ECS 945P-A (1.0) and Celeron D346 Compatibility

[poppy]

I was recently looking at the ECS 945P-A (1.0) as an upgrade option and was wondering if the Celeron D 346 was compatible with this mobo? I went to the ECS website, read the manual and checked the CPU compatibility chart. In the 3XX series all that was listed was the J series.

So the next step I took was to email ECS to ask them for verification if the Celeron D 346 was compatible. After about a week I received the typical canned autoresponse that my request was received and assigned a case number. In this response there was a statement that kind of blew me away:
We sell our products through distributors who sell to resellers and stores. Your reseller shouldbe familiar with your system configuration and should be able to solve your problem more efficiently than we could.
WTF :confused: The reseller knows more than the manufacturer? Six minutes later I received an email with the answer to go to the website and check the CPU Compatibility Chart. DOH, I did that or I wouldn't be emailing you! :eek:

So I guess the question remains, will it be compatible? Of course, this raises another question. If this is the response I get, what would happen if I bought this board and had problems and tried to get support?

Anyway, I'm sure saphalline can answer the compatibility issue.

[saphalline]

Well that's a funny story! :p Hmmm...

Yes, the i945P chipset is compatible with all the LGA 775 CPU's to date. And future ones most likely. At worst, you'd need a new BIOS with updated CPU microcode, but in this case it should be plug 'n play.

That's still a hilarious canned response, though.

[poppy]

Yeah, I thought so too! Come to think of it, it brings up another question and that is on the availability of the Celeron D 346. When you do a search for online retailers there's not many choices and most of them are out of stock. You see more online retailers overseas that carry it than you do in the US.

Is there a shortage, were they introduced overseas first, or what's the deal?

[saphalline]

The Celeron D's that end with a "1" or a "6" are the latest versions that have EM64T. Since the US has such a huge volume of computer builders/buyers vs other countries, we tend to run out of components before anyone else. My guess is that these new EM64T-equipped Celeron D's are just a tad more popular than Intel anticipated (or they did their normal "let's release a few and see what happens").

[poppy]

Thanks saph! I suspect you are right (probably a little bit on both counts). I know Newegg has the 336, but thought it would be nice to break the 3 GHz barrier and have 64-bit capability at a decent price point. My upgrade had to be put on the back burner, so waiting a tad bit more probably won't hurt (of course, if the demand is high usually prices follow that trend also ;) ).