General Discussions

[Bojji]

Hi, I ordered a x670E and Ryzen 7 7800x3d and DDR5 32GB and it will arrive soon , What I want to ask is do I have to install Windows again or clean the ssd before i put in the new motherboard? Or should I just put the m.2 ssd and everything will work normally?

thanks.

[johnnyenglish]

Hi,

I'll give you two opinions on this, my own (based on my experience) and the best possible route.


I upgraded to AM5 from a 2700X without re-installing windows, and before that I had changed board from AM3 to AM4 without installing windows as well. Had so many different CPU's and GPU's But I'm very strict while managing Windows, keeping the "trash" away.

Uninstalling old drivers before taking the old hardware away can help, however, this can be a painstakingly move and can go wrong sometimes.

So there is the clean start route, this way you take away old "OS vices" but be sure to backup everything important.


What can you do?

You can keep your windows, theres nothing to lose but your data (BACKUP YOUR DATA!). Just uninstall everything that is hardware related to your old stuff, like chipset drivers, board drivers, sound drivers, armoury crate (if its an ASUS board) and so on.

If it fails or becomes buggy, clean install OS.

PS: I hope you ordered the DDR5 memory kit with the board QVL into consideration, or you can face some issues that are not OS related.


Good Luck

[Bojji]

Hi, thanks for ur respond but i actually decide to buy a new M.2 And use the old for extra space. and i dont actually understand ( DDR5 memory kit with the board QVL into consideration ) i just got Corsair DDR5 32GB 6000Mhz CL30 )

[BigAl01]

On the motherboard manufacturers website, you should find a listing of compatible memory types and configurations that they tested for compatibility.  If your memory sticks are listed on the website, then you should be good to go.  Now, they cannot possibly test all memory types and configurations, especially when they come out with BIOS updates and such.  If your memory is not listed on their website, it could be that they just did not test it.  But in that case, you are taking a chance in terms of your system working without issues.

[BigAl01]

Given that M.2 drives are fairly cheap (at least compared to what you already invested), I would recommend a new 1 TB M.2 drive that you do a clean Windows install on.  Keep your current M.2 drive in a second or third M.2 slot, and then once your new system is stable, you can delete the old M.2 drive Windows partition and just use it as a data or game drive for Steam.

Those upgrades will demand a good PSU, so I hope you already have a good one installed.  You don't mention your current video card, but I imagine it's at least in the 6000 Radeon series.

[Bojji]

Hi, i just took ur advice and buy a new M.2 i need extra 1TB anyway thanks, and my Graphics card is RX 6750 XT and i will upgrade it soon , and my PSU is Deepcool 650Watt i think its good with the RX 6750XT rn.

[BigAl01]

If you are loading Windows 11 onto a new drive (and system actually), you might not be able to use the original Windows key that you currently have installed on the old M.2 drive.  Go ahead and download the Windows 11 install files from Microsoft and once it's installed and your system is working, then try entering your old key number.  If it won't work, then you might have to call or email Microsoft to see if they will allow you to reuse the old key.  If not, you can still buy a new key online for around $30 USD.  I've done that three times now and it works fine.