Athlon II X4 645 on Asus M2NPV-VM

[Herr_Koos]

Hi all,

Posted this in the CPU forum as well, but I think it's applicable to this section too. I thought I might get some more thoughts from the mobo specialists.

I ordered an Athlon II X4 640 to slot into my Asus M2NPV-VM. Recent BIOS updates (v5005) expanded the CPU support list to include the 640 (but nothing beyond that). My CPU arrived yesterday, and to my shock and horror they sent me the 645!

It'll be great if it works since I get 100MHz for free, but I'm a bit nervous that the board won't support the 645. It's essentially the same CPU, just with a higher multiplier... What are the risks here?

Any comments or advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[o1die]

No risks. It may post as "unknown cpu" but that won't hurt anything. You can try to write asus for a bios update. Foxconn sent me a bios file recently.

 

[Herr_Koos]

Thanks for a glimmer of hope!

It's an AM2 board so I don't think Asus will be issuing more BIOS updates. The previous one that included the Athlon/Phenom II chips was released September last year. I was very surprised that they went to the trouble of updating it at all.

 

[Herr_Koos]

Quick update: the supplier sent me the 645 because they were out of stock on the 640. They told me I could install and play around with it, and send it back if it doesn't work. Whoopee! Play time!

 

[Herr_Koos]

Not looking good, unfortunately.. CPU installed successfully as far as I can tell, but no start-up, no beeps, no display.

What to do?

 

[Herr_Koos]

IT WORKS!!!!!!

I had to remove and replace my GPU for some strange reason, but the CPU is detected 100% correctly.

 

[ric24601]

IT WORKS!!!!!!

I had to remove and replace my GPU for some strange reason, but the CPU is detected 100% correctly.

hey there Herr_Koos. I just posted that same question to ASUS just now, so I guess I should've just googled more first I can't get the 640 stock either, but the 645 is available.

How did you get on with the GPU? Were you able to re-install it after the CPU was recognized?
I'm planning to get the ATI HD5570 along with the CPU.

Did you also happen to get a benchmark result with the new CPU, ie. does it perform as per its rating?

 

[ric24601]

IT WORKS!!!!!!

I had to remove and replace my GPU for some strange reason, but the CPU is detected 100% correctly.

hey there Herr_Koos. I just posted that same question to ASUS just now, so I guess I should've just googled more first I can't get the 640 stock either, but the 645 is available.

How did you get on with the GPU? Were you able to re-install it after the CPU was recognized?
I'm planning to get the ATI HD5570 along with the CPU.

Did you also happen to get a benchmark result with the new CPU, ie. does it perform as per its rating?

 

[ric24601]

IT WORKS!!!!!!

I had to remove and replace my GPU for some strange reason, but the CPU is detected 100% correctly.

hey there Herr_Koos. I just posted that same question to ASUS just now, so I guess I should've just googled more first I can't get the 640 stock either, but the 645 is available.

How did you get on with the GPU? Were you able to re-install it after the CPU was recognized?
I'm planning to get the ATI HD5570 along with the CPU.

Did you also happen to get a benchmark result with the new CPU, ie. does it perform as per its rating?

 

[Herr_Koos]

The GPU is re-installed and running perfectly. As for the CPU bench, I would not expect it to run at 100% of its theoretical capability in such an old mobo, but it still made a huge improvement over the old one. You want to suggest a benchmark?

 

[ric24601]

re. benchmark, I was just thinking something like Sandra.
Interestingly, I got a response from ASUS and they said it's not supported.
Of course, 'supported' and 'working' are not necessarily the same thing.
I don't have warranty anyway so its not really important that its supported.

Presumably they would need to test it before officially supporting it.

Think I'll give it a go. Its the mother-in-law's machine, so all I wanted was more grunt than her current 3200+ CPU without needing to rebuild/reinstall etc...

 

[Herr_Koos]

Lucky you. Asus never bother to answer me. Too late!

 

[Herr_Koos]

nice work Koos, just now getting to thread..

Thanks! I can't take too much credit, just followed the instructions..