W7 install migrating to Skylake

Nine Iron

Member
I'm considering my next CPU/mobo/RAM upgrade, but I want to carry my existing W7-64 install over. I'm hoping to go from an Ivy i3 to Skylake i3 (H110, most likely), but I gather that there's an issue with the USB's in W7 under the new Skylake chipsets.

Is there a way to replace the CPU and mobo and get the old install working with it? It'll probably be an Asrock ITX 1151 board, if that helps.

Many thanks.
 
Might be me but I don't think an Ivy i3 > Skylake i3 upgrade is worth it. You'd be much better off spending that money on an Ivy i5/ i7 if you can find one imho.

And no, if you switch motherboards you have to re-install your OS, sorry.
 
As Feronix said.

Unless you've broken something then ivy is worth hanging on to until the next gen at least. Yes you will get a slight performance increase but for the money you're better off putting it towards a better CPU or GPU depending on what you want it for.
 
What's after Skylake isn't it Kaby Lake which i don't think that is going to be worth while either i think Cannonlake could be the one worth upgrading to.
 
Might be me but I don't think an Ivy i3 > Skylake i3 upgrade is worth it. You'd be much better off spending that money on an Ivy i5/ i7 if you can find one imho.

And no, if you switch motherboards you have to re-install your OS, sorry.

How about if I change to another Ivy board and CPU? I've changed boards and kept installs before:).

If Skylake isn't worth it atm, I'll see about a 2nd-hand Z77 ITX and an i5 I can undervolt;).
 
How about if I change to another Ivy board and CPU? I've changed boards and kept installs before:).

If Skylake isn't worth it atm, I'll see about a 2nd-hand Z77 ITX and an i5 I can undervolt;).

Why do you want to change boards anyway if I may ask? Z77 and i5 sounds good but you might as well overclock one? What are you using the system for?

Either way, it's going to give you a bigger upgrade than i3 > i3. Especially with the inflated priced that Skylake chips are at right now.

You can only keep your install if you switch to the same motherboard. So same manufacturer and model number, which I don't really see the point in. You might get away with a different board from the same series from a manufacturer, but there'll be some difference in drivers and it really is just recommended to do a clean install.
 
Why do you want to change boards anyway if I may ask? Z77 and i5 sounds good but you might as well overclock one? What are you using the system for?

I'm trying to get down to a smaller case but get a bit more CPU clout for some video rendering. Also going to do some more gaming, so I'm considering that tiny ASUS GTX950.

I can't change the CPU volts on this board, and I'm keen to OC and/or undervolt whatever I end up with.
 
I'm trying to get down to a smaller case but get a bit more CPU clout for some video rendering. Also going to do some more gaming, so I'm considering that tiny ASUS GTX950.

I can't change the CPU volts on this board, and I'm keen to OC and/or undervolt whatever I end up with.

Fair enough, ITX Z77 board and a K series i5 (or maybe even an i7 for video rendering) is definitely the way to go then.
Have a look for a Xeon 1230 V2 as well. They are basically i7 CPUs but without the integrated graphics (so you do need a dedicated GPU to run them). Their new price is already close to that of an i5 so you'll definitely be able to pick up a used one pretty cheap and get that hyperthreading that'll help you out with video rendering.

They're awesome little chips, I use the V3 (socket 1150) in my own build :)
 
Fair enough, ITX Z77 board and a K series i5 (or maybe even an i7 for video rendering) is definitely the way to go then.
Have a look for a Xeon 1230 V2 as well. They are basically i7 CPUs but without the integrated graphics (so you do need a dedicated GPU to run them). Their new price is already close to that of an i5 so you'll definitely be able to pick up a used one pretty cheap and get that hyperthreading that'll help you out with video rendering.

They're awesome little chips, I use the V3 (socket 1150) in my own build :)

It seems 1155 ITX boards are getting thin on the ground at the moment, so I wouldn't be opposed to a Haswell i5 on an 1150 ITX... could keep my DDR3 that way, too.
 
I've switched motherboards on Win 7 before loads of times and it has worked fine. It's just luck really.. What it does is clear the device manager of all of your old hardware then detects the new. It's rare that I would have to do a complete reinstall though most of the time I would any way because I used to use an SSD without TRIM support.

Personally though I would not use Win 7 any more. I had to install it on a laptop recently and I had forgotten how dated it is now. Not only that but the actual CPU core support structure in it is very, very dated and does not support any more than 4 threads properly.

Given that every machine I run now has at least 6 cores with HT it's of absolutely no use to me at all.
 
If you want to switch boards and keep your installation of w7, you'll need to create a system image(everything) and then after switching hardware you will end up reinstalling w7 from the disk(or usb) and after that you just take the system image and let Windows load it and do the rest. It should stay genuine but if not just call them and it'll be easy to get it genuine.

However just upgrading the cpu from an I3 to another quad core I5/7 is a better investment than skylake since it is Mich cheaper and still gives amazing performance
 
It creates more problems than its worth TBH. It is much easier to just go with a fresh install to avoid potential problems.


Im still a fan of W7 persoanally.
 
It creates more problems than its worth TBH. It is much easier to just go with a fresh install to avoid potential problems.


Im still a fan of W7 persoanally.

Agreed, Just save a headache dude just do a fresh install as long as you have the install disc or usb drive.
 
I'm trying to get down to a smaller case but get a bit more CPU clout for some video rendering. Also going to do some more gaming, so I'm considering that tiny ASUS GTX950.

I can't change the CPU volts on this board, and I'm keen to OC and/or undervolt whatever I end up with.

Given that you already have a GTX750 Ti I wouldn't bother TBH you'll be moving from a Mid - Low Maxwell card to a Mid - Low Maxwell card, I had the Asus GTX 750 Ti and it was a cracking card for 1080p gaming at high-ish settings which was more than acceptable to me, I now have a pair of GTX 950s and only in SLI do they make a significant difference, on their own they are not much better than a 750 Ti even in production stuff like Photoshop, 3DSMax or Blender. Unless of cause you are after the newer Maxwell features such as MXAA, VXGI & DX12 which then would be the only reason I'd consider the switch.
 
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