Possible to move SSD with Windows 10 from GT80 to GT83?

My Titan GT80 SLI is dying, the machine takes 24 hours to boot. It hangs at the infamous MSI Logo splash screen. I think it's the motherboard, a hardware failure.

I am faced with the choice of sending it in to get it fixed and no idea how much that will run, or getting another machine. A GT80 SLI is an obvious choice but wanted to explore the idea of GT83. Since that GT80 6QE has a faulty motherboard.

Question is, can I take the SSD with the Windows 10 installed and transplant it to a GT83? Will it boot and see all the devices, etc? The two machines are almost identical.

I realize I will have to contact microsoft and have them move the license.

 

I highly discourage doing that... even if the machines are similar. It should boot but I recommend to make a backup and reinstall windows clean. Doing that can prevent all weird bugs caused by leftover software/drivers.
Anyway, you should be able to do a clean install of windows 10 on the gt83 as it should have had win 10 on it originally and activate it online without having to do anything else. Just install the same edition as what it had - you can ask the previous owner. It depends on the situation but in 99% cases it just comes with normal win10 OEM key which is tied to the hardware and NOT the ssd/hdd inside the machine or the OS installation itself. In case of ssd/hdd swap and clean install, the hardware will then be recognized when connected to the internet.

 

Have you tried if it makes difference if you disconnect one or both of the GTX 980(m)? If you have the GPU switch it should even work on the Intel processor alone.
And if all troubleshooting fails you should check if any of the repair services around would be willing to have a look. I see prices posted on ebay that are less than 200$ for a mainboard repair and around 500-550$ I'd estimate for an open box motherboard (you can make an offer) which is both a lot less than what you would have to lay out for a GT83.

As for transplanting the system drive to another model it would have to be more similar than the GT83, maybe with somthing like a different generation GT80 or a GT72? If the new machine gives you any trouble after the transplant I would rather try to start from scratch.

 

I usually put the old hard drive into the new laptop and then do a full reset so I don’t have to create a usb windows media to boot.

as for the licensing , each laptop that comes pre-installed with OS is already attached to the motherboard, therefore I am assuming the new license will automatically be chosen after the full reset.