Windows 7: Upgrading CPU - Help please!

Hi there,

ATM I have a very old and out-dated proccessor. It is a AMD Athlon 3800+ single core. I have been thinking on upgrading but no too sure what to get.

My mobo specs are here: Motherboard Specifications, M2N68-LA (Narra) Compaq Presario SR5019UK Desktop PC - HP technical support (Germany - English)

It says upto a 5600 dual core, but in brackets it had 89w twp. So... Could I get a 6000+ that only requires 89w?

More nooby questions! ;D

Not sure about updating BIOS, as the website says nothing about it supporting Windows 7, and the changelog says nothing about supporting newer CPU's.

One more



Can someone reccommend me a CPU cooler for less than £30 or $50? I won't be doing too much overclocking, but my stock coooler is crap.

Bumping.. Help please!

It's not that you'll be doing much overclocking, it's that you won't be doing any overclocking. HP seems pretty strict about adhering to 89TW, so if you attempt to go above that, which is what's going to happen if you overclock, bad things will no doubt happen.

AMD 6000+ has a thermal power rating of 125 watts, so that's out of the question.

I'm not bothered if I can't do any overcolcking.

There is a model that is only 89w

That's a board made by ASUS .. here's a link to the ASUS support forums that might help ..

ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Forum-

I recently did a similar upgrade , different mobo though .. ASUS M2NE SLI and the 6000+ (89W) works very well with it .. Win 7 found it , Adjusted 'something' , asked me to re-boot and that was that .. no re-install needed which was quite a nice surprise!

Here's the chip details .. AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ - ADV6000IAA5DO (ADV6000DOBOX) ..

I bought a new cooler too which seems to do the business .. Arctic Cooling

I have no idea whether that system can support newer CPUs. Asus has BIOS updates available for various M2N68 motherboards, but the -LA is an OEM product, and Asus does not support it. You may have to hunt around the Web to see if anyone has had success; like most appliance PC makers, HP may not provide information about configurations they don't sell. (That's one reason I bought my first - and last - appliance PC in 1995.)

As for coolers, I recently saw a review:

Thermaltake Contac29 Cooler Review | KitGuru

It doesn't outperform an $80 cooler, but it costs $30:

Newegg.com - Thermaltake Contac 29 120mm CPU Cooler

If it fits in your PC case, it looks like a bargain.

Thanks for all the repls!

I think I might as well just geta 5600, as the 6000 isn't too much better, and better safe than sorry.

I just have a few more questions still.

All of the CPU fans I can find have 4 pins, whilst my mobo has only 3. But then I saw this (Motherboard (CPU) 3 Pin Fan Connector Connector Pinout - AllPinouts). Are them diagrams what they appear to be? xD

I have a 4 pin motherboard cpu fan and i infact questioned that too with the heatsink i purchased it said made for my board and the diagram did show 4 pin connect but hell i tryed it with the three left one open and still worked i do monitor it with a flashlight since i have a see through case just to make sure it is running i have 2 fans on my heat sink even though i need one but it keeps me running very cool coolermaste dual fan heatsink dual coper pipes

The 5600+ is a good CPU. It will still be a significant upgrade from your current one

List of 89W AM2 CPU's,

AMD Processors for Desktops: AMD Phenomâ„¢, AMD Athlonâ„¢ FX, AMD Athlonâ„¢ X2 Dual-Core, AMD Athlonâ„¢, and AMD Sempronâ„¢ Processor

and if you do get one don't be surprised if it doesn't work. HP likes to lock the bios to whatever CPU the board shipped with. If it doesn't work and you don't have the latest bios for your computer from HP (it may be an Asus motherboard, but the Asus bios will not work on it), it may allow the new CPU to work.

They would much rather sell you a new computer than allow a simple CPU upgrade that the board can support.