upgrading processor question

yawhateva

I have a PowerSpec computer I bought a while back at MicroCenter (great computer). In Windows Update, it informed me that I cannot update to Windows 11 because my processor isn't currently supported (I have a Intel Core i7-6700K CPU @ 4.00 GHz). Just curious how much the cost would be to upgrade it and if everything on my computer would be wiped out if I did.

PowerSpec_MikeW

Greetings @yawhateva,

Assuming you want to move laterally and stay on the same performance scale moving to a 10700K or 11700K, I'd expect you'd pay around $600 on a combo with a solid motherboard. You can view our combo's here: https://www.microcenter.com/site/brands/intel-processor-bundles.aspx

Compatibility wise, the existing components should work, but we can help you verify that if you tell us your model. Drive may be SATA, and most modern systems are using NVME drives, but most board still support SATA on at least one M.2 slot. Memory would be DDR4 on Skylake, same as it is on Rocket Lake. Video card should be backwards compatible. You're moving from LGA 1151 to LGA1200. LGA 1155/1156/1151/1200 all used the same mounting mechanism for the coolers, you should be good there.

There may be other components you'll want to upgrade as well, depending on the original specs, but your existing hardware should be compatible. As for retaining your OS, Windows 10 is pretty good about being able to install drivers and boot on a major hardware change. If you change something functionally like the storage controller mode, it'll crash, but you can get into safe mode and fix issues like this even in that event. I would remove all the old drivers first once you get in then reinstall the latest drivers for your new hardware. If you're having any issues at that point, remember that you can repair install the OS without losing any data, which may be a good way to make a clean start on a new motherboard without reinstalling the OS.