Piledriver On M4A89GTD PRO (890GX)

[Darkstalker420]

Hi registered on here a while ago but hardly ever post. You guys on here seem to know your stuff so i thought this would be a great place to ask some Q's regarding the new AMD 83xx FX CPU's. My MoBo has BETA support for the Bulldozer FX CPU (30xx BIOS) but as i have a 1055T@ 4.1Ghz i figured it wouldn't be enough of an upgrade over the X6.

However i'm now feeling "the itch" for new tech HOWEVER im just not prepared to replace what for me has been the most stable MoBo of all the rig's i've owned AND it hits 327HTT (325 for best stability!) and the fact that i know deep down that 890GX>990xx is hardly anything (that i would use anyway!). I have the feeling ASUS won't offer a BIOS for the 890xx MoBo's so i'm left with a problem really!!

I would love a Piledriver FX but don't feel the cost involved to replace the MoBo is justified imho (especially with a 4.1Ghz X6!) and i don't really want to go BD FX (unless the price DROPS.... Lots!). So i was wondering could the BIOS be modded from the BETA BD one to accommodate the Piledriver? I can't see the PD support differing from BD by lots as they are "cut from the same cloth" so to speak! Or what do you think would happen if i flashed to 3030 BIOS (BD) and just plopped an unsupported 8320 in the socket?

Would an "unsupported" CPU even boot/function?? I don't mind even if i had to manually enter settings etc as long as ALL features were functioning. Wish ASUS would do us a favour once more though i can understand why they wouldn't. What do you guys think?

Thanx.

[AMDforME]

I'd contact Asus Tech Support first to see if you can obtain the correct BIOS - assuming that you've already checked the Asus website for the latest BIOS for your mobo.

It is possible to hack a BIOS but if you don't know exactly what you are doing you may end up with a FUBAR BIOS chip which means you'd be stuck and need to send the mobo back to Asus for them to change the BIOS chip.

There is a high probability - but NO Guarantee that the system might run with the BD BIOS and the PD CPU. Typically on boot it would indicate that the CPU was "Unknown". When the BIOS can't properly recognize the installed CPU it might not boot at all or it might set the CPU voltage/frequency incorrectly. It may also not allow you to alter the settings in the BIOS to the proper settings. Every BIOS is different so it's impossible to be certain what you would actually get without trying it.

The best bet is to ask Asus nicely and I'd bet you could get a "Beta BIOS" for the Vishera/Piledriver CPUs and your model mobo - as long as your mobo has enough VRM circuit power, (125W minimum), which it should if the BD Beta BIOS came from Asus.

[EniGmA1987]

Quite a few people have posted that they are able to boot a Vishera based processor using the same bios they have been on since the Zambezi launch. Because the architecture is so similar, it will *probably* work *ok*. However for best performance you will want the most updated AGESA code in the bios and all that. If you have a 6-core @ 4.1GHz, you could upgrade if you wanted to but it wouldnt be much performance difference. I would just wait till next year when Steamroller core launches. That will actually be an upgrade from what you have. It is said that Steamroller will NOT be AM3+ socket though, so you would need a new MB to go that route.

[Darkstalker420]

Hi board supports upto 140w CPU latest BIOS is 3030 which is the last (checked today) one available. Im pretty sure if they had one available it would be available to download. That's my problem i think hardware wise this MoBo would run PD fine BUT if ASUS continues to support new CPU's on "old" boards there will be no incentive to purchase nice shiny Crosshair R2.0's and the like. I did try to contact ASUS about support for PD but ASUS being ASUS i never heard back from them LMAO!

So while it was great to offer BETA BD support with the 30xx BIOS the CPU i REALLY want to install is likely not to be supported "just because we need to sell those 990FX's" Shame like i said this is a great MoBo and it wouldn't be cost effective to have to purchase another 9 Series board just for PD. I don't use multiple GPU's don't care about "fancy" UEFI BIOS setups and don't need loads of SATA/USB ports so most of what the 990xx boards have over mine would be wasted on me imho.

I know that the upgrade itself will be barely worth it i had my eye on 8GB of 2133 and a H80 and just maxing this board out. I feel if i could get to 4.5Ghz this would do me for a few years imho (1080p single GPU).

I notice that you have an ASUS rep on here (Raja) i will ask him and see what he says. Thanks for the input though cheers.

Thanx.

[BeepBeep2]

I don't believe the board really supports Bulldozer even, some guys that tried it had trouble related to turbo and other stuff...

[Darkstalker420]

Hi can you link to the post/thread regarding the issues. I wouldn't mind being able not to use the Turbo function just curious about the other issues.

Thanx.

[wez]

Turbo on, APM on/off, and the ability to enable/disable cores are the issues I remember on the formula/extreme IV. And I think all of the asus 890 boards with beta BD support had the same issues. It works good enough, if you dont mind some fiddling getting it set up

[Darkstalker420]

That sounds ok don't mess with cores on/off Turbo i can use or not use imho not sure what APM is tbh. May just give up and pick up a cheap 8120 when they drop because of the new models. Would have been nice to benefit from the PD enhancements BUT i suppose if i just add some MOAR MHZ i can get a worthwhile upgrade.

One other question if someone wouldn't mind did the OC'ing ability go up and required VCore for it drop in some of the later batch/steppings of the 8120/8150's? Or what you got when they first were released is what you get now?

Thanx.

[EniGmA1987]

To match your Thuban @ 4.1GHz, you would need that Bulldozer to be running at least 4.7-4.8GHz, which is the very top of the "average OC" range.

[Darkstalker420]

Hmmm when you put it like that *pets 1055T. Maybe i should be looking to maximize what i have rather than going off on some "pipe dream" of some amazing BD chip that would knowing my luck would only get to 4.5Ghz or something like that and it would perform the same as my X6.

Thanks for the reality check.

Thanx.