New processor help

[sirrus28]

I have a gigabyte tech motherboard ga-ma78lm-s2h rev 1.3, an HD 6870 graphics card and about £100 to spend on a processor, can any1 recommend what one to get?

 

[AM2A]

Maybe this one:
http://www.ebuyer.com/311396-amd-960t-black-edition-3-0ghz-socket-am3-8mb-l2-cache-retail-boxed-hd96ztwfgrbox
easy to overclock, chance at unlocking 2 extra cores.
Make sure to update your bios to the most recent version using your old cpu first.

 

[sirrus28]

Cheers, i bought that cpu but when i try to update the bios from the gigabyte site it wont allow me to open the files when they are extracted, it says the file cannot be opened because windows doesn't know who made it. Olso do i need to install it on a flash drive? Any help would be much appreciated

 

[phyco126]

You can't upgrade the BIOS from windows, you'll have to burn the BIOS ISO onto a CD, or put it on a flash drive and then boot from that instead of your hard drive. After that, its a matter of following the directions on your screen.

 

[tsnor]

http://www.gigabyte.com/webpage/20/HowToReflashBIOS.html

Three BIOS Flash Utilities...
We provide three BIOS flash utilities at our website. Below are the overviews.
1 :
A BIOS flash utility embedded in Flash ROM. Not all motherboards have the Q-Flash, please use @BIOS or DOS flash utility to update BIOS if your motherboard does not have Q-Flash.

Features-- With this utility, you only have to stay in the BIOS menu when you want to update BIOS. No need to enter DOS or O.S. mode.
Caution-- Make sure you have a functional floppy disk with the correct BIOS version for your motherboard.
Download PDF User Guide
2 :
A Windows-based BIOS live update utility.

Features-- @BIOS helps you search for, download, and then update the latest BIOS in Windows operating system.
Caution-- Make sure your O.S. environment is stable.
Download PDF User Guide
3 : DOS Flash utility

Features-- The flash utility is a combination of AMI and AWARD BIOS flash utility. You can use it with both AMI and AWARD BIOS.
Caution-- Make sure you have a functional DOS boot disk with the correct BIOS version for your motherboard.

 

[phyco126]

Features-- @BIOS helps you search for, download, and then update the latest BIOS in Windows operating system.
Caution-- Make sure your O.S. environment is stable.
Download PDF User Guide
3 : DOS Flash utility

Well I'll be... I still wouldn't go that route though.

 

[tsnor]

Well I'll be... I still wouldn't go that route though.

lol... did you see the "Caution-- Make sure your O.S. environment is stable. " part. grin.

 

[phyco126]

lol... did you see the "Caution-- Make sure your O.S. environment is stable. " part. grin.

Sure did, which made me laugh. Since when is Windows ever truly stable? I've had windows crash while installing "important" updates. My system is stable probably 99% of the time its up, but whenever its time to update something where its critical not to shut down, something tends to happen whether its through windows or the power in the house going out due to the renovators tripping the circuit.