Does a board's maximum FSB change with a different CPU?

[GeezerMan]

In regard to AMD motherboards. If one lowers the ram, and lowers the CPU multiplier to determine the maximum FSB and gets , let's say, 325 MHz as a maximum FSB with a particular CPU. Then I assume ( I love assuming) if you insert another CPU, then there should be no change in the board's maximum FSB? or different ram?
How about with age of the board?
Thanks

 

[MarcVenice]

A motherboard does have a maximum FSB it will run at it, and if you kept ram/cpu out of the equation, then yes, I think a new cpu will not affect the maximum FSB a motherboard will run at. I don't know to much about it though, so perhaps a different cpu requiring different voltages actually might affects the mobo's maximum FSB 😛

 

[The-Noid]

You have to worry about the motherboard FSB as well as how high the memory controller can go.

 

[GeezerMan]

yeah, but the memory controller on the AMD is on the CPU, not the motherboard

 

[The-Noid]

yeah, that is why some cpus will also limit the fsb you can take your board.

 

[GeezerMan]

Ohhhh..can one find out what a particular CPU sets as a limit?

 

[The-Noid]

No, you will have to simply try them out.

AMD overclocking is a crapshoot in most cases. I am glad Intel is doing better no days makes things much easier.

 

[gobucks]

i have heard of a few mobos that have different FSB limits depending on the type of chip used. For example, when I bought my gigabyte DS3 core 2 mobo, I bought the e6400 with 2MB cache and the FSB was very overclockable. However, at least initially people using the 4MB chips such as the e6600 were much more limited in their maximum FSB speeds with the same motherboard.

I have no idea if AMD has had the same issues with their mobos; when I used to have an nforce4 mobo, I was hitting similar FSB walls with multiple CPUs, but I have no idea how their AM2 mobos fare.

 

[CTho9305]

Even for CPUs where the memory controller isn't on the CPU, the I/O drivers and associated circuitry on the CPU still operate at the bus speed, so theoretically it could limit the FSB speed.