Ready to "Beef Up" my PC...now what???

[KHg8m3r]

Technically yes, you can just swap the parts. However, you'll run into driver issues and system problems that will make you run really slowly.

What you could do is get a SSD drive and use that as your main OS install spot, and have the old drive be a data drive where you keep the non program files and large game isos.

But if not, you should backup your files, make a bootable windows 7 disk/usb, get your Windows key, swap the parts, and then re-install Windows.

Here's what I do when installing a new OS: (Show Spoiler)

Install GPU drivers, then run Windows update, and then install (I go in this order): browser of choice, visual c++ 2008/2010/2013, DirectX Web updater, java, Intel driver utility (and then run it to get usb/intel management/iGPU drivers installed), adobe reader/flash, Microsoft silverlight, Steam (if you use that), and then you should be able to just run the emulators like you used to if you put them back in the same spots that they were in on your current system. Then install your old programs, and run