable to new hardware.
The drive+OS will almost certainly NOT work in 8 generation newer hardware.

Assuming you have a Microsoft account, is this current system and its license listed there?
What does it say about the licensing?

The new system will need a fresh OS install, and maybe you can apply your license tot he new system and the OS.
I wasn't conflating as much as wondering. I understand taht OEM licenses for Windows are non-transferrable.

I have read in some articles that you can backup your old install (in case things go awry) and then install the hard drive into the build. In some cases, Windows 10 will continue and notice the components that have changed and allow for the install of new drivers, etc.

I've done a bunch of fresh installs of Windows on new PC's but was hoping this might work if others have tried. The SSD in the current system is only a year old Samsung 2TB SSD. One way or another I can still use the HDD. I was simply hoping I'd be able to move all the stuff over from the current build I could probably figure out a 3rd party software solution to move the programs and saved data over.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
In some cases, Windows 10 will continue and notice the components that have changed and allow for the install of new drivers, etc.
Moving a drive+OS to a new system, there are 3 possibilities:
  1. It works just fine
  2. It fails completely
  3. It "works", but you're chasing issues for weeks/months.
I've personally seen all 3.

#3 is the most likely, and if you had just done a fresh install in the new system, avoid the future problems.

I could probably figure out a 3rd party software solution to move the programs and saved data over.
Programs, no.
Data...move that yourself.
 
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What do y'all think about these components?
https://newegg.io/82d107d

Do I need to buy a Windows license or is there a way to move my current Windows 10 OS install to this once I get the components installed?
I would do something like this ...

TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z DDR4 3200MHz 16GB (2x8GB) CL16 $47.99

https://www.amazon.com/PNY-CS2130-Internal-Solid-State/dp/B0869B4Q66/
PNY CS2130 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe Gen3 x4 SSD $69.99

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09SVZRM13
GIGABYTE B660 Gaming X AX DDR4 $139.99

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B660-GAMING-X-AX-DDR4-rev-10#kf

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098D84SLF
Thermalright Assassin X 120 SE CPU Cooler $19.90

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-12400F-Desktop-Processor-Cache/dp/B09NPJRDGD/
Intel Core i5-12400F $174.99

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/u...2400f-processor-18m-cache-up-to-4-40-ghz.html

i5 12400 / 12400F gaming benchmarks.

i512400.jpg
 
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Zerk2012

Titan
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What do y'all think about these components?
https://newegg.io/82d107d

Do I need to buy a Windows license or is there a way to move my current Windows 10 OS install to this once I get the components installed?
If your going that far and going to buy a new video card then you should replace your old power supply you might as well build a whole new PC and sell yours as a working PC.

Edit. something like this would work for up to a 1440p monitor.
Remove your 2TB SSD and replace it with the one listed and use it in the new build. You can use windows 10 for free just unregistered.
Probably get about 400 for your current PC.

The motherboard will need a BIOS update but has a BIOS flash button so it's easy.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-13600K 3.5 GHz 14-Core Processor ($329.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML280 Mirror Liquid CPU Cooler ($79.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX500 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($47.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus TUF GAMING OC GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8 GB Video Card ($659.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM850x (2021) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1722.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-10-26 18:43 EDT-0400
 
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