Motherboard M2N68-LA (NARRA5) compatibility with AMD Phenom II X4 960T

December 29, 2011 6:27:45 PM

My question regards the compatibility of my new cpu, AMD Phenom II X4 960T, with my motherboard, a M2N68-LA (NARRA5) that has a socket for AM2+ and supports CPUs with 95w. This motherboard came preinstalled in a Compaq Presario CQ5110F with a AMD Athlon X2 7550 CPU.

I tried to upgrade the CPU to an AMD Phenom II X4 960T, which is a AM3 socket so it is supposed to be backwards compatible with AM2+ sockets, and it is also 95w. After installing the cpu, the computer wouldn't even boot. When I put back in the original cpu, everything works as normal again. I checked to see if there was an updated bios that might solve this issue, but there isn't and other AM3 cpus with 95w are already working with this motherboard. Is there any reason why this cpu shouldn't be compatible with this motherboard then?

More about : motherboard m2n68 narra5 compatibility amd phenom 960t

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dillyflump

December 29, 2011 7:24:37 PM

http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-ASUS/M2N68-AM.html shows support for phenom2 am3 processors upto the 955 model, but non higher. The 960t is relatively new, so perhaps compaq have no updated bios or don't intend to support any newer processors.

This is an issue with alot of shop bought big brand computers, it really is a pain in the backside to upgrade compared to a custom built rig.

Also the 960t chip ideally would be paired with a dedicated AM3 or AM3+ motherboard that uses DDR3, running it with DDR2 will likely cripple it's performance.

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tripmind

January 4, 2012 6:46:29 AM

i did pretty much the same thing you did, except I have a biostar motherboard, and I've tried installing the latest bios versions and everything but got nowhere with it. I've contacted their support via email, and I'm going to call them later. I'm also considering installing a bios version from a board that supports the 960t as a last resort, because I really don't want to buy another mobo or even sit around for 2 weeks waiting for rma and a different (and slower) cpu to ship back.

have you gotten any farther with your issue? or did you just resort to a new mobo?

ALSO REMEMBER TO RESET YOUR CMOS. refer to the manual that came with your mobo to learn how to do this. It usually involves changing a jumper for a few seconds, its also possible to reset cmos by removing the battery, then putting it back in.

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