Dumb question time!

[2336]

Folks, a friend of mine has a decrepit old AT motherboard currently running a P120! Short of taking the computer halfway apart looking for serial numbers and such, is there a quicker way of determining what brand and model MoBo this is? All I know so far is that it has an older Intel chipset - I believe he said 430LX or 430TX. The main thing is that he wants to go to a faster cpu and I have no idea what speed cpu this MoBo is capable of handling or what jumpers, etc. need to be adjusted. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated! TIA, folks!


RGR

 

[jsbush]

I think, I'm not sure the the 430TX chipset is cabable of running up to a Pentium 233mmx.

 

[kmmatney]

The best bet is to look for information on the Motherboard, especially for jumpers allowing the the adjustment of the cpu voltage. The fastest cpu you can probably put in it is a pentium 233 MMX, but only if the motherboard can be adjusted to supply 2.8 volts. Non-MMX pentiums use a higher voltage, and the fastest you can get for non MMX is 200 Mhz.

Also, is there any info about bus speeds or cpu multipliers written on the motherboard? Hopefully it supports a least a multiplier of 3.5.

 

[2336]

I appreciate the info guys. I was aware of the difference in core voltage between MMX and non-MMX processors. As far as anything being labelled on the MoBo - what a pain. I think he's using every expansion slot on the board so I can't see diddley!!! I think he might just be better off finding an AT MoBo that supports socket 370 and go from there - at least he won't be so limited on upgrade capabilities! Thanks again!

 

[WildDreamer]

When the computer boots up, write down the BIOS ID number that shows up at the bottom of the POST screen. Press PAUSE after the memory count to make it easier. Then go to this page to see what motherboard that ID # corresponds to:

Wim's BIOS page