The ASUS M2N is an AM2-compatible motherboard with a lot of CPU upgrade options.
The ASUS M2N-E motherboard came out in late 2006 and was one of the first motherboards to use the Advanced Micro Devices AM2 socket standard, which allowed AMD CPUs to use DDR2-RAM. AMD later replaced the AM2 specification with the AM2+ and the AM3 CPU socket solution, with the latter allowing DDR3 RAM to work with the latest generation of CPUs. CPUs designed to work in the AM2+ and AM3 sockets can work in the AM2 sockets, but they may not be able to use features like DDR3 RAM at full potential. The current BIOS revision for this motherboard is version 3001, dated February 2009.
AMD Athlon 64 Family
This is the CPU family that the ASUS M2N-E was originally designed for. These CPUs ran at wattages ranging from 62 watts down to 45 watts, depending on the generation of the processor. They were AMD's first real foray into 64-bit CPUs, and were given performance ratings that were a synthetic measure of performance; most ranged in actual clock speeds from 2 GHz to 2.6 GHz. These CPUs were replaced by the Athlon 64 FX family. These CPUs are compatible with every version of the BIOS for the M2N-E motherboard.
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Family
These processors were functionally the same as the AMD Athlon 64 FX family, but were all dual-core processors. They required a BIOS revision. Upgraded features on this processor, beyond the second core, included a better memory controller, though still limited to DDR2, and more level 1 and level 2 cache on the die. This processor family will work with the latest BIOS for the M2N-E motherboard.
AMD Phenom II Family
The AMD Phenom family uses a different architecture than the Athlon 64 and boasts significant performance boosts. These CPUs are meant for the AM3 socket, and using them on this motherboard will disable some features, such as the DDR3 RAM compatibility. Using Phenom II CPUs on this motherboard requires changing BIOS settings to make the processor run safely, including adjusting the voltage. It is particularly important to get Phenom II CPUs that peak out at no more than 125 watts, otherwise the voltage draw can cause system irregularities and system lockups.
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