I've built a few computers in the past, but I've never upgraded one from an older generation to a new one. Currently, I have an MSI B550 Tomahawk motherboard, a Ryzen 7 5800X CPU, 32GB of RAM, an RX 7800 XT GPU, a Corsair 1000W PSU, and a couple of NVMe drives—one 1TB for my OS and one 4TB for games. I built this system about two years ago, and while it's run smoothly, I've recently noticed some stuttering in newer games, which I suspect might be due to the CPU. I'm considering upgrading to a bundle from Microcenter that includes a Ryzen 9 9900X, an X870E Tomahawk motherboard, and another 32GB of RAM, as I believe it will better serve my needs for CAD, simulations, and gaming.
I'm quite comfortable with working on electronics and handling BIOS settings, but I'm unsure about the steps I need to take when switching out my motherboard and CPU. I plan to keep my current hard drive setup, but I'm worried about losing my files and whether I need to reinstall Windows. I've searched online for guides, but most of them just say to avoid AM4 upgrades right now. Any tips or resources would be really helpful!
2 Answers
It's generally recommended to do a fresh Windows install when switching motherboards to avoid driver conflicts, although it's not strictly necessary. To be safe, you should back up your important files from the C drive to your game drive before proceeding—especially documents and pictures. That way, you'll have everything you need if you decide to reinstall Windows.
Exactly! Files on drives other than the C drive should stay untouched. It's a good idea to double-check everything, though.
Honestly, now might not be the best time to upgrade. If you're gaming above 1080p, your current GPU may be the culprit for those stutters. You might want to consider upgrading the GPU instead, especially since the market prices are pretty wild right now for GPU and CPU combos.
So if I just keep my files on the game drive, I don't have to worry about them being deleted during the fresh install?