KT266A + Barton: the question

[Baldurga]

Hi to everybody,

This is my first post and is regarding a question nobody has fully answered.

I am an owner of a Epox 8KHA+ (KT266A). I know officially only supports up to 2600+ (133Mhz version). But we all know overclock is something you can do.

The facts:
- I have overclocked my current XP 1700+ to 160Mhz with relaxed timings mainly because my generic PC2100 memory can't do anything better.
- Chipset (KT266A) seems to handle this with no problem. Also I am lucky and other components (GPU, PCI cards, etc.) works ok with overclocked bus.
- Barton is nothing more than Tbred with extra memory.

The questions:
- Even if CPU is not recognised properly on boot, will the CPU run ok in my system? I do know that probably if I can't reach a stable FSB of 166Mhz, the performance will be lower, but I don't mind.
- Will I be able to change multiplier freely? How can I unlock it?

Any comment, suggestion, experience, idea, etc. will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Buz2b]

Welcome to AT!

Lets see if I can help you a bit. I dug around a little and found this conversation about this subject. There is also this one and this one.
Bottom line is that some have gotten it to work. You might try contacting some of those folks for some tips on this. Keep in mind that Epox's official stance is that you cannot do this. You should be able to set/reset the multiplier in the BIOS as I believe the Barton is unlocked by design. But don't quote me on that. Seems that some feel the best bet is to get an XP2400+ and overclock it. The 2600+ cpu's are difficult to find (133 mhz).
Anyway, check out those links for more info.

 

[Baldurga]

THANKS A LOT!!!

I have posted this idea on a couple of well known forums and believe me, you have been the first one to point to someone who already have done it. Great! I was beginning to think my idea was crazy!

I will let you know the results of my experiment once I get the CPU (3 weeks, that's no USA )

Thanks again!

 

[Buz2b]

Good luck to you. Hope it works.