Question Is the AMD Athlon 3000G compatible with DDR3?

[Airlo]

I've had a ddr3 pc for quite a long time and am hoping to upgrade but haven't had the chance for several reasons. I know somebody with a different pc that has integrated graphics but has a better cpu performance and I thought to myself, what if I just upgrade the cpu to a ddr3 compatible cpu. I was looking at some budget builds and came to the conclusion of a build that included the amd athlon 3000g but that build was a target build that included ddr4 components. I just want to know if I could buy that cpu and have it work with my current ddr3 pc.

 

[drea.drechsler]

I've had a ddr3 pc for quite a long time and am hoping to upgrade but haven't had the chance for several reasons. I know somebody with a different pc that has integrated graphics but has a better cpu performance and I thought to myself, what if I just upgrade the cpu to a ddr3 compatible cpu. I was looking at some budget builds and came to the conclusion of a build that included the amd athlon 3000g but that build was a target build that included ddr4 components. I just want to know if I could buy that cpu and have it work with my current ddr3 pc.

It's an AM4 socket processor, that will mean DDR4 memory and as well an AM4 socketed motherboard will be needed.

What CPU and motherboard do you have? Some might help you find the best upgrade choice for what you have.

 

[Airlo]

I have a really old pc. Some people say its even a miracle its still working right now. I have the AMD Athlon X4 860K Quad Core Processor and the Gigabyte F2A68HM-HD2 motherboard. Sorry for the late response.

 

[Zerk2012]

I have a really old pc. Some people say its even a miracle its still working right now. I have the AMD Athlon X4 860K Quad Core Processor and the Gigabyte F2A68HM-HD2 motherboard. Sorry for the late response.

That is a old motherboard and these are the only processors that will work with it.

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-F2A68HM-HD2-rev-10/support#support-cpu

 

[punkncat]

To be fair, there could be some wack-a-do Chinese motherboard that would allow DDR3 to happen, but your current mobo will not socket that CPU.

 

[Airlo]

I am trying to not have to buy a gpu currently because of the price increase but what if I upgraded the rest of my current build and kept the current cpu, the Radeon RX 460. I did not think of this as a reliable option but it may be the best decision I can make right now. I do not know if there are any compatibility issues from the Radeon RX 460 to a ddr4 motherboard.

 

[drea.drechsler]

I have a really old pc. Some people say its even a miracle its still working right now. I have the AMD Athlon X4 860K Quad Core Processor and the Gigabyte F2A68HM-HD2 motherboard. Sorry for the late response.

Well...that's an FM2+ board, based on it's support web site an A10-7890K is probably the top-end processor to put in it, but not much improvement on what you have as far as CPU goes. It's main advantage is it's an APU, with Radeon 7 graphics, that might be better...depending on what you have for a GPU.

 

[punkncat]

An RX 460 should work just fine with a modern machine.

Don't throw money at upgrading the CPU on current rig. Even if you opted to go with a lower end i3 or R3 it would absolutely run circles around the old machine.

Give us an idea what market and budget you are working with. There are some wizards here where it comes to build lists.

 

[drea.drechsler]

... RX 460....

That's probably better than the Radeon 7 in the A10 APU.

That leaves an Athlon 880K as the best possible cpu-only choice.

EDIT add..but do agree going with a new CPU/mobo/memory is a best-choice option if you can swing it. The 880K won't make enough difference to be worth throwing money at it.

 

[Airlo]

If I were to make a complete build it would preferably be under 900 but since I am not able to make a complete build (partially because of gpu price increases) I am going for a build that reuses my current gpu. The build I have made includes the AMD Athlon 3000G CPU, ASRock A320M-HDV motherboard and Corsair CMK16GX4M2B3200C16 Vengeance LPX 16gb.

 

[punkncat]

Check your motherboard to see if it supports or needs a BIOS update to work with the Athlon you selected.

 

[Airlo]

My current or the one I have selected as when I was on pcpartpicker it gave me some compatibility issues regarding the BIOS version of the motherboard to work with the CPU but I do not understand that much about how to fix it. I did make this build with a friend of mine that is really into computers and got me into them too so I do not know if this is just a definite issue or just a heads up saying that this MIGHT be the case.

 

[bignastyid]

To be fair, there could be some wack-a-do Chinese motherboard that would allow DDR3 to happen, but your current mobo will not socket that CPU.

Highly unlikely since the memory controller is on the CPU not the motherboard.

 

[drea.drechsler]

My current or the one I have selected as when I was on pcpartpicker it gave me some compatibility issues regarding the BIOS version of the motherboard to work with the CPU but I do not understand that much about how to fix it. I did make this build with a friend of mine that is really into computers and got me into them too so I do not know if this is just a definite issue or just a heads up saying that this MIGHT be the case.

Things are strange....you need to either know the CPU model number or just make sure you get a board (ASRock A320M-HDV ) with at least BIOS version 6.20.

 

[Airlo]

I am not sure what you are referring to when you say CPU model number and is it possible to get the motherboard and then update it to BIOS version 6.20? Sorry if this is a dumb question.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

To be fair, there could be some wack-a-do Chinese motherboard that would allow DDR3 to happen, but your current mobo will not socket that CPU.

nah, the memory controller is DDR4 only.

 

[drea.drechsler]

I am not sure what you are referring to when you say CPU model number and is it possible to get the motherboard and then update it to BIOS version 6.20? Sorry if this is a dumb question.

On your chosen motherboard's (ASRock A320M-HDV ) supported CPU list it has two different 'support from' BIOS levels for two different models of your chosen processor (Athlon 3000G). One model number's support starts at P6.00, one at P6.20. Just make sure you have P6.20 so it works whichever model processor you wind up getting.

 

[MR_BROCK]

I have a really old pc. Some people say its even a miracle its still working right now. I have the AMD Athlon X4 860K Quad Core Processor and the Gigabyte F2A68HM-HD2 motherboard. Sorry for the late response.

I still have a phenom x4 965 black as my backup server if your going to upgrade its probably time to look a a ryzen chip mb and ddr 4 ram that mb is at least 8 to 10 years old. If not i suggest getting an ssd if you havent already that will speed it up considerably.

 

[punkncat]

Highly unlikely since the memory controller is on the CPU not the motherboard.

nah, the memory controller is DDR4 only.

The reason I mention it is in light of a review where there is an Intel mobo doing exactly that. It was some time back on TechYesCity. He finds all manner of crazy things off Ali Express and checks them out. Didn't know if something similar had been done for Ryzen.
Even if so, it would be highly chancy and nothing I would recommend.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

That only works if the CPU has the ddr3 controll included. Most Intel CPUs from 6th to 8th gen and some 9th gen had a ddr3 controller that is usually forgotten about.

No 3000g has such a controller.

 

[Airlo]

On your chosen motherboard's (ASRock A320M-HDV ) supported CPU list it has two different 'support from' BIOS levels for two different models of your chosen processor (Athlon 3000G). One model number's support starts at P6.00, one at P6.20. Just make sure you have P6.20 so it works whichever model processor you wind up getting.

I looked at the models and it ends in OX which is different from the supported models though I searched and just could not find the right model. When I looked at the AMD website it showed that the product id box ends in OX and it also showed other IDs one called the product id tray so I'm a bit confused on wether they are the same thing.