1.4 athlon and kt7 - confusion abound

[darkmagex]

alright, ive been all over the place looking for an answer to this. I know a 200fsb 1.4 athlon would work fine in the Kt7 (not the Kt7A), but what about a 266fsb.

various sources have pointed out that only *some* of the athlons are unlocked, most notably those with AYHAJA markings. how much effort is required to boost 'er up to 1.4 ghz, and is it even worth it or just eat the extra $15 and buy a 200fsb...?

 

[rogue1979]

The 1400MHz Thunderbird 266MHz fsb or "C" model simply sports a 10.5 multiplier. Almost all 1.4GHz Thunderbirds come unlocked, if not simply pencil in the L1 bridges and set it on the desired mulitpier.

 

[Confused]

As far as i've always known, the 1.4 200fsb will work so long as it's not unlocked. Otherwise if it's unlocked then it will only run at 1300, by upping the multiplier to 12above if you've got the latest Bios.

Depending on what CPU you have now, i would either get the 1.4 266fsb, make sure it's unlocked (or unlock it yourself by connecting the L1 bridges from .:::: to .|||| with a pencil) and run it at 13 multiplier, then up the FSB to get as close to 1400 as possible. My KT7 was able to run at 13*110 for 1430MHz, but wouldn't go any higher.

The other option, is to keep the current CPU for a little longer, then when you have a little more money get a newer motherboard and an Athlon XP, which will more than likely get a much better increase in speed.

ConfusedBW

 

[darkmagex]

thx for the replies, in the bios the multiplier only goes to 12+ and i just got the latest bios version from abit (1/31/2002) so.. <stupid question> how do I get it up to 13? </stupid question>

I'm running a Duron 700 right now and its really bottlenecking my video card, alsoi'm figuring this is my last upgrade for at least a year...

 

[darkmagex]

wtf..there's a setting in the bios for 1400(266) as one of the system defined cpu types...

*even more confused*

 

[darkmagex]

bump 😕

 

[rogue1979]

That setting for 1400(266) might only be for the KT7A board which is capable of running a 133MHz fsb, the KT7 cannot go that high. If you flash to the 7N bios, you will be able to run an XP cpu. Buy the XP 1600, it is a dollar cheaper than the 1400(266) Athlon. It is faster and cooler than the thunderbird. If you really want to save some money, get the Morgan 1.2GHz for $59 shipped from Thompsons Computer Warehouse. It does not have laser pits like the XP, it unlocks just like a regular thunderbird by using the pencil trick on the L1 bridges (there are 5 instead of 4 to connect). You should be able to run it at 104 x 12.5 for 1300MHz, clock for clock the Morgan is about the equal of the thunderbird at the same clock speed. I wouldn't recommend anything less that a 400-watt power supply for the 1400MHz Athlon, if you don't have one you would definately need an upgrade. The Morgan overclocked at 1.3GHz should be fine with a 300-watt.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I've had a 1.4T-Bird on a KT7 running at 112x12.5=1.4ghz using a 300w Deer PSU rock solid. However, the bios is known to misreport the FSB on that board and Sandra and WCPUID both rated it at 108FSB and 110FSB respectively. I agree that the morgan is an overall better choice for that board based on both the cost effectiveness and the FSB limitations inherent to the KT133 chipset.

 

[esquared]

I just bought a 1300 Thunderbird, mulpitplier unlocked. I have the newest Bios for my Abit KT7-Raid and it sees it as a 1300. I thought the L1 bridges had to be locked for it to work as a 1300.
I read somewhere that it would see a 1300 or 1400 Athlon as a 1250 if the L1's were unlocked. Anyway, I managed to increase to FSB to 110 so I am running at 1430 MHz at around 46C at idle. Does that seem about right? I managed t get the CPU up to 1495 running at 115 FSB but it locks up after awhile. What's the max FSB anyone's run with a setup like mine. Also I am running 1.75 volts which is default voltage. Would it be more stable at 115 if I increased the voltage?