# Processor & Motherboard related queries



## nac (Feb 18, 2017)

*Processor &amp; Motherboard related queries*

If you have general queries related to CPU or motherboard post here guys. Many a times felt the need of one and even looked if there is a thread for general queries under sub-section. Rather than starting a new thread for every small/general query it's good to post in one thread, I think.

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My CPU usage hits 100% just like that. Many a times I see it's hovering  over 80% or 90%. Now I dropped the idea of upgrading to latest  processors, thinking of Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad processors. 
Checked ebay and could find about a handful of processors (LGA 775) under 1k. 
Going  by motherboard support list (ASUS site) C2D E6600 is the highest I can  go. But third party site suggests I can go upto E8600 / Q6600.

How I can confirm that E8600 / Q6600 is compatible with my motherboard P5G MX?
Is this wise to upgrade to one of these processor now (idea of keeping it for another year or two)?


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## ico (Feb 19, 2017)

If you ask me, it's time for a new CPU. 

Something like Pentium G4560 + Mobo + 8 GB RAM, and you're set.


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## nac (Feb 19, 2017)

ico said:


> If you ask me, it's time for a new CPU.


I had been thinking, in fact needing for an upgrade for the last 2-3yrs. But funding issue making it tough to upgrade. When I started to collect information for upgrading 2+ yrs back, the entire bundle cost me 35k+. Couldn't get enough fund then, so after a year started getting things one by one. Now I have upgraded pretty much everything other than the core components. In fact, I thought I would have saved enough to upgrade by now when I bought my second monitor 4 months back. I bought it to use it along with the old monitor but due to lack of graphic support the old had been collecting dust. Even todays Pentium would cost me about 17k which I can't afford right now. So dropped the idea of upgrading to latest CPUs and bought GT710. I have spent about 18k in the last couple of years to get those components and I predict it will take another two years to save up that much money to get CPU, MB and RAM. Checked passmark, seems like those C2Ds would give more tha double the performance of my current CPU.
Else, I can participate in the Ryzen giveway and


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## mvk3772 (Feb 19, 2017)

nac said:


> Else, I can participate in the Ryzen giveway and



Let's Pray Together  


Sent from my SM-N930F using Tapatalk


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## Vyom (Feb 19, 2017)

nac said:


> I had been thinking, in fact needing for an upgrade for the last 2-3yrs. But funding issue making it tough to upgrade. When I started to collect information for upgrading 2+ yrs back, the entire bundle cost me 35k+. Couldn't get enough fund then, so after a year started getting things one by one. Now I have upgraded pretty much everything other than the core components. In fact, I thought I would have saved enough to upgrade by now when I bought my second monitor 4 months back. I bought it to use it along with the old monitor but due to lack of graphic support the old had been collecting dust. Even todays Pentium would cost me about 17k which I can't afford right now. So dropped the idea of upgrading to latest CPUs and bought GT710. I have spent about 18k in the last couple of years to get those components and I predict it will take another two years to save up that much money to get CPU, MB and RAM. Checked passmark, seems like those C2Ds would give more tha double the performance of my current CPU.
> Else, I can participate in the Ryzen giveway and



Lol. The way I upgraded to my current rig (listed in signature), is by buying the core component first (processor). Then proceeded to built the rest of the PC around it.   (Although Amazon voucher helped me there).

When I didn't have money to built a good rig, I made an AMD APU based rig with very small budget. Then after a year or two, I did the above thing, that is building my Core i5 rig.

You deserve a good rig man. Beg. Borrow. Or Steal.


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## nac (Feb 20, 2017)

*Re: Processor &amp; Motherboard related queries*



nac said:


> How I can confirm that E8600 / Q6600 is compatible with my motherboard P5G MX?


I couldn't even find one person using this combo P5G MX board and E8000 series CPU.
Sellers are not sure, they are 50/50 about its compatibility.
In youtube one guy posted this video where he uses P5G MX board with E7xxx CPU. This CPU is not listed in support list. So should I assume that ASUS didn't update the list?
In one place, the poster says that the board is compatible with Conroe family but the 8000 series aren't Conroe but Wolfdale. These confusing information stopping me from placing the order.

When I bought this rig 9yrs back, I actually bought and paid for P5GC MX/1333. Due to some issue with the board, seller replaced with P5G MX. If only there was no problem then, I would have placed the order now and use it with P5GC MX/1333. 


Until I bought SSD last year, this board was good enough for me. Now I don't have enough SATA port to connect the disks.


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## quicky008 (Feb 21, 2017)

Buy a new cpu+motherboard combo-you can get some pretty good deals on core 2 quad/duo cpus & compatible g41/31 motherboards if you look around on ebay and they don't cost too much either.Here's one for instance:

eBay

One more:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0 GHz Processor+2Gb Ram+Asus G-31 Motherboard | eBa


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## nac (Feb 21, 2017)

quicky008 said:


> Buy a new cpu+motherboard combo-you can get some pretty good deals on core 2 quad/duo cpus & compatible g41/31 motherboards if you look around on ebay and they don't cost too much either


It is much for me. And I don't find it okay to spend this much for another year or two.

Few findings about CPUs not listed in ASUS support.



Spoiler



Youtube vlogger gaming rig spec

*image.ibb.co/nLZi0a/p1_1.png


Google translated forum post, not sure exactly what they were discussing. But my guess he is updating from E2140 to E8400

*image.ibb.co/dCx30a/p1_2.png


Passmark benchmark tested rigs. None of these three CPUs are listed in support and 2 of them are Wolfdale CPUs.
Why E8500 and E6550 are underclocked? Something got to do with BIOS setting?

*image.ibb.co/bP5qfa/94.png


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## ico (Feb 22, 2017)

nac said:
			
		

> Why E8500 and E6550 are underclocked? Something got to do with BIOS setting?



Back then, clock speed of the processor used to be a multiple of the motherboard's Front Side Bus' clock speed.

In a PC of mine, a Pentium 4 2.4 Ghz used to run at 1.5 Ghz because of my motherboard's FSB limitation.


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## topgear (Feb 22, 2017)

nac said:


> It is much for me. And I don't find it okay to spend this much for another year or two.
> 
> Few findings about CPUs not listed in ASUS support.
> 
> ...



you can run e8600 ( but it will run @ 1066 Mhz FSB instead of 1333 Mhz ) ie @ ~2666 Mhz speed instead of 3333 Mhz. Just update bios to the latest version available.


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## nac (Feb 22, 2017)

*Re: Processor &amp; Motherboard related queries*



ico said:


> Back then, clock speed of the processor used to be a multiple of the motherboard's Front Side Bus' clock speed.


Thank you. 
So it will be under-clocked. The performance I thought I would get will be reduced to 80% 

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topgear said:


> you can run e8600 ( but it will run @ 1066 Mhz FSB instead of 1333 Mhz ) ie @ ~2666 Mhz speed instead of 3333 Mhz. Just update bios to the latest version available.


Despite higher clock speed it's gonna perform more like E6700, may be ~10% more for architectural advantage, right? Wouldn't be E6700 a better choice here?


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## topgear (Feb 22, 2017)

E8600 is more power efficient and runs cooler.


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## nac (Feb 22, 2017)

*Re: Processor &amp; Motherboard related queries*



topgear said:


> E8600 is more power efficient and runs cooler.


That's true.

After kinda sure about compatibility of E8xxx here comes the reply from ASUS 'E8xxx is not compatible with my board.' ufff!!! He gave me the link to support list and says he don't see those models.

E6700 - 100% sure it's compatible
E8400/E8600 - Seller confirms it's compatible based on third party support age. I am eyeing on E8400, costs/performs same as E6700. 

Let's say I order and find it not compatible when I try, can I return and ask for refund? Who will be responsible for return shipping? By the way, it's fulfills ebay guarantee.

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And there is E7300 which matches my board's FSB and will clock @ 2.66ghz. It's Wolfdale, should be little better than E8400 @ 2.4ghz (after FSB limitation) if smaller L2 cache won't cancel out the extra clock speed. And it costs the same.


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## topgear (Feb 24, 2017)

*Re: Processor &amp; Motherboard related queries*



nac said:


> That's true.
> 
> After kinda sure about compatibility of E8xxx here comes the reply from ASUS 'E8xxx is not compatible with my board.' ufff!!! *He gave me the link to support list and says he don't see those models.*
> 
> ...



Care to share the link ?

About compatibility if E7xxx is compatible so does E8xxx physically - only your motherboard bios need to have the correct cpu code which is not too much of problem to add into bios - but your motherboard has official support for E8xxx with bios version 0518.

If you order and you find it's not compatible then only seller can help you out ( though it's very rare but you can still politely request the seller to change the cpu model ) - I think you are talking about ebay


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## quicky008 (Feb 25, 2017)

if your motherboard is still running an older Bios then there's a good chance that the newer wolfdale series cpus(such as e8xxx) won't work with it.And i don't think the sellers on ebay will entertain any claims of replacing a cpu if it doesn't work due to compatibility issues with your motherboard because their standard policy seems to be that of screwing with their customers as far as possible-therefore before you go ahead and order anything please make sure it will work with your existing setup-otherwise you could end up in a really frustrating situation later on.


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## nac (Feb 27, 2017)

*Re: Processor &amp; Motherboard related queries*



topgear said:


> Care to share the link ?
> 
> About compatibility if E7xxx is compatible so does E8xxx physically - only your motherboard bios need to have the correct cpu code which is not too much of problem to add into bios - but your motherboard has official support for E8xxx with bios version 0518.
> 
> If you order and you find it's not compatible then only seller can help you out ( though it's very rare but you can still politely request the seller to change the cpu model ) - I think you are talking about ebay


I have shared the link in my last post.


Going by the official support list, NO. E7xxx too not in the list. 3rd party site says it's compatible. And there are few confirmations (your word and the snapshot I posted)


Latest BIOS for my board is 0404, not 0518. P5G-MX | Motherboards | ASUS Global


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## topgear (Mar 1, 2017)

Okay, Sorry ... I mixed your motherboard with P5GC-MX which supports Wolfdale 8xxx series cpus.

Anyway, your motherboard and the P5GC-MX both has the same chipset, almost same physical layout ( cpu area ).. released long before wolfdale cpus and with 0404 P5GC-MX introduced support for wolfdale cpus.

Now your motherboard also has 0404 beta bios which supports wolfdale e5200 - now there's a huge chance it will support any other woldale dual core cpus easily but as it has not been tested to it did not appear on the list.

So you can update motherboard bios, get a e5200 which is a very decent cpu of wolfdale family or you can try experimenting with a E8xxx - the catch is if the bios version of 0404 does not have the correct codes for E8xxx you need to manually add those into bios by editing the bios file and then reflash the modified bios.

So better would be to go for a E5200 which is a very safe bet here.


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## nac (Mar 1, 2017)

topgear said:


> Okay, Sorry ... I mixed your motherboard with P5GC-MX which supports Wolfdale 8xxx series cpus.
> 
> Anyway, your motherboard and the P5GC-MX both has the same chipset, almost same physical layout ( cpu area ).. released long before wolfdale cpus and with 0404 P5GC-MX introduced support for wolfdale cpus.
> 
> ...


I have already received E8400


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## nac (Mar 4, 2017)

*Re: Processor &amp;amp; Motherboard related queries*

Bought an unknown brand G31 chipset board for 1800/-
E8400 is working. Didn't bother checking E2160 on G31 board.

G31 supports 1333mhz and motherboard spec says that too, but why I am not getting that. CPU-Z says, FSB is 1063mhz...

I thought atleast I would get something for the money I didn't want to spend (getting full 3ghz clock speed from E8400), but I don't know whether I don't know how to set/get full speed or motherboard maker falsely mentioned 1333mhz...

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Update:
Read something about speed stepping. Luckily, I took snapshot of BIOS when booting (have some doubts how/what to set in BIOS). Now I see that speed stepping is disabled in my BIOS settings.

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Enabling speed stepping didn't help increasing the clock speed. Seems like 1066 mhz is the max FSB this motherboard can support.


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## quicky008 (Mar 4, 2017)

^most of these cheap motherboards are incapable of supporting 1333 mhz fsb,enabling or disabling speed-step will not resolve this issue.Is your e8400 running at 3 Ghz?The task of speed step is to reduce the cpu's clock speed when its idle to conserve power.


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## nac (Mar 4, 2017)

quicky008 said:


> ^most of these cheap motherboards are incapable of supporting 1333 mhz fsb,enabling or disabling speed-step will not resolve this issue.Is your e8400 running at 3 Ghz?The task of speed step is to reduce the cpu's clock speed when its idle to conserve power.


No, it's running at 2.39 ghz. Even when I pushed, it tops @ 2.39 ghz. 
Tried to get information about motherboard from command prompt, all I got was "to be filled by OEM".
Going by CPU-Z, rated FSB is 1064 mhz which is about 80% of 1333 mhz. So I will get only 80% of E8400's clock speed which is 2.4 ghz (of 3 ghz)


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## quicky008 (Mar 7, 2017)

It would have been even better if you had bought a refurbished board from a well known brand such as Asus/GB/intel etc rather than going with your seller's recommendation and purchasing a chinese product of dubious quality-then hassles like this could have been avoided.But atleast you do have a functional system now and that's got to count for something.Have you experienced any other unusual problems or issues with the board till now?Does it really have the g31 chipset as claimed by your retailer-have you verified that?


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## nac (Mar 7, 2017)

quicky008 said:


> It would have been even better if you had bought a refurbished board from a well known brand such as Asus/GB/intel etc rather than going with your seller's recommendation and purchasing a chinese product of dubious quality-then hassles like this could have been avoided.But atleast you do have a functional system now and that's got to count for something.Have you experienced any other unusual problems or issues with the board till now?Does it really have the g31 chipset as claimed by your retailer-have you verified that?


I tried few places for refurbished board, I couldn't get one. I waited for about a week, didn't want to delay the purchase anymore, so went ahead and bought this unit. 

Yeah, it's working. But I am skeptical about its life.

It boots faster, don't know it's the processor or board. Roughly 15 seconds or less, I reach windows login screen. It was about 30 seconds before, if I remember right.
Problem, sound is not as good as the previous board. Updated all the drivers, still not good. Tried different option in BIOS, still not as good. Video, again not good based on 4k video I tried to play. My previous board with onboard graphic would play slowly, but this just plays audio with blank screen. 

Other than the box, there is no other place I can find whether it's G31 or not. As I already said, windows couldn't see manufacturer info. So is the case with CPUZ.


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## quicky008 (Mar 7, 2017)

*Re: Processor &amp; Motherboard related queries*

Then its probably not a genuine g31 board as g31 chipset natively supports 1333 mhz FSB cpus.Windows booting within 15 secs is also a bit unusual-i too have a e8400 but win 10 takes around 1 min or more to fully start up on my pc.But maybe you're getting faster boot times as you're running win 7.How much ram do you have at the moment?

As far as durability is concerned,it is always a gamble with these chinese boards-it may or may not last long enough depending on the quality of the components it uses.Usually capacitors are the ones that tend to fail the most on such mobos but i've head that they can be replaced quite easily.Does your board anyhow resemble the one displayed in this page:

Intel G31/945 Chipset Motherboard, Support 775 socket Processor &amp;amp; DDR2 Ram Supp | eBa

The reason sound quality is sub-par is probably because this board has an older AC'97 audio chipset that produces markedly inferior audio quality as compared to the more feature rich HD audio chipsets(which is what your older motherboard most likely had).Have you tried using your GT 710 on this mobo-is it working fine?Older onboard video chipsets are pretty much useless for playing hd content.


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## nac (Mar 7, 2017)

Somewhat similar. 

This is the photo on the box. One difference is I have 4 SATA ports instead of two in the picture.
*foxin.in/images/Motherboards/FMBG31.jpg

I am using Win 8.1, 3GB RAM (1+2)


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## quicky008 (Mar 7, 2017)

Doesn't look too bad,all things considered.The only thing that remains to be seen is how much mileage will you eventually get out of it.


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## nac (Mar 7, 2017)

quicky008 said:


> Doesn't look too bad,all things considered.The only thing that remains to be seen is how much mileage will you eventually get out of it.


Yeah, I am keeping my fingers crossed.


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