Top of the range computer with my SDD!

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  1. Posts : 52
    Windows 7 Home Premium
    Thread Starter
       #11

    specialkone: Thanks for the input, I am not a gamer but I like (in the past full towers) plenty of room for cabling, looking at Corsair Obsidian range at moment...any thoughts on a good reliable case Midi & above & room for cabling that doesn't cost the earth. Also looking at AMD Athlon x4 860k 3.7ghz with silent fan (Always had AMD's) Intel i7 in my Dell laptop (quite impressed with that), motherboards MSI or Gigabyte can't yet decide.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 2,086
    Windows 11 Pro 64
       #12

    peter4076 said:
    specialkone: Thanks for the input, I am not a gamer but I like (in the past full towers) plenty of room for cabling, looking at Corsair Obsidian range at moment...any thoughts on a good reliable case Midi & above & room for cabling that doesn't cost the earth. Also looking at AMD Athlon x4 860k 3.7ghz with silent fan (Always had AMD's) Intel i7 in my Dell laptop (quite impressed with that), motherboards MSI or Gigabyte can't yet decide.
    First thing you will have to do is decide on the CPU as that will dictate the motherboard, ram, etc. Here's a review of CPUs from Tom's Hardware:

    Top of the range computer with my SDD!-cpu.png

    Best CPUs of 2017 - Top Picks for Gaming and Performance

    Both AMD and Intel make good chips, My preference, like Tom's review, is the intel I7 6700K Skylake. For motherboards, I would also add Asus to the mix. It's my personal preference but they tend to be more expensive. If you choose a Skylake CPU, you will need a LGA 1151 socket compliant (Z170) motherboard.

    Once you decide on CPU and MB, you need to think about CPU cooling as that can affect the case you get. I like closed loop water (Corsair). If you decide on for example single or dual 120mm radiator fans you have to make sure you choose a case that fits your cooling selection.

    Cases themselves are a very personal choice. Air flow, number of fans, are indeed king and for me full tower is the best option as I have the space. Of course, you need a case that looks good to you. Some good choices are at the link below:

    Best PC Cases of 2017 - Gaming and High-Performance

    You will have to consider power supply (Seasonic/EVGA are what I like), memory (DDR4 for Skylake) and of course GPU (maybe GTX 1070-1080).

    The best advice I can offer you is do your own detailed research, list the components you are considering AND get comments from the PC build experts on this forum before you buy. I'm not one of them. Essembe is our resident PC build Guru. He is one knowledgeable, great guy who I'm sure will offer up his guidance.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 52
    Windows 7 Home Premium
    Thread Starter
       #13

    I'm going for the EVGA , I ilke the GTX (running earlier model on this computer) my 3 laptops Elite, XBS, & Vostro running i5-i7, but not being a gamer have always for reliability favoured the AMD on the desktop with either AM3 or FM2+
    previous mobo's have been Asus, Gigabyte & MSI been pleased with all of them, been building since Win95, 98, Millinium, Vista, XP, missed out Win 8, win 10 pro/premium on some computers...addicted is the word I'm looking for. Case I like is the Fractal Design Define R5...jury's out at the moment.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 424
    Windows 10 Home
       #14

    So this is what I did to get everything to work. Windows 10 is awesome with dealing with major hardware changes. I swapped my motherboard with a completely different brand one and really had no issues. Just swap your hardware and let windows do the rest. Be sure to uninstall all old drivers and reinstall updated ones after u do this, windows will not be activated. U will h e to contact microsoft, tell them h replaced the motherboard and give them your activation code. They will take control of your computer and add your code to the new hardware and active. From there ur free to reinstall windows if u would like.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 52
    Windows 7 Home Premium
    Thread Starter
       #15

    N00berG00ber: Cheers for the info, "Be sure to uninstall all old drivers and reinstall updated ones after u do this, windows will not be activated" how do I uninstall the drivers, because I am replacing mobo, memory, graphics card & power unit, sorry for being dim, haven't done this in years.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 134,236
    Windows 11 Pro (x64) 23H2 Build 22631.3296
       #16

    peter4076 said:
    N00berG00ber: Cheers for the info, "Be sure to uninstall all old drivers and reinstall updated ones after u do this, windows will not be activated" how do I uninstall the drivers, because I am replacing mobo, memory, graphics card & power unit, sorry for being dim, haven't done this in years.
    Best way is to do a clean install of Windows 10. Before doing so you should make a complete image backup using a program like Macrium Reflect, and store it on a external drive. Then download your Windows iso, and do a clean install of your Windows 10. This will save you from having issues down the road. This is what I have done on any new build. Links below that might help you.
    Macrium Reflect Free
    Windows 10 - Clean Install - Windows 10 Tutorials
      My Computers


  7. Posts : 2,086
    Windows 11 Pro 64
       #17

    Yep, that's what I did minus the backup so I guess I was living dangerously.

    Put in the SSD which had Win 10 on it. It wouldn't activate. Called Microsoft, got it activated. Then made a bootable USB drive from Essenbe's tutorial and did a clean install. That gets rid of any remnants of the old drivers.

    Windows 10 did a fairly good job of installing drivers for the new hardware. If I remember correctly, I didn't have any red x's in device manager. However, I wanted to make sure I had the latest manufacturer's drivers AND their software, especially for the motherboard. Here's an example of the driver, bios, software options on this Asus MB. I'm sure other manufacturers would have similar options.

    Top of the range computer with my SDD!-asusmb.png
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 52
    Windows 7 Home Premium
    Thread Starter
       #18

    Cheers OldMike65 & specialkone, for the sake of £90 for Samsung SSD, will probably do the backup with Samsung's cloning software.
    Just waiting for all the items to arrive, all promised for January 10th at the latest, will let you know the outcome.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 134,236
    Windows 11 Pro (x64) 23H2 Build 22631.3296
       #19

    peter4076 said:
    Cheers OldMike65 & specialkone, for the sake of £90 for Samsung SSD, will probably do the backup with Samsung's cloning software.
    Just waiting for all the items to arrive, all promised for January 10th at the latest, will let you know the outcome.
    I would NOT use Samsung's cloning software to make your Image Backup. Macrium Reflect is FREE, and MUCH Better than anything Samsung has. But....its your choice.
      My Computers


  10. Posts : 424
    Windows 10 Home
       #20

    Don't download drivers off Asus website. Chances are they are not up to date. The only things u may have to download from there is bios and audio drivers if u have supreme FX audio or something similar.
      My Computer


 

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