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DanDust
Hi there,
I'm hoping for some advice please. System specs given at the end.
My long standing trusty Z87 motherboard has sadly died (definitely confirmed it's that - see notes at end).
So I'm looking at either replacing it (with a Z97 mobo) or taking the opportunity to upgrade Motherboard/CPU/RAM.
Upgrading feels like the more sensible choice if I can stomach the cost. I don't have stacks of cash, but I've been using the same machine for 7 years and think I can get an 8th gen CPU and quality future proofed z390 motherboard at a reasonable net cost (see estimates at the end) after I sell the older components which are still functional. HOWEVER, my current system is still Windows 7, and reading online it seems after intel 6th gen CPUs win7 is not (easily) possible.
SO THE FIRST QUESTION IS:
- If I do the mobo/cpu/ram upgrade now, what will happen if I try and boot up my current Win7 SSD on a new mobo/cpu/ram combination?
- Will my existing Windows 7 fail to run? Or could it boot up ok? (maybe the issue is installing win7, not running it?)
- Or would it be clever enough to ask me to upgrade to windows 10 there and then? (doubt it)
- Or would I risk messing up my SSD somehow? (seems unlikely)
My gut feeling is that it simply won't boot up, so this leads to the...
SECOND QUESTION:
- If I make a fresh install of Windows 10 (after backing up my old SSD user files and reformatting), will I be able to activate this using my existing Windows 7 Ultimate key? Or will I need to buy a copy of Windows10?
I know the free upgrade period is officially ended, but I've found a number of web resources (recent ones!) which suggest that old 'pro' or 'ultimate' versions of windows 7 the keys can actually still be used to upgrade. But it's not clear if they can be used in this way to activate a fresh install.
This matters, as if I know I will definitely have to buy Win10 it significantly adds to my net cost (at least £120), and might give me reason to go for the replacement option and hold onto my current Win7 setup for another year or two.
Many thanks for all advice.
Dan
Current setup:
Gigabyte Z87x-UD5H motherboard (confirmed broken - tested with my old working i3 CPU)
i7-4790K overclocked to 4.7 GHz (Scythe Fuma 2 cooler, delidded myself)
4x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Pro DDR3 1600MHz
EVGA RTX 2060 XC Super GPU
SSD with Windows 7 Ultimate
If replacing motherboard I'm just looking at:
Gigabyte Z97x-UD5H (might as well upgrade chipset from Z87 to Z97)
(cost ~£130-160 eBay used)
If doing upgrade, I'm looking at:
Gigabyte Z390x Aorus Pro
i3-8350K or i5-8600K (plan to delid and mild overclock)
16GB DDR4 2666 or 3200 RAM
(net cost after selling old CPU & RAM ~£150 (i3) or ~£210 (i5), mostly new parts available)
(net cost if I have to pay for Win10 ~£270 (i3) or £330 (i5) for home edition, or +£100 on top of each for pro)
Continue reading...
I'm hoping for some advice please. System specs given at the end.
My long standing trusty Z87 motherboard has sadly died (definitely confirmed it's that - see notes at end).
So I'm looking at either replacing it (with a Z97 mobo) or taking the opportunity to upgrade Motherboard/CPU/RAM.
Upgrading feels like the more sensible choice if I can stomach the cost. I don't have stacks of cash, but I've been using the same machine for 7 years and think I can get an 8th gen CPU and quality future proofed z390 motherboard at a reasonable net cost (see estimates at the end) after I sell the older components which are still functional. HOWEVER, my current system is still Windows 7, and reading online it seems after intel 6th gen CPUs win7 is not (easily) possible.
SO THE FIRST QUESTION IS:
- If I do the mobo/cpu/ram upgrade now, what will happen if I try and boot up my current Win7 SSD on a new mobo/cpu/ram combination?
- Will my existing Windows 7 fail to run? Or could it boot up ok? (maybe the issue is installing win7, not running it?)
- Or would it be clever enough to ask me to upgrade to windows 10 there and then? (doubt it)
- Or would I risk messing up my SSD somehow? (seems unlikely)
My gut feeling is that it simply won't boot up, so this leads to the...
SECOND QUESTION:
- If I make a fresh install of Windows 10 (after backing up my old SSD user files and reformatting), will I be able to activate this using my existing Windows 7 Ultimate key? Or will I need to buy a copy of Windows10?
I know the free upgrade period is officially ended, but I've found a number of web resources (recent ones!) which suggest that old 'pro' or 'ultimate' versions of windows 7 the keys can actually still be used to upgrade. But it's not clear if they can be used in this way to activate a fresh install.
This matters, as if I know I will definitely have to buy Win10 it significantly adds to my net cost (at least £120), and might give me reason to go for the replacement option and hold onto my current Win7 setup for another year or two.
Many thanks for all advice.
Dan
Current setup:
Gigabyte Z87x-UD5H motherboard (confirmed broken - tested with my old working i3 CPU)
i7-4790K overclocked to 4.7 GHz (Scythe Fuma 2 cooler, delidded myself)
4x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Pro DDR3 1600MHz
EVGA RTX 2060 XC Super GPU
SSD with Windows 7 Ultimate
If replacing motherboard I'm just looking at:
Gigabyte Z97x-UD5H (might as well upgrade chipset from Z87 to Z97)
(cost ~£130-160 eBay used)
If doing upgrade, I'm looking at:
Gigabyte Z390x Aorus Pro
i3-8350K or i5-8600K (plan to delid and mild overclock)
16GB DDR4 2666 or 3200 RAM
(net cost after selling old CPU & RAM ~£150 (i3) or ~£210 (i5), mostly new parts available)
(net cost if I have to pay for Win10 ~£270 (i3) or £330 (i5) for home edition, or +£100 on top of each for pro)
Continue reading...