Which 940pin AMD CPU?

[ManT]

I got a AMD 940 pin motherboard suitable for:
AMD Phenom™ processor (Socket AM2+)
AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual Core/ Athlon™ 64 / Sempron processor

Can I buy a AMD
x2 Athlon 240/245?


If yes, any variations of the x2 Athlon 240/250? I mean the socket and/or pin?


The reason I am asking because I got a 939 Athlon 64 3200+, it does not fit to this motherboard.
But it says suitable for Athlon 64. Were there any 940 Athlon 64 3200+?

 

[Devastator_uk]

Yes Athlon 64 CPUs existed in 939 and AM2.

The 240/245/250 will work as long as the BIOS supports it, would be best to check the manufacturers website.

 

[ManT]

Sorry, what do you mean by
"as long as the BIOS supports it" ?

The motherboard manufacturer's website says the specifications:

The A740GM-M motherboard supports the AMD Phenom™ processor (AM2+). It based on AMD740G Chipset with SB700, support dual-channel DDR2 memory up to DDR2 800. This model support both DVI and VGA output for dual display application. Adding Gigabit LAN support, the A740GM-M motherboard is an ideal choice that brings you outstanding performance at competitive price.


And also:
Describe the supported CPU -
AMD Phenom™ processor (Socket AM2+)
AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual Core/ Athlon™ 64 / Sempron processor
High-performance Hyper Transport CPU interface.
Support transfer rate of 2000/1600/1200 mega-transfers per second
Note: This board supports CPU up to 95W TDP only; you can refer to AMD website to check your CPU.

I guess 245 is AM3 socket and should be able to be put into AM2+ supported motherboard?

 

[unclefester]

AM3 CPUs are backward compatible to run on AM2 MoBos. The 245 is on the support list. Make sure you have the latest BIOS

http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Support/CPU_Support_Model.aspx?detailid=864&MenuID=69&LanID=0

 

[uh_no]

any AM2+ or AM3 processor should work

 

[LATTEH]

update the bios before you put any AM3 processor in

 

[ManT]

Are you saying I power on the pc without putting the AM3 cpu onto the motherboard?
And then boot into BIOS and do a BIOS update?

Any suggestion if I buy a AM2+ CPU? Which cpu is AM2+?

 

[unclefester]

Up-date the BIOS with the old CPU in place, as the MoBo might not recognize the AM 3 processor. So it may or may not boot up using the AM3

My choice would be http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103681

 

[ManT]

Hi,

My old CPU is 939 3200+ so cannot put onto my new AM2+ motherboard.

 

[enayet_redeemer]

You can boot up your system with AM3 CPU installed. The mainboard will not recongnize rather it will detect it as an unknown one. Then update your BIOS and the processor will be correctly detected.

This is from my experience. I bought MSI DKA790GX mainboard and AMD Phenom II X4 940 processor (it was not in the mainboard CPU supported list). The mainboard and Windows did not recognize it as Phenom II X4 940 when installed but as an unknown Quad core processor. After that I had updated the BIOS to the then latest one and BIOS/Windows correctly recognized it as 940.

And as AM3 is backward compatible (it has DDR2 memory controller on chip) so there would be no issue as I think.

 

[ManT]

Hi,

The problem of mine is my system is brand new, so my harddisk has NO OS in it.
Can I still put the AM3 (eg. Athlon II 245) onto the mobo and boot into BIOS, then update the BIOS (via floppy?).

 

[Devastator_uk]

You should be able to.

 

[enayet_redeemer]

Hi,

The problem of mine is my system is brand new, so my harddisk has NO OS in it.
Can I still put the AM3 (eg. Athlon II 245) onto the mobo and boot into BIOS, then update the BIOS (via floppy?).

Yes, you surely can. It would be better if you use USB stick. This is only possible if the mainboard manufacturer provided USB BIOS update utility.

 

[ManT]

So if the mobo BIOS does not support USB BIOS update, then the floppy disc BIOS update will be the only option?

 

[ManT]

Hi,

I have new motherboard, new cpu, new harddisk to build new system.
Is this the situation if I still want to use the AM3 cpu, eg. Athlon II x2 245:

1) Still put the AM3 onto the motherboard and power on
2) Boot from DVD drive with Windows XP set up disk
3) Install Windows XP as usual
4) After Windows XP setup, update the BIOS

Are these correct?

 

[unclefester]

If it will post you should be able to run the XP setup, although it may be at half speed if the CPU is not recognized.
Then after XP instillation run CPU-Z and see if it is recognized. If it is and it's running at 100%, you may not have to do an BIOS up-date.

 

[enayet_redeemer]

Hi,

I have new motherboard, new cpu, new harddisk to build new system.
Is this the situation if I still want to use the AM3 cpu, eg. Athlon II x2 245:

1) Still put the AM3 onto the motherboard and power on
2) Boot from DVD drive with Windows XP set up disk
3) Install Windows XP as usual
4) After Windows XP setup, update the BIOS

Are these correct?

Yep, the steps are correct. Even if the BIOS recognize the processor correctly I would suggest to update the BIOS to the latest one because it could have fixes for several issues.

 

[ManT]

Hi,

Sorry, I missed one thing:
If the motherboard does NOT recognise the AM3 cpu, will it still go to BIOS and then boot from DVD Windows setup CD?

Thanks

 

[enayet_redeemer]

Hi,

Sorry, I missed one thing:
If the motherboard does NOT recognise the AM3 cpu, will it still go to BIOS and then boot from DVD Windows setup CD?

Thanks

It will.

 

[ManT]

Arh,

So if that is the case then I can still put the AM3 cpu, eg. Athlon II x2 245, onto my AM2+ motherboard and install Windows and after the set up , I can update the bios to make it work.

As Athlon II x2 245 is pretty cheap compare with Athlon 64 x2 4200+ and I guess Athlon II x2 245 is faster than Athlon 64 x2 4200+.

 

[enayet_redeemer]

Arh,

So if that is the case then I can still put the AM3 cpu, eg. Athlon II x2 245, onto my AM2+ motherboard and install Windows and after the set up , I can update the bios to make it work.

As Athlon II x2 245 is pretty cheap compare with Athlon 64 x2 4200+ and I guess Athlon II x2 245 is faster than Athlon 64 x2 4200+.

Yes, definitely AthlonII X2 245 is faster clock per clock compared to Athlon64 X2 4200+.

Yes, you can put your AM3 cpu onto your AM2+ mainboard. You can update BIOS before installing windows because you have to boot with Floppy/USB to update or you can go after installing Windows.