Ultimate Edition Forum

This is what i have done in the pass.........uninstall your video drivers first.then swamp out the old board,and put in the hard drive with the os.Once you get everything peachy install the video drivers.If you keep the same gpu you should be able to skip all that,but i have a few machines and they all have different gpu's.

'One more thing, if I have to upgrade the mainboard or add another CPU, will I need to reinstall or will it pick up generic drivers for the new stuff?'
The true beauty of Linux is that it loads drivers when it boots so if you do major upgrades like a new motherboard, it will make the adjustments at boot time. If you change your restricted gpu drivers you would do as cell suggests. You can't do that with Windows without first installing the original generic ide controller(the one it installs when you first set it up). Just be selective with what chipsets the board has. Intel chipsets are well supported by Linux. Stay away from Via chipsets(they are crap-really bad support both Windows and Linux). All 3 of my computers have Intel chipsets and I have had no issues. As far as gpus either onboard Intel or Nvidia(ATI is not as well supported). Realtek for audio and lan(stay away from wireless). When you decide to get yourself a new motherboard just come here and ask or check out the hardware section.