Processor advice

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Hi all.

I have a Shuttle system (SN78SH7), which has an AM2+ socket. I am currently running the Athlon X2 6000 (3 ghz dual core). I'm looking for some more poke, and noticed the Athlon X4 quad cores on this site.

The only issue is... they're all AM3 sockets. Am I right in saying that AM3 processors are backwards compatible with AM2+ motherboards, but not vice versa?

Also, will such a processor actually WORK in the shuttle SN78SH7? I can't find anywhere that lists what processors the motherboard supports or not, only that it's AM2+.

Thanks for your helps

 

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You guys rock! Thanks for your help!

Time to try to remember how to flash a bios...

 

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Okay!

BIOS flash went successful (gosh, I love DOS ),
now I'm thinking of "which processor"?

I have seen the AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core 640 3.00GHz (Socket AM3) processor here for under £100 notes. Will this be much of an improvement from my current processor, which is an AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000 (3GHz dual core)?

I imagine I could expect, technically, twice the potential increase in processor power as I am trading 2x3GHz cores for 4x3GHz cores? That right?

How does this compare to the Phenom range of processors, i.e. there is a 6 core processor @ 2.8 GHz. I take it that'll be better still due to the extra cores, even though the clock speed is lower?

I've noticed there is a Phenom X2 3.2 GHz dual core for similar price to the Athlon II X4 3.0GHz linked above. What makes Phenom better/different?

Thanks in advance, guys E-pints all around!