Asus M5A78L-M LX3

[Wiradog]

Hello,
I am using an Athlon 11 160U 20W C3 Edition 1.8GHz CPU with the above motherboard, I have BIOS stability problems. I have gone to the Asus website to try and find a BIOS update but this CPU is not listed. Does this mean it is not supported for this motherboard?

 

[phil22]

The list of CPUs that the Asus M5A78L-M supports is here:

http://uk.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3Plus/M5A78LM_LX3/#CPUS

It seems the board supports only 2-core (Athlon X2) CPU or higher.
Your CPU has two cores, but one of them is disabled or locked by default.
Enabling the second core may fix the incompatibility issue, or it may simply not be compatible under any circumstances.
You will only be able to enable/unlock the second core if the existing BIOS supports that feature.

See this: http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Processors+-+CPUs/Processors+-+AMD/AMD+Athlon+II+-+Socket+AM3/AMD+Athlon+II+160U+20W+Edition+C3+1.80GHz+(Socket+AM3)+Processor+-+OEM+?productId=48881

 

[Wiradog]

The list of CPUs that the Asus M5A78L-M supports is here:

http://uk.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3Plus/M5A78LM_LX3/#CPUS

It seems the board supports only 2-core (Athlon X2) CPU or higher.
Your CPU has two cores, but one of them is disabled or locked by default.
Enabling the second core may fix the incompatibility issue, or it may simply not be compatible under any circumstances.
You will only be able to enable/unlock the second core if the existing BIOS supports that feature.

See this: http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Processors+-+CPUs/Processors+-+AMD/AMD+Athlon+II+-+Socket+AM3/AMD+Athlon+II+160U+20W+Edition+C3+1.80GHz+(Socket+AM3)+Processor+-+OEM+?productId=48881

Thanks Phil22,

I guess the safest course is just to get another CPU, as unlocking the second core is possibly leading to more problems than it solves.