[SOLVED] upgrading from a msi a320m pro-vh plus (ms-7b07) to something more up-to-date

[xray559]

What are the steps to upgrading an MSI a320m pro-vh plus (ms-7b07) to a more up to date AMD motherboard? Do I have to reinstall windows 10, or can I just uninstall my current chipset for the msi a320m pro-vh plus (ms-7b07) and then install a new motherboard without reinstalling windows? If I do have to reinstall windows, do I uninstall windows after or before I Install a new motherboard? Also, will drives outside of the OS's drive, still, keep their data? Will programs outside of the OS's drive, require a reinstallation too?

Also, what do I have to consider when upgrading to another motherboard? Like does compatibility with the case matter (Will the motherboard fit)?

Specs:
Computer: MSI MS-7B07
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 (Pinnacle Ridge, PiR-B2)
3900 MHz (39.00x100.0) @ 3749 MHz (37.50x100.0)
Motherboard: MSI A320M PRO-VH PLUS (MS-7B07)
BIOS: 3.E0, 01/22/2019
Chipset: AMD A320 (Promontory)
Memory: 16384 MBytes @ 1466 MHz, 16-17-17-35
- 8192 MB PC23900 DDR4 SDRAM - Corsair CMK16GX4M2B3000C15
- 8192 MB PC23900 DDR4 SDRAM - Corsair CMK16GX4M2B3000C15
Graphics: Zotac GeForce GTX 1060 AMP!/Mini
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB, 6144 MB GDDR5 SDRAM
Drive: ADATA SU655, 117.2 GB, Serial ATA 6Gb/s @ 6Gb/s
Drive: TOSHIBA HDWD110, 976.8 GB, Serial ATA 6Gb/s @ 6Gb/s
Drive: ADATA SU800, 500.1 GB, Serial ATA 6Gb/s @ 6Gb/s <-> USB
OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Home (x64) Build 18363.1139 (1909/November 2019 Update)

 

[logainofhades]

New motherboard, it is best to do a fresh install of Windows. Your other drives will keep their data, as long as you do not format those. It is probably best to leave them unconnected, for the install, to prevent an accidental format of the wrong drive. The case needs to support the form factor of the board you buy. What are you hoping to achieve by going to a new board?

 

[xray559]

New motherboard, it is best to do a fresh install of Windows. Your other drives will keep their data, as long as you do not format those. It is probably best to leave them unconnected, for the install, to prevent an accidental format of the wrong drive. The case needs to support the form factor of the board you buy. What are you hoping to achieve by going to a new board?

I'm trying to get a new motherboard that has OC capability with cpu's and 4 ram slots. And the a320 or just the 300 series of motherboards seem to be getting even more faded out. I'm thinking about getting a gigabyte b450m ds3h or msi b450 tomahawk max. Still need to research more though.

 

[kanewolf]

I'm trying to get a new motherboard that has OC capability with cpu's and 4 ram slots. And the a320 or just the 300 series of motherboards seem to be getting even more faded out. I'm thinking about getting a gigabyte b450m ds3h or msi b450 tomahawk max. Still need to research more though.

Four RAM slots are not something that should be a deciding factor -- or even a factor IMO. Adding RAM to existing RAM is a gamble at best, maybe an outright failure. Ryzen CPUs have dual channel memory controllers and they operate optimally with two DIMMs.

 

[xray559]

Four RAM slots are not something that should be a deciding factor -- or even a factor IMO. Adding RAM to existing RAM is a gamble at best, maybe an outright failure. Ryzen CPUs have dual channel memory controllers and they operate optimally with two DIMMs.

Will an a320 hold up for a good amount of years?

 

[kanewolf]

Will an a320 hold up for a good amount of years?

Unknown. Any electronics device can last a day or a decade.
I am not saying that a B450 is a bad upgrade from an A320, I am just saying don't use 4 dimm slots as a discriminator between B450 boards.

 

[xray559]

Unknown. Any electronics device can last a day or a decade.
I am not saying that a B450 is a bad upgrade from an A320, I am just saying don't use 4 dimm slots as a discriminator between B450 boards.

Is an upgrade to the b450 actually worth it for gaming and support for newer cpus? Or can the a320 still work fine in comparison?

 

[kanewolf]

Is an upgrade to the b450 actually worth it for gaming and support for newer cpus? Or can the a320 still work fine in comparison?

B450s are supposed to get firmware to support the 5000 series CPUs. I doubt that 300 series motherboards will.

 

[xray559]

New motherboard, it is best to do a fresh install of Windows. Your other drives will keep their data, as long as you do not format those. It is probably best to leave them unconnected, for the install, to prevent an accidental format of the wrong drive. The case needs to support the form factor of the board you buy. What are you hoping to achieve by going to a new board?

Why does windows have to be reinstalled though? Is it because of the windows license?

 

[kanewolf]

Why does windows have to be reinstalled though? Is it because of the windows license?

No, it is because of the differing hardware with a new motherboard. If you don't do a new OS install, there are still remnants of the old motherboard left in the Windows registry.

 

[DSzymborski]

Why does windows have to be reinstalled though? Is it because of the windows license?

Windows isn't designed to be modular (unless you have a very specific Windows-to-Go version which you would know if you did). It's all tailored to your current system. Just chucking an existing Windows install into a new platform is pretty much the same as giving someone a blood transfusion without knowing their blood type.