Which CPU is the best for my BX board?

kadajawi

Senior member
Dec 29, 2000
549
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Ok, what I have is a Gigabyte 6BXC PCB 1.9. Latest BIOS update is from August 2000 (or 2001, doesn't stand there) and mentions that it makes the board (only later versions) compatible to FC-PGA. At the moment a Celeron 366 sits on an Abit SlotKET-III (1.3V to 3.5V, FC-PGA etc.). Can I now just build in a Tulatin Celeron? Only setting down the voltage to either 1.4 or 1.45 or 1.5? Or would it be better putting in a PIII? I mean voltage is no problem, a bit less or more than the wanted 1.475V should make no problems. So the only problem which I see is the new VRM specifications... That means the MB has to keep the voltage more constant, right? The PowerLeap adapter seems not to be compatible with my board... BIOS hang-up... does that means I can give my Tulatin dreams up? What CPU would give me the best price/performance ratio? I have a GF2MX in my system, a Golden Orb (would there be heat problems with any possible CPU?), Windows XP and 192 MB RAM. I am mainly doing video editing (capturing etc.), gaming and running my small webserver with my machine (beside normal things like surfing, mp3 etc.). Ok, I think I'm writing too much :D
thx!
 

bacillus

Lifer
Jan 6, 2001
14,517
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71


<< Can I now just build in a Tulatin Celeron? >>


no a Tualatin Celeron will not work with that setup, you will need this to run a Tualatin on that m/board! :)
 

kadajawi

Senior member
Dec 29, 2000
549
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<< Confirmed to be Incompatible:
Gigabyte GA-6BXC (BIOS hang- up)
>>


Well... seems I don't need this adapter. Btw why wouldn't a Tulatin run with my setup? Voltage should be no problem... any other problems?
 

Orbius

Golden Member
Oct 13, 1999
1,037
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Of course its a different voltage, they're not making adapters for the heck of it.
Didn't the fact that only Tulatin specfic boards can run Tulatin processors right out of the box make you think at all.
Why do you still think your motherboard can run Tulatins?

I give up, some people are thick.
 

kadajawi

Senior member
Dec 29, 2000
549
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Huh??? I just meant the adapter I have atm should be able to create the voltage needed for the Tulatin. Thats all... if they have changed some things in the pin design etc. ok, I give it up, but wtf else avoids running a Tulatin on a normal bx board?
 

FatMan42

Senior member
Aug 17, 2001
219
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There's factors other than the voltage to consider. Intel changed the signalling protocol when they moved from the Coppermine core to Tualatin. You could put the Tualatin chip on the BX board, but the two couldn't talk to each-other without an interpreter; i.e. the Powerleap toy.
 

eplebnista

Lifer
Dec 3, 2001
24,123
36
91
Here is some info quoted from Here.

There were 2 main changes to the Tualatins from the Coppermine CPUs that make them incompatible with older boards. First of all, they take a core voltage of 1.475 volts. This core voltage, being on a 0.025 volt boundary, is not supported by older voltage regulators. Most systems with which this FAQ concerns itself support core voltages of 1.45 or 1.50 voltages, which would probably be close enough. However, the onboard motherboard regulators might not be able to respond fast enough to the large jumps in current that the newer CPUs are capable of generating (they can go from near zero current to maximum in a fraction of a microsecond, and the regulator must respond fast enough to prevent the voltage from dropping too low). Also, for the XPS R machines in particular, the CPU might draw too much current for the motherboard's regulator (of course, I said this before about the 850 and 1 GHz Pentium IIIs, and those turned out to work perfectly fine..) The PL-iP3/T's regulator conforms to Intel's latest VRM 8.5 voltage regulator requirements.

There is another change with the Tualatins, however, that is more problematic: Intel changed the signaling voltage used on the CPU's Gunning Transceiver Logic (GTL) bus, which it uses to communicate with the system, from 1.5V to 1.25V. This change makes the CPU incompatible with older motherboards (more specifically, older chipsets like the 440BX). Powerleap got around this problem, however, by adding circuitry to the PL-iP3/T to convert the signaling voltage to allow it to work in older motherboards.


hth,
eplebnista
 

kadajawi

Senior member
Dec 29, 2000
549
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Ok, thanks FatMan and eplebnista. Thats what I wanted to know... hmm, ok, maybe Gigabyte will update the BIOS for my board to work with Tulatin... *lmao* ;) Ok, so not Tulatin... which non-Tulatin Celeron is the fastest (or overclocks very good) or is there a PIII alternative at about the same price (of course with better performance than the celeron)? Thx
 

oldfart

Lifer
Dec 2, 1999
10,207
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PIII is better, Celeron is cheaper. Thats the way it works. Celerons are pretty darn cheap now. You could get maybe a C900 - C1100. Should be a nice change from a C366!