Taking a quick look on Newegg, nothing really caught my eye.(Well except an unrelated gaming laptop, sure you don’t want one of those instead? ;))
I’m going with this Mobo instead. Seems to get better reviews:
Now, just need the CPU cooler…
Has anyone had any luck moving a Windows 10 system drive to a new system? It’s supposed to be doable, but there are conflicting methods.
I essentially did that by replacing my motherboard, RAM, and CPU. I had to re-authenticate Windows by signing in with my Microsoft account, but that was painless. It loaded enough of the motherboard devices that I could download and install those drivers.
For a cooler, get a Nocuta D15s for sure. Best cooler for performance and noise unless you want a custom water loop. Keeping down the noise will make your day-to-day PC usage more pleasant. Spend the extra $40.
I ended up going with the Noctua NH-U12S, so hopefully good enough. Reviews said it was fine for 9700k, even with some overclocking (which I’m not planning to do).
OK, all purchased – total cost was just under $900 including tax and shipping. Now to get it, put it together, and figure out if I can move my system drive over. I’ll post here again if/when it’s all working. Thanks, everyone!
I’ve got a Noctua cooler in my system. I got the NH-D14, and while I did the measurements beforehand to make sure it would fit in my case (by about half an inch!), that didn’t really prepare me for how huge it is. It’s been great; it’s really quiet and it keeps my system nice and cool, but to be honest, it was probably overkill. I think a smaller Noctua, or a Coolermaster 212, or something similar, would have been just fine. I think that the NH-U12S you’re getting will be perfect.
I’ve never moved an OS drive to a new system, but a while back I did decide to replace my regular SSD with an M2 drive, and the Samsung software made shifting the OS really easy. As Palooka said, you’ll probably need to log into your Microsoft account, and you might need to call Microsoft if you have a problem. Just make sure that your current Win 10 system is set up with your Microsoft account, and not as an anonymous user, because without that, it will be harder to swap it over.
Did you stick with your choice of a Fractal Design case? I’ve been really happy with mine. It’s plain and black and boxy, but I don’t need windows and LED lights and colored fans. All I want is a spacious and quiet case, and the Fractal has been awesome.
I did stick with that case, so I’m glad you like it! I’ll log into Windows with my hotmail ID before I try and make the move, assuming my current power supply makes it to next week. Thanks for the advice!
It all worked! The machine is put together, my system disk moved over with no issue (I connected Windows to my hotmail account), GPU working fine. The system is so quiet that I can’t tell that it’s on.
The only mistake I made was buying a case without a CD-ROM spot. Luckily, I already have an external DVD writer, so I’ll just connect that when I need it. I suppose I didn’t need the drive cluttering up the case.
I really like the way the case is laid out – all the wires, drives, and the power supply are sort of hidden away behind the motherboard.
I’m having some problem activating Windows:
Seems weird. I’ll try again tomorrow, I guess.
You’re better off with an external drive. I have an internal one but can’t honestly remember the last time I used it. Better to leave the extra space for cooling. Honestly I’d also not leave the external one connected all the time; leave it unplugged until you need it so that there is one less thing to burden your system with.
I agree, try to activate later. My experience with Xbox consoles has taught me that MS’s servers go down now and then.
“If the activation server is temporarily unavailable, your copy of Windows will automatically be activated when the service comes back online.”
It happens.
Yeah, don’t bother with internal optical drives these days.
You can get a great external drive for fairly cheap, and why waste the case space on something you’ll rarely use?