Overclock.net banner

AM3+ cpu on a AM2+ motherboard ( with DDR3 controller )

5K views 31 replies 12 participants last post by  edalbkrad 
#1 ·
So.. My motherboard is AsRock N68C-S UCC. I currently have on it a Phenom II x4 955, 8Gb RAM DDR3 and a HD7770 gpu. The motherboard can also use ddr2, but i never used the ddr2.
Will AM3+ CPUs work on my motherboard since i have ddr3 support ? I'm asking in a theoretical way, i don't want to consult the supported cpu list. I know that AM3 motherboards support AM3+ CPUs.
I want to get a AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz, vishera core (not the bulldozer). I know that AM3+ motherboards are like 40 Euros, but i don't want to get a new one.
 
#2 ·
No it will not. There are missing features that will not allow the chip to work. If you had consulted the CPU support list, which you are for some reason reluctant to do, you would know that it is not compatible. If it is not on that list it will not work. Not to mention that board doesn't support over 95w CPUs.

You need a new board.

http://www.asrock.com/mb/NVIDIA/N68C-S%20UCC/?cat=CPU
 
#5 ·
I'm talking in a tehnical way. Let's asume that the BIOS support AM3+ CPUs, what would then be the missing features ? An AM3 motherboard will support am3+ cpus, why won't an am2+ supprt it? The am2+ has every feature of an am3 motherboard: ddr3, am3 cpus support etc.

Let's talk in general and not about my motherboard specifically.
 
#6 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by andrej View Post

I'm talking in a tehnical way. Let's asume that the BIOS support AM3+ CPUs, what would then be the missing features ? An AM3 motherboard will support am3+ cpus, why won't an am2+ supprt it? The am2+ has every feature of an am3 motherboard: ddr3, am3 cpus support etc.
Let's talk in general and not about my motherboard specifically.
I am not sure exactly on the missing features but the chipsets are not capable of supporting AM3+ CPUs and it simply will not work. AMD does not release info on why, all we know for sure is that it does not and will not ever work. It's not the outward features that are missing but the internal ones which are used to communicate with the CPU that will cause issues.

But the BIOS cannot support AM3+ because the hardware does not have the necessary features to support it. Not to mention, on your board, an 8350 would probably blow the VRMs right off the board. I don't know what you're trying to figure out. There is no way to get an AM3+ CPU working on an AM2+ board. If it was AM3 then maybe, depending on manufacturer support, but not an AM2+.
 
#8 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by DirektEffekt View Post

There is no theory. If the BIOS doesn't support it it won't run. If it's not on the Supported CPU list it will not run. As I said there are missing features on AM2+ which are required for AM3+.
actually, if the cpu is on a similar socket, there is a 50/50 chance it will run.

I once ran an LGA775 Intel dualcore E5300 wolfdale on an ancient 775 Pentium IV motherboard.
the board only supported up to Pentium D 820 but it detected the E5300. Although its performance was slower than normal.

Anyway I wouldnt suggest that you do this andrej, because I only did it to test whether the board or cpu was killed by its faulty PSU.
 
#9 ·
I think what he's really asking is do the FX-Series processors have a DDR2 controller. If they did - they could technically run in a AM2+ motherboard. But they do not. AM3 processors work on AM2+ because they have a DDR2 and DDR3 controller in them. So really the best you could hope to work in a AM2+ motherboard would be a Phenom II X6. Most AM2+ boards only have BIOS support for the first wave of AM3 processors (Phenom II 955 x4, Phenom II 720 x3, Phenom 550 x2, ect)

So yes the board needs BIOS support for the processor but there are several forums where people will actually mod a BIOS file for you and add the CPU support. Flash at your own risk though!

It MAY work on that board with a modded BIOS BECAUSE it has DDR3 slots on it! You could try getting a modded BIOS worked out then test it.
 
#10 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by edalbkrad View Post

actually, if the cpu is on a similar socket, there is a 50/50 chance it will run.
I once ran an LGA775 Intel dualcore E5300 wolfdale on an ancient 775 Pentium IV motherboard.
the board only supported up to Pentium D 820 but it detected the E5300. Although its performance was slower than normal.
Anyway I wouldnt suggest that you do this andrej, because I only did it to test whether the board or cpu was killed by its faulty PSU.
This... I'm running an FX-8350 on a CIVF that does not have this chip on any support list and an AM3+ chip on an AM3 board never was supported by AMD yet it works flawless.
 
#11 ·
Once I had a AMD Opteron 170 Denmark 2.0GHz Socket 939 on a board,And it wasn't listed in the CPU compatibility list.But the CPU in question ran fine on the board.
 
#13 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by DirektEffekt View Post

There is no theory. If the BIOS doesn't support it it won't run. If it's not on the Supported CPU list it will not run. As I said there are missing features on AM2+ which are required for AM3+.
That's kind of ignorant that isn't necessarily true i have seen board just throw up an "UNKOWN" for the cpu and boot in to windows. If i have learned any thing over the years it is that factory "supported" lists get outdated and never get updated. my Acer 5920G was never supposed to support over 4gb of ram and lots of people run over 4gb with confirmation and validation, i run 5gb my self. It was never supposed to work with an x9100 or any other 1066mhz buss speed cpu but, thanks to testing over at NBR all you need is some wire strand and tape and it works by down clocking it.

OP I think there might be a chance sine the FX series is a DDR3 based. should it actually work you might need to mod the bios with new micro codes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DirektEffekt View Post

I am not sure exactly on the missing features but the chipsets are not capable of supporting AM3+ CPUs and it simply will not work. AMD does not release info on why, all we know for sure is that it does not and will not ever work. It's not the outward features that are missing but the internal ones which are used to communicate with the CPU that will cause issues.
But the BIOS cannot support AM3+ because the hardware does not have the necessary features to support it. Not to mention, on your board, an 8350 would probably blow the VRMs right off the board. I don't know what you're trying to figure out. There is no way to get an AM3+ CPU working on an AM2+ board. If it was AM3 then maybe, depending on manufacturer support, but not an AM2+.
that's a more reasonable answer. I had this issue with the Foxconn destroyer with 6 core CPUs.
 
#15 ·
possibly at the least the micro codes could borrowed if some one could mod the bios, assuming the the same bios couldn't be used, which might be possible.
 
#16 ·
Why couldn't the same bios from the N68C-GS FX motherboard be used on the N68C-S UCC ? They are practically the same boards, the only thing that seems to be different it's the socket color (on the AM3+ is black, on the AM2+ is white).
 
#17 ·
if that's REALLY the only difference you could try flashing the bios if all else fails i'd make sure you have info on the emergency bios recovery method as most motherboards have one.
 
#18 ·
Well i don't know if AsRock has support for the Emergency Bios Recovery. I once read that they did not use it because of the limited space on the EEPROM or something like tgat, but those posts were old (2004-2005) and i don't know about the new mobos.
 
#22 ·
possibly even ebay. Also they are usually pretty cheap. like 15 bucks USD or under, shipped.
 
#23 ·
Just some info on AM2+ boards... AM2+ does NOT support DDR3, it is DDR2 (as per the actual AM2+ spec).

I have 4 AM2+ boards around me, all using am3 CPU's, none support DDR3.

Looking at the design and limitations of that board, it is AM2+ with the proper traces/slots for DDR3 support on AM3 processors. This is exploiting backwards compatibility of the socket, which means that the socket itself is AM2+ and it is quite possible that an AM3+ CPU will not work due to it being keyed in such a way that it will not fit into an AM2+ socket.
 
#24 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by KarathKasun View Post

Just some info on AM2+ boards... AM2+ does NOT support DDR3, it is DDR2 (as per the actual AM2+ spec).
I have 4 AM2+ boards around me, all using am3 CPU's, none support DDR3.
Looking at the design and limitations of that board, it is AM2+ with the proper traces/slots for DDR3 support on AM3 processors. This is exploiting backwards compatibility of the socket, which means that the socket itself is AM2+ and it is quite possible that an AM3+ CPU will not work due to it being keyed in such a way that it will not fit into an AM2+ socket.
if you look in the thread there is a version of his board with black socket and ma3+ support, and it's the same board. His board is hybrid board and they have been around for a long time for both intel and amd.
 
#25 ·
It doesnt matter, AM3+ wont fit into AM2+. so cross flashing BIOS gets you nothing.

The pins are physically too large to fit (approx 18% larger), and there are extra pins.

AM3+ chips also lack a DDR2 PHY as far as I am aware, so you would be limited to the DDR3 slots on the newer board.

Theoretically you can run any AMD processor with hyper transport on any board that uses hyper transport, you just need to make sure that the socket itself is compatible. ASRock did this with 939 boards by having a HTX slot, and providing processor cards with their own VRM's and memory slots.
 
#26 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by kzone75 View Post

I don't know about you but I am a little impressed by this motherboard http://www.asrock.com/mb/NVIDIA/N68C-GS%20FX/
Stick that power-hungry CPU in that board if ya want..Good luck with RMA when it goes POP!
Asrock is my least favorite..and that board will pop.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top