ASRock 960 GM-VGS3 compatibility questions

Hey there,

I was wondering if the motherboard mentioned above works with an AMD FX-4130? The ASRock website says it isn't compatible, but I noticed they released a P1.30 BIOS update... so now I'm curious if that specific update fixed the compatibility issue?

Best,

It’s not showing up on the CPU list

1.30
1. Update CPU microcode.
2. Improve memory compatibility.

Why are you stuck on that specific CPU? Which one of those two are you actually running?

It’s not showing up on the CPU list, but then again, I don't see any processors listed that were added using P1.30 anyway...

I already have the motherboard, so I'm thinking about picking up the processor since it's a newer $187, and honestly, the performance looks solid. Seems like a pretty smart move to me...

Well, obviously that update didn't actually expand the list...
What CPU are you running now?

And if it works—it’s not worth losing your mind over. You're better off grabbing a Piledriver like the AMD FX-6300 (which is an absolute steal), or if you're on a tighter budget, maybe a AMD Phenom II 945
.

Right now I'm running an AMD Athlon II X3 445. I'm just not sure if jumping up to a Phenom 945 is actually worth it... and then there's the 6300, but hmm, I really wasn't planning on dropping that much cash right now.

Actually, they're over 800

I mean, that’s not really much of a discount. And honestly, moving from an AMD Athlon II X3 445 up to a 945 doesn't feel like much of an upgrade. Or am I totally missing something here?...

Yeah, I didn't mention that. There's an ASRock motherboard that's almost identical to mine, except it uses an Intel chipset. On her board, they added support for the AMD FX-4130 with BIOS version 1.30. But for this AMD one... nothing in the 1.30 patch mentions what was actually added...

Is a 20%-25% difference really not that big of a deal? 😬

I’d definitely go with the AMD FX-6300... $43 It beats the AMD FX-4130 by quite a bit, which is much weaker, draws more power, and just has a worse architecture. Plus, since you're working with a motherboard that has pretty weak voltage regulation, I probably wouldn't risk dropping a 125W processor in there (the AMD Phenom is also 125W).

Hmm, alright then. I'll probably just go with the AMD FX-6300... I guess there isn't much else to be done at this point 😁

Thanks for all the help, everyone 🙂

Just watch out—it’s acting like a flash sale right now, and in a few days, it could easily jump another 100 points $50 higher, just like it did before.