MSI K8N Neo2 For Dual Core?

[Bryan J. Smith]

On Tue, 2005-08-23 at 19:59 -0400, Robert L Cochran wrote:
> I finally found the courage to upgrade my MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum 
> (MS-7025) BIOS to version 1.9 which I believe supports AMD 64 dual-core 
> CPUs. I'm thinking of actually buying such a CPU. Does it makes more 
> sense to replace this motherboard with a new one that might be better 
> suited to dual-cores?

Unless the BIOS doesn't enable it, there's virtually _no_ benefit when
it comes to AMD.  The package has DDR out, HyperTransport out, no change
in that.

> I have 2 Gb of fairly cheap memory, but it bothers me that with every 
> change of a motherboard, I have to put down a large sum to get a fresh 
> set of memory, too. So I'd like to avoid buying a complete set of memory 
> if possible. I'm currently using Adata memory.

In Athlon 64 / Opteron, the memory timing no longer affects any other
part or the system.  So you can use anything, from DDR200 (PC1600) to
DDR400 (PC3200).  So in addition to fundamental size issues, the only
restriction is Registered/Buffered for Socket-940, Unbuffered for
Socket-754/939.

> Am I better off staying with my current board or should I trade it for 
> something else?
> And yes, I have been reading Bryan's postings and the responses to them 
> with interest, but haven't studied them deeply.


-- 
Bryan J. Smith     b.j.smith at ieee.org     http://thebs413.blogspot.com
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The best things in life are NOT free - which is why life is easiest if
you save all the bills until you can share them with the perfect woman