Motherboard needed

Loz

Well-Known Member
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Mar 1, 2007
Messages
2,306
Location
Cornwall, UK
I need a new Motherboard...

I bought a processor a while back (Intel Q9650), but i haven't been able to use it as my old Asus P5K Premium Motherboard won't support it.

I asked the local PC repair/Tech guy to see if he could source one, but he had no luck/couldn't be bothered or something.

My PC spec's are...

Intel Q9650, waiting to go in.
8GB Corsair Dominator DDR2 PC2-8500C5 (4x2GB).
Asus/nVidia GTX 295 Graphics Cars.
Asus Xonar D2 Sound Card.

Hope that is whats needed to help find one.
 
Updating seems like it would be cheaper :p

How would i go about doing it properly though?

Do i download the update, then put the new CPU in? Or put the CPU in then update?
 
If you decide to go with a new board, the P5Q Pro I have in mine is a nice bit of kit. It's nothing particularly special but I like it. :)
 
If you decide to go with a new board, the P5Q Pro I have in mine is a nice bit of kit. It's nothing particularly special but I like it. :)

Ill second that.

I have a p5q pro in my desktop (with a Q9450 and 4GB DDR2) , and its been nothing but solid since the day I got it.

I also have a ASUS graphics card (HD4850) and its been amazing. Also jsut got a ASUS laptop and, again, seems to e rock solid.

I feel like Asus doesnt try to make their products do more than they are meant to do, which is what a lot of cheaper companies do.
 
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Updating seems like it would be cheaper :p

How would i go about doing it properly though?

Do i download the update, then put the new CPU in? Or put the CPU in then update?

If you already have another CPU installed in it then download the bios update, run the update. Then put in the new CPU. If not, then put in the CPU and just see if it'll boot.

Will the P5Q take a Quad Core CPU right out of the box?

If you're buying it new, it should have the latest bios. So the 9650 should be supported without needing any bios update.
 
Thanks for explaining it :)

I would prefer that i get a new Motherboard. What ive heard from a friend is that if i update my current one, it may not work after.

Updating seems simple though. Just unsure whether to try it.
 
I've updated bios on a few boards without problem. Just make sure you're at stock clock and your system is stable before attempting a bios update. The only risk is if the system crashes during bios update, your board can be bricked. But even if it's bricked you can buy pre-flashed bios chip to fix it.
 
I downloaded the update from the Asus site. Thing is, it's in a .ROM file. I have no idea how to update, and the Asus tech pages are just gibberish to me.
 
I downloaded the update from the Asus site. Thing is, it's in a .ROM file. I have no idea how to update, and the Asus tech pages are just gibberish to me.

Is this the gibberish you mean:
http://support.asus.com/technicaldocuments/technicaldocuments.aspx?root=198&SLanguage=en-us
http://support.asus.com/technicaldocuments/technicaldocuments.aspx?root=198&SLanguage=en-us
Which socket do you have?
It's not as hard as it looks.
Read through the info several times, follow the directions exactly and you'll be fine.
It's been my experience that if the board needs a bios update to support the cpu, you'll have no end of problems. Better to buy a motherboard the was designed and manufactured AFTER the cpu you want to use hit the market.
Learned that the hard way with a Prescott and an early Core 2 duo. :blink:
 
It is all of that i don't really understand.

I have a feeling that if i attempt it, i'll probally screw up somehow and make the Motherboard unusable.

I think i'll just get a P5Q which Matt and swraman recommended. I've found one so far for ?90 Here. Overclockers are known to be expensive, so i'll look around on ebuyer or something.
 
Just go with a new motherboard if you're not comfortable flashing the bios. The P5Q is a popular board, it should oc well.
 
The P5q does support the C2Q out of the box. Runnin my q9450 in it and i didnt do any bios updatin.

I dont OC though...havent since I OC'd my old P4 back in the day and bad things happened. And since I actually learned what changes when you oc in school this summer...i dont think i will haha.
 
OC'ing is relatively easy now with the new motherboards. Some boards have preset oc options in the bios for 10%-20% OC. My Asrock P45TurboTwins2000 has presets (they call it IOT) in bios that can oc up to 20% with just changing that one setting. Since Asrock is an Asus subsidary, Asus boards probably also has something like that.
 
I got the Motherboard today, got everything installed. Having a problem though.



It seems that my Device Manager isn't picking up the Q9650. Still picking up my Dual Core and two Unknowns. It says the Unknowns are working fine though.

I tried using the disc that came with the Motherboard, but that didn't fix it.
 
It looks like the board isn't recognizing your CPU, you can either try to update the bios or send the board back and ask them for one with the newest bios.

Edit:You can check what version of bios you have either from the post screens, or download CPU-Z and look at the motherboard tab. If it's already the newest bios, then the problem is something else.
 
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It says in CPU-Z that my BIOS is "0401". The date is around when i bought the Processor (13th April 2009). But it picks up that my CPU is the Q9650, as does everything else. Just not Device Manager.

Does running the wrong BIOS affect the CPU in any way?
 
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