Phenom upgrade poses problems for AM2 motherboard users

via Engadget


It looks like AMD users hoping to pop one of those speedy new Phenom processors into their old AM2 motherboard for a bit of a boost could be in for some trouble, at least according to the folks at Tom's Hardware, who recently put the processor to the test with ten different mobos. After their usual thorough testing, they found that the processor didn't work well at all with eight out of the ten motherboards, despite earlier promises by AMD to the contrary, and the other two had problems of their own even after a BIOS update. That left them with no other recommendation than to tell folks to hold on to their good 'ol Athlon 64 X2, at least until AMD lets loose the so-called Phenom B3 stepping processor in the second quarter of next year, which should iron out all the bugs, and give motherboard manufacturers time to get their act together as well.