Need answers about upgrading

[firecat318]

The time has finally come for me to upgrade my computer, I have been needing to upgrade for a good year now but have finally come across the extra money which I needed. I'm planning on purchasing a:

• Motherboard
• CPU
• Case
• Windows 7 operating system

Last summer I upgraded my graphics card from an integrated chip to a ATI Radeon HD 5770, which was nice. I also upgraded the stock power supply to a 750 watt. Basically what I have now is a Dell Inspiron 530 with a 750 watt power supply and 5770 graphics card but I still have the original motherboard and CPU, which is definitely holding my system back. The CPU is a dual core at 2.66 GHz with no option to overclock because the motherboard is stock.

Anyways, these are the parts that I'm planning on getting:

Newegg.com - Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Newegg.com - ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT90ZFBGRBOX
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade

I'm pretty certain the CPU is compatible with the motherboard, please tell me if it's not. My main question is about the operating system. My current computer has Windows Vista but I want to upgrade to Windows 7 when I install the new hardware. I'm not going to purchase a new hard drive because mine is just fine (I think it's 500 GB, not even close to full). When I install the new hardware and operating system, will all of my files still be on my computer when I get everything installed? This includes all of my programs and games too. I'm not really sure where the OS is actually "stored." Is it on the hard drive or the motherboard? Since I'm keeping the hard drive will all of my files and programs show up when I install the new hardware and OS? Thanks for answering my questions.

 

[cboucher]

Since you are replacing the motherboard, you will not be able to install the upgrade version of Windows. You will need to buy the full installation version unless you have the full version of your old OS (not a recovery disk). The OS is stored on your hard drive, but you can't just simply plug in your old hard drive into a new motherboard and expect it to work. The OS was originally installed for your current hardware. Since your hardware is changing, you will need to reinstall the OS and all programs. You should back up stuff like pictures, photos, music, video and place it on a different drive before you attempt a new OS install.

 

[firecat318]

So that means I couldn't purchase the "upgrade" OS?

How about this one?
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - Operating Systems

 

[cboucher]

That one would be fine. What about memory? I don't see it on your list...

 

[firecat318]

I thought I could just use the current memory, it's (4) 1 GB DDR3 sticks... should suffice till I get some more money to purchase more. Same with the optical/DVD drive (not that I ever use it anyways, I buy all my games on Steam).

And, would you happen to know what OEM means and "System Builders" ?