Hi, Ron.
As the others said, you need a new 64-bit motherboard/chipset to support the
64-bit CPU. Fortunately, you can get a dual-core 64-bit mobo/CPU combo from
Fry's for under $200. Of course, you will need new RAM to go with it, but
that also is very cheap these days; you can get 2 GB of fast RAM for under
$50. You probably can still use your present hard drives, but the new mobo
will likely also support any upgraded drives (SATA, RAID, USB, etc.) that
you might need sometime soon.
Long ago I subscribed to the "just get a faster CPU" idea, and it worked for
a while. But for the past decade or so, each CPU upgrade has required a new
mobo, too. But I'm amazed (and pleased) at how little a mobo costs compared
to the rest of the computer, especially considering that it is the
foundation on which everything else rests. Even a state-of-the-art board
can be had for less than $100, although I would always insist on one of
better quality than that. Still, my current EPoX MF570sli mobo cost only
$138 in December 2006. (I spent another $310 for the Athlon 64 X2 5000+ CPU
and $232 for 2 GB PC6400 RAM, but those prices have dropped dramatically
since then.)
Let's see...Fry's ad in yesterday's Austin American-Statesman shows an ECS
mobo/AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ combo for $99.99 (1 day only, 1 per customer)
and 2 GB OCZ DDR2 PC6400 RAM for $29.99 (after $15 mail-in rebate). That's
$130 for what cost me over $600 just about 17 months ago - and with a newer
chipset than mine! Wow!
In short, trying to upgrade your system while preserving your old mobo is
penny wise and pound foolish - to coin a phrase. ;^}
RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail 2008 in Vista Ultimate x64 SP1)
"radron13" <> wrote in message
news:61A6F354-9041-4E74-A6AE-...
> I have 32 bit Ultimate installed and want to go to 64 bit. When I went to
> install the 64 bit I got a message saying my CPU did not support 64 bit.
> My
> motherboard is an ASUS P4C800-E-Deluxe and the CPU is a Socket 478. Can
> anyone tell me what CPU I need to get buy in order to install the 64 bit?
> Or
> is there something in the BIOS that needs to be adjusted? thanks Ron
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