AM2+ with AM3 chip. BIOS support needed!

[Pohbohs]

Hello good people of tomshardware.com! I am a long time troll of your forums and decided I'd come out of the woodwork. I'm stumped and I need your help.

I have a Gateway DX4200 UB-0001A. The board is an AM2+, but for the life of me I can not figure out the exact name foxxcon gave it. All I know is Gateway calls the motherboard an RS780. As such, I haven't been able to download BIOS support from the foxxconn website. They don't have any supported AM2+ mobos listed as RS780.

I am trying to swap in a phenom 2 955 quad core black edition with a 95w TDP. I made sure not to get the 125w version, as I didn't want to replace my psu or fry my mobo. I tried to just swap out the processors without a BIOS update, but this did not work.

I went to the Gateway website and even chatted with a rep. They don't have any BIOS updates that allow AM3 compatibility even though the socket--with the correct BIOS, of course--will physically support the AM3 cpu. That's why I was trying to look at the Foxconn website and find the exact name of the motherboard. I was hoping I'd have better luck with them.

I tried using a homebrew BIOS, since I couldn't find AM3 support. Afterwards, my computer wouldn't post. Luckily, pulling out the mobo battery reset the bios to factory settings and I can boot again using the original Phenom 9550 cpu that my computer came with.




P.S. I am a pretty big noob so if I ask some dumb questions please forgive me. Thanks

 

[iam2thecrowe]

http://support.gateway.com/us/en/product/default.aspx?partNumber=1015576R there are no bios updates for this board.

 

[Pohbohs]

Firstly, thanks for the support and effort, iam2thecrowe. I edited my post to specify I tried getting am3 cpu support from Gateway, but they do not have a BIOS update, which is what led me to checking out foxxcon

 

[COLGeek]

What you are seeking likely does not exist. You might be able to get a Foxxconn BIOS for a 780 chipset mobo to work, but you are more likely to brick the mobo. It would be easier and safer to just replace your mobo.

 

[jitpublisher]

You are taking a big chance installing a BIOS that was not specifically written for a certain board. It will most likely not work, or even worse, as stated already, brick the board and render it useless.

You are at a point where you feel upgrades are needed, no? Well the first thing one does if you cannot even upgrade the CPU to something modern is to start with a good foundation to build on. Replace the board my friend!