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Questions about GIGABYTE products => Motherboards with AMD processors => Topic started by: pantz on December 22, 2011, 11:09:49 am

Title: ga ma74gm s2
Post by: pantz on December 22, 2011, 11:09:49 am

Hello Everyone, i have a old ga ma74gm s2 motherboard with an AMD 2 processor,( not sure what the speed is ) i am wondering what is the highest  CPU the ga ma74gm s2 motherboard can handle?

Thanks in advance.

Title: Re: ga ma74gm s2
Post by: absic on December 22, 2011, 03:22:25 pm

Hi there,

could you post back with the revision number of your motherboard? If you are not sure what it is you can find it printed on the motherboard itself, usually along the bottom or in the lower left hand corner.

Title: Re: ga ma74gm s2
Post by: pantz on December 22, 2011, 06:32:59 pm

Hello  its a  rev 1

Also what is the safest way to update the BIOS of that board ?

Thanks in advance.

Title: Re: ga ma74gm s2
Post by: pantz on December 22, 2011, 06:59:07 pm

Quote from: pantz on December 22, 2011, 11:09:49 am

Hello Everyone, i have a old ga ma74gm s2 motherboard with an AMD 2 processor,( not sure what the speed is  amd 2 240 2.8Ghz) i am wondering what is the highest  CPU the ga ma74gm s2 motherboard can handle?

Thanks in advance.

Title: Re: ga ma74gm s2
Post by: absic on December 22, 2011, 08:17:26 pm

here is a list of supported CPU's for your motherboard: http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=2813 The N/A in the BIOS column means that the CPU isn't supported.

The best and safest way to update the BIOS is to use the QFlash Utility. You would probably need to update the BIOS to the F5b to give you the best options for adding a new CPU and you should do this before you remove your current processor.

Title: Re: ga ma74gm s2
Post by: pantz on December 22, 2011, 09:03:43 pm

the PC has been is storage for over a year, so the CPU( AMD 2, 240 2.8GHZ) is already installed, and the BIOS is F4, i do not have the disk that came with the motherboard,

thanks

Title: Re: ga ma74gm s2
Post by: absic on December 22, 2011, 09:06:41 pm

You can download drivers and BIOS via this link: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=2813&dl=1#dl

Title: Re: ga ma74gm s2
Post by: pantz on December 22, 2011, 10:05:25 pm

Thanks for everyone's help, i will update the MB and let you all know how it turns out, once again thanks.

Title: Re: ga ma74gm s2
Post by: pantz on December 24, 2011, 03:32:08 pm

Hello everyone, well i finally got all the W7 updates done, also installed all the updates for the Motherboard except the BIOS which is F4, The F5 Bios says its a beta version, even though its a few years old should i still update it, even though it says its a beta version ?

Thanks in advance

Title: Re: ga ma74gm s2
Post by: absic on December 24, 2011, 03:54:58 pm

Hi there,

the general rule is you don't need to update the BIOS if everything is working fine. We often suggest that user's update to the latest version when they post with a problem as then we usually know the starting point for troubleshooting.

The fact that the latest BIOS for your motherboard is still shown as a BETA version, even though it hasn't been updated for a long time would indicate that as far as Gigabyte are concerned the board is technically end of life  Usually, when a BIOS is shown as a BETA Version it has been tested and Gigabyte feel it is safe for user's to use. In the case of your motherboard the BETA BIOS allows for some CPU's to be used and the only reason to update to this version is if you want to run of these processors.

Title: Re: ga ma74gm s2
Post by: pantz on December 24, 2011, 04:32:22 pm

OK,  thanks,  i don't think i will update the BIOS, one other question,  i am looking for a pretty decent Graphics card for the motherboard, i am currently using the on-board Ati   radeon 2100, i know its crap, and since i only have a 500watt PSU  i was wondering what the best card to upgrade to, this is my secondary machine, so i dont want to spent to much, i am currently working on my Primary Machine which has a 750 Corsair PSU, and a EVGA 260 card

Thanks in advance.

Title: Re: ga ma74gm s2
Post by: absic on December 24, 2011, 04:56:15 pm

Well cheap GPU's are fairly easy to find and any of them will probably do. For around £20 - £30 you could get an ATI 5450 which will be a vast improvement over the On-Board graphics and shouldn't need a new PSU to power it.

Title: Re: ga ma74gm s2
Post by: pantz on December 24, 2011, 05:16:59 pm

Thanks you so much Absic, i will look into the ATI 5450