Asus P2B

[grr8scott]

What is the maximum CPU this mobo can handle? I do not have it in my hands yet, so i dont know rev or anything. thx

 

[Eug]

If it's new, just about any PIII or Celeron.

If it's old, it depends on the revision, but most can handle just about any PIII or Celeron FC-PGA with slocket (not slot 1) with some caveats. Tell us what the rev. number is when you get it.

 

[Keravnos]

mine says 8* and I got it about 2 years back!

Does that mean it can get all the new P3s (up to GIGHZ?)

Also, I heard about the MSI fpga converter that seems to regulate the volt intake of any 370p3 or cel thrown into it!

Comments?

 

[WalkingDead]

You probably have a rev. 1.02 or 1.04. Any P2B that's lower than rev. 1.12 can't uses Coppermine PIII. One way to get around this is to uses a slotket w/ flip chip PIII.

 

[Klosters]

If it's not Rev 1.12 or newer with the latest Bios, it's not Coppermine compatible. If your's is two years old, it's probably Rev 1.03 or older. One way to check is to see what's printed in the box on the bottom of page 2 in the mainboard's handbook. Always check Asus's Web site. My info may be a tad off.

 

[Eug]

My rev. 1.10 was purchased March 1999, so that's 1.5 years.

The 1.02 - 1.11 boards do work, although you have to know how to set it up properly. (You need the latest BIOS and some don't work if you set the voltage below 1.8. Mine does though.)

 

[scaryjeff]

if there is a converter card that actually changes the voltage supplied to the chip the it will work fine, but if not then youll hafta risk running it at 1.8 volts (or whatever the p2b min voltage is - cant remember), which may fry the chip (it did mine)

 

[Wik]

Well my P2B is running a 550 at 770. I built a system for a friend and tried his 566Celeron2 in it and had it running at 1024 in my P2B.

 

[Eug]

OK, some facts about the P2B.

Proper Coppermine support only officially is with 1.12 or higher (with BIOS 1011 or higher).

Confirmed functionality with Coppermine is with 1.02 or higher (with BIOS 1011 or higher).

The P2B has no CPU voltage settings and that's why Slot 1 CPUs are not ideal for overclocking on this board. The modern slockets have voltage jumpers which override the CPU's setting. However, NO slockets currently in production have their own voltage regulators. Therefore NONE can overcome the minimum voltage limitations of the motherboard. This is important because if you have an older P2B (eg. 1.02) which cannot support lower voltages, the motherboard will refuse to boot at that voltage. It seems the oldest P2B boards can only go as low as 1.8 V. And for the newer pre-1.12 boards that DO go lower, sometimes they don't do so properly. (I have confirmed as low as 1.5 V on my 1.10, but I can only set at 0.1 V increments.)

1.8 V is well within the specs for Coppermine, but with these higher voltages, one must have proper cooling. With an Alpha I have been using 1.9 V for almost 2 months now (I think), although I recommend that to nobody.

Eug
Celeron 533A@920 MHz 1.9 V, Asus P2B 1.10

 

[Mkoh]

I have a P2B rev. 1.03 I think.

My concern is this: Is there a possiblity that the minimum voltage my board can supply is GREATER than 1.8 volts? I do not want to get a new PIII and find out that when I slap it into my mobo, it's giving it 2.0 volts.

I can't find any documentation on the minimum voltage that the P2B rev 1.03 can supply.

And with proper cooling, can a PIII be run reliably at 1.8 volts? I am aware that the 1GHZ PIII's run at something like 1.75 volts, so I'm optimistic that 1.8 volts isn't that far of a stretch.

Additionally, if I slap the PIII in my mobo, will it automatically default to 1.8 volts, or do I have to get a socketed PIII and use a slotket set at 1.8 volts for proper functionality?

Thanks
Mko.

 

[Eug]

You MUST update your BIOS. You MUST buy a slocket and FC-PGA PIII. (If you buy a Slot 1 CPU, it will not work at all if your motherboard can't supply the required low voltage.)

So far, the few people who have tried the 1.03 AND set the voltage to 1.8 have gotten it to work. A few other people got nothing, but they left the voltage at 1.65 or whatever - they didn't know to set the voltage (im)properly. Nobody has had a board supply 2.0 V when asked to supply 1.8 V. Even if there were a board that couldn't go below 2.0, I doubt it would even boot at all. By the way, I HAVE run my chip at 2.0 V for brief periods just for testing purposes, with no ill effects.

I have been running 1.9 V (on a chip that's supposed to be running 1.5 V) for the past 2 months. It is running at full tilt cracking blocks 24/7 in Windows 98. I reboot about once a week, unless I'm doing software installations, etc. Just get good cooling. A Golden Orb should be fine and it's really cheap.