960GC-GS FX support

[Pelmz]

Would a AMD FX 8320 be compatible with a ASRock 960GC-GS FX ?

[parsec]

Re: 960GC-GS FX support

An AMD FX 8320 is a 125W CPU, and the 960GC-GS FX supports up to 95W FX processors. So no, it is not supported.

The 960GC-GS FX only has a three phase CPU power stage without a heat sink. It is not designed to work with high power processors.

The AMD FD832EWMW8KHK (FX 8320E) is a 95W processor that will be compatible with this board, but not for any over clocking.

[Pelmz]

Re: 960GC-GS FX support

Hi,

Thanks for your advice, I got the chip you recommended and it still doesn't do anything. Would you have any suggestion?

[parsec]

Re: 960GC-GS FX support

What BIOS version does your board have now? Your processor requires version 1.40. There's a sticker on the BIOS chip on the board that has the version on it, if you've never updated the BIOS.

Is this a new build or are you changing the CPU? If you're changing it, you must clear the BIOS/CMOS first.

When you said the board/CPU does not do anything, do the fans start up when you press the power button, or what is happening?

[Pelmz]

Re: 960GC-GS FX support

The BIOS version I'm running is 1.40.

I'm just replacing the CPU.

All the fans and such start up but the screen just stays black.

I have no idea how to clear BIOS/CMOS, could you help me with that please?


Thanks in advance.

[parsec]

Re: 960GC-GS FX support

Replacing the CPU? Then that is probably the problem, you must clear the BIOS/CMOS before the new CPU will work correctly. CMOS is the kind of chip the BIOS is stored in, and clearing it means resetting any data and settings it stores, including the type of CPU being used.

To do this you must first shutdown the PC, turn off the power supply, and remove the AC power cord from the PC. You MUST do that!!! Otherwise the board could be damaged.

With the PC case open, find the Clear CMOS jumper, #7 in this picture, just below the memory slots:



This picture is from your board's manual, page 12.

There are three pins on this connector, and the plastic cap/jumper on it connects two of the three pins together, there is a metal piece inside the plastic.

This pin jumper comes right off by pulling it straight up. To "clear the CMOS" (reset all BIOS settings and settings and data not available to users) remove the jumper from pins 1 and 2, and put it on pins 2 and three. Which means you just move it over one pin. Leave the jumper in place for a minute or two, and you can also remove the CMOS battery (shown in the picture) which will wipe every last bit of memory inside the CMOS chip. The date and time will be wrong when the battery is removed, just reset it in Windows.

After the time has passed, put the battery back in place, and move the jumper back to its original position on pins 1 and 2. That's it, you're done.

I bet you were using a very different processor than the FX 832E you have now. Is that right?

That just struck me, you may have another problem that I just noticed. What kind of memory do you have in this board, DDR2 or DDR3?

Or put it this way, is the memory in the yellow slots, or the black slots? If it is in the yellow slots, you need new memory, because that is DDR2.

AM3+ processors like an FX 8320 or FX 832E will only work with DDR3 memory, as described in the board's specifications:

ASRock > 960GC-GS FX

That would also explain why you are getting zero reaction out of the PC after changing the CPU, sorry to say.

[Pelmz]

Re: 960GC-GS FX support

Thanks for your reply,

Sadly, I do have DDR2 Memory, I guess that'd be the problem then. Would you recommend any specific DDR3 Ram I should get?
Also, when I do get my RAM sorted, will I still need to clean BIOS/CMOS?

Thank you very much for your support so far.

[parsec]

Re: 960GC-GS FX support

The DDR2 memory is definitely the problem, but you still need to clear the CMOS/BIOS when changing a CPU and memory. You can do this when you change your memory to DDR3. The CMOS clear is easier than changing the memory.

It's always safe to choose memory from your board's memory support list:

http://www.asrock.com/mb/memory/960GC-GS%20FX.pdf

Choosing memory randomly will result in the memory being compatible randomly.

[Pelmz]

Re: 960GC-GS FX support

So I had a look around in my local shops and I couldn't find memory that would be 8GB in total and compatible. I did find this one:

It's the closest to being compatible it seems. Would it work?