Epox 7KXA: best new Athlon/Duron CPU?

[MuseK]

Hi everybody, I was wondering what your opinions/experience are with new Athlons and the Epox 7KXA motherboard? I have a .18um 600 in it right now, but it won't run real stable any higher than 700Mhz (locking up twice a day at 750 isn't that bad, but it's unacceptable for me). I want to buy something in the next couple of months that will clock much faster, at least 900Mhz nice and stable.

What do you think is the least expensive and highest performance option? Will the Duron work on this motherboard? The Thunderbird will apparently work, but might not be worth the extra cost. Should I go with an off-die cache Athlon that will clock real high?

Epox 7KXA w/5.22 BIOS
256M PC 133 SDRAM
Creative Geforce DDR
300W Antec supply
Chipcoolers Athlon heatsink w/80mm fan

 

[Technonut]

The Duron will not work in a 7KXA. Epox does not support using a T-Bird with a 7KXA either, even though some people have been able to make them work. My best advice for you is to purchase another mobo that is compatible with a Duron if you want to go that route, or an AMD chipset board if you want to go with the T-Bird. I know of a few people having great performance with a K7-Pro/T-Bird combo running fine over a gig. I went through a few 7KXA's before I gave up on them as far as overclocking is concerned. Again, there are others that have few problems with them, but I just could not get a good GFD overclock out of them.

EDIT: The T-Birds I am speaking of running at a gig or over with the K7-Pro are 700's & 750's.

 

[NuovoTech]

I'm running a slot A TBird 800 in a 7KXA at 110x8=880mhz, 1.75v, real stable so far...

 

[Technonut]

Like I said, some people can do it, but it is not supported by Epox. It's great if you can run it stable, but there may also be problems too. It is just something to consider. Here is a post from another forum from a Epox news group:



''Will AMD Athlon `Thunderbird` processors work on the EP-7KXA? ''
Location: Technical Bulletin
Article #: 1268
Last Modified: 6/30/2000
Product: EP-7KXA

ISSUE

Will AMD Athlon `Thunderbird` processors work on the EP-7KXA?

SOLUTION

No, its not recommended.

AMD Athlon processors (both original and the newer Thunderbird/Duron) use 2
distinct signaling types; OPEN-DRAIN and PUSH-PULL. Below is a list of these
signaling types and what processors were made supporting them.

1. OPEN-DRAIN: All original Slot A AMD Athlons and Slot A Thunderbird
processors. **
2. PUSH-PULL: All Socket A Durons, all Socket A Thunderbirds.

** From our understanding the Slot A Thunderbird was configured for use with
OPEN-DRAIN but only on AMD 750 chipset equipped motherboards.

The EP-7KXA was designed with the VIA Apollo KX133 chipset which in turn was
designed for use with the original AMD Athlon. The newer Athlon Thunderbird
processors are not guaranteed to run stable with the VIA KX133 chipset.

Although the Thunderbird processor was mainly intended for Socket A
motherboards there was a small production of Slot A versions for OEM
companies only. These were intended for use with motherboards based upon the
AMD 750 chipset only. Further proper BIOS support must be included to
address the Thunderbird as they have slightly different CPU IDs. Our newer
5-22-2000 BIOS release does include all necessary CPU ID changes but this
alone may not result in a stable system with Thunderbird.

For more information about VIA Apollo KX133 compatibility see the AMD
website here:
http://www.amd.com/products/cpg/athlon/via.html

Additionally the use of Socket A to Slot A converter cards is also not
recommended as all Socket A processors have been reported to contain only
the PUSH-PULL signaling method. Thus any attempt to use such a processor may
not result in a stable system.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Disclaimer:

EPoX does not guarantee the successful functioning regardless of whether the
Thunderbird is OPEN-DRAIN or PUSH-PULL on the EP-7KXA. Use of the
Thunderbird processor on our EP-7KXA is done so entirely at the users own
risk. IN NO EVENT SHALL EPOX OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES
WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS,
BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF INFORMATION) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR
INABILITY TO USE THE ABOVE MENTIONED PROCESSOR AND MOTHERBOARD COMBINATION.
Technical support for Thunderbird on the EP-7KXA direct from EPoX is limited
to this single article only. No phone or email support can be given for this
processor and motherboard combination. Any technical questions regarding
Thunderbird use on the EP-7KXA should only be directed to the retailer where
the processor was purchased.