Upgrade

MrSlavw

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Feb 3, 2012
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Hi All
Thanks for your time , if you read this .

I want to upgrade my system , and need some help. I think I got ahead of myself a lot .

What I currently have : Asus maximus IV gene/gen 3 1155 z 68
i5 2500k
GSkill f3 12800 ddr3 1600 4x 4 gb
kingston hyper x 120 gb ssd (3KSSD)
WD blue 500 sata 3 6gb/s
win 7 64 (installed on ssd)

My new toy is : Asus p8z77 ws
How do i upgrade to this new mb?
I guess clean install of win is best , but maybe I can get away with just plug in the new mb. But have no idea how to start about all drivers (old ones and new ones) and this marvell driver that needs to be installed during windows installation, I was thinking of 120 ssd in marvell sata 6.0 gb/s connector E1( for os) and wd500 gb in marvell E2 ( I guess this is a new install definitely) , but i have found that there are problems with this drver ,and after reading forums how to fix it - its like a"black magic" to me.
Maybe just forget the marvell thing , and use the other INTEL Z77 SATA 6.0 connectors (SATA6G_1 , _2)
what about CPU ? can I upgrade later to ivy (simply swap CPU or reinstall something again?)
RAID - do I need to set this up?
I have build my existing one , but it was just plug and install , now its just to many options , that I have no clue about.
any advise its more than welcome Thank you for your time.

 
Solution
You should only really need to use the Marvell driver if you are planning on booting off of that drive.

Yes, you should just be able to switch the MB, however I would *strongly* recommend a re-install of drivers especially since you are switching to an entirely different chipset (x68 > z77). If you don't it may work, but you will probably get bluescreens and a performance hit.
Hi there,

Let's slow down a bit, nothing to be worried about :)

First things first.

To upgrade the MB it is as simple as disassembling your system, taking the old MB out of your case and putting the new one in, and re-assembling all your components. Easy :)

However, when you go to re-assemble your new parts, you will have to clean the thermal compound off of both the CPU and the cooler, and put new compound on. Here is a good article for that http://www.maximumpc.com/article/howtos/howto_install_cpu_and_apply_thermal_paste

You are right, in that a clean install of windows is always best when switching Motherboards :)

For SATA ports, it is ALWAYS best to use the intel ports, over the Marvell ones. No questions asked, they perform better, are more stable, and just work better always, Especially with an SSD, as the CPU controls them, instead of a 3rd party controller.

CPU upgrades, are easy. Once you get an Ivy CPU, just remove the heatsink and CPU, install the new CPU (using the same process to replace the thermal compound) and you are good to go :)

RAID, no you do not need this at all. All that that does is allow you to use multiple HDD's and have your system see them as a single drive. Not necessary at all.
 

MrSlavw

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Feb 3, 2012
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Ok, all that is easy , do You think I can try and just swap the mb , without new windows installation ? Or don't even bother , and if in the future I need more SATA ports I will have to reinstall all with this marvell driver, or I can use them without that driver?
 
You should only really need to use the Marvell driver if you are planning on booting off of that drive.

Yes, you should just be able to switch the MB, however I would *strongly* recommend a re-install of drivers especially since you are switching to an entirely different chipset (x68 > z77). If you don't it may work, but you will probably get bluescreens and a performance hit.
 
Solution