first time building :D

[bloodkin]

hey

i'm a bit new to building and modding my pc, i've mostly changed video cards, memory and small stuff like that, but now i want to switch motherboard, cpu, case and possibly power feed.

Here's my question: if i change my motherboard and cpu, can i still use my current OS, or should i reinstall ?

i also have a 550w power feed, but i think it's not going to be enough.
i also think that my gpu is getting bottlenecked by my cpu atm.

My current pc:

CPU: AMP phenom 9650 quad core, still at 2.3 GHz (no overclocking)

Motherboard: unknown, it's a stock one but i don't know what make it is.

memory: 2x stock 2GB, 2x GeIL 1066 DDR-2 2GB (black dragon)

1x 500GB HDD

1x 1 tera external (yes, this combined is rlly enough for me)

GPU: n560gtx-ti twin frozr II (about 6/7 months old, but very stable, no problems yet)

OS windows 7 ultimate 64 bit

[Scouse]

Getting a new Mobo/CPU means that your currently installed OS will probably not recognize/be able to 'communicate' with this new hardware. You should definitely do a clean install of your OS once replacing such key hardware, to ensure that the correct drivers are installed, and unneeded or outdated ones are not left.

That said, I'd also add some RAM to your list. Imo, around 8GB is a nice amount to have if you're going to be gaming, and it typically isn't all too expensive.

[jmacphee9]

you will probably have to reinstall. worst comes to worse, try it and if it works it works, if not reinstall.