replacing motherboard in Win 7 computer

[Diosoth]

I considered a new PC but aside from the cost it would be a massive hassle to set up old games and current programs on a new OS. The only real outdated part in my PC is the motherboard as the best CPU it can take is an E8600 and the GTX 750 TI card is badly bottlenecked by the PCIE 1X slot. There are apparently methods to continue using the hard drive & OS without reinstalling everything but I'm seeing various articles on that with different methods. Is that going to be more of a headache than I want?

I have an Acer EG43M board, looks like a later revision as most of them I find online aren't quite up to par with what I have. I also need help finding a board that will fit that case as I don't wish to buy a new case(though I'm concerned over the power button being compatible as well... the power button & card reader bank is one big chunk in top. It's a Gateway DX4822-01 PC).

As for the hard drive I plan to get a 1TB SSD and clone my current drive to it instead, keeping the old as a backup, before I switch boards.

 

[SIW2]

Should be possible to transfer the HD - there are various adjust to new hardware modules available. The windows license is a different matter.

Is there another question? Not clear what you are asking for re mobo suggestions. Were you planning on changing the cpu and hd and ram? Worth having a look to see if you can pick up a second hand machine cheaply.
There are often ex business hp and dell etc available cheaply. One advantage of those is they come with windows license. Something with an intel 3rd gen machine ( mostly use ddr3 ram, though a few use ddr4) will be a big step up from what you currently have - they usually have usb3, one or two sata 3 ports and pcie3 as well.

HP 8300 minitower ( desktop) or sff version, or dell 7010 or 9010 Mt or SFF are examples.


Even a 3rd gen i3 is a big improvement on the e8600. i5 even more so of course.
UserBenchmark: Intel Core i3-3220 vs Core2 Duo E8600

 

[Diosoth]

I don't intend to buy a new case so whatever I get has to fit this one. It's not a very big board, either. Mainly I'm looking for improvements in 4 areas-

* better CPU slot that can take well above the E8600
* PCI Express slot 4X so my video card can run as intended
* RAM support above 8GB
* possibly a better ethernet port, my speed is likely being bottlenecked below what my current ISP-provided modem can manage

Otherwise I want to use my existing HDD, GPU, PSU, cooling & case. I may have to buy different RAM depending on if it supports what I have, and will need a CPU but as this system is old I will likely be getting an older motherboard, and used CPUs are generally cheap. I don't need the thing to modern "runs the newest games at 4K" specs but would prefer it better than what I have now... as it is the board's holding me back on running something like even Fallout 4 or Overwatch. But the power switch part worries me as to if this is even possible, for all I know it's some Gateway proprietary thing.

 

[SIW2]

* better CPU slot that can take well above the E8600
* PCI Express slot 4X so my video card can run as intended
* RAM support above 8GB
* possibly a better ethernet port, my speed is likely being bottlenecked below what my current ISP-provided modem can manage

That is why I suggested you go for second hand intel 3rd gen. They are almost 10 years old, yet still perform well. You probably won't need a graphics card as the on cpu graphics is more than adequate.


You could get a micro atx 3rd gen mobo ( assuming your case takes micro atx - most do ).

For example - a gigabyte B75m d3h can be had for as little as £30-40. It has pcie3 x16 and pcie2 x4, and can support 32gb ram max ( 4 slots) . Also has 6 sata ports, one is a sata 3 port in case you want to use an ssd instead of a regular mechanical disk. Realtek GbE LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)

An i3-3220 cpu is £8, and a 4gb ddr3 1600mhz ram stick is £6. It will also use less power than your current system.
intel i3-3220 £8

ddr3 4gb stick £6

Matches your requirements and I dont think you can get better value than that.

The drawback is that doesn't include a windows license. This is why those ex business 3rd gen oem machines can be good value.

 

[Diosoth]

I'm going to get a new PC instead. Swapping the motherboard would be a hassle, Win7 may or may not even work with an SSD and evaluating the cost of just parts, a much newer PC with good hardware would be more cost-efficient.

 

[SIW2]

Win7 may or may not even work with an SSD

What gave you that idea? win7 works well with ssd.

According to your other thread, you are interested in a dell 7020. That should fit your requirements.

You can check tech yes youtube channel - Brian has probably put graphics cards into lots of those.

Here he is putting a gtx750 into an HP oem machine. Using the standard psu he says it only pulls 120w from the wall while playing games, so the 290w in the dell should be fine. Get OVER 100 FPS for UNDER $100 (Valorant Gaming PC) - YouTube

 

[Diosoth]

What gave you that idea? win7 works well with ssd.

According to your other thread, you are interested in a dell 7020. That should fit your requirements.

You can check tech yes youtube channel - Brian has probably put graphics cards into lots of those.

Here he is putting a gtx750 into an HP oem machine. Using the standard psu he says it only pulls 120w from the wall while playing games, so the 290w in the dell should be fine. Get OVER 100 FPS for UNDER $100 (Valorant Gaming PC) - YouTube

Google has a lot of results from users who had their Win7 PCs not recognize SSDs. It might vary based on specific SSDs, age of PC, etc. But with how old this current PC is I figured it best to just replace it.

I ordered this last weekend-
Dell OptiPlex 7020 Desktop Computer (Refurbished); Intel Core i5 4570 3.2GHz Processor; 16GB DDR3-1600 RAM; 512GB SSD; Intel - Micro Center)

Also ordered a 24-pin to 8-pin PSU adapter on Amazon to swap to the Enermax- even if the current PSU will give enough, if I want to get a better card later I'd rather have the room for expansion... and the Dell PSU has no molex connectors, it's actually rather limited in how many cables it has. I'll probably rig one of my intake fans to the front to draw air in, which will need a connector- at least this one has open vents on the front.

I bought a 2TB WD Black HDD for secondary storage. SSD would be "faster" but it was a choice of $90 shipped for 2TB of storage or $117 shipped for 1TB, I'd rather have the space. The installed SSD is 512GB anyway, enough room for what I will put on it but extra space will go far. Bit annoying to have to buy a $5 caddy on top of that though, thanks Dell for that proprietary case design you use.

Now for the long, boring task of installing all the necessary programs, transferring files over, reinstalling games, copying folders over so I don't lose save files, etc. This PC will be stripped for parts and whatever I can't use will be sold for what I can get for it.

 

[SIW2]

The optiplex 7020 looks a good choice for your stated requirements. The difference between the 7020 and top of the range 9020 is only some bios features. I doubt that will matter to you. Contrary to what you may have heard, the 7020 can support 32gb ram, if you want.

Sata ssd is natively supported by win7 and older machines. Your DEll ssd will be sata. Only machines that are so ancient they dont have sata connectors would be an issue.

Win7 does support nvme disks with the added drivers ( in my sig) but older machines sometimes dont. Older machines often dont have an nvme interface, or the bios oprom need to boot via nvme.

Nvme disks are sometimes, confusingly, referred to as nvme ssd. Maybe that is what you read about.

If you ever wanted to boot via nvme in future, you could add that to your dell by using clover boot manager and an nvme disk with an adapter on a pcie slot.

 

[SIW2]

Your ad says it comes with win10 pro. You could run win7 pro on there if you like.