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What CPU Is Compatible With My Motherboard?

If you want to upgrade your computer, you must first look into both your CPU and motherboard both. However, most people face a common question before they go on to make upgrades. This question is- what CPU is compatible with my motherboard?

Isn’t It Enough To Just Upgrade The CPU Chips?

Here I will tell you the answer to that question in full detail. But before I dive into that, it’s essential to address this commonly asked question.

You might think that upgrading your CPU chips will be enough, but there’s an issue with that. This issue is called technology advancement. Know that the rapid progress in technology means that motherboards and CPUs are almost advancing at the same pace. As such, your old motherboard will probably not work with just a brand new chip.

So if you want to check which CPU will for sure work with your motherboard, you will have to focus on four primary areas. Let me tell you about them.

What Are The 4 Areas You Need To Check To Ensure CPU And Motherboard Compatibility?

Here are those four areas that you need to pay attention to:

Manufacturer Compatibility

First of all, know that there are only two major manufacturers of desktop CPU Chips. These are AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) and Intel. Now, you need to know that there’s not much difference between the chips offered by these two giant companies.

Know that you will get an extensive range of CPUs from both these manufacturers. Both the companies offer CPUs with a large variety of functionalities and chips as well. These can both run on the very same kind of OS. However, if you look from the hardware perspective, both these chips need different motherboards.

So when you are buying the CPU and motherboard, make sure that they are from the same manufacturer.

Memory Compatibility

It would be best if you kept in mind that different processors need different memory types. Now, older PCs make use of the DDR2 memory, but if you have a newer computer, it will use DDR3. Note that CPUs are generally optimized to be compatible with one or the other memory type.

So if you have a CPU compatible with DDR2 memory, then it won’t work with DDR3. This won’t work on your motherboard as well since these memory types need different sockets to run. Also, there is the issue of RAMs. Know that recent ones tend to be faster, so the older ones might fail in working with a brand new CPU.

Socket Compatibility

Know that there are bound to be differences in CPU Chips made by even the same manufacturer. After all, Intel and AMD make a wide variety of CPU chips. These chips have different processors, which then connect to different kinds of physical sockets.

For example: if your motherboard comes with Intel LGA1366 physical socket, it won’t work with a newer Core i7 model chip. This is because that needs an LGA2011 socket. As such, the older sockets won’t be able to work with the newer chips.

However, it must be mentioned that there are some sockets from AMD which do indeed work with multiple kinds of CPU chips. But know that a majority of them can’t do this.

Chipset Compatibility

Note that as CPUs advance, so do motherboards. Now, to jog your memory, know that the chipset controls this motherboard.

If this motherboard cannot transfer information fast between that of the memory and the new CPU, then it’s a waste. After all, then the extra speed of the CPU won’t be helpful at all.

So the chipset needs to be compatible with the motherboard. This will allow fast information transfer.

What Is The Easiest Way To Find Out Which CPU Supports My Motherboard?

The four areas that I mentioned above will determine if your CPU will work with your motherboard or not. But not everyone has an encyclopedic knowledge of processors, CPU chips, and more. So you might make the wrong decision and then end up sinking your money.

This is why there’s an easy way out. To make this easy way, you need to head to the website of your CPU manufacturer. So if you visit that site, then chances are that you will get to see a complete list of the CPUs that are supported by the motherboard. Not to mention that you will probably also see the minimum requirement for BIOS as well.

It’s easy to check which CPU works with what motherboard. After all, it would be best if you kept the socket, manufacturer, chipset, and memory compatibility in mind. But if that turns out to be mind-boggling, there is no need to worry. Just head to the website of your CPU manufacturer and then check the needed specifications. This will solve all of your issues

About the Author Michael E. Yates

Hi! The words you are going to read comes from me! A geek passionately and a writer of 5+ years professionally. If you ask about my likings, well, I love to tag along with upcoming technology trends. Though I also have contributed to many more technology sites through my writings. If you ask about my dreams, then one of them is finding an instant solution for every device malfunction, so I am creating a blog post. A blog post that will help more people like me. I, introduce thepcstuff.com the result of my hard work and patience. Do not worry, with me and my team behind the computers will make sure every vital information related to technology reaches all of you people. So, if you are ready to go on an adventurous ride with thepcstuff.com and me, let's get started!