Using an unsupported CPU

[DaY290]

Hi!

My friend just bought a new motherboard, the Gigabyte GA-G41MT-ES2L which he is currently running along with a very old cpu, Intel Celeron 346 3.06Ghz with 256KB's of cache.

Now although the CPU is not mentioned at all in the support list on the official website, it seems to work just fine as posting/installing windows all turned out ok. So the question is, is there some sort of a negative effect that can happen on the long run due to using this unsupported cpu?

Thanks

 

[Lmeow]

Long term wise I wouldn't think so, although your friend may run into stability problems if he tries overclocking or changing any major BIOS settings. Apart from that I really don't know of any problems with using a CPU that works, just not officially supported.

 

[DaY290]

Nah, he's not really into overclocking and that stuff. He just needs a working cpu for the time being for everyday tasks [surfing/music/movies/old games] till he can upgrade to a quad-core.

Thanks for the reply

 

[tecmo34]

I would check his BIOS to see if the CPU is listed or is it listed as "Unsupported CPU".

If listed, it does support his CPU, even if not listed on the website. If it is listed as "Unsupported CPU", his system is down clocking the CPU to lowest levels to prevent system damage. This will keep the CPU from running at designed speeds. Long-term there is no effects just the system running slower than designed.

 

[jsc]

You mostly run into problems with CPU's that came out after the motherboard BIOS was released, not problems with older CPU's. One exception to that rule would be if you wanted to use a CPU with a higher TDP than the board is rated for.

 

[DaY290]

I would check his BIOS to see if the CPU is listed or is it listed as "Unsupported CPU".

Well, it does list the cpu iirc as "Celeron D 3.06 Ghz" during POST, but I can't seem to find anything that lists the cpu's name or "unsupported cpu" at all inside the BIOS itself, to be honest it's a very wierd looking BIOS.

You mostly run into problems with CPU's that came out after the motherboard BIOS was released, not problems with older CPU's. One exception to that rule would be if you wanted to use a CPU with a higher TDP than the board is rated for.

Good point, I checked that and it seems that the Celeron D 346's TDP is 84W. The motherboard can support up to the QX9770 which requires a max TDP of 136W, so I think the cpu should be pretty safe there.

So far everything seems to be working stable, but there's one very wierd problem. When we installed the processor, we used a new fan along with arctic silver 5. The idle cpu temperature in the BIOS was around 43 degrees C, which was pretty much the same temperature I had when I used that cpu myself.

Two days later now, the idle cpu temp has now gone up to around 52-54 which is just unusually high, I'd hate to see the load temps, but I'm guessing that would be way above safe temperatures. What's wierd is that he hasnt really changed anything at all in the case, so I just can't find an explanation to this temperature gain.

 

[jaquith]

^ Long-run probably not okay as exhibited. I would check the voltage, and begin on the lower range of 1.25-1.4V; assuming no OC.

 

[DaY290]

Best answer selected by day290.