No, you don't have to reformat the entire HDD during a motherboard change.
No, you don't have to reformat the entire HDD during a motherboard change.
I've heard that Windows often requires a full reinstall when major hardware changes. But your setup has two separate drives—Local Disk C for the OS and some programs, and Drive D for Steam, Origins, Epic Games, etc. You should only reformat the drive holding your games if you want to keep them intact. Backing up those games from Drive D is a good idea before moving them.
This is an old board sir I'm changing from an FM2+ board to a LGA1155 (A8-7600 to i5-3470). These are products from 6-8 years ago, would they still be okay?
No changes are made. The system won't accept drivers from your old hardware on the new setup. Windows might install drivers automatically. If you need a clean start, format the partition when installing on the C drive. For your games on the D drive, you may have to reinstall the game clients after updating Windows, not the games directly. Once the clients are reinstalled, they should recognize any existing games.