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whats the best chip i can drop into an asus m2a-vm rev 1.016?

spaceman

spaceman

Lifer
dont feel like flashing bios
currently have a 45w x2 4600 in there
i have a x2 6400 BE 125w in box but if possible id like to drop a phenom II in it.
i have no clue if it will work.
i have an earthwatts 500 psu
just want to do a vid card/cpu upgrade and get another year/1.5 yrs out of this rig.
 
Officially the M2A-VM doesn't support any Phenom 2 processors, whether AM2+ or AM3. Nor does it support the X2 6400 BE either. No support for more then 95W TDP processors.

Unofficially... I threw an X3 720BE into my sisters M2A-VM and it runs perfectly, I did have to upgrade to the latest BIOS however or it would periodically freeze at BIOS post. The BIOS still doesn't recognize the processor, just listing it as unknown. Runs fine and benchmarks appropriately though.
If you're unable/unwilling to update the BIOS I'm not sure the Phenom 2 is a viable option however, and even if you are official support isn't there for it if that concerns you.

I've seen/heard of plenty of people running the X2 6400 on the M2A-VM however. Would definitely recommend excellent cooling over the MOSFET's if you're going to go that route though. Long term I'd be concerned about the reliability otherwise. Like most MATX boards this one wasn't made to handle that kind of power draw. With sufficient cooling though you'll probably be fine, as I've said I've seen/heard of plenty of people running that pair.


 
M2A-VM supports X2 up to 125W but only up to 95W for Phenom based models. Still, I would try to avoid the 125W CPUs on this board, unless you really don't mind taking the extra effort to cool the MOSFETs. And it sounds like you are effort averse, if you are too lazy to update the BIOS, I'm not sure how the processor is going to jump in there by itself.

You can update to the latest BIOS using this bootable update CD I created for BIOS 2302 (latest):

http://s89934018.onlinehome.us/bios/M2AVM2302.iso

Standard ISO format that should be compatible with most CD burning apps. After the CD is created, you should find a README.TXT file on the disc for further information.
 
thanks for the replies guys, i think i'll avoid the 125w chips, tcscenter: i grabbed that bios, but for some reason alcohol gives me an error writing it, i'll try a different app..
so basically any phenom rated 95w or less could pretty much be a plug and play affair?
 
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