AM2, AM2+, AM3

There seems to be quite alot of people recently asking questions about the differences between am2, am2+, and am3, what works with what, etc.


CPU Sockets:

Socket AM2:
Hypertransport 2.0 (1Ghz)
Socket is 940 pins and will fit in AM2, and AM2+ Sockets
Supports Dual Channel DDR2 Memory

Socket AM2+:
Hypertransport 3.0 (2.6Ghz Max)
Socket is 940 pins, Will work with both AM2+ and AM2 Sockets.
Socket AM2+ cpu's will work in AM2 motherboards depending upon bios revision and chipset.
Supports Dual Channel DDR2 Memory

Socket AM3:
Hypertransport 3.0 (2.6Ghz Max)
Future AM3 Motherboards will support up to 3.2Ghz with Hypertransport 3.1
Socket is 941 pins, Will only fit AM3 Cpu's in an AM3 motherboard.
AM3 Cpu's are backward compatible with AM2 and AM2+ motherboards, depending on chipset and bios revisions.
Supports Dual Channel DDR2 when run on AM2/AM2+ Motherboards.
Supports Dual Channel DDR3 when run on AM3 Motherboards.
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AMD CHIPSETS:

AMD 790 Chipset Variants:
790FX:
x16,x16 Crossfire | x16, x16, x8 Triple Crossfire | x8, x8, x8, x8 Quad Crossfire
65nm Process

790X:
x8,x8 Crossfire
65nm Process

790GX:
x8,x8 Crossfire| Hybrid Crossfire X(ATI Hybrid Graphics, ATI Powerplay)
55nm Process
HD3200 Onboard Graphics

AMD 785G:
x16, x4 Crossfire |or x8, x8 Crossfire Depending on motherboard| Hybrid Crossfire X(ATI Hybrid Graphics, ATI Powerplay)
55nm Process
HD4200 Onboard Graphics

AMD 780 Chipset Variants:

780G:
x16,x8 crossfire on select motherboards | Hybrid Crossfire X(ATI Hybrid Graphics, ATI Powerplay)
55nm Process
HD3200 Onboard Graphics (128mb Sideport Memory select motherboards)

780V:
No Crossfire
55nm Process
Radeon 3100 Onboard Graphics

AMD 770:
No Official Crossfire Compatibility | x16, x4 Crossfire on Select Motherboards|
65nm Process

AMD 760G:
Hybrid Crossfire X(ATI Hybrid Graphics, ATI Powerplay)
55nm Process
Radeon HD 3000 Onboard Graphics

AMD 740G:
No Crossfire
55nm Process
Radeon 2100 Onboard Graphics
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Nvidia Chipsets:

Nvidia nForce 980a
Rebadged 780a with AM3/DDR3 Motherboard support
x16,x16 SLI| x8,x8,x8 Triple SLI| Hybrid SLI(GeForce Boost,Hybrid Power)
Current Motherboards DDR2|Chipset Supports DDR3/AM3
65nm Process
Geforce 8200 Onboard Graphics

Nvidia nForce 780a:
x16, x16 SLI| x16, x8, x8 Triple SLI| Hybrid SLI(GeForce Boost,Hybrid Power)
65nm Process
Geforce 8200 Onboard Graphics

Nvidia nForce 750a:
x8, x8 SLI | Hybrid SLI(GeForce Boost,Hybrid Power)
65nm Process
GeForce 8200 Onboard Graphics

Nvidia Nforce 730a:
Hybrid SLI(GeForce Boost,Hybrid Power)
65nm Process
GeForce 8300 Onboard Graphics

Nvidia nForce 720a:
Hybrid SLI(GeForce Boost,Hybrid Power)
65nm Process
GeForce 8200 Onboard Graphics
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CPU's by Socket:

AM2+:
All Original(65nm) Phenoms(Agena, Kuma, Toliman)
Phenom II X4 920
Phenom II X4 940

AM3:
Athlon II X2 240 2.8Ghz
Athlon II X2 245 2.9Ghz
Athlon II X2 250 3.0Ghz
Phenom II X2 545 3.0Ghz
Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition 3.1Ghz
Phenom II X3 705e 2.5Ghz
Phenom II X3 710 2.6Ghz
Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition 2.8Ghz
Phenom II X4 810 2.6Ghz
Phenom II X4 905e 2.5Ghz
Phenom II X4 945 3.0Ghz
Phenom II X4 955 3.2Ghz
Phenom II X4 965 3.4Ghz
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Notes:
- AMD Chipsets tend to have higher backward compatibility with newer processors
- Nvidia Chipsets Support SLI, While AMD Chipsets Support Crossfire
- Generally speaking, Socket AM3 will provide longer future compatibility over socket AM2+