CPU upgrade suggestions

[Richasa23]

I was looking to upgrade my CPU, but I am not sure that I will be able to with my motherboard. I was told that I might be able to use a AM3 CPU in my MB is that true?

Here is my MB and CPU

MB : ASUS M2N-E AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 Ultra MCP ATX AMD Motherboard

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+ Windsor 2.8 Ghz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2

Any suggestions on a CPU upgrade?

 

[Richasa23]

go to the asus web site, enter your motherboard model number and they will have a list of compatible CPUs

Yes I did that and according to ASUS this MB will only work with AM2 chips. I heard though that this particular board will work with AM3 chips even though ASUS says it won't. I read something about it being backwards compatible. I just wanted to check here and see what you all think.

 

[moody89]

I'm pretty sure that there's no AM2 motherboard that can work with AM3 chips. Unless its an AM2+ you're options are very limited unfortunately. For it to be compatible with AM3 chips the board would have to be forward-compatible which I'm sure all of us would love our hardware to be

If you're looking for an AM3 CPU then you'll most likely need a new motherboard

 

[C00lIT]

The best CPU you can run is a Phenom9950BE... this runs at 2.6Ghz, move fsb to 410 and that's 2.73 without any additional heat.


I had the same motherboard with this CPU and it ran flawlessly.

I changed the motherboard to an M3A-78EM just to see if a faster HT Link will make it any faster and the gain was insignificant. So... That would be the best upgrade you can do.

Only go this way if you can find one for less then 140$ and at least a 9850@ 2.5Ghz
Any slower in clock speed will make it pointless.

Other idea is to get a 70$ Asus M3A78-EM or the M4A78-EMmotherboard and get yourself a 105$ Athlon II 630 (quad core at 2.8Ghz) and re-use that ram of yours. (hopefully it's at least DDR2-800)

 

[moody89]

+1 to ct1615's suggestion.

An AM3 board with an Athlon II or Phenom II chip looks like a good idea. Both lines perform very well for the price.

 

[Richasa23]

+1 to ct1615's suggestion.

An AM3 board with an Athlon II or Phenom II chip looks like a good idea. Both lines perform very well for the price.

Yes that is what I will do, thanks everyone.

 

[Richasa23]

Best answer selected by Richasa23.