Computer Upgrade Questions
Community Forums/General Help/Computer Upgrade Questions
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| So I am getting ready to upgrade my computer, i already have 2 9800 gtx+'s in sli. I have bought a AMD 3.2 GHz processor and a 980a sli Asus motherboard. I am planning on putting in my old 9800 gtx with the other 2 to make it tri-sli. If i just throw everything in there would the computer even boot? What i am saying is that i have put together computers before but i have never upgraded one. Do I have to run the remove hardware thing or what? My other question is i have installed a used windows 7 on my computer, as in the product key has already been used, opps. Is there a way for me to buy just a product key, and i found, on newegg, that windows 7 OEM is cheaper full that it is for the upgrade, can i just buy the upgrade and use the product key? Help would be greatly appreciated. |
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| First of all: Changing a CPU /may/ require a full windows re-install, if the new one is sufficiently different from the old one -- Windows has some hardware abstraction layer stuff that's different depending on the processor architecture. you can change a windows product key on the fly by right-clicking on "My Computer", and selecting "change product key". One major catch there is that you can only use a product key that is for the same version *and same release* as the windows that's installed. What I mean: If you installed from OEM media then it will only accept an OEM key, if you installed from retail media then it will only accept a retail key, and if you installed from volume license media then it will only accept a volume license key. That means that you can't just buy a cheap OEM disc and use its key if your current install was made with a retail disc. Furthermore, I'm pretty sure that the OEM disc will only want to install on an empty, formatted drive and can't be used to install on top of an existing install. (At least, that's how XP and Vista behaved, and I doubt that MS would change that behaviour for Windows 7. They'd rather have everyone pay the full retail price, after all) |
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| Oh, one more thought: you can increase your chances of a major hardware upgrade to work with your existing OS by running sysprep on windows before the change -- that's a microsoft tool intended to put the OS in a 'neutral' state, for corporations that make images to roll out to new workstations. It will re-detect hardware on the next bootup, but also ask you for your windows product key and such. |
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| Thank you, I have to go to Radio Shack and buy some thermal compound and get started. I am experiencing many problems already with windows 7... I can turn on SLI but in the Nvidia control panel under "set up multiple displays", it only list the two monitors on the primary GPU, i have 2 more monitors on the secondary, with or without SLI enabled. I have updated my drivers and changed no hardware prior to the vista to windows 7 change. I guess i might as well put it together how i want it and troubleshoot. And by the way, you said to reinstall windows after a CPU change, does this mean put it in then turn it on with the cd in the drive? I guess that is the only way but just to be sure... Another problem i found is that my monitor is 1680x1050, i set up a custom resolution in the Nvidia control panel just like i did in vista with 60Hz and, when i applied it, the monitor said "out of range". I also tried 59Hz and so on, i even tried different color modes. Right now i am running in 1600x900 60Hz just fine. I have read that many other people have the same problem with windows 7 and they had to buy a DVI cord, is this the only way? One last minor issue is that my background turns black after about 5 hours of operating. I had the same problem with Vista too but that was after about 4 days of operating. I have googled these problems but came up with no staright-forward answers. Thanks for the help as I have many issues... EDIT : By the way, my background just turned back on, i just ran a blitz program... |
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| The background going black can also be a symptom of Windows not being activated, or when Ms thinks it's non-genuine. (Their initial beta would flat out stop Windows in its tracks if it couldn't be activated, but as a consession to corporate customers they later changed it to less drastic measures, such as keep changing the background to black every so often, and periodic pop-up reminders. Regarding the CPU thing: You may not need to reinstall if the two CPU's are similar enough -- you'll find out quickly: if you try to boot up after the new CPU is installed and the machine blue-screens, then you'll need to reinstall. And yes, that it just a matter of popping in the windows CD and booting the computer from it. If you have to go that route, try choosing the options for repair first, and only do a full reinstall if the repair didn't work. |
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| Interesting on the background thing. Both CPU's are AMD but the old one is dual and the new one is quad, but nevertheless I will try your methods, thanks for the help. |
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| I'm finished with the hardware and have installed all of the drivers, i did not have to reinstall windows. I know SLI has always had some problems but I am getting annoyed now... When I run the crysis editor the shadows flash but i get 60+ frames, when i play crysis i get 40+ frames but random slowdowns down to 0 frames, i tried to play dragon age with 60+ frames and i was able to turn on 16x anti-alias and max everything out for about 5 minutes then it froze up. All of these applications worked before the upgrade, does anyone here have experience with SLI, preferably Tri-SLI? |
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| - Could be that you don't have enough power to run it all - Could be that things are overheating |
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| well, i had to move my computer off the floor and hook everything up and after that i tried to play crysis wars and it played perfectly, so im guessing the editor has a tri-sli problem. I also tried out dragon age and it also worked without fail. Thanks for all the help xlsior! |
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| What power supply do you have? Specially what is the wattage? Because ruynning a system with triple SLI setup is sure to consume more than your average Joe's computer. |
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| 1000 watt, but everything works fine now. |
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| I upgraded mobo and CPU recently from single core AMD to dual core and slapped my old windows 7 HD on the mobo. It booted up first time and found all the drivers automatically. The new 9800GT that replaced my AGP 7800 didn't need new drivers either. |
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| The new 9800GT that replaced my AGP 7800 didn't need new drivers either. You may still want to check out the latest drivers -- just because it worked out of the box doesn't mean that you can use all the functionality properly. |
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| Ya, i agree with xlsior, i didn't seem to have any problems at first, but later i found out that i had to update more drivers because of problems i had with different programs. And by the way I am using SLI and the system is notorious for having strange issues. |
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