Fri Jun 13, 2008 9:48 am
You've got three potential problems to overcome:
1. Physical compatibility. Some OEM PCs (such as Dell) use non-standard cases which can't accomodate standard ATX motherboards. If you can identify the current motherboard and check that it is a standard ATX form-factor, then you should be OK.
2. Platform drivers. Assuming your new motherboard uses a different chipset to the original one, you may need to reinstall Windows to avoid later problems. In theory it is possible to uninstall all the device drivers for the old motherboard, swap over, then install all the relevent new drivers with the new motherboard, but this is notorious for causing problems later on. A clean install is generally recommended for a new motherboard.
3. Windows licensing. I assume you're running a copy of Windows XP (or Vista) that you got with the Dell PC. If so, this is an OEM Windows license and in principle you're not permitted to transfer that license from one PC to another, which in practical terms means from one motherboard to another. When you upgrade to the new motherboard, whether or not you reinstall Windows, you'll be prompted to reactivate Windows, and this will probably fail. You can then call up Microsoft and explain that this is a system upgrade (perhaps claim that the old board broke if you're not averse to a small fib) and they may give you a reactivation number. Worst case, you'll need to shell out for a new Windows license (tou can save money by buying another OEM copy if you buy it at the same time as some hardware e.g. the new motherboard). You'll need to do this in any case if you're considering keeping the old motherboard as the basis for a second system, as you could then keep the original license with the original motherboard.
i7-6700K ~ Asus Z170I Pro Gaming ~ 16GB Corsair DDR4-2400 ~ Radeon R9 Nano
Noctua NHU9S ~ Corsair Obsidian 250D ~ Corsair RM650X ~ Crucial MX100 512GB
SMSL M3 ~ Sennheiser HD555 ~ Logitech G500S/G910/G29 ~ LG 34UC79G
