CPU and Power Supply for A7A266-E, K7S5A?

PalmettoTiger

Member
Jul 14, 2000
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Questions:

Does anyone know what the Asus A7A266-E's fastest supported processor is? Their website indicates Athlon/Duron/XP at 1.4GHz (what rating XP would that be, BTW?). But they put that nice little plus sign on 1.4GHz, so maybe it goes higher? One store I've seen says it takes XP 2100+, but I'm not inclined to trust a store over the manufacturer.

What about the K7S5A? What's the fastest processor it will support? Their website (scroll down) doesn't even list a top speed. It simply says "Socket A for AMD® Athlon/Duron (K7) processors."

Also, what wattage power supply will I need for either of these boards? I have a 300W PSU now, and I'll be running a GF2MX, SBLive!, network card, 512 MB SDRAM, Athlon 1.2 GHz, 2 7200 RPM IDE drives, a CD-R, and a DVD player. All of those worked with no problems under the current PSU and a Duron 600, but I'm thinking that doubling the processor speed may take it a bit too far...


Background: I have a Microstar K7T Pro2-A. I was upgrading from my Duron 600 to an Athlon 1.2GHz, when I stupidly broke the locking arm on the CPU socket. The arm is critical because it clamps the pins in place with their contacts. The system won't post without the arm in the locked position, and no superglue or epoxy I have is strong enough to hold the pieces together in the locked position. I'm checking on the possibility of an RMA, but I doubt I'll get one. Now I'm looking for a new motherboard for as little money as possible.
The K7S5A was a good possibility since it allows me to upgrade to DDR RAM without getting a new mobo, but it only has 2 SDRAM slots, and I need 3. (I have 512 MB SDRAM in a 128+128+256 configuration). So if I got the K7S5A, I'd have to sell my 2 128's and use the money to buy a 256.
The A7A266-E is an even better option since it has 3 SDRAM slots as well as DDR slots. But it's $25 more. I decided that since I was making upgrade flexibility a factor in the decision, I may as well include "headroom" for new processors, so I'd like to know how fast a CPU I can stick in those mobos.

Thanks for your help guys!
 

AA0

Golden Member
Sep 5, 2001
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actually, I'd trust a store over a manufacturer site, as they work with the chips, and the manufacturers don't update all their products.
1.4Ghz is a 1600+, that board should take up to 2100, no reason for it not to.

ECS, should be the same.

power supply, the 2100 is getting high, but should work with the asus board, for the ecs, it might not, it takes more power to run that board.
 

AndyHui

Administrator Emeritus<br>Elite Member<br>AT FAQ M
Oct 9, 1999
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The A7A266-E can handle at least up to 2100+ processors. I have an 1800+ sitting in mine, with a crap generic 300W power supply, powering 2 CD drives, 2 hard drives, an Audigy Platinum, 2 fans, and a GeForce 3 Ti 500.
 

steimm

Senior member
Feb 26, 2001
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I'm also running a unlocked XP 1800+ and Crucial PC133 SDRAM on that board and no problem to run it with 12.5*133 (XP 2000+) with a little upping on the voltage.

The only thing I am looking for is a newer BIOS (or old beta) that supports a bettter PCI-divider - just for the thrill of overclocking...

Anyone knows anything about such a BIOS?

Getting 7800+ in 3DMark2001SE after a lot of tweaking...

/steimm

 

StormRider

Diamond Member
Mar 12, 2000
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Where are you buying the A7A266-E from? I've been looking for a place in the US that sells it.
 

PalmettoTiger

Member
Jul 14, 2000
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I haven't been able to find it either, so I settled for the Amptronic 830-XP (same chipset as K7S5A).

Of course, it was DOA.

HULK SMASH