Thanks for that suggestion Buff.
I had already noticed the existence of that beta. I should have explained that I would rather see an official BIOS release before investing in a new processor. Not that I am against betas in general, having happily used one of Richh's from the Abit USA Forum.
A new motherboard and processor may be the next step instead, but there are so many changing technical variables at the moment that I keep putting off the decision.
Some Linux hardware compatibility would also be a preference as I am disenchanted with Microsoft's recent developments and their desire to control the way that the operating system is configured. I seem to be continually resetting my preferences after every new system update.
A bit of 'sitting on the fence' seems appropriate at present.
Thanks again for pointing out the beta,
John.