Intel bx motherboard ,2 years old need info on using p3 cpu

[meccem63]

Does anyone know of away to use a p3 faster than a 450.The intel site only show a 450 for the bx board. It is in a gateways system that is 2 years old, it is a SE440bx board. There bios will not go higher the 4.5 + 100 = 450 p2 or p3. Is there a after marker bios are some other way to go about this to get a faster cpu to work with this board. I don't want to overclock just trying to get a new cpu that is faster to work. Thanks

 

[fxsts]

I hear that if you use the latest BIOS the board does not suppot PIII 500Mhz and higher.

I have a SE440bx board, but I have only tried FC-PGA Celerons instead of FC-PGA PIII. As far as Celerons are concerned, it works fine running FC-PGA Celeron II 633Mhz (66Mhz x 9.5). THe BIOS even post the right speed. According to Intel, the board does not push enough power to run PIII at 500Mhz and higher; hence, they blocked off the support for PIII500 and higher with the latest BIOs. However, Intel tends to be very conservative with these things.

All Celerons and PIII are multiplier locked. So regardless of up to what multiplier the motherboards support, they set the right multiplier according to the CPU (it's kind of like the old Intel Overdrive chips, which run at the right speed on any socket 5 or 7 motherboards regardless of their multiplier limits).

 

[meccem63]

Thanks for the reply don't want to overclock the cpu. I would like to buy a faster cpu and run it at its normal speed. So you have celeron running at 633 and the motherboard sets the right multipler for it? How fast of cpu can you run on this board. Are you using the latest bios for this? Are there any voltage problems with the celeron. Thanks

 

[wetlan]

I have a dell with a bx chipset and I can put a slot1 all the way to 1ghz,it come with a 400 mhz p2.

 

[fxsts]

Theoretically, the board should give the right multiplier for all the PIII and Celerons. However, often the BIOS start posting the CPU speed wrong, although the CPU is still running at the right speed meaning it is working fine. (ie. Posting PIII 850 as 833).

CPUs drain more power (current) as the clock speed gets higher, and according to Intel, the original SE440BX does not generate enough current to support PIII500Mhz and higher. Therefore, although your CPU may run 1Ghz PIII, it may not be very stable (that?s what Intel says). Again, they are very conservative when they spec out their products. Therefore, I would not be surprised if someone like wetlan running PIII 1Ghz without having any problem.

I do not know which BIOS my SE440BX has as it is currently boxed up in my closet. You may just want to try with different BIOS yourself. I recommend getting FC-PGA version of PIII or Celeron, so that you can play with voltage/FSB setting (66Mhz or 100Mhz) on a slocket. For example, if one BIOS does not work with, say, PIII 750Mhz, you can switch FSB to 66Mhz and boot it up at 500Mhz (66Mhz x 7.5) and flash the BIOS to a different one and try again. Also, playing the voltage might help if the system becomes less stable. You just have to get a CPU from some place with good return policy and try it out.

 

[PCAddict]

I've seen a 700E run on a SE440BX board (originally came with a PII 400) with no problems. Get the latest BIOS and give it a shot.

Honestly, I'd just replace the board. Look for a deal on a CPU/MB combo.