Google gets me undetailed answers and I just wanna know what the consequences are of not reinstalling.
Ideally, nothing. It could break tons of stuff depending on how drastic the switch was, and the only way to find out which it'll be is to #yolo it.
I say back up your files, nuke and pave.
You probably don't. Windows 10 is pretty good about detecting hardware and downloading the drivers it needs, but the CPU and motherboard themselves don't actually need drivers aside from "optional" things like integrated audio and graphics acceleration. Worst case scenario it doesn't work and then you do a fresh install, but it will probably work.
You're probably going to have to buy a new windows license if you install a new motherboard. Your serial key is tied to it. You can get them for super cheap for $3 or so on ebay. I do recommend a fresh install personally, but it's not required in this scenario most likely.
I was looking into this and I think there might be a way to tie it to your Microsoft account now and de-activate it for your old mobo and re-activate it for your new one?
Sounds possible, never done that though so not sure of the process myself
it depends. if the os came loaded OEM this could potentially be true, but if OP bought a full license (home or pro) it should be transferrable
You don't have to but its absolutely recommended. I don't trust windows to purge the old drivers and accept the new ones properly.
I’ve done it, and things were just sort of off for a bit. Are you sticking with the same brands as before? Sometimes that makes the transition easier as they could have some of the same shit. If you reinstall you’ll most likely need a new cd key. If you go the eBay way of getting a key, do it early in the morning. I’ve had the best luck of the accounts sending me the key before eBay kills the account in the morning.
But honestly, backup, make yourself a windows boot stick, then do the swap and boot up to see what happens.
I upgraded the crosshair v1 (literally first one, AM2 socket) to B450 tomahawk/3600 and surprisingly it was hassle free--a first for any microsoft product i've used
