new upgrades

[Deleted]

I recently purchased a r9 290 which works unfortunately not on my current mobo
Reason being my computer is kinda of a Frankenstein build mobo, chip and hdd are originally from an hp h8-1141 which had windows 7 pre installed and I am pretty sure it's locked to the motherboard?
I am buying a asus board which fits my i7 2600 chip and allows me to upgrade to a 3rd gen chip in the future which won't be any time soon as it's not needed
www.memoryexpress.com/Clearance/Item/5a84130b-2f68-4445-948f-28f376b0119d
I am also looking at an sad card which is on sale but not 100% sure at the moment
www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX49961
As well as windows 8.1
Now my question is......
If I choose not to go with the ssd card does w8.1 simply upgrade w7 or does it install separately and is there any links or advice I should be aware of? It's my first installing an os
I also have a 2nd hdd which is 500 gb if that helps?

[zero7159]

Windows 8.1 is a stand alone install. They did away with the upgrade product.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using proboards

[F1Fan07]

I have a variant of that motherboard (mine is SLI and has Bluetooth). No complaints.

Those Kingston SSDs aren't the fastest but they'll still outperform a HDD by a lot. My racing sims are all on a 128GB V200.

Your W7 is almost guaranteed to be a HP OEM install. You can do an update install of W8 over W7 (I did it on my rig PC) but as always, be ready for some messed up applications that you need to reinstall. The process was really smooth for me, I started it, drank a beer or two and I was upgraded. windows.microsoft.com/en-ca/windows-8/upgrade-from-windows-7-tutorial

Whether or not you can upgrade a OEM Windows to W8, I don't know... I upgraded retail version to retail version.

Here's the catch for you though... you're upgrading hardware and OS at the same time. That's a bad move. I would do a fresh install on the new hardware.

[smokey]

ya a SSD is a must for any system nowdays i have a 256gb just for any games & same for OS and arnt all home built PCs frankensteins id prob stick with W7 as F1 says just to be safe then sorry

[zero7159]

Jul 4, 2014 14:58:33 GMT -8 F1Fan07 said:

Here's the catch for you though... you're upgrading hardware and OS at the same time. That's a bad move. I would do a fresh install on the new hardware.

Yeah, that is the way to do it. New hardware should be accompanied by a fresh new install of an OS. My vote is for Windows 8.1. I have been using it for a while now and it works great. Just make sure you get the Start8 "start" button add-on from Stardock Software.

[Deleted]

I bought the pro version of the board posted above, a new cpu cooler, 8 gb corsair dominator ram and r9 290 4G gpu as well as windows 8.1
I swapped out the boards and chip and have a few more cables left to plug in than I'll be installing w8.1.
I've been off for the past 2.5 weeks recovering from nasal surgery and was to back today on modified duties till the healing is complete but my work has decided last min that they have no current position available that fit my needs so it looks like I'll be on an extended leave covered by insurance. Which kind of bummed me out but on the up side the weather has been beautiful here and I've got to enjoy a lot of time with the family, as well as the greatest show in the west started yesterday with the calgary stampeed!
The time off has also allowed me to get on things I've been procrastinating for many yrs. 2 potential companies in the making and a rebuild of my rig are just a few.
As for the rig I'll be grabbing a ssd card to load the os on I know it's a great upgrade and speeds up your system. I found a guide a while back for w7 startup that had my system up in running in just over 30 sec which I though was great and while reading the advantages of w7 vs w8 it mentioned the system boot was a lot faster due to the kernel not needing to be awaken.
So will see how it goes and thanks for the advice!

Cheers

[Deleted]

So I was up till 4 am this morning rewiring and finishing installing the other components. I choose to see if I could fire it up without installing w8.1 and to my surprise w7 fired up and worked fine with the new mobo! So do to the comfort of w7 I am thinking of sticking with it and returning w8 and put the money towards my wheel upgrade.
As for the w7 which I thought was looked to the old hp mobo is there a way I can download w7 and save it to a disk for doing fresh installs as the product key authorized fine?
As for the mobo and r9 290 4G everything is running smooth, cool and surprisingly much quieter than my old configuration. The r9 290 especially as a lot of reviews said it was noisy but far less than the 670 windforce which was Pleasant surprise.
All and all I am still finding my way around with all these new features and software.
The guy that sold me the r9 290 teased me a bit and said he had another card new in the box for $200 which is very tempting as i have the extra 2 lanes and would for surely keep from upgrading for many yrs to come lol but will see how this cards performs first.

[smokey]

ya I was surprised too when I chucked a new mobo in that W7 didn't miss a beat if I remember correctly but I ended up doin a fresh install later on as I think a few niggling issues ended up showing their head

[Deleted]

Started having issues with windows 7 on the new mobo on start ups so having windows 8.1 still in my possession I decided I'll install it. Before doing so I checked memory express and they just happened to have a sale on ssd and grabbed a samsung 840 evo 120 gb for $90.
Just need a new wheel and I'll be more than set for a while

[zero7159]

Jul 9, 2014 14:26:46 GMT -8 @kurupt said:

Started having issues with windows 7 on the new mobo on start ups so having windows 8.1 still in my possession I decided I'll install it. Before doing so I checked memory express and they just happened to have a sale on ssd and grabbed a samsung 840 evo 120 gb for $90.
Just need a new wheel and I'll be more than set for a while

That is the best way to go. Nice new SSD and a fresh install of an OS. I did the same thing recently and I am loving it. Windows 8.1 runs nice and fast on my SSD. Make sure you set Windows 8.1 to boot to desktop. I also skip the password screen and I use the Stardock Software Start8 "start" button. You get the look and functionality of Windows 7, with the improved speed and security of Windows 8.1.

[Dan W.]

Windows 8.1 is no more secure then 7, so don't base anything off security.

[zero7159]

Jul 10, 2014 7:41:05 GMT -8 Dan W. said:

Windows 8.1 is no more secure then 7, so don't base anything off security.

I do not agree. You sound like my older law partners that complained about us upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7. With very few exceptions, the newer stuff in technology is better than the older stuff. Whether Windows 8 is better than 7 is a debatable point, but there is no question that 8.1 fixed many of the interface issues that plagued Windows 8 and made it essentially a supersized version of Windows 7, with the latest bells and whistles as far as speed and security, but with the familiar, comfortable Windows 7 like interface. Also, what is not debatable is the fact that modern operating systems are more secure than older operating systems. Whether it is Apple, Android, Windows Phone, Chrome, you name it and the newer versions are better and more secure than the older operating systems. I have used Windows 7 and 8.1 extensively and although Windows 7 remains a solid OS (I still use it on my desktop PC), for a new computer, there is no question that 8.1 is the way to go. Windows 7 was released almost five years ago, in 2009. Calling it as secure or more secure than the newest Microsoft OS is just plain dumb.

Also, if you don't believe me, take a look at what the so-called experts say:

www.itpro.co.uk/desktop-software/21919/windows-81-vs-windows-7-which-is-best-for-you

www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/windows-8-1-security-what-s-been-improved-1156705

"Windows 7 is six times more likely to get infected than Windows 8 and Windows XP is 21 times more likely to be exploited."

[Deleted]

I got everything installed last night but still trying to find my way around things but I like what I see and it is so much faster now! I haven't even played with the settings to boot to desktop yet or used the samsung ssd speed setting tool so excited to see what it's able to do. Re downloading some of the software like steam and trying to remember my password has been the most difficult part so far lol
Windows 8.1 so far seems much faster than w7 but I am stumbling around like a drunk in the dark at a strangers house trying to find things, my brain is on electronic overload this week lol
Upgraded my phone from i5 to s5, new gpu, mobo, os and trying to learn some new graphic design programs for digital heat press and embroidery.
I noticed windows has built in security software should I re download windows essential for added security?

[zero7159]

Jul 10, 2014 8:05:52 GMT -8 @kurupt said:

I noticed windows has built in security software should I re download windows essential for added security?

No, Windows Defender is the built-in security software in Windows 8.1. It is the same as Microsoft Security Essentials. In addition to Windows Defender, I use the older version of Spybot Search & Destroy (which still gets update and has an easier to use interface), MalwareBytes and ccleaner. I update and run each of these, as well as Windows Defender, weekly and my systems seem to stay nice and clean.

[smokey]

its windows lawyer they will always be exploited, hacked etc but funny thing is people have always told never use IE but in all the years ive been using it never had an issue and I go to some questionable sites lol