Hi y’all, i used to be so prolific at the whole pc building thing. but now i’m out of the game with age and not buying stuff in a while. so here’s my question:

my PC is fine and i upgraded parts of it during the years. but it may be time for a new motherboard, since mine only supports 32gb of RAM which isnt enough anymore.

what do I need to do to replace my motherboard? I guess, i’d have to re-install everything, right? Isn’t windows and all the software kinda bound to my motherboard?

since i’m fine with my 2060Super, i guess getting a new PC is not worth it, my case and hard drives are fine. i will need new RAM and SSDs. So what should I look for in a motherboard?

thanks for reading this ramble

  • @ProjectPatatoeEnglish
    8•6 months ago

    Really depends what you have now and what you are looking to achieve. The “core 3” i call it, are mobo, ram, and cpu that needs to be generationally compatible. These tend to but not always be purchased at the same time.

    If you are keeping your C drive, then no, you dont have to reinstall everythimg. Windows licensing is weird now. I think its supposed to be transferrable if you disable the previous computer since it is account bound. Someone else will need you comment on that. That is a ‘legit’ license issue. Most other software wont care if your cpu or mobo changes.

    If windows is installed on a harddrive and not an ssd, then i would strongly reccomend you do a fresh install on a new ssd. You can plug in your old drive after install to transfer files. Then wipe it and use as storage.

    As long as you pick a compatible mobo. Theres not really any difference between them for most people. Mostly just IO differences.

    • @MightyOPEnglish
      6•6 months ago

      thanks for your comment. windows is on a ssd, but i’d like a second one to load some stuff faster. my stuff was bought and configured 10+ years ago so my SSD is 128gb

    • TipponEnglish
      5•6 months ago

      I’m not sure about Windows 11, but I’ve transferred a licence on Windows 10. If OP gives the existing computer an unique name it will make transferring the licence slightly easier.

      You need to install the same version of Windows on both computers - home or pro, not the version number

      Build the new PC as usual and start the Windows installation. When it asks if you have a licence, select the option to add it later (I can’t remember the exact wording). Finish the installation and install your drivers. Either click the activation popup, or go into settings and click on the ‘This computer isn’t activated’ box. Open the activation troubleshooter.

      There should be an option in there to transfer the licence from your old computer to the new one. If you have multiple licenses, having the unique name for the old computer makes it easier to see which one is the correct one.

      @[email protected] hope this helps :)

      • @MightyOPEnglish
        2•5 months ago

        i’ll save this comment to look back on it when it’s actually time. this all sounds so well-thought-out. i’m really humbled by your thoughtful advice