Asus A7V133

[Gamerguy68]

I currently have a 900mhz TB on this board and wonder if I can upgrade to a faster cpu. Are there any current AMD processors that are compatible? Thanks

 

[Harvey]

From Asus' Technical Specs for your board:

Processor - Socket A for AMD® Athlon? / Duron? 550MHz ~ 1.3GHz+ CPU.

You may be able to use an even faster chip with an updated BIOS and drivers. Get 'em, here

 

[cmaMath13]

Depending on the revision you have and bios, you should be able to run and XP. I currently have a 1900+ on my A7V133.

 

[Gamerguy68]

Thanks for the replies. I wasn't sure if I could go any higher than an old Athlon 1.3 (200 fsb) or use the newer 266 fsb cpu's.

 

[EKAtBzboyz]

for sure you can use the 266fsb cpu's, it has kt133a chipset

asus a7v cant use 266fsb cpu becuase it has kt133 chipset

and you should be able to use athlon xp's, but a bios update will most likely be needed

 

[Gamerguy68]

Any recommendation on what XP cpu I should go with? 1900, 2000 etc..
Are there any other concerns I should be aware of when dropping in the cpu? I want a decent gamer system, and wonder how my video card and ram stack up. Any opinions? Thanks again for your replies everyone!

 

[cmaMath13]

Based on a KT133a mobo, you really don't need to go for the high end XP. Supposively the KT133a/SDRAM is "maxed out" with a 1.4GHz processor, so I would not get much more that a 1800+ or 1900+ (already a couple hundred MHZ too fast). For this reason I will be grabbing a KT400 or NF2 mobo in the next few weeks.

 

[Gamerguy68]

How stable is your 1900? I might go with this for the time being, as I plan on a major upgrade in 6-12 mths. What updates did you need to do on the mobo in order to get the 1900 to work, or did you just drop it in and power on?

 

[chizow]

Update your mobo to the latest BIOS from Asus. It'll open some of the higher multipliers and identify it as an XP.

As for choice of a chip, I would get an XP 1700+ T-bred ($75 shipped) or an XP 1600+ AGOIA, AROIA Palomino (~$56 shipped). No point in shelling out for the 1900+ when both the above chips hit that mark with relative ease. Also, the 1700+ T-bred is unlocked, which will give you more flexibility in OCing.

I had the A7V133 and had an 1800+ in it for a while. Its a very capable OCing board as long as your RAM and CPU can handle it.

Chiz

 

[cmaMath13]

Completely stable. In fact, I am a little worried about upgrading, because everything is working in harmony right now...

 

[Gamerguy68]

Yeah, remember the old saying...if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
I will go with the 1900 for sure. What do you think of my video card? Is it worth upgrading?
Also, just slightly off topic..can you recommend a decent flatscreen (CRT) 17" monitor?

 

[cmaMath13]

The CPU upgrade will make an improvement, but add a video card and see a major improvement. A GeForce2 MX is not much. I saw Newegg has 3 GeForce4 Ti 4200 for under $120. GeForce4 Ti 4600 for $226. I can't believe I spent $400 for my GF4!

 

[freshspace]

Hey everyone,

I'm interested in purchasing a kt133a board, and the Asus is one of them. Is it really true that it is not worth the money to get xp2000 or so? Someone above said kt133a maxes out at 1.4gig (xp1600) or so. A bios update will take care of that. However, even if it recognizes the chip, is it more of an illusion that it is faster (while the chipset still being maxed out at 1.4gig), or will the board really realize and fully utilize xp2000? Thanks.

 

[cmaMath13]

Yes, the A7V133 will accept most XP processors.

What I was saying, is that SDRAM really does not offer enought bandwidth for the XP to show its full potential past 1.4GHz.

 

[Gamerguy68]

How does the ATI cards stack up to the Nvidia? I keep reading about the 8500 and 9000 series being good.

 

[cmaMath13]

Yes, ATI is very competitive (as shown by 9700 which best Nvidia); however, I have never owned one. I am still a bit worried about drivers with the new cards. I have read some complaints by users.

 

[Gamerguy68]

Probably best then to stick to Nvidia for now. Back to the cpu again..I currently have a Chrome Orb on my 900TB along with two case fans and was wondering if that should be fine when I go to the XP cpu? I have also seen ram and video card fans and wonder if they are useful. Original Athlon's have a reputation for running hot but I don't know much about the latest chips.

 

[cmaMath13]

Your chrome orb will not do it. You will need a better hs/fan. I am using a TT Volcano 6u. It is not the best, but it's not too loud and it's inexpensive.

I wouldn't worry about the others, yet.

 

[Gamerguy68]

Any particular hs/f that you would recommend that is relatively easy to find? I do have a Volcano 2, but when I used it on my system the temps went up much higher than with the Orb.

 

[cmaMath13]

If you don't plan on overclocking, the get a retail chip with hs/fan. Or get a Thermaltake volcano of some sort (6 or higher).

 

[Gamerguy68]

I don't plan on overclocking, so I guess the retail will do then. Do you recommend thermal paste be used?

 

[chizow]

Use thermal paste, if not for performance, at least for peace of mind. Get a tube of Arctic Silver 3 and it'll last a while.

If you aren't gonna overclock, the retail fan will do, but it doesn't hurt to spend a little extra on a nice HSF. I bought the Alpha Pal8045 about a year ago b/c it gave me OCing headroom, but also b/c it can be fitted with a much lower rpm and quieter 80mm fan. There are lots of nice copper HSFs for really cheap now, I think the Thermaright SK-6 is quite cheap now as well. The only considerations you should have if you don't plan on overclocking is the noise level of the fan and also the mounting mechanism.

Chiz

 

[Gamerguy68]

I'll do some checking out of hsf's and see what's available. I don't mind spending a bit more for one to help improve overall performance. My current 900TB did get up to 50-55c in the summer months, so yes, piece of mind is good to have

 

[Gamerguy68]

Just wondering...does it matter what revision my mobo is when going with the Athlon XP?

 

[Strawa]

Originally posted by: Gamerguy68
Just wondering...does it matter what revision my mobo is when going with the Athlon XP?

I dont think so