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Upgrading hardware HELP
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Haze:

--- Quote from: saurian333 on January 26, 2010, 08:13:48 pm ---
--- Quote from: Haze on January 26, 2010, 07:08:18 am ---With modern OS and systems this is less of an issue than it used to be.

I moved a HDD from a 100% AMD system (XP3000+, ATI graphics) into a brand new Intel based system, completely different chipset, Sata drives, Nvidia graphics etc. and there were no issues.  It booted (XP), installed the drivers it needed, and just worked even if there probably wasn't a single common component between the systems.  Back in the Windows 98 days this was a huge issue but these days it's less of one.

--- End quote ---

Interesting.  I guess it shows you don't know anything until you actually try it.  :dunno  I certainly wouldn't have expected that from XP.


--- Quote ---Of course, if you're buying a 64-bit system and your previous OS was a 32-bit version you'll probably want to reinstall anyway.

--- End quote ---

Meh.  64-bit Windows isn't all it's cracked up to be.  Unless every peripheral you own is less than 2 years old, good luck finding drivers.  Even some newer hardware is difficult to get working.  Unless you have more than 3GB RAM, it's not even worth it.  And even then, I'd question it.  (I have 4, and I still stuck with 32-bit Win7.)

Linux is another story.  64-bit Ubuntu screams on my machine, and video encoding/transcoding (for one example) shows notable improvement over the 32-bit version.

--- End quote ---

Well, I've found 64-bit Windows to have far better driver support for my hardware than 64-bit Linux, but experiences will differ.

The main reason you'll want 64-bit for MAME tho is that you'll get a 15-25% performance boost across the board
Gamester:

--- Quote from: Haze on January 26, 2010, 07:08:18 am ---
--- Quote from: Gamester on January 23, 2010, 09:24:08 pm ---
--- Quote from: acidblue0 on January 23, 2010, 07:54:56 pm ---When new MB and cpu get to me will I be able to just plug hard drive in and boot up? Hope I don't have to reformat

--- End quote ---

It won't be that simple.  Since you're replacing the motherboard and going with a completely different type of CPU, there will be all sorts of drivers missing when you boot up.  In fact, it may not even boot into Windows at all.  

Any time I make a change as drastic as a complete MB & CPU swap, I always install a fresh copy of Windows.  I've been doing this stuff over over 20 years, and I've just found it to be by far the cleanest approach.  Time consuming, yes, but better in the end...

--- End quote ---

With modern OS and systems this is less of an issue than it used to be.

I moved a HDD from a 100% AMD system (XP3000+, ATI graphics) into a brand new Intel based system, completely different chipset, Sata drives, Nvidia graphics etc. and there were no issues.  It booted (XP), installed the drivers it needed, and just worked even if there probably wasn't a single common component between the systems.  Back in the Windows 98 days this was a huge issue but these days it's less of one.

Of course, if you're buying a 64-bit system and your previous OS was a 32-bit version you'll probably want to reinstall anyway.

--- End quote ---

Well, I can assure you it's been a problem much more recently than Windows 98, though as you say, it has improved since then.  However, I went through this EXACT process only a few days ago (upgraded my MB, CPU, RAM), and XP would not EVEN BOOT.  Yes, there are always ways to MAKE it work, but in my experience, it is always better to do a fresh load when making such drastic hardware changes.  I've experienced first hand situations where, yes, the OS seemed to load up fine and load new drivers, but there were often weird performance or stability problems that would surface down the road.

Yes, to some degree YMMV, and if he wants to try using his existing install first, that's fine, but I'm just saying it's very possible that he will encounter issues at some point related to the change, if not right off the bat.
acidblue0:
It won't hurt nothing if I try putting hard drive on new board and try booting up?
Gamester:
Nah, it shouldn't hurt anything.  Like I said though, some problems may not be immediately apparent...
saurian333:

--- Quote from: acidblue0 on January 28, 2010, 08:57:12 pm ---It won't hurt nothing if I try putting hard drive on new board and try booting up?

--- End quote ---

No, shouldn't hurt.  You might get lucky and not have to do any more than that, so it's worth a shot.


--- Quote from: Haze on January 28, 2010, 01:25:28 pm ---Well, I've found 64-bit Windows to have far better driver support for my hardware than 64-bit Linux, but experiences will differ.

The main reason you'll want 64-bit for MAME tho is that you'll get a 15-25% performance boost across the board

--- End quote ---

I'll concede that I haven't experimented with 64-bit MAME; that's an important point considering the subject.

Yes, mileage always varies depending on hardware when it comes to Windows v. Linux.  On my current machines, I personally have much more trouble with Windows 7, and even more with the 64-bit version.  Everything works in Linux (32 or 64), although I lose the ability to run the vast majority of my PC games (but also gaining the benefit of exceptionally improved performance and stability).  I've had other systems that were simply better suited to Windows.  That's just the way it is, I guess.
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