i386 means...32 bit?

[Liam Proven]

On 17 August 2012 15:21, Felix Miata <mrmazda at earthlink.net> wrote:
> On 2012/08/17 10:52 (GMT+0100) Liam Proven composed:
>
>> You can't fit a 64-bit P4 into a motherboard designed for 32-bit P4s -
>> the BIOS won't take it.
>
> That's a misleading statement. There was quite some period when Intel was
> manufacturing both 32 bit and 64 bit, so motherboard makers had to provide
> backward compatibility for 32 bit CPUs in motherboards "designed" for 64
> bit.

I thought this myself but when I have looked for such upgrades for a
few machines, I have not found any. I am prepared to admit that they
might have existed 5-6Y ago, & I blame my error on my failing memory -
but I bet they don't now! :¬/

>> So you are stuck. If you want to run this 64-bit only program, you
>> need a new computer.
>
> He probably does, but there's a slim possibility he may not. If his CPU is
> LGA 775 rather than socket 478, he needs to check the CPU compatibility
> chart for his motherboard, if such exists. It may provide support for a 64
> bit Cedar Mill or newer CPU. I made such a switch only two days ago,
> switching from a Hyperthreading Prescott P4 @ 2.8GHz to a Core 2 Duo at
> 2.93GHz on a G31 LGA 775 motherboard:
> http://www.biostar-usa.com/app/en-us/mb/introduction.php?S_ID=363

Interesting! I didn't know such things were still possible.

If only they were for my bulletproof HP Proliant ML110 server, but
AFAICS it's not. :¬(

-- 
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