putting quad core on a dual core mobo?

[john]

Generally speaking, if you put an intel quad core CPU on a mobo that
supports only dual core, what would happen?

 

[geoff]

Computer probably would not start and I don't know if something would be
damaged, but that is like asking, if one were to put lawn mower spark plugs
in the car engine, what would happen? I mean, why would you do that?

--g

 

[Paul]

Generally speaking, if you put an intel quad core CPU on a mobo that
supports only dual core, what would happen?

Checking the motherboard manufacturer's CPUSupport chart, will tell
you whether it is supported, before you buy the quad processor.

Electrically, the interface on the processor is the same (quad pumped
fSB etc). The processor may draw a bit more power from Vcore.

The limitation, is when the BIOS parses the CPU details. The board
may not pass power on self test, if the processor is not supported.

There are a couple Nvidia chipsets, where they didn't support particular
Intel CPU choices, but I don't know if I could list those limitations
correctly from memory.

If you tell us what board you've got, it makes it easier to
answer the question.

Paul