What's the highest CPU for ECS K7S5A Motherboard?

[GarbMan]

I need to make it run Quake 4 and it is currently running an XP 1700. Please help me pick a CPU and tell me where to get the best Bios flash.

Also, what is a good choice of new motherboard and CPU? I have been pleased with the K7S5A. I am looking for the updated equivalent of what the K7S5A used to be.

 

[Peter]

K7S5A takes anything that has 133 MHz FSB - which means you max out at 2600+ rating for standard desktop CPUs, and that one is rare.

The BIOS to have is the last one from August 2003, since it enables SSE on those Athlon XPs that have it. That alone might make quite a difference with a recent game.

 

[GarbMan]

I still need Help!

 

[Steve]

How's that? Your best choices for CPU upgrade are Athlon XP 2400+ or 2600+ (the latter in DDR266 flavor, not 333).

You want a new motherboard? Give more info. Do you want to stay with a Socket A CPU? What kind of RAM are you currently using? What about your video card?

 

[GarbMan]

Thank you very much Peter and SM800! If I get a new motherboard, I just want to start over with the Ram and probably a new video card. The most bang for the buck is what I want, not the latest most expensive thing.

 

[JEDI]

i have a sempron in mine.

but i have a hacked bios. and even then, it only goes up to 150mhz (300mhz). semprons operate at 166mhz (333mhz), so i'm not even running the chip at it's default speed, much less what it can overclock to.

but my k7vta3 died, i had a k7s5a in the closet, and all i do nowadays is surf and Word. so no biggie for me if i dont use the semprons full potential.

 

[Steve]

Are you currently using PC-133 or DDR RAM?


Also, what kind of video card do you have?

 

[GarbMan]

Jedi, Tell me more about your hacked Bios. How much power are you getting out of the board? Is this the top or is their more that can be got?

 

[Steve]

Originally posted by: sm8000
Are you currently using PC-133 or DDR RAM?


Also, what kind of video card do you have?

 

[cubeless]

being stable at 150 on a non-pro k7s5a will be iffy... i have a 2600 at 2.3ghz at 143 fsb and a hacked 9500, and it plays ok (at least good enuf for my kids' friends) with a gb of memory... the high mult gives u a nice bump for each fsb mhz...

 

[GarbMan]

My DRAm is currently 133. About a year ago I went with a bios flash from OTC. It is Chep Bios 1.21.11 beta. It has worked flawless. It has a lot of setings:

CPU Speed
100/100
100/133
133/100
110/100
110/147
112/112
124/124
133/166
133/133
138/138
143/143
144/147
150/150
166/166
200/200

This seems like a lot of settings. Maybe you guys know that some of these settings will not work. Will the 200/200 actually work? Remember that I have 133 memory and I think it is 2100. I don't mind buying a larger CPU if it will run at a lower setting. The 2800 Athlon XP seems to be a good deal at the present time. Will it work at the correct MHz in this motherboard and will it work as a 2600 XP only? Maybe I can use an even larger CPU. Please tell me.

 

[Steve]

So, you have PC-133 RAM? Well, a possible upgrade path for you is to move your current CPU and RAM to a slightly newer board that will take both types. A board which, like the K7S5A, can take both PC-133 SDRAM as well as DDR RAM, and is socket A, so you have some headroom for an upgrade path of both CPU and RAM. Not sure offhand which board to recommend, but I know they're out there.

Also, what is your current video card?

 

[GarbMan]

Thanks Sm800 for the info, but i just want to run a higher CPU for now. My current is a 1700 and I want the fastest one for the K7S5A. If an XP 2600+ in the largest, then that's what I need to get. My son needs to run Quake 4. Which specifys a 2GHz CPU or XP 2000. I just don't want to change my MB right now.

 

[Steve]

Well the Athlon XP 2600+ 133Mhz FSB flavor is hard to find, but it should be easier to find a 2400+ and at 2.0GHz it is only 133MHz slower.

 

[pkrush]

If you put a more powerful CPU and video card in it, it will start to be bottlenecked by the slow RAM and the AGP 4x slot. Get a cheap sempron 64, new motherboard (Biostar 6100-m7 maybe), 1 gigabyte of value RAM, and a 6600gt. You can do this for aroound $300, but you'll robably also need a new power supply to run it too.

 

[JEDI]

fry's combo special-> Sempron64 2800 + mobo for $69

and you can o/c that sempron to 4000 :Q

but you gota make sure you get a sempron64 (ie: crippled A64) and not on the older "regular" semprons based on Athlons

 

[GarbMan]

will an Athlon 2800+ 333 work with the k7s5a?

 

[GarbMan]

JEDI, I need a link to the combo special please.

 

[GarbMan]

I found something, but it sure doesn't appear to be a combo. I can't really get that for the add. It looks as though the Motherboard alone is $69. here is the link:

Motherboard

The CPU looks separate at $73

CPU

I would jump on them both for $69, but I just can't find it.

 

[Steve]

Originally posted by: GarbMan
will an Athlon 2800+ 333 work with the k7s5a?

Maybe, don't know. Chances are, the BIOS would call it "Unknown Processor" if it boots, and it would definitely underclock it to DDR266 speeds.

 

[500CID]

AXDA2800DKV4C, AMD Athlon XP 2800+ 266MHz, comes up as a 2600+ on the K7S5A... here: http://www.axiontech.com/prdt.php?item=72811

Also the XP-M3000+ & XP-M2800+ work...you can pick the XP-M 2800+ up at newegg on a PCChips board... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813185063

Before your grown about the mainboard choice...it's quite the overclocker... http://www.stud.fernuni-hagen.de/q39981...-bin/ibrd/topic.cgi?forum=5&topic=9681
xrror has his running at 247MHzx10=2470Mhz

or just keep the processor and sell the PCChips mainboard if you wish...

For the K7S5A you can get 3rd party overclocking bios from RHCF or OCWB...

Personally had two K7S5A's...only one that gave me problems was the one with bad caps...but that's a capacitor issue, not a mainboard issue.

MD