What AMD Athlon 64 cpu can I use?

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NJShoreguy

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Hi all,

I have a Chaintech S1689 motherboard that is currently running a AMD Athlon 64 Venice 3000 cpu. Can anyone tell me what is the max processor I can run ? Any recommendations? I'm into lot's of video editing. The 3000 is fine, just felt I can afford to buy a faster processor at this time. I'm aware I can upgrade with a bios update all the way to a dual core, but haven't a clue on the right one for the board.

You give me the parts, I can build it. Just don't ask me to figure out which are the right ones.

Any help is truly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
Is the Motherboard socket 939? If so, the max processor you can run is an Athlon 64 FX-60 (Dual Core 2.6GHz) or a Athlon 64 FX-57 (Single Core 2.8GHz) For single-threaded apps, the FX57 is faster by a bit, but for multi-threaded apps or multitasking, the FX-60 is better. If you wanted FX57 speeds in a dual core, just overclock the FX60 to 2.8GHz. Both of those processors are expensive though, and also in short supply. Another option would be the Athlon 64 X2 4400-4800 processors. They are very good and cost a lot less than FX series.
 
a faster processor yould yield limited performance gains, on account of other bottlenecks elsewhere in the system, such as the older DDR memory interface. how much ram do you have, and what speed is it running at?
 
I'm thinking for your needs a 4400 would be most sufficient especially if you are into video editing you will utilizing the secondary core. It is the best cpu for you.


If you live in America you can pick one up here for a good price
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80726-1
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80725-R
Although the 4400 is a lot better and suite you needs better as well.

(newegg was out so zipzoomfly is my second choice really good)
 
zephead said:
a faster processor yould yield limited performance gains, on account of other bottlenecks elsewhere in the system, such as the older DDR memory interface. how much ram do you have, and what speed is it running at?
Not true at all. When AM2 came out, everyone thought that performance would increase due to faster memory. There was no visible performance difference whatsoever due to DDR2's more relaxed timings. The only advantage to AM2 now is that the memory is cheaper and that socket 939 is a"dead socket."
 
zephead said:
'limited' gains does not mean none at all, MetalX. it simply means that upgrading the cpu wouldn't be as good as going with a new platform.

also, NJShoreguy, you need bios version Beta 0523 or later to be able to run an X2. http://www.chaintechusa.com/tw/eng/Download/dl_desc.asp?DCSNo=4&PISNo=319

OMG. Now what? I downloaded the most current bios, but it is a .bin file. It won't boot from a floppy and the Chaintech manual doesn't really tell you squat about "how" to flash the bios.

This was something I found online, but it doesn't work either:

"After the system has restarted press ALT +F2 simultaneously to enter the BIOS setup screen. If your motherboard not show the “ALT+F2” please reference Case 2.

The old BIOS will be updated automatically. The latest BIOS will take effect after the system has been restarted again.
Case 2: If you don’t possess a floppy drive in your system

Visit Chaintech’s website at www.chaintech.com.tw
From Menu DOWNLOAD -> MAINBOARD BIOS, type in 7NJS in the Model Name search box. The latest BIOS will be shown on the screen. Choose the region closest to you to download the latest BIOS.

Saves the latest BIOS file “7NJS0224.exe” in your own disk.

Extract 7njs0224.bin by double-clicking 7njs0224.exe.

Then download asdflash.exe from Chaintech’s website.

Notice that files asdflash.exe and 7njs0224.bin must be saved in the same folder.
Shut down and restart your system in MS-DOS mode.


After the system has restarted type in C:\>AWDFLASH 7NJS0224.BIN after the line C:\> is displayed.
For Example, if files asdflash.exe and 7njs0224.bin are saved in folder named BIOS then type in C:\ BIOS>AWDFLASH 7NJS.BIN to display the following BIOS setup screen.


The following messages are displayed:
Message:Do you want to save BIOS (Y/N)?
Enter “N”
Message:Press “Y” Program or “N” to Exit
Enter “Y”
Then F1=Reset is shown on the screen. Press F1 to reset the computer. The latest BIOS will take effect after the system has been rebooted again."


Can anyone with the tech savvy here help me out? I have a dual core processor on it's way and I'd hate to return the doggone thing....

Thanks again!
 
what is the bios version currently on the board?

usually, bios updates come as a program you can run in windows, either performing the update all by itself or creating a floppy you can boot to to perform the update.
 
So I wrote to Chaintech. Here is the manual they sent me:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHAINTECH® MB BIOS Upgrade Manual

Upon First Use of this Motherboard Series
Please insert a clean, unformatted disk into A:\ drive and boot the system into
DOS mode. In DOS mode, please type in
C:\> FORMAT A: /S
or click on “My Computer” icon under Windows O/S, right click on drive A:\
and choose “Format”. By using the procedure above, you can create a boot
disk without AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files.
Then, copy af859b.EXE (AWDFLASH.EXE) onto your boot disk.
Warning af859b.EXE can only be executed in DOS mode and not from
MS-DOS Prompt in Windows O/S. As a result, no matter if you wish to backup
or update the BIOS content, you must create a new boot disk. Please copy
af859b.EXE into the disk which you wish to boot the system. In addition, in the
BIOS device boot sequence, you must set boot from "Floppy Drive" as the
first device in the order of boot sequence.
PS: http://www.chaintech.com.tw/download/Tools/AF859b.exe AF859b.EXE
Use af859b.EXE (AWDFLASH.EXE) BIOS to begin refresh.
1. Use the floppy disk prepared previously.
2. After entering DOS prompt via boot disk, please copy af859b.EXE utility and
the BIOS file into the hard disk to execute in order to increase the performance
of the system. For example, please type in
COPY A:\af859b.EXE C:\
and
COPY A:\BIOSfilename.BIN C:\
(remember to type in the actual name of the BIOS). After finish copying the
files, please type in "C:\" and press to change to C:\ drive command from "A:\"
drive. Then, key in " af859b.EXE " and press . Now, the utility will begin
executing. Under File Name to Program: column, type in the BIOS filename
and hit (as shown below). Please insert the diskette containing lastest BIOS
version into the floppy drive. If you skip this process and move onto the next
one without insert the floppy into the drive, you will receive an error message
stating "WARNING! Device not ready".

CHAINTECH® MB BIOS Upgrade Manual


3. Please type in the BIOS filename from the floppy disk under "File Name to
Program:" column and hit . During refreshing, it will auto-detect the floppy
drive and the floppy disk for the BIOS file you have key in. Then, a message
will appear stating "Do You Want To Save BIOS (Y / N)", this asks you
whether you wish to backup the original BIOS utility or not.



CHAINTECH® MB BIOS Upgrade Manual

If you need it, please type in [ Y ], and hit to proceed to next step.



4. In the image above, it asks whether you wish to continue refresh the BIOS,
choose [Y] to continue proceed BIOS update procedure; Choose [ N ] for
leaving the BIOS screen, reboot the system and abandon BIOS update
procedure.

5. Choose [ Y ] and hit to proceed BIOS update. The procedure is as followed:


CHAINTECH® MB BIOS Upgrade Manual



You must not turn off the power or reboot the PC
during the process of updating BIOS Boot Block. By
doing so, you will increase the risk of unable to boot
your system. If your system does not reboot, please
consult with your local ChainTech dealers or contact
ChainTech Hotline.

6. When the procedure is complete, it will show "Flashing Complete Press to
Continue " message, hit F1 to reboot the system. Now, the system will reboot
using the new BIOS you have refreshed.



CHAINTECH® MB BIOS Upgrade Manual

Use Built-in BIOS Refresh Procedure

1. Download latest ChainTech BIOS from ChainTech WWW for newest
version BIOS and save it in a diskette.

2. Reboot the system.

3. When the system is at POST after reboot, please hold down + to view the
following image.



The BIOS message shown above is for reference. The information may not be
identical to the one shown on your screen.

4. Insert the diskette containing lastest BIOS version into the floppy drive. If
you skip this process and move onto the next one without insert the floppy into
the drive, you will receive an error message stating "WARNING! Device not
ready" .

CHAINTECH® MB BIOS Upgrade Manual



5. The remaining steps are identical to step "1. Use af859b.EXE BIOS to
begin refresh." section 3 to 6. Please refer to the steps shown to proceed
BIOS update.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I apologize that I wasn't able to insert any of the screen captures from the document. I haven't had any success making the first part of this procedure work. I have both the awdflash.exe and .bin files loaded onto boot floppies but when I try going to the part where it says " After finish copying the
files, please type in "C:\" and press to change to C:\ drive command from "A:\"
drive. Then, key in " af859b.EXE " and press .
I get an error of it not recognizing the "C" parameters (or something to that effect). I have to elimnate the :\ in order to go back to the "C". Typing in "af859.EXE" does nothing nor does typing in awdflash.exe.

I'm stumped and I know that I shouldn't be. Can someone point me in the right direction?

Thanks.
 
try copying the files into your c: root directory using windows explorer. then you can reboot to the floppy and run the program without having to worry about copying it in DOS. if you cannot access your C: at all (MS DOS is incompatible with serial ATA and/or the NT file system) you can try running the programs from the floppy directly, but you run the risk of failure because chaintech does not say to run it from the floppy, which can be for two reasons. reason one being that doing so will cause the update to fail, and reason two is that generally speaking, the people over at chaintech are not known for their mastery of the english language.
 
zephead said:
try copying the files into your c: root directory using windows explorer. then you can reboot to the floppy and run the program without having to worry about copying it in DOS. if you cannot access your C: at all (MS DOS is incompatible with serial ATA and/or the NT file system) you can try running the programs from the floppy directly, but you run the risk of failure because chaintech does not say to run it from the floppy, which can be for two reasons. reason one being that doing so will cause the update to fail, and reason two is that generally speaking, the people over at chaintech are not known for their mastery of the english language.

Wow. Don't even ask why it took me a year to respond to this reply. Been the year from Hell for me and haven't sat down with this computer since the beginning of 2007.

I've tried all avenues to get this to work. Not to sound like an inexperienced ***** (ok, I admit I am.) but I am not sure how to copy any files into a root directory.

The bottom line is this: Chaintech support is useless. I guess they merged (or were bought out) with Walton to become Walton Chaintech. It took me a bit to find a support number in California. Of course, even tho they are on the West Coast and I'm here in the East, there is no one in tech support to answer a call. I called sales and the woman (barely speaks English) told me to call back next week.

Does anyone here have any other suggestions (outside of buying a new motherboard that will support this new CPU?) that I could try?

Once again, thanks to all of you who have offered suggestions.
 
I guess the answer is no dice??

If this board cannot be effectively flashed with bios to install the dual core processor, would anyone have a good suggestion on an upgraded motherboard that has at least 3 PCI (not PCI xpress) slots and is within the $100 price range??

If so, where?
 
another thing which these guys have mentioned is that makes sure that even though u get the best cpu which will work with ur mobo that an bios update is avaiable otherwise u r gonna be in some trouble.
 
porsche911r said:
another thing which these guys have mentioned is that makes sure that even though u get the best cpu which will work with ur mobo that an bios update is avaiable otherwise u r gonna be in some trouble.

I have the Bios update, just no real clear way of flashing the motherboard. Chaintech's solution only seems relevant with a Windows product earlier then XP.

If I have to do this on bootup and log into an A:\ prompt, I'm screwed.

Any suggestions?
 
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