What do i need to do

This board does not support the Phenom 2 Quad 955 Black with or without a bios flash. I checked two compatibility charts and the results were the same, you will be installing that CPU at your own risk.

http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx?SLan...

well whats the best one that is compatible or what would you recommend, i mean i didnt go out and buy it guess i thought it might be compatible, wishful thinking lol, i wanna oc something so its pretty fast but not spend over $250

I'm more of an Intel guy and I don't want to give you any bad info so I'll let one of the AMD guys help you with that. Which ever CPU you decide, go back and check the list to see if your current bios is compatible with the new CPU. If not, you may have to update your bios before upgrading the CPU, good luck.

Here is the cpu support list for that board and the BIOS needed to support each cpu.
http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-ASUS/M2A-VM.html

ok so here the question dual core or quad, i know its been beat to death but i need an amd expert lol tell me what i should get http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... and how do i install it when i get it

I'd actually compromise.

Phenom II 720 X3 Black Edition.

phenom II arent compatible   or i would, smack me if im wrong http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-ASUS/M2A-VM.html

In that case, tell us what you normally use the computer for.

mostly playing WoW, i want to run it as fast as possible, and i know wow doesnt take all that much but if you havent seen the three psu's connected to my pc, i believe in overkill

I thought that site was a my little secret......"I checked two compatibility charts"

secret's out m8

For basic gaming i'd go for the X2 7750 or 7850, then overclock the crap out of that.
What's your current GPU?

evga 275gtx pre-oc then oc a lil more with oc tool

If it's for gaming, the faster dual core would be better, specially considering that price difference.

ty for the help, just bought the dual   cant waittt

Will you have the update the bios before upgrading? Or will it drop right in.

ill update the bios first, bios upgrades are always backwards compatible? or no

"bios upgrades are always backwards compatible?" You lost me on that one please come again.

Basically, yes.

like if i upgrade my bios it will still work with my current quad core 9500. computer will still boot, bells/whistles etc etc

BIOS flashes are similar to windows service packs. They simply update and fix bugs.

schweet then yeah im gonna update the bios according to my manual i got here

so i updated my bios sucessfully, but im not able to overclock my 9500 to what the setting i had it before, weird. hope i odnt have trouble overclocking my nre cpu when it gets here

Try this, shut down and unplug the PSU. Remove CMOS battery and discharge the motherboard by holding in the power button while touching the metal part of the case for approx 30 sec. Put the battery back in and post. Don't forget to re-apply your bios settings.

yeah i already did the cmos reset, it wouldnt boot with the settings i had it at so i had to do it. it was booting witht hose settings before thou pre bios update which is odd. guess imma have to fenagle around it somehow, idc as long as my new cpu overclocks ill worry about it when we cross that bridge, no use messing with the cpu i have right now if im gonns replace it next week