Motherboard longevity

[sandbox 11]

I have an 8 year old PC running Windows 7. I don't have any issues, and I'm happy with the performance and speed. What is the expected 
life span of the motherboard/processor? I DO NOT want to move to Windows 10, and worried that if it breaks in the future I would have 
to get a Win 10 machine, so I am thinking of upgrading to this
- https://www.palicomp.co.uk/intel-skylake-core-i3-6100-z170-p-cpu-motherboard-bundle, while still available, £250 with RAM etc. This 
is the last generation that runs Win 7 and would be a precautionary future proofing just so I can keep Win 7. 
Should I make the upgrade, or is there plenty of life in my current machine?

[zach 233]

There's no guarantee as to how long any electrical item will last. I have motherboards that are over 10 years old and still going strong, I've also had to return them after a few hours/days/months.

 

The board in your link (ASUS) do tend to be decent but the above can still apply. The problem you may find with your current system is drivers and/or new software. It's your choice which OS you use but keep in mind that Windows 7 is near end of life and won't be supported by Microsoft afterwards. Windows 10 isn't as bad as some think and does tend to work on most hardware. Why not try a copy on a spare HDD if you have one?

 

List the details of your old system and we can advise you more on it.

[sandbox 11]

I have briefly used Win 10 before reverting back. I didn't like it, plus all the horror stories I keep reading.  My current system is

Intel  i7 860 © 2.80GHz 2.80 GHz
8.00 GB Ram
64-bit Operating System

 

 

[Ghozer 112]

I ran windows 10 on that exact same CPU since release, until Feb 2017 when I upgraded, that machine was still working and in use up to the day I sold it on mid 2018....

Windows 7 will reach end of life, and no longer get any updates, and all support will end, next year (Jan 2020) and you should not be using it beyond then...

What is your issue with windows 10? - much has changed and improved since release....

[sandbox 11]

A while since I used Win 10, but Win 7 meets my needs, I know and understand it. I think what planted the upgrade seed is all the horror stories I read about unwanted updates, files deleted, peripherals stopped working etc. etc.

[Ghozer 112]

Unwanted updates - not heared that one, there was some things with 'dodgy' versions of windows, and a small issue with a couple of updates in the early days, but haven't heared anything about specifically unwanted...

Unless you mean the random "Windows has updated, restart now?" message that people go on about - you can specify quiet hours so it doesn't ask to restart, (or even install updates) between the set time(s)

Files being deleted - was a recent update, only 8 people were affected under a specific set of circumstances, You needed to have changed the default location of OneDrive file storage on your computer, and have the files stored in OneDrive on the computer... as it turns out, they weren't actually deleted, but where the short cut pointed to (to get to them) had been reset to the default...

as for Peripherals stopping working - again, would need to know specifics, but Windows 10 has (in my experience) had much better compatibility with older hardware (even vs Windows 7) and you can often use Windows 8/8.1 drivers with Windows 10 any way if no specific W10 are available - but again, would need specifics on each issue with each peripheral..

[sandbox 11]

Cheers Ghozer, not experienced these problems personally, only what I've read. Might have to give Win 10 another try

[Annie Bynnol 611]

My WindowsXP machine was working well when I flattened it and put in Windows7.

Iresearched the use of Windows 10 and found that the machine could just about run Windows 10.

On installing Windows 10 the machine was born-again. Thoroughly recommend it.

 

Some programmes did not like the change or would not work correctly - but nothing critical.

[apelike 10]

1 hour ago, sandbox said:

Cheers Ghozer, not experienced these problems personally, only what I've read. Might have to give Win 10 another try

I must admit I was none to keen to upgrade to Windows 10 as I didn't like the way it incorporates its own apps or the graphical interface it uses but I have managed to personalise it the way I want. If one of the things putting you off upgrading is the GUI then you can use the "classic shell" which mimics the Windows 7 look and feel which may make it easier and more comfortable for you to use.

Edited January 9, 2019 by apelike

[geared 299]

Windows 10 doesn't like you upgrading the motherboard, there are some tricks to get around the problem though.

 

[MrRobot 10]

Windows 10 on my old machine has been running flawless. Though must admit I removed some of the stuff like the microsft store and other bloatware I don't want or need.

[swarfendor437 14]

You could install any flavour of GNU/Linux and run Windows 7 inside of Virtual Box with extension pack.  You should make sure you have a backed up image with all relevant updates. Spyware from M$ has been known to be present in some updates including Windows 7 through to 10. And remember no individual owns the OS from Microsoft - what you own is a licence to run it. With GNU/Linux you own the Operating System and you can configure it to your needs. I've currently got Windows 7 32-bit running inside 64-bit Feren OS in Virtual Box running Comodo Internet Security, Mozilla Firefox, and free version of Text Office Suite. No issues. 

Edited January 9, 2019 by swarfendor437