AMD has me Confused

[ledangel]

I have an AMD HDX920XCJ4DGI Phenom II X4 920 Processor that I need to get a MB for, my problem is that the info on the CPU says that it is am2+ but many web sites say that it will work with an am3 board. I have researched it and supposedly you cannot put an am2+ in an am3 board because they only take ddr3 memory.
I would just get an am2+ MB and use the memory I have but it is very hard to find any decent ones for cheap. Does anyone out there know why there is so much contradiction with this CPU and can I in fact use it in a am3 MB?

Thank you in advance.

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

AM3 processors work on AM2+ motherboards due to the presence of both the DDR2 and DDR3 memory controllers on the processor
AM2+ processors do not work on AM3 motherboards due to the processor's lack of a DDR3 memory controller

If you have an AM2+ processor, you MUST get an AM2+ motherboard, or an AM2 motherboard that supports that AM2+ CPU. You can NOT use that CPU in any AM3 board, unless it is a hybrid board that has slots for both types of memory. (These boards are VERY VERY rare...)

If you look for boards, stay away from MSI if you plan on using non-stock heatsink, or plan to OC heavily.

 

[ledangel]

AM3 processors work on AM2+ motherboards due to the presence of both the DDR2 and DDR3 memory controllers on the processor
AM2+ processors do not work on AM3 motherboards due to the processor's lack of a DDR3 memory controller

If you have an AM2+ processor, you MUST get an AM2+ motherboard, or an AM2 motherboard that supports that AM2+ CPU. You can NOT use that CPU in any AM3 board, unless it is a hybrid board that has slots for both types of memory. (These boards are VERY VERY rare...)

If you look for boards, stay away from MSI if you plan on using non-stock heatsink, or plan to OC heavily.

Thank you for the info, do you have any idea why MB sites show this cpu under their support list even though they are am3 boards?
I actually had an MSI board in a few carts debating which one to check out with, I will try to stay away from them but I have little money to work with and there is not a large selection of 125 watt boards out there.

Also what are your views on biostar boards.

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

IMO, if you don't plan on overclocking, then get what ever board is a good name in your budget. I still like MSI, but they aren't great for holding out with a heavy OC for long. ASUS/Biostar are very good boards I think, though I recently had an AM2+ board from biostar fail and take out my old processor.

When looking at a board, look for a heatsink over the mosfets, (the little black parts near the CPU in large groups). Just try to stay away from MSI, or 3+1, or 4+1 phases on the motherboard if you plan to overclock some day with a 100w+ CPU.

I noticed a lot of MSI's support lists say just the Phenom x# ####, but doesn't give exact models of processors. My board is an AM3 and doesn't list that CPU as supported.

The move to a new memory type requires a new pinout configuration, though, and that's where Socket AM3 comes into the picture. You'll need a Socket AM3 motherboard in order to use these Phenom II processors with DDR3 memory. This new socket type looks an awful lot like the prior Socket AM2+, but it has two fewer pins, for a total of 938. As a result, Socket AM2+ processors can't fit into Socket AM3 motherboards. But in a clever muggle trick, Socket AM3 processors will happily drop into Socket AM2+ motherboards and work with DDR2 memory.

Also, please use edit next time, and if you wan't, give us your budget for your board, or post up links of the boards your looking at, and someone around here can surely help you shop around.

 

[ledangel]

ty and sorry about that. I am not sure why I didn't actually, to much face book I suppose

 

[ledangel]

Well this is the board I ordered:
ASRock > Products > A770DE+
I have no experience with AsRock but this board has good reviews.
I also ordered 4 gigs of crucial xms2 dual channel ddr2 ram. Crucial is another company I have never bought from.
Got the memory today, the board will arrive tomorrow, hopefully all will be good. I will post back and let you know how it goes.
Thank you again for your help.

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

ASRock is manufactured by ASUS, it's the really low end line of boards, Crucial is good memory.

Just don't expect to be overclocking on that motherboard, at least, not very far.