Upgrade to AMD 1100T X6 3.3 GHz CPU

(new member here) I have a 2-year old Gigabyte AMD GA-MA790GP-DSH4 motherboard with the 790GX chipset and want to upgrade from my AMD X4 945 CPU to a AMD X6 1100T 3.3 GHz CPU. I know from the Gigabyte web site that I'll have to upgrade my F1 bios to the F7I bios using Q-flash. Is there anything else I would need to do after installing the new CPU. thanks

Nope that is all you really have to do.

Make sure you put new Thermal Compound between the processor and the heatsink though!!!

Just an FYI... If I were you I would go with the 1090T or the 980BE. The 1090T is just slightly slower and can very easily be OC'd up to where the 1100T can be and is about 20-30 dollars less.

The 980BE (which I have) is clocked at 3.7GHz, and can easily be pushed past 4.25GHz on air. It usually runs at the same price as the 1090T again saving you some money.

If you are going to be using it mostly for gaming and general household / office work you would be better off going for 4 cores / faster CPU than the 6 core models.

Me? Yes

I wouldn't do that upgrade..!!!!
it's not worth it right now.
I would instead upgrade that motherboard to the new AM3+ platform and a 990xx chipset.
odds are your CPU and RAM will carry over and you will also have the new chipset / board enhancements.
990 chipset is killer for overclocking and with the (WHENEVER) release of Bulldozer you'll be set with an upgrade path..
my opinion..

On the PassMark (at cpubenchmark.net site) CPU performance chart, the 1100T X6 rated a 6314 vs. the 945 X4 rating of 3630, almost twice the performance.
I don't do much gaming on my desktop (more on my Infuse phone). But I hear what you're saying, I may be puting a Hemi-V8 in a Ford Focus. I'll think about waiting (a month or so) on this upgrade. If I wait, I might then ask for a recommendation on a motherboard/cpu upgrade to fit in my existing case with same memory chips, video card, etc. Thanks for the feedback.

that's because of the 2 extra cores and testing in question, the 6 scores better than the 4.
depending on usage it will be a good upgrade, just that there are better options that will also lead to future-proofing.
money might be better spent in another way..

you need to verify that and see if they indeed sent you a wrong board.
you might be able to use that in your advantage you might not, who knows.
a new 990 board would be a nice alternative..

CPU-Z check was a wise move.
are you familiar with BIOS updates if keeping this board.?

no problem, seems like a logical move.
if I can help just hit me up..

I just went back and read where you said work will pay for the upgrade....
I must have missed that before.
If someone else is going to buy new hardware THEN HELL YES get it.
but if you have to pay for it yourself then I'd get the motherboard first and keep what you got..]
my opinion..

don't put too much into that...
all you have to do is save a copy of your current BIOS since it is F1.
save it to your HDD and/or USB stick.
Gigabyte just doesn't feel the need to list the original BIOS when the new BIOS are enhancements of the first anyways.
the BIOS updating tool will allow you to also save a copy of the current BIOS.
just download the BIOS you want and use the upgrade tool..

and your board is actually AM2+ and not AM3.
AM3 is DDR3 RAM, your is DDR2.
it has enhanced BIOS abilities and with the proper update (or from beginning) it had the abilities to run the AM3 chip.
but it's an AM2+ board, yes..

your putting way too much into this......
odds are the chip is not listed because the list from Gigabyte is probably old and has not been updated.
stop looking for the answers to be spelled out for you because it's apparent your confused or in over your head in terms of understanding the AM2+ socket.
and as I stated, your making a bigger deal than it needs to be.

you can open up your box if you wish but odds are it is what it is and cpu-z says what it is.....
and now I'm telling you, your board is an AM2+ board, period..
the 945 was released after the list (original list) from Gigabyte was made and posted.

945 is an AM3 chip but like I stated, your board is able to run AM3 chips with a BIOS update.
it will not be able to run the new AMD Bulldozer chips because it is not AM3+.

so move on about it..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128352
GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

Supported CPU

CPU Socket Type
AM2+/AM2

CPU Type
Phenom FX / Phenom / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64 X2

FSB
2600MHz Hyper Transport (5200 MT/s)

so now save a copy of your BIOS and then download the proper BIOS for the update.
use the update tool.
when completed you should be able to run all if not most of the AM3 chips...
but your board running on DDR2 RAM is also proof of that board being AM2+.

I'm trying to explain it to you as nicely as possible without getting angry.
you are emphasizing too much on the wrong thing.
I told you what it is and I too have an AM2+ board with an athlon ii x3 450 in it.
the athlon ii x3 450 C3 stepping is a AM3 chip..

your good, I understand.
go ahead and proceed..

use HDD to store BIOS file..
for now.

yes..
the actual heatsink will have an application of paste on it already.
I do recommend running down to your local Radio Shack and picking up a $9 tube of Artic Silver 5 thermal paste..

excellent and no problem...
now we have to check the temps to make sure you didn't use too much thermal paste.
search for and download coretemp.exe and use installer and run it
it only takes a small drop or thin line to keep the cpu cool and most of the time people use too much.

nice having to units huh.?
re-reading the thread, the Thuban 6-core is a good move because you needed the extra cores for encoding and keeping the old chip for a second unit.
A+ moves my friend.
the new line of AMD Bulldozer chips aren't anything to talk about but negatively.
so for you, good moves..

why that board in particular please explain.?
http://www.ebay.com/sch/?_nkw=GA-8 [...] mfe=search
looks like 2.2 is available but hardly any 3.1, you might have to get the 2.2 and update the BIOS.
but I wouldn't get that when you can have newer and better technology from a 9-series chipset..
look below on next post..

I got the GA-880GM-UD3H, rev. 3.1 with the AM3+ socket, 6Gb/s SATA, & USB 3.0 (I also wanted FDD/IDE headers and HDMI out), and it's working great with the 1100T 3.3GHz X6 cpu. My next upgrade in the not-too-distant future will be a Solid State Drive for my C: drive. Thanks for your help along the way.

Tigerdirect. Graphics is ATI HD-4350...., for now. Even upgraded to IE9, better than IE8, but still use Firefox. Everything working fine.