I got an offer from tiger direct to upgrade my processor and I dont understand some of the termonology: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/se...AIN#detailspecs

I dont understand what "SLI ready" means, and i don't know what motherboard is compatible with this processor. So i was hoping the knowlaedgable peole of lumenlab might be able to help.

SLI ready would be in reference to a motherboard. It means that it can support dual graphics cards (though its not required).

And what about compatible mther boards? i dont want to buy the wrong one and i have no idea what to look for. thanks a lot man

first it depends on what kind of graphics card you like

ati has crossfire, meaning it can support two ati graphics cards working together, like a raid hard drive array

nvidia has sli, meaning it can do the same thing, only with nvidia cards instead of ati

if you don't have a preference, I'd reccomend crossfire. It seems to have a little better driver support these days, but that's just me.

you'll notice that new processor is socket 940. You just need to make sure that your motherboard supports socket 940 processors, and you're good to go. You also need to make sure your motherboard supports PC6400 ram, since that's what comes with the kit.

Finally, since it's AMD, the motherboard will most likely be ati crossfire compatible since AMD and ATI are together now.

I'm pretty sure you also need to make sure that the motherboard has the FSB speed as the chip you want to use.

For the processor you linked, it has a 1000Mhz bus speed, so you would need a motherboard with matching specs.

You don't even really need to think about it though, because most motherboards list which chips they are compatible with.

Thanks a lot. I think that cleared up some confusion. im a little foggy on the socket types, but ill see what i can scrounge. thanks again guys

EDIT: Wow the price difference between a socket 940 and a socket 939 processor is 150 dollars! Do you know if this is siutable or should i find one with crossfire? do i lose speed if i run sli on a amd processor? or should i get pentium for sli? heres the one i was thinking about: http://www.serversdirect.com/product.asp?pf_id=MB8028

EDIT2: this one is a lot cheaper but it says it supports AM2+/AM2 sockets. does a socket 940 fall into this catergory? lots of questions guys, sorry for cluster-f: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813127036

I want to say that socket 939 falls into that category, so 940 should, but I don't mess with AMD much since the core2duo came out, so I could be wrong. Unless you're going to invest in the top of the line graphics cards you don't need to worry about crossfire or sli graphics. You have to buy matching graphics cards, and unless you go top end, one top end 512 card is going to outperform two low end 256 cards. You really just need one card.

Can you explain the difference between socket #'s or direct em to somewhere that can? I dont know what "939" is or "940". I just need to be schooled on the basics of motherboards. and thanks happyhour I mean amhour

The socket # is usually just a designation to help asure you get the matching mobo to the processor, the biggest difference is pin count on the processor, if you are going to buy a socket 939 you need a socket 939 Proc. if you are going to get a socket 940 you need a socket 940 Proc. and so on and so on, now I will suggest don't bother buying a 939 or 940 mobo as they are old designs, current acceptable AMD sockets are socket AM2 and AM2+, if you buy a mobo that is designated as AM2+ it will support AM2 processors as well, currently AM2+ processors are (if memory serves) the AMD Phenom family, which are the AMD quad-core processors.

Right now, unless your on a tight budget, I would recommend staying away from AMD as the Intel Core-2-Duo family is wiping the floor with AMD in the performance bracket, but AMD is a LOT less expensive.

hmm I couldnt find any motherboards on pricewatch that were listed under AM2 or AM2+. Are you sure socket 940 isn't an AM2 OR AM2+?

Read up on this page right here pay close attention to this section "There is a new 940-pin socket called AM2. Though the current Socket 940 and the AM2 both share the same number of pins, they are not pin-compatible. That is, a Socket 940 processor will not fit in an AM2 socket. The same is true in reverse; a Socket AM2 processor will not fit in Socket 940.

Another good read is this one.

BTW pricewatch has 17 pages for AM2 listings here


EDIT:, OK I just re-read your initial post, you linked to a Proc/Ram combo on Tigerdirect, look at the Proc description "- Socket: AM2 - Front Side Bus: 1000MHz (2000 MT/s) - Cache: 1MB" So it is clearly stated you need a socket AM2, not the 940, though from my above info and links you will see the Sockets them selves are identical (pin quantity) they are not compatible.

Also, the Abit mobo you linked to on newegg, that should work just fine, with both the Proc and Ram.

Thanks alien dude. I was reading that when i casme across this exerpt: "The Socket 940 platform is designed for raw power and professional accuracy, not bleeding-edge gaming performance." So ii guess ill keep looking. Do you or someone else reccomend a good motherboard/cpu combo for a decent price. I am trying to keep my upgrade uder $300.00 right now