Am3 cpu in am2/+ socket

xumehd · Feb 4, 2016

I'm helping a friend build a PC using some older hardware we got for free and had lying around, I've got it running but it seems under powered. I want to upgrade the CPU but I'm not sure what my upgrade options are. It's running a phenom x4 9500 but I want to put in a newer am3 phenom II x4 CPU. I've been reading up that with BIOS updates that am2/+ motherboards can run am3 CPUs and the motherboard I have has the latest BIOS revision which says it with support am3 phenom II. My question is are there any physical limitations with socket incompatibility?

Specs:

GA-MA69VM-S2 motherboard
10gb ddr2 ram
Phenom x4 9500

madmatt30 · Feb 4, 2016

Board shows support for 125w CPU's so looks good mate
945/955/960 tend to be best performers for the price - go with the best price, you can run the 945 at 960 speed fairly easily anyway.

xumehd · Feb 4, 2016

So a 955 should fit in no problem? Nice
Thanks

spdragoo · Feb 4, 2016

http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=2500

You can go all the way up to the Phenom II X4 975, or even the X6 1100T, so definitely go for it.

Since you apparently have a 64-bit version of Windows, I would also consider changing up the RAM -- 10GB isn't exactly balanced to take advantage of dual-channel mode, plus since you're limited to DDR2 RAM I'd recommend putting the max 16GB in if you can.

madmatt30 · Feb 4, 2016

Listed as supported & I to tend to take gigabytes word for stuff , so yes mate you should have no problems at all.

xumehd · Feb 4, 2016

So you think I should just remove the extra 2gb and run 8gb seeing as ddr2 ram is kind of expensive ? Also I don't see any of the 6 cores in the supported list they all have n/a next to them

madmatt30 · Feb 4, 2016

^ which means they're not supported - the 125w model of the 955 is unsupported too but the 95w model is.
However id ignore that - the board plainly supports 125w chips but does not support chips with 6 cores irregardless of tdp

spdragoo · Feb 4, 2016

Sorry, missed that first time through their page. Still, the X4 955 isn't going to be too shabby for that board.

If your current setup for RAM is 4+4+2 GB, the absolute best would be replace the 2GB with another 2x4 GB kit. Barring that, if you can find another 2GB stick that matches the existing, that should allow you to get 12GB in dual-channel mode.

xumehd · Feb 4, 2016

It's actually running with 2x4gb and 2x1gb right now because I had some extra 1gb dimms spare

madmatt30 · Feb 4, 2016

Check your memory tab in cpu-z to see if you're running dual channel.

With ddr2 especially you really DO want to be running dual channel if at all possible.

spdragoo · Feb 5, 2016

Yeah, double-check with CPU-Z. Although if you've got both sets of chips installed, it should be running in dual-channel mode. If it is, then you're probably Ok for now.

xumehd · Feb 5, 2016

Thanks for all your help, I'll probably go with 925 or 945 seeing as they're a bit cheaper but it'll still be huge performance increase over the old cpu. I can't check the memeory atm as I'm having internet issues and I can't download cpu z, I can barely load web pages right now.

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