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So like the title says, I am interested in upgrading my motherboard and CPU to take advantage of the speed of the new Sandy Bridge Intel chips.

I'm thinking of the Core i5 2500k with a Gigabyte motherboard of somesort.

Maybe something like this?

I have a few questions for those who have done such upgrades.

When upgrading a motherboard and CPU does one have to reinstall the operating system or will it just recognize the new parts and go on its merry way? (I'm running windows 7 64 bit currently).

The base system I'm upgrading is a Dell XPS... is there likely to be any problems with the new hardware operating with all the other parts or by gutting the motherboard does that effectively remove most proprietary Dell junk?

Thanks in advance fellow tech-heads.

You don't have to reinstall, but it's strongly encouraged. Old drivers just won't die sometimes.

You may find some parts of the dell system are difficult to find drivers for, and the Dell drivers might not allow an install on a non-dell motherboard equipped system. This is particularly true, for instance, for wireless cards with antenna built into the case.

Most things should just work, though.

If your new motherboard uses a different controller than your old one, you will have to do SOME manner of reinstall, usually. But a "repair install," which leaves most of your configurations intact, is usually enough - however, it means you'll have to re-patch all the windows updates.

You'll also run into trouble if you're not careful with the BIOS settings.
Oh, and Windows will be very, very angry with you for reinstalling on what it sees as another computer. Especially if that Windows install was custom-built for a major OEM.

Just make sure your PSU can handle everything, or else be ready to replace that, too.

--Patrick

This computer shipped with a 1000 watt power supply so I should be good to go in that departement.

As for my operating system... here's where it gets a little tricky. The computer came with Vista but I bought a Windows 7 home upgrade package. From what you guys are saying... I could have to reinstall the whole operating system but since I only have the Windows 7 upgrade I will have to reinstall Vista first. The problem being that the Dell disc with Vista on it might not install on the new system without any Dell stuff on the motherboard? Poopy.

Does this still sound possible to do or am I going to have to buy a new stand alone license for Windows 7?

Another question (sorry for the sheer amount of them)... on the current motherboard that I will be replacing... is there a way to reflash it with the standard bios for that motherboard and get rid of the Dell stuff or is that sort of thing no possible? (I only ask because I'm thinking of stuffing the Dell motherboard into a spare tower I have and having that as a backup gaming/render rig).

Thanks for all your help so far guys... I really appreciate it.

Let this be a lesson to you. Never. EVER. Just do a windows system "upgrade." When changing OSes, go fresh or go home.

You should be able to use the upgrade on your Dell install. Trick is, every time you want to reinstall, you're going to have to put all the old hardware back in so you can reinstall DellVista first. Not recommended.

Can you reflash a motherboard with the "standard" (by which you probably mean what is called the "reference") BIOS? Sure! You have to find the standard BIOS first, though. Also, you have to ensure that everything on the board exactly matches that reference BIOS, or else you will end up with a board that won't boot...in fact, you may end up with a board that won't even POST, which could mean never being able to use that board again. I suppose it all depends on how adventuresome you feel.

--Patrick