Considerations when changing motherboard

[04ste]

I need to upgrade my motherboard, as my current motherboard lacks an HDMI/VGA/other display port, and passing through my graphics card means that I cannot use it for a monitor

I have narrowed down my list of candidates from HCL, but please can y’all provide a list of other considerations for changing a motherboard?

So far, I’ve got:
Make sure that the processor fits
Make sure that the iGPU socket is compatible
Make sure I have a suitable CPU
Make sure that my memory is compatible
Make sure that my power supply is compatible
Make sure that my power supply will supply enough power
Make sure that my graphics card is compatible
Make sure that the heat sink and fan will be able to cool the iGPU and CPU
Make sure I have adequate thermal paste
DO A BACKUP BEFORE STARTING

I’ve found

If i change my motherboard

will i have to fully reinstall Qubes 4.1? Going from an AM4 x470 to b550 OR x570 never used the “backup” feature, so i’ll have to do some reading to see have that works if i have to fully reinstall (hope not)

[qubes-users] Motherboard change

Hello, I’d like to change my motherboard (for a different model), while keeping other computer parts. What should I be careful about. I am aware just about one issue: PCI devices will probably have different numbers, which causes some troubles. There is a workaround, as long as I think about it in advance: Add warning re PCI numbering changes to "Devices" tab in QM · Issue #8127 · QubesOS/qubes-issues · GitHub Is there any other pitfall? Regards, Vít Šesták ‘v6ak’

which are of interest

[corny]

Make sure the new motherboard has enough fan connections. Make sure its USB header cables match your case

If you plug your existing parts plus the new motherboard into PCPartPicker.com then it’ll tell you of conflicts. Good as a sanity check

[weird_pci]

More importantly, what kind of RAM do you have, because that basically limits your options.

On PSU, if it’s a single powerful GPU system, afaik 850W should still suffice.(though you might need more juice depending on your components, if it were 3090/4090/5090, I’d get a 1000W PSU to be safe). If comfortable with downclocking the GPU a bit to make it less hot/noisy, I think you’d be fine with 850W. CPU watt usage would highly depend on BIOS settings and cooler. You could have even 250-300W if you unlock and properly cool down a powerful one.

If you have a cooler already, you’d need different adapters for AMD/Intel. Check the socket support.

For fans, you don’t need lots of connections.

You can get cheap fan hubs powered by a SATA power connector. Each one can easily power 5-10 fans. So one header can get you 10 fans.

Otherwise if diasy-chaining, don’t put more than 3 fans on a header.

If you’re looking for a new platform,
I think the CPUs isn’t the issue but the motherboard.
Just make sure the CPU has a GPU, like 265K(igpu), but not 265KF(no gpu).

I have myself a Z890 based motherboard and I am in a similar boat, passthrough works for most things(wifi/Ethernet is flawless) but problematic with the main USB controller (through a fix and workarounds exist). I have Type C ports which can give me monitors.
I have one HDMI port too.

However I am yet to add discrete GPUs and see if it works.

At this point I can’t recommend the z890 yet. But if I get passthrough on GPUs, I will.

Look for success reports.