Good grief, this gets confusing.....
I have built several computers, in the past, but when it comes to
which mobo to get, I am lost.
I can get a good deal on a ASUS P3B-F. I have looked on several
websites and they all seem to conflict each other.
As I mentioned the other day, I have the the Coppermine CPU Intel PIII
700/256/100/165V S1
What I am finding is that one website said that this mobo will support
over 700mhz and another one that said will only support 450mhz, yet
someone is selling one on Ebay with a 500mhz cpu included. At the
same time, Asus own site dont seem to have any data on their older
boards.
Has anyone on here used a 700mhz CPU on this board?
If this Mobo wont work, which Asus boards will work?
Thanks
George
The second link is the result for your proposed motherboard. This is the
official Asus support list - sometimes faster processors can be used,
with the appropriate mods.
http://support.asus.com.tw/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx?SLanguage=en-us
http://support.asus.com.tw/cpusuppo...spx?type=1&name=P3B-F&SLanguage=en-us&cache=1
One important thing to note in the official support list, can be
seen in an example.
P3-600E MHz(slot1) 1.04 1007.001
A revision 1.04 motherboard has a newer Vcore voltage regulator.
That Vcore regulator has voltage codes for voltages less than 1.8V.
The higher speed processors use voltages like 1.65V for example,
so a revision 1.04 or later board would be needed to power them
if you don't want to do any hardware mods. If you take a 1.03
motherboard and plug the 600E into it, it won't POST.
So at the very least, ask the Ebay seller what board revision is
involved. An older revision is a lot less useful.
In terms of "universal donor" type technologies, a Powerleap slocket
(S370 to Slot 1) adapter, has its own Vcore regulator. A Powerleap
adapter can work with the older revision of board. AFAIK, Powerleap
is no longer selling these from their web site, though Ebay may have
them.
http://web.archive.org/web/20020124072337/www.powerleap.com/Products/iP3T.htm
Other brands of slockets are the "dumb" kind. They rely on the
motherboard having a low voltage regulator, in order to work.
I was able to run a "dumb" slocket on my P2B-S, by replacing
the voltage regulator chip on my motherboard. That is one way to
do an upgrade. That allows me to use a Tualatin 1.4GHz in my machine.
It is also possible to "VID mod" a Slot 1 Intel processor. The
Coppermine processors with SC242 edge connector (slot 1), run at
voltages like 1.7V or 1.75V. The processor will not be damaged
if you change the VID code coming from the processor, to a value
like 1.8V. I have used that to run a Coppermine processor, again
on a cheap slocket, without changing the voltage regulator. You need
a table of VID codes, to figure out what to cut and solder. (Note,
it is not advisable to VID mod to run a Tualatin - running a 1.5V
Tualatin at 1.8V will cook it in about a month. VID mod is for
Coppermine processors, and they go up to 1GHz or 1.1GHz or so.)
This page shows an example of doing a VID code mod, where a careful
choice of processors leads to a really simple mod (no soldering).
Changing the 1.7V code to 1.8V, only needs to change one of the
five VID bits, from a logic 1 to a 0. A grounding strap is all that
is needed, to make the new VID code of 1.8V. Changing a 1.75V VID
code to 1.8V, likely requires more surgery than that (I think I
needed one cut and one soldered strap for mine).
http://www.tipperlinne.com/p2b-ds.htm
This FAQ covers some of the 440BX family boards. Print this out
on large sized paper, and use a pen to mark up the table as you
learn what the comments in the table mean.
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/rscheidegger/p2b_procupgrade_faq.html
The Asus FAQ pages from the German site, are also still available.
http://rma.asus.de/support/FAQ/faq.htm
For example, FAQ086
http://rma.asus.de/support/FAQ/faq086_CPU_Upgrade_III.htm
http://rma.asus.de/support/FAQ/faq086b_CPU_Upgrade_III.htm
That should be enough to get you started.
Having the latest BIOS in the board, installed by using a
known-compatible processor, helps a lot. There is also a procedure
for installing a microcode patch, to cure a warning message you
might see on the screen. That can be done with CTMC, non-destructively.
CTMC works with Award BIOS and uses a BIOS hook to load the microcode
patch into the microcode cache. The microcode stays in the cache, for
as long as the processor needing it, is still installed in the motherboard.
Swapping out processors, means you'd need to reload the microcode.
But as long as the processor needing the microcode stays in the
machine, the microcode will stay put. (You can unplug the computer
and remove the CMOS battery, and the microcode patch is still there.)
ftp://ftp.heise.de/pub/ct/ctsi/ctmc10.zip
Note that various members of the 440BX motherboards, have different
clock generator chips on them. My P2B-S motherboard, can only clock
up to 112MHz, due to a limit in the clock generator. There are some
boards, that can clock up to 133MHz. Since the AGP clock divider is
either 1:1 (for 66MHz CPU and 66MHZ AGP) or 3:2 (for 100MHz CPU and
66MHz AGP), if you go to 133MHz, the AGP using 3:2 becomes 89MHz.
A lot of older video cards can withstand that overclock (MX440 or
similar, Geforce2, Geforce3 etc). Some modern video cards won't like
that, such as some AGP 8X cards with universal voltage capabilities.
An ATI 9800 for example, might not be too happy at 89MHz. I don't
have a comprehensive table of what works and what doesn't. If you
are using a somewhat old video card, chances are you could clock
all the way to 133MHz, with the video card AGP slot overclocked
as a result.
The author of the tipperlinne.com web pages, has run 440BX boards
at 150MHz on the FSB, meaning his video cards have run with 100MHz
on the AGP slot. So some amazing overclocks are possible on AGP.
Just don't expect all AGP video cards to like it.
http://tipperlinne.com/p2bmod
In terms of the practicality of your proposed purchase, there
are some pretty cheap motherboards and CPUs out there. And they
can give a lot more performance than an old 440BX board. If this
is a "museum restoration", then spending the money might make
sense.
For example, on this page, there is a bundle consisting of an
Asus A8S-X and a Sempron 3000+ for only $99. RAM is pretty cheap
these days, so I could probably do better by investigating a
bundle like that, than reviving a 440BX board.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=14
You can even find deals like this 4000+ S939 processor for $62
and use it with a cheap motherboard like the A8S-X for $59.
You would still need with a PCI video card or a PCI Express
video card. I don't think this motherboard has integrated
video, like some others do.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103037
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1696733&Sku=A455-2129
Paul