Try again ...266 FSB in a 200 FSB MSI mainboard???

[Neos]

Third post. Must be asking the wrong question. Here it is ..simply.

Can I use a 266 FSB Athlon CPU in my MSI K7T Pro2 - that is designed only for 200 FSB?

Note - the bios says that I can go up to 133, but the chipset - KT133 (not 133A ) says no. I just want to know if that 266 CPU will work at 200 FSB.

Thanks,
A Smith

 

[Boonesmi]

nope your board wont support the athlonxp

just cause a motherboard has bios settings for 133mhz doesnt mean it will run that speed (the kt133 chipset is notorious for not being able to get much over 110mhz, even with settings for 133mhz and higher)

but... it is possible you can run an athlonxp in your board(some kt133 boards can, some cant), just be aware it will not run at spec... it will run underclocked

 

[Neos]

Thanks for the reply.

Actually, I was not shooting for an XP ...just one of the older Athlons ...like a 1.33. An XP might even be better, as I am looking to upgrading the board later -with an older 266 Athlon or an XP.

So let me get this straight ...it will work (right?), but it will work underclocked. Does this mean that it would work like a 200 FSB CPU? If that is true, that is fine.

Actually, I am not that clear what the diff might be between an XP and the older versions of Athlon 266. Could you fill me in?

Thanks again,
A Smith

 

[Boonesmi]

no telling if it will work or not... the chipset is capable of running it, but it would require that your motherboard have updated bios

the bios that gives support for the new duron (morgan) cores should also work for an athlonxp (not officially support it, but still probably work) since the duron(morgan) and the athlonxp(palomino) are the same core, just more L2 cache on the athlonxp

 

[Neos]

I am pretty sure that the KT133A is the first chipset that supported 266 FSB. I have the KT133 ...not the A.

OK. I am still confused. I may try to order the Athlon with 266 FSB and run it at 200 (or better if I can) and then get me a mainboard later that will go all the way to 133/266. Hope it will work.

Thanks,
A Smith

 

[Boonesmi]

you misunderstood what i was saying

your board (any kt133) board will never "officially" support the athlonxp, because all athlonxp cpus are designed for a 133mhz fsb, and all kt133 chipset boards only support 100mhz fsb

what im saying is that the athlonxp does run on some kt133 boards, but it doest run at spec, it runs underclocked

if your board has a bios update that supports the new durons then there is a good chance it will actually run an athlonxp (but as i said above, it will run underclocked)

 

[Neos]

Thanks - now I got it. Let me pass one more thing your way.

A CPU that is 1Ghz w/ @ 200FSB would be 100x10=1000 - right?

The same 1Ghz CPU based on the 266 FSB would be 133x7.5. OK so far?

If I get the XP, and underclock it, am I limiting myself to 100x7.5 or 750 Mhz? Or would I (should I) be able to clock that same XP @ 100x10 ...in effect giving me the same as the 200 FSB version ?? Then later when I get a new board, that same XP would clock at 133x7.5 (if run stock).

I may be way out in left field - and I do appreciate the help. I just want to get the best I can do, for now and for the future.

A Smith

 

[Boonesmi]

i would be hesitant to get an athlonXP without some kind of verification that your system will actually boot up with it (the kt133 chipset can run it, but only if the motherboard maker has released a bios update)

so really no guarantee your system would even post with that cpu

but yes... thats how the multiplier/fsb works.. the 1ghz (200) and the 1ghz(266) are identical with the exception that the one has a 10x multiplier while the other is a 7.5

if.. you unlock your cpu and if your motherboard supports multiplier adjustment then yup you can just increase the multiplier and get the cpu back up to stock speed

athlon (tbird) 1.2ghz and faster (meaning 1.2ghz-1.4ghz) come unlocked, so it would be easy to just increase the multiplier even if its a (266) chip
also.. your motherboard should have no problem with tbirds

 

[BowlingNut]

you would limit yourself to 100x7.5 unless you unlock the processor (a part of overclocking, lots of guides around that will show you how). i'm not sure why you are considering this upgrade path though. if i were you i would wait 2 to 3 months and then pick up a new revision Tbred core (the newest xp core) and stick it in a Kt333 board. right now those combos are going for about 300 bucks shipped with cpu, hsf, mobo, and mem. by the time the nforce2 and kt400 boards are proliferated you can expect those prices to drop about 50 bucks on the mobos, plus the price of memory is in a downfall, PLUS the new cpu's (like the 333mhz athlons that will be released soon - hopefully) will drop prices on those. so 225-250 would land you a really nice new set of components that wont hold you back if you try to upgrade again (like a new vid/snd card to match all your new stuff). additionally, if you dont want to overclock at that point, its a plug n' go situation - if you do, drop another 20-30 for a nice hsf, and off you go to speedland. it'd be much smarter to do that, rather than spend 80 now, then 180 later for marginally better equipment. i know it hard to be patient (trust me i know: my 600 mhz athlon is draggin - thats right boys and girls a 600mhz athlon, y'know a SLOT a) but being patient has big rewards if you know when and where to buy.

 

[Neos]

Thanks for the info, men.
I too had a 650 Duron, OC'ed to 824 ...was about ready to upgrade to at least a 1 Gig. A few weeks back I changed the clocking to a 105x7=735 ..yes lower, but it seems to be quicker with the higher front bus.

Well, this Monday she would not start (nothing on screen), and the diodes (all red) on the MSI Pro2 (K7T) tell me the CPU is gone.

I will write MSI again (first note - no answer) about the bios, and if the 266 FSB will function with this KT133 @ 100x10. If I get that and the 1.2 or above maybe I will be happy for a spell.

Thanks again,
A Smith