Best course of action when going from Intel to AMD CPU

[RodneyStanger]

So I've finally gone ahead and made the order for my new parts, and in the process of upgrading I'll be changing my old i5 to a Ryzen 5.

Now I've gathered there's quite a bit of conflict especially regarding to the drivers of the old mobo compared to the new one. Is the easiest/most painless way to go about it to just backup the files I want and do a completely fresh install with the new mobo and if so, since my windows I'm currently running is OEM, would I need to get a new copy of windows?

If there's some other option (such as some OOBE I've been trying to read up on), would that be easier?

[Fascinate]

What parts did you get? You will likely need a new windows key, but ive heard of people getting away with calling microsoft saying their motherboard died. Id personally keep the old PC whole and sell it, then just get a new case etc for your new one.

[Tiberria]

Yes - whenever you're making a significant hardware change, and certainly a new motherboard/CPU/chipset would qualify, it's always better to just do a clean Windows install, because even though its probably possible to clone it over or something, you are asking for a mess if you don't start from screath.

If your current Windows license is an OEM license (basically not a retail license or retail box), you do need to buy a new license for a new motherboard. Motherboard is what Microsoft uses as the delimiter of requiring a new license. If it's a retail license, you can just call them and have it moved over. You could try calling them and claiming your board died and you had to replace it, and might be able to convince them to activate it. You can also get a legit license for ~$30 from Kinguin. There are multiple reputable YouTubers recommending it, so it appears to be legitimate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXTqz3Fd28M as an example.

[RodneyStanger]

Ended up going with:

MSI B350 PC MATE
AMD Ryzen 5 1600 3.2 GHz 19MB
be quiet! Pure Rock
G.Skill 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 2400MHz CL15 Flare X
ASUS GeForce GTX 1070 8GB ROG STRIX DC3 OC

For the monitor I went with the Asus ROG Swift PG278QR just because I could get it super cheap ($200+ discount).

So essentially all I'd need to add is a new PSU, though seeing as how my old one was massively over budgeted in my pre built PC (http://www.coolermaster.com/powersup...ro-gold-1200w/) I feel like it's worth holding on to. As for the case, I do like my current one. It would be a quite big relief not to have to empty out the old one I suppose though, but in the end I feel it's worth it (and hey, I won't have to deal with moving the SSD & HDD).

Btw, in regards to getting a new windows key which is in the end probably what I'm going to go ahead with to not have to bother with contacting windows and whatnot. Will reinstalling a fresh copy of windows wipe my C drive? Both my drives? Or only windows settings? Also, I'm currently on windows 7 so I guess I'll have to get used to windows 10 (is it worth?).

[Moozart]

What parts did you get? You will likely need a new windows key, but ive heard of people getting away with calling microsoft saying their motherboard died. Id personally keep the old PC whole and sell it, then just get a new case etc for your new one.

This has worked for me MANY times. Worst case scenario you can get a cheap OEM windows pro key for less than $30 from plces like g2a and kinguin

- - - Updated - - -

Ended up going with:

MSI B350 PC MATE
AMD Ryzen 5 1600 3.2 GHz 19MB
be quiet! Pure Rock
G.Skill 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 2400MHz CL15 Flare X
ASUS GeForce GTX 1070 8GB ROG STRIX DC3 OC

For the monitor I went with the Asus ROG Swift PG278QR just because I could get it super cheap ($200+ discount).

So essentially all I'd need to add is a new PSU, though seeing as how my old one was massively over budgeted in my pre built PC (http://www.coolermaster.com/powersup...ro-gold-1200w/) I feel like it's worth holding on to. As for the case, I do like my current one. It would be a quite big relief not to have to empty out the old one I suppose though, but in the end I feel it's worth it (and hey, I won't have to deal with moving the SSD & HDD).

Btw, in regards to getting a new windows key which is in the end probably what I'm going to go ahead with to not have to bother with contacting windows and whatnot. Will reinstalling a fresh copy of windows wipe my C drive? Both my drives? Or only windows settings? Also, I'm currently on windows 7 so I guess I'll have to get used to windows 10 (is it worth?).

Your main drive will be 100% formatted upon installing. Now the way around that is you can use your new key to register your old install. I would suggest a complete fresh install on a new build however.

My editing system is an 1800x base and there is no way with some of the smaller issues that were floating around out there i would had added to them by trying to re-use an old windows drive from a different machine.

[RodneyStanger]

Yeah okay, freah install it is! So do I need to wipe my C drive before disassembling or will that get sorted when I start installing the new OS? I've tried searching but can't seem to find any guide or so on my specific situation (swapping from intel to AMD) so any help on the steps I need to take would be greatly appreciated.

And just to make sure, I won't need to touch my secondary HDD? Seeing as it's filled with close to 2TB of stuff I'd want to backup otherwise.

[Moozart]

Yeah okay, freah install it is! So do I need to wipe my C drive before disassembling or will that get sorted when I start installing the new OS? I've tried searching but can't seem to find any guide or so on my specific situation (swapping from intel to AMD) so any help on the steps I need to take would be greatly appreciated.

And just to make sure, I won't need to touch my secondary HDD? Seeing as it's filled with close to 2TB of stuff I'd want to backup otherwise.

New OS will give the option of wiping C, 2nd drive should be fine the way it is as its just a data drive.