Can I upgrade to a Phenom II X4 or X6 on this prebuilt system?

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Hello, right before Starcraft 2 came out I was looking to build an inexpensive system that could run it on ulta settings. I ended up buying this prebuilt sytem for $300:
Processor AMD Athlon II X2 Dual-Core 215 Processor
Memory (RAM) 4GB
Type of Memory DDR3
Memory Expandable to 8GB
Hard Drive Size 640GB
Hard Drive Type SATA
Optical Drive 16X DVDñR/RW SuperMulti Drive
Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Network Card 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 Port)
Video Graphics Integrated ATI Radeon HD4250 Graphics Solution

The same day that I bought this computer, I also bought a 5770 graphics card and about a week later I upgraded the PSU to an Antec Earth watts 650w. This system can play SC2 at 60+ FPS at 1920x1080 so I met my goal. Now that I have been playing SC2, I am getting sucked back into PC gaming and would like to upgrade the processor to a Phenom II X4 or X6 so I can can play more CPU intensive games. The current motherboard is a socket AM3 with AMD 880g chip set. I am willing to flash the BIOS if I need to, but I just want to make sure I can actually do this upgrade before I purchase a new processor.

Thanks
 
This will depend on the motherboard, and not the chipset in this case.

Chances are very good that it will upgrade to an Athlon II quad. Chances are at least fair that you can upgrade to a Phenom II X4.

It's all about the voltages and BIOS. Figure out who made the board and the model number and go from there.

Let's start with CPU-Z, which might give you a bit of board info:
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

If that does not give you enough try Belarc:
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html
 
Until you say different, I'm going to guess you bought this Acer AM3400-U2502 that was on sale a little while ago for $300. Correct?

If so, on Acer's website they have up to a Phenom II X4 820 available on that model which is a 95W quad. My guess is that you should be able to run any other 95W quad or lower. To see if 125W or 140W quads or X6's are compatible, you'll have to do what proxy says and research the motherboard. It will be a hardware limitation, not a BIOS or chipset limitation if they didn't put the right voltage regulators for the higher power parts on the motherboard.

If you can't find out the details about your motherboard, you'd be safe getting a 95W Phenom II X4 945, if my assumptions about what pre-built you bought are correct.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Thanks for the responses. The information you both provided is very helpful. I am actually out of town now so I will not be able to try CPU-Z or Belarc until I get back in to town on Friday. Once I am able to try these out, I will post and let you know my results. Oh and yes I did pick up the Acer AM3400 that was on sale. Thanks again.
 
in that case, you can use an Athlon II X2 (65W), X3 or X4 (95W), a Phenom II X3 740 or a Phenom II X4 945 (95W). You won't be able to get the Phenom II X4 955 or 965, or the X6 1055 or 1090 (all are 125). There is supposed to be a 95W version of the 1055, but its hard to find
 
G

Guest

Guest
I heard about the 95W 1055. I will try to see if I can find one. If not I think I will probably get a Phenom II X4 945.
 

abq_lobo

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Hey guys, I started this thread but I did not validate my email in time. Anyway I used CPU-Z and it gave me some info about my motherboard:
Manufacturer: Acer
Model: M3400
Chipset: AMD 880G
Southbridge: AMD SB850
LPIO: IT8721

BIOS
Brand: American Megatrends Inc.
Version: P01-A2
Date: 4/12/10

After seeing this info, do you all still think that a AM3 95w processor is the way to go?
 



So that's what it means when it says anonymous!

I think Screwy is probably right, but what I found as far as official documents is this PDF:
http://www.acersupport.com/acerpanam/desktop/2010/acer/Aspire/AspireM3400/SG_Aspire_M3400-G_Book_04072010.pdf
Scroll down to the "FRU" (field replaceable units) for CPU list.

Looks like you could do an Athlon X4 640 at least.
 
Page 15 says "Support AM3 6-core Thuban CPU (140W)". So it looks like you can get whatever AM3 chip you want. The top Phenom X4's (955 and 965) are on the FRU list too.
 


Thanks! I was on the laptop and somehow missed the first page of CPUs (70) that had those.
 

abq_lobo

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Wow, I'm glad to hear that. Thank you all for your help.
 

ddelellis

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I have the same computer (with a similar PSU upgrade), and put in an Athlon II X4 640 with no issues. I am really wanting to put in a Phenom II X6 1055T or higher, so if you are successful with a 6 Core, can you please post results.