A4-6320 to A10-6700 upgrade on Microstar Motherboard help!

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

I assume that this is some sort of Richland incompatibility, since I ran into another board a couple of years back that wouldn't boot with the newer cpu until the BIOS had been updated. System will boot with old CPU installed, but not with new CPU installed. I purchased this FM2 motherboard ~ 1.5 to 2 years ago as an open box item from Micro Center to use as the backbone for a system for my parents. They were complaining that it was a bit slow, so I wanted to make it a bit faster for them with a faster processor.

Motherboard: FM2-A55m-E33
support page: https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/support/FM2-A55M-E33
compatibility specifically lists the AD67000kA44HL (A10-6700) cpu that I purchased as compatible

I booted into the BIOS to check what it was currently. It says
Current Version: E7721AMS V 32.7
Build Date 10-17-2014

Strange thing is, there is no official BIOS release for that date! There are plenty of other dates listed. I have never tried to update the BIOS before. I decided to try to install the official BIOS on the page, starting with 7721vB1.zip I extracted files to USB flash drive, E77s1AMS.b10 and E7721VB1.exe I ran exe and got message: The PCB version of this board does not match with the new BIOS. The tool will now exit.

I then tried by looking at the cpu compatibility list for the motherboard. I downloaded version B.6, 2014-02-13, 5.14 mb in size. I ended up with E7721AMS.B60 file on the USB Flash Drive, as well as the EXE file from extracting the compressed file. When I tried running the E7721VB6 exe file, I got the same message: the PCB version of this board does not match with the new BIOS. The tool will exit.

I also booted into the BIOS and tried using the resulting E7721AMS.B60 file to update the BIOS, but for some reason it did not see a BIOS file there after browsing out to the flash drive.

It is almost enough to make me miss the days of putting a BIOS file on a floppy and updating it from there! I'm just not sure why the date on the BIOS doesn't match any of the official releases, and also can't figure out why it won't seem to install the official BIOS updates I download directly from the manufacturer.

Anyone have any ideas on what I could try next?

Thanks so much, because I am out of ideas!

 

[Ketchup]

Look at the board and triple-verify the make and model. Even using Spicy or CPU-Z could help here.

 

[XavierMace]

Back in the old days you would have bricked your board by flashing the wrong BIOS, so I'm not sure I'd be longing for those days.

The date and version of your current BIOS (as listed in your post) matches the A58M-E33. Therefore, I would suspect that's what you actually have given I don't see any other board that matches your current BIOS build.

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/A58M-E33

That said, according to the support page your new processor is supported with your current BIOS version and there's only one newer option. So something is still amiss. With the new processor in, it won't boot or won't post? Did you clear the CMOS?

 

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

Hmm - I will need to drive back up there and triple check - I may have actually missed that when I had the system open.

I did not hear a post beep, and there wasn't any video to see on the monitor after putting in the new processor. I rebooted once, and the same. Put the old cpu in, and got a "processor has changed" message, after which I rebooted and everything was ok.

 

[Ketchup]

So what CPU is in it now?

 

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

It currently has an A4-6320 processor in it, which has worked pretty well overall, but I wanted to make their system a bit faster (& support games better) with the A10-6700.

I had my Dad use SIW, which showed A55M-E33 (IMS-7721) and BIOS American Megatrends date 10-17-2014
However, I had not yet driven back up and physically opened the case and looked at the board again.
I suppose it is still possible I might have missed it being A58M, instead of A55M, or does the SIW info confirm it as A55M?

 

[Ketchup]

I guess I am going to be "that guy" and say that I don't think this will be much of an upgrade for casual desktop work. If you have something that's using a lot of threads, sure, but most of the time, the average user wants more power, not more threads. The extra L2 cache of the A10 will help, but what doesn't help is that it's clocked slower. See more here:

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/AMD-A4-6320-vs-AMD-A10-6700

I would rather put a little more money into something like this, transfer my SSD to it, and call it a day (and I am sure you can find something better if you do more than 5 minutes of looking).

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883283398

 

[VirtualLarry]

I would rather put a little more money into something like this, transfer my SSD to it, and call it a day (and I am sure you can find something better if you do more than 5 minutes of looking).

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883283398

$190 or so, for an i5-3470 tower, with 4GB/500GB Win10 Pro 64-bit.

Almost as low as ebay prices, but probably less risk, and possibly a warranty too!

Drop in a dGPU (Have you looked at prices? LOL!), like a GTX 1050 ti, and turn it into a half-decent gaming rig. (Don't forget to upgrade the DDR3 RAM too.)

 

[ao_ika_red]

I would rather put a little more money into something like this, transfer my SSD to it, and call it a day (and I am sure you can find something better if you do more than 5 minutes of looking).

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883283398

Be advised that OP already had the a10-6700 so the best thing we can do is help OP to make it work. Nice refurb, though. It will be a very good "family PC".

Otoh, did OP already try clearing the CMOS after installing the APU? Because based on the current BIOS build date alone, it should support every Richland APU without issue. And also, based on Wikipedia, the a4-6320 was released later than the a10-6700.