no phenom support for existing AM2 mobo?

[edwilson]

I contacted Foxconn Tech Support with regards to Phenom support / BIOS / updates for the Foxconn C51XEM2AA 590 SLI AM2 mobo.

The first response back was: "No it does not support it"
Well DUH. that is what I was asking them: "When will a new BIOS be coming out to support the Phenom".
The second response was : "There is NOT going to be a BIOS to support phenom processor"

To say that I am upset really does not cover it.
The ONLY reason I decided to go AM2/AMD instead of 775/Intel was for low cost and upgradability.
So this means that the CPU/mobo combo I have now was obsolete the day I built it.
Gee - thanks a lot Foxconn and AMD, way to build brand loyalty.

Does anyone have any new info on this situation?
Has this improved since the Tom's article on 12/26 that found only 1 or 2 AM2 mobos that support the phenom?

There MANY thousands of AM2 mobo owners that need to know what is going on and when.

Some of us were even told to contact AMD or nVidia directly after the mobo makers replied:
"Don't ask us, our hands are tied" just great..

please help

 

[groo]

most tech suport is done by idiots without a clue.

here is my dated and limited understanding of the situation.

I imagine there will be a bios to suport the phenom, but the limitation of the AM2 slot means that it will not be fully utilized. the AM2+ mobos are built to fully utilize the chip.

 

[rockbyter]

its unfortunate, because there are significant gains to be had for us running the bargain bin X2s 3800-4400 ish. Upgrading to phenom like AMD said WILL WORK, is a great choice, even with the TLB issue, but the upgrade path fell through, and they might as well have released AM3 instead to give a fresh start.

 

[Scotteq]

I have a different take on it: YES, a Phenom will physically fit into existing AM2 sockets. But driving a single/dual core is a different proposition in comparison to a much more power~hungry quad. This is the reason for the '+' designation on newer boards. So although many AM2 boards can house the thing, they weren't engineered with the (then unknown) new power/configuration requirements and therefore cannot actually RUN it. Bios upgrade or not. And, No, It's not just your maker - When Tom's here tested a bunch of AM2 boards with a Phenom, almost all of them couldn't run it.

You can choose to blame the mobo maker... And certainly have justification to blame AMD for allowing/advertising a seamless path... But the Fact Of Technological Life is really that there is no such thing as "Future~Proofing" a computer. Plan wisely to get the best you can now. Don't plan on reusing much, if anything.

 

[jerseygamer]

There are plenty of MBs that support Phenoms. If you recently bought an AM2 MB and the AM2+ MBs were on the shelf then you did not research very well. You can still use your DDR2 on an AM2+ MB and plant any AM2 cpu on it.

 

[edwilson]

the power requirements of the Phenom are not that much more than an overclocked or top of the line X2
we are talking about 90 to 125 watts here nothing major.. so that power argument just dont fly with me

this is a simple choice of the powers that deciding

A. do we let them use what they have now

or

b. do we force them to upgrade motherboards and get more money from them.

the problem with B is that anyone with half a brain would NOT pick AMD if they have to upgrade a cpu/mobo combo
now or in the next 12 months.

OOPS, loks like they should have picked A instead


and YES i did the research, AM2+ was not out yet but all the marketing for AM2 said this would NOT be an issue

 

[blackened144]

Yeah, a lot of people did that research thinking they would have an upgrade path.. I did it with 939 several years ago and got burned.. I was thinking about getting another AMD for Phenom when I was ready to upgrade, but the Core2s were just smashing everything AMD had so I went that route. Thank god I did too.