Want to swap motherboard on new build

I just purchased and installed a new LGA 1155 H77 motherboard, Core i5 CPU, memory, GeForce gfx card, DVD drive, and power supply for my home PC, to replace all those old items. I retained the case itself, fans, and both internal HDD's. But for all intents and purposes it's a new build.

After installing everything and doing a fresh install of Win7 x64 on my smaller HDD (larger HDD with data remained unchanged), I have now decided I would like the Z77 version of the same motherboard, mainly because it has many more fan connectors on the board, as well as additional USB ports on the rear.

Is it possible to simply swap out the motherboard such as this, using the same CPU and OS installation? It's not a big deal if I have to install Win7 again to be safe, as I haven't loaded much of anything onto it yet, but just trying to save some time and hassle if possible.

Britton30 said:

I have swapped mobos before with no issues with activation, but it was the same model and brand. It would be best to just do a fresh install since you'll need the board's drivers and the former ones may conflict down the road. The Z77 chipset is a lot different than the H77.

There ya go.

I have this one: ASUS P8H77-V LE Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com

I want to switch to this one: ASUS P8Z77-V LK ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS - Newegg.com

I dunno, my main reasons for wanting it are the additional chassis fan connectors, additional USB ports, and the slightly larger form factor with 9 support points instead of only 6. The rear 2" of my board, under the memory slots and 24-pin power connector, is completely unsupported and flexes pretty bad when inserting RAM sticks or the power cable or anything else, unless I actually stick my fingers under the edge of the board to support it. Really seems like a poor design.

I dunno I haven't decided yet. I may just leave it and get that PWM fan cable. Would be nice to have all my fans be able to be monitored by the BIOS.

Britton30 said:

Of course the cable would be the easiest but the extras on the Z77 board are nice. Neither one of those boards are a full ATX size, which is 12"x9.6".
I still would do a full clean install if you do change boards.

Yeah I noticed the size after I posted. I would probably instead go for the Z77 version that is the full ATX depth of 9.6" with 9 mounting screws instead of 6, for $10 more.

However I just went ahead and ordered that 5-way fan cable along with four new 6 Gbps SATA cables with right-angle connectors and metal retainer clips. My mobo came with 2 of those cables and man, they're so much nicer than my old 3 Gbps SATA cables with straight connectors and no clips.

I wish I could just go to Newegg's local warehouse and pick this stuff up, as it's literally 10-15 minutes from my house.

Apparently the only location with Will Call available is their warehouse in City of Industry, California. Plus their warehouse here is in Memphis TN and I'm in north MS, and they say for Will Call you have to use a credit card with the billing address in the same state as where you're picking up the items.

Usually the cheapest shipping option will get me my stuff the very next business day. Just sucks because I placed this order today and won't get it until Monday.

I LOVE the clip on the SATA connectors. I really wish HDMI would adopt something similar.