Gigabyte GA-7ZXE (KT133A chipset) incompatible with T-bred B processors?

ProviaFan

Lifer
Mar 17, 2001
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My Athlon XP 1700+ from newegg arrived a few days ago (the markings on the chip are: AXDA1700DUT3C 9320257260074; JIUCB 0250MPMW). Unfortunately, when I install it in my Gigabyte GA-7ZXE, the system will not even POST; the drives spin up, but the monitor gets no signal; there is no sign of any BIOS screen, and there are no POST beep codes. When I swap in my 800MHz Duron, the system runs fine. I have tried pulling all unnecessary peripherals except the video card, and unplugging all drives except for the hard disks and floppy drive to see if it's an inadequate PSU issue, but that didn't seem to help. I have also cleared the CMOS by removing the battery for about a minute in between each reconfiguration of peripherals while the system is unplugged, and that had no effect, either.

The CPU appears to be in good physical condition; I haven't cracked the core, and there are no burnt spots on it. :)

What scares me is that I saw something on Gigabyte's website about the latest "F9" BIOS (I'm running "F8") adding support for the .18 AXP 2100+, but there is no mention (that I can remember) of support for .13 micron Tbred B processors. Does this mean that I will have to spend much extra US$ for a new motherboard (possibly Epox 8RDA+ or ASUS A7N8X) and DDR SDRAM? :(

 

Iron Woode

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 10, 1999
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You need to check out BIOS Fae (beta).

You need board rev. 2.1 or higher for Tbred support, up to XP2600+.

 

ProviaFan

Lifer
Mar 17, 2001
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Originally posted by: Iron Woode
You need to check out BIOS Fae (beta).

You need board rev. 2.1 or higher for Tbred support, up to XP2600+.
Dumb question alert: where should I look to find the board revision? I guess it would be printed on the PCB somewhere. Time to get out the trusty flashlight. :)
 

mechBgon

Super Moderator<br>Elite Member
Oct 31, 1999
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Just an excuse to upgrade :) You could throw an ECS K7S5A in there and keep on using your PC133, if you liked.
 

ProviaFan

Lifer
Mar 17, 2001
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Originally posted by: mechBgon
Just an excuse to upgrade :) You could throw an ECS K7S5A in there and keep on using your PC133, if you liked.
Yea, I don't mind the excuse to upgrade, I just didn't really want to spend the money. At this point I think it's not worthwhile to stick with a SDR SDRAM platform, because that stuff is starting to be quite outdated. At this point, I'm thinking about the Asus A7N8X, because Newegg has it for US$112 right now. :)

Edit: Ignore my comment about the ASUS board. I thought that was the one with the onboard Firewire and stuff. Gah, I can't decide. Perhaps the Epox 8RDA (non-plus) would be a good choice? It's only US$88.
 

Peter

Elite Member
Oct 15, 1999
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IIRC, that 7ZXE board uses the KT133E chip not the 133A. The former is not really capable of 133 MHz CPU bus as needed by Athlon XP.

 

ProviaFan

Lifer
Mar 17, 2001
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Originally posted by: Peter
IIRC, that 7ZXE board uses the KT133E chip not the 133A. The former is not really capable of 133 MHz CPU bus as needed by Athlon XP.
It supports the 133MHz bus properly, but the board revision that I have can not support Tbred-B processors.

And yes, it uses the [l=KT133A]http://www.giga-byte.com/products/7zxe.htm[/k] chipset.
 

mechBgon

Super Moderator<br>Elite Member
Oct 31, 1999
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If you want the Firewire and the fancy nForce audio then you want the 8RDA+. The non-+ uses two-channel audio and doesn't have Firewire, and apparently doesn't come with the additional 2-port USB plate either.
 

ProviaFan

Lifer
Mar 17, 2001
14,993
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Originally posted by: mechBgon
If you want the Firewire and the fancy nForce audio then you want the 8RDA+. The non-+ uses two-channel audio and doesn't have Firewire, and apparently doesn't come with the additional 2-port USB plate either.
Now we come to The Great Debate. I could get the 8RDA, and get a separate network card, or I could get the 8RDA+, and not have to get a separate network card. I'd also have Firewire, but at this point I have no DV Camera so I have no use for it. The logic I use here is that if the day ever comes when I could afford a nice DV camera, I could afford a dedicated $20 firewire card as well. :)

<-- pushed the order button for the 8RDA (non-plus).

Now I've just got to decide whether to get one 512MB module (more upgradability in the future), or to get two 256MB modules (faster performance right now, though a bit more expensive).
 

mechBgon

Super Moderator<br>Elite Member
Oct 31, 1999
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It would be really interesting to hear what effect the dual-channel memory controller had on F@H speed, but is there a way to benchmark?
 

ProviaFan

Lifer
Mar 17, 2001
14,993
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Originally posted by: mechBgon
It would be really interesting to hear what effect the dual-channel memory controller had on F@H speed, but is there a way to benchmark?
It's difficult to do an accurate benchmark, because each WU is slightly different (kind of like SETI, I suppose). I've thought of checking out the possibility of saving one "benchmark" WU in a Zip file for those who want to run their client with it, and compare times. :)

Oh, and you'll be glad to hear that I'm getting a new PSU, too. It's a Thermaltake Purepower 360 watt. :D