My Asus A8V-E Deluxe motherboard recently died, and I have no choice but to replace it. And since it's not really fun to get something you already have again, I was thinking maybe I could make a small upgrade while buying a new mb. But my processor is AMD Athlon XP 64 3.2ghz. It's a 939 socket processor, so I have to get a mb which supports my cpu. I was thinking, if I can buy a mb which supports ddr2, I would buy new ddr2 rams and it could be a small upgrade for me.

What do you guys think? Is it possible for me to a get an upgrade here somehow? Or the only choice here is to replace my current (dead) mb with a new one with the same specs?

The rest of my system is 6800gt, Antec 430 watt psu, 200gb sata seagate hdd 1,5gigs of kingston ddr. I'm a bit low on budget but I think I can spend 150-200$ for some minor upgrade. Thats why I thought of the replacement of the dead mb, plus some rams. If my motherboard wasn't dead I could straightly go for a new graphics card but hell.. it is.

The answer to me is no.

The momomy controler on this AMD CPU is inside the CPU itself so it can only work with the memory it was designed to work with, in this case DDR.

The only processor from AMD that support DDR2 are the AM2 and AM@+ socket processor.

Sry but you will have to choice between replacing only your mobo or a complete new system.

I see.. Just checked wikipedia about the memory controller. You're right. I didn't know this.

"The memory controller is a chip on a computer's motherboard or CPU die which manages the flow of data going to and from the memory.

Most computers based on an Intel processor have a memory controller implemented on their motherboard's north bridge, though some modern microprocessors, such as AMD's Athlon 64 and Opteron processors, IBM's POWER5, and Sun Microsystems UltraSPARC T1 have a memory controller on the CPU die to reduce the memory latency"

So it's completely incompatible with ddr2.
Thanks for the reply.

I know it's highly unlikely, but maybe the memory chip "does" support ddr2. There could be some ddr2 at the time I bought the cpu though I don't remember. How can I be sure the cpu supports ddr only?

I asked amd why they didn't develop a ddr chipset for am2. They told me that there was no incentive to use am2 with older technology. So, in a nutshell, socket 939 is ddr 184 pin only; am2 is ddr2 240 pin only. Neither cpu will recognize a different ram; asrock has some motherboards with ddr or ddr2 support for some core2 duo cpus; this is not possible for amd.

Even if your CPU did support DDR2, DDR and DDR2 don't have the same pin and voltage configuration so DDR2 won't work in a DDR motherboard.Quote from Wikipedia:

How about a core system upgrade:

Intel Setup:
Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128077
Processor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819116036
Memory - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820161677

Total: $191.97 in the cart.

AMD Setup:
Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128045
Processor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103767
Memory - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820161677

Total: $192.97 in the cart.

-Wolf queries

Edit: Sorry - Had to change the processor from Brisbane to Windsor. That Brisbane processor is not supported on the Gigabyte motherboard.

I don't think the memory controller of am2 k8s can handle DDR2 at all. Even if it could the voltage difference is too large. Running am2 K8s memory with 2.5v is the best ticket to fry the CPUs IMC, well unless you run the CPU at 2v too...

Voltage isn't the problem. You need a chipset for am2 to recognize ddr. I was hoping via or amd could develop one as they did for Intel core2 duo. I like the asrock funky chipset boards that can run either type of memory.

That is because the meomory controller for AMD is intergrated in CPU and for Intell it is on the mother board chip set. That is why AMD discontinued 939 went to AM2 so it would support DDR2. That is why Asrock did not make a mother board that would support both because they couldn't, it would only work for Intell. The only way to upgrade to DDR2 on some of those Asrock AMD mother boards was to buy a CPU upgrade board that plugged into a special slot on the mother board. The upgrade board had a slot for the new AM2 cpu and slots for DDR2 memory.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it is not possible for a 939 skt cpu to run ddr2 memory because of the IMC. Am2 offers no real world performance increase over 939 even though it uses ddr2 ram. Am2 was purely invented for ddr2 as Am3 will be for ddr3.

ddr2 does not fit in a ddr1 slot so the cpu not recognising it isn't even an issue. The same applies for 939 cpu's fitting in Am2 boards they have a different number of pins in a different arrangement 939-940 pins.

Your only choice if you want to keep your current cpu is to buy a 939 skt mobo. However seeing as AMD stopped manufacturing them about 2 years ago they will be hard to track down and/or overpriced.

Your best option is to go for an upgrade.

http://secure.newegg.com/Shopping/ [...] pping-Cart

$203.00 so its a tiny bit over you budget but its much better than your current system. Its similar to Wolfshadw AMD system but with a better mobo.

The Intel system Wolfshadw recommend is not as fast as the AMD system at stock but overclocked it would leave the AMD system way behind.

Thank you for the replies. As you guys told me, I've thought of completely replacing the mobo, cpu, and rams but there's a small bit that doesn't quite fit to my head.

The clock speed of the cpu I have is 3.2 ghz right now. If I went for an upgrade and bought a, let's say an E2160, one core speed will be 1.8ghz. Isn't there going to be a performance decrease when compared to a 3.2 ghz processor? Of course there's the fact that it has 2 cores, but when thought generally about the programs in windows, won't it work slower? Though it will be better at some games I guess.

What's the difference between Duo Core and Duo 2 Core? I get to have a E4500 if I give 45$ more.

Recently I did a lot of research about motherboards and saw that Gigabyte's D3SL motherboard is quite preferred and is great for overclocking. Since the gap between Wolfshadw's advice and D3SL isn't so big, would it be clever if I bought a D3SL and saved money for a cheap duo 2 core and overclock it? It would be more expensive but it would be more "lasting" I think.

How about my graphic card (6800GT) perform after an upgrade like this? Bottlenecks? Guess I would have to upgrade it too in the future.

Do you mean your 939 CPU is a 3200+ it runs at 2.0 ghz......is that what you mean? I doubt it runs at 3.2 ghz. If it does that is one hell of an over clock. Sounds like you need a complete upgrade. You can find 939 motherboards at New Egg but it probabaly is time for a new system. How much did you say you could spend?

You're right. The clock speed is 2.0. My mistake. I think I can get a good overclocker motherboard as i told above, and a mid range CPU. I'm considering Wolfshadw's build also but there's so little price difference between some products.

For example: E2160 79.99$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819116036

On the other hand: E2180 84.99$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819116052

Even an E4500: 124$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115031

I don't know man.. I just can't decide. I guess I could even pay for a E6750+GA DS3L+2gb DDR2 800 rams but it's really difficult to part with the money I've earned over the last 3 months. :\

Sorry for being so indecisive. I'll have to make a decision sooner or later. I may get a core 2 duo system and get a new vid card in the future.

Wolfshadw's Intel setup is your best bet, except here's better memory for cheaper:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820211165

You really owe it to yourself to look into BIOS overclocking; it's very simple at moderate levels and can save anyone looking to buy a new processor hundreds of dollars.

Once your core system is built, start saving pennies for a new graphics card, an HD 3850 or 8800 GT will offer stellar performance increase over your 6800GT, but they need that extra power from your CPU and memory to perform in all their glory.

Thanks for the link. Though it's hard to find that cheap memory in my country.

I'll certainly get into bios overclocking when I buy a cpu.

8800GT can perform to its full glory with a E2160 and a cheap mb? I thought 8800GT was one of the higher end cards.

Would I need to buy a new PSU? I have Antec 430w atm.

The PSU is fine.
8800GT will perform not to it's highest degree but to a degree you won't get from another card. It is worth investing in.

Clocked at 3Ghz, very attainable for that proc, an 8800GT will not be CPU bottlenecked. Motherboard quality rarely has much effect on performance, better ones just provide higher stable overclocks and more fanciful features and options that you may or may not even use. The Gigabyte P31 board wolf linked however is a good overclocking board on the cheap. You can look into slightly more expensive, yet more featureful P35 boards.

I wasn't aware you were outside the US, but at least the newegg links give you a good idea of what to look for.

As for your PSU, 430W is sufficient for this build provided it has enough amps on the 12v rails. Specify the exact model and we'll look it up or look at the sticker on the side to see amp ratings.

Square peg. Round hole. 'Nuff said.

Nice answer rodney

As for the PSU details here it goes,

Antec Performance True430P 430W Max With PFC

AC Input
230V/5A; 47~63Hz
DC Output +5V +12V +3.3V -5V -12V +5V SB
Max. 36A 20A 28A 0.5A 1.0A 2.0A
Min. 0A 0.8A 0A 0A 0A 0A

+5V, +12V and +3.3V max. load 410W
+5V, +12V & +3.3V, Charge maximale: 410W
Max, last for +5V,+12V and +3.3V:410W

I bought this PSU exactly 2 years and 7 months ago. I know it's old, but I don't understand why a working known brand PSU should be replaced if its compansating the voltage demands and working properly. Though if it needs to be replaced, it needs to be replaced. I wouldn't want to put the new system I bought in danger.