Tom's Hardware > Forum > CPU & Components > CPUs > Will a AM3 Processor run slower in a AM2/AM2+ socket.

Will a AM3 Processor run slower in a AM2/AM2+ socket.

Forum CPU & Components : CPUs - Will a AM3 Processor run slower in a AM2/AM2+ socket.

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RahBoT   10-04-2009 at 07:31:38 PM

Ya I wondering if a AM3 Processor will run slower if any with diffrent AM2/AM2+ motherboards. I would like to see Tom's do a review on this. Also would Tom's please do a review with a lower end AM2 then test with a high end AM2, then test with a low end AM2+, High end AM2+, then a Low end AM3, then for the last one a High end AM3. I would like to see what the diffrents in FSB, HT, and Core's speed, Temp, and relative OC if you can. Thanks RahBoT

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bige420   10-04-2009 at 07:40:23 PM
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You wouldnt notice much of a difference if you put an am3 cpu in am2+ socket. Really the only main difference between am2+ and am3 is that am3 supports DDR3 memory and has hypertransport 3.0.

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sanchz   10-04-2009 at 08:08:25 PM
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The HTT link will downgrade ONLY if you install it in AM2. AM2+ and AM3 have the same HTT link speeds

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jsh1284   10-04-2009 at 08:49:08 PM
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No .. AMD says if you put an AM3 chip in an AM2 or AM2+ socket it will permanently damage the CPU. I wouldn't try it .. lol. It's right on the side of their main support page.

------------------------------ Desktop - Windows 7 RC - AMD Phenom II 955 (OC) CPU, Zalman CNPS 9500A CPU cooler, MSI 790GX/G65 mobo, Sapphire Radeon 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB DDR5 RAM GPU, 4GB Mushkin DDR3 1333 RAM, 250GB WD Caviar HD (Main) & 500GB Seagate Barracuda HDD (media)
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jsh1284   10-04-2009 at 08:50:57 PM
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Oops I'm sorry that's an AM2+ in an AM3 socket, not the other way around. Actually the AM3 chip should be just as fast. Except for possibly the Hyper Transport speed..

------------------------------ Desktop - Windows 7 RC - AMD Phenom II 955 (OC) CPU, Zalman CNPS 9500A CPU cooler, MSI 790GX/G65 mobo, Sapphire Radeon 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB DDR5 RAM GPU, 4GB Mushkin DDR3 1333 RAM, 250GB WD Caviar HD (Main) & 500GB Seagate Barracuda HDD (media)
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nashsafc   10-04-2009 at 09:58:48 PM
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omg i read the first part of your statement and i was thinking oh darn, there goes my phenom ii 720 LOL. Because i'm pretty sure they are compatible. Does Hyper Transport add to gaming performance, does the core 2 quads have this mode as well since they are ddr2? Since i don't have this mode am i not really missing out on perofrmance really for gaming. I don't multitask at the same time either and the 3 cores should take care of any game you chuck at it.

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Devastator_uk   10-04-2009 at 10:19:00 PM
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I have a 955(AM3) in an AM2+ and it works fine so no worries there. The hypertransport is the same for AM2+ and AM3, but AM2 is slower. Other than that the only difference is one's DDR3 and the other two are DDR2.

HT(AMD) or QPI(Intel) can in some cases make a big difference to the overall performance, these days I would not build a gaming PC without HT or QPI.

------------------------------ CPU: PhenomII X4 955 BE ; RAM: 8GiB
OS: BSD, Linux, Solaris & Windows (use VirtualBox)
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nashsafc   10-04-2009 at 10:30:48 PM
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Would this be the HT link that is stated in cpu-z? Mine is at 800mhz which is strnage and it is stable. I was thinking it aught to be at 2000mhz. This has been after the bios update. Is it possible for a bios update to not have been done properly, and to leave some features installed and others not installed or corrupted other data?

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nashsafc   10-04-2009 at 10:31:34 PM
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should hyper transport be an option to turn on or off on the motherboard's bios? And as i said does it increase gaming peroformance?

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sanchz   10-05-2009 at 12:05:28 AM
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HTT is like the old FSB, it's the link which connects the CPU to the rest of the components, the fster, the better...
I think AM2 (HT2) CPUs use 1000mHz HTT and AM2+/AM3 use (HT3) 1600mHz HTT

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nashsafc   10-05-2009 at 12:09:41 AM
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mine is running at 800mhz, this is the HT link, so this is the HYper Transport? So i aught to put it up to 1000mhz? I pt it up before and it was stable.

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RahBoT   10-05-2009 at 12:24:37 AM
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I still would like Tom's to show us if a AM3 will run slower in a AM2 socket than a AM2+ and AM3 sockets. I also wanta know if you run a 1000MHz HT and 2600MHz HT motherboards will a AM3 run slower in 1000MHz HT and 2600MHz HT motherboard than if you ran it in a 3600MHz or 4000Mhz motherboards? So Tom's could you please test this and put it in a review. Thank you.

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dokk2   10-05-2009 at 12:25:52 AM
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Right put it as high as it will go,it is the link between the cpu's,some of the newer mobo's go as high as 2500x2 ,I think,easy enough to check just go to the mobo's site,or maybe newegg or tiger and look under specifications..:)

------------------------------ When you obsess on your enemy,,
You become The Enemy...
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nashsafc   10-05-2009 at 12:29:49 AM
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mine has options to go up to 2600. I tried putting it on 2000mhz it wouldn't load.

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mindless728   10-05-2009 at 01:19:10 AM
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here is an older AM2 motherboard with unofficial support for AM3
http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=286970

the HT link speed doesn't really affect performance that much, when HT first showed up they tested it from 200MHz to 1000MHz and there was a negligible difference

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