M6TBA upgrade to 550Mhz

[gfheiche]

The manual of the Biostar M6TBA version 1.2 motherboard says, that I can upgrade from a PentiumII 350Mhz to a 550Mhz.
I can only find PentiumIII ‘s 550Mhz . Specifically I found two PenIII 550Mhz, Slot 1 (SECC2), 100Mhz Bus. One is a PeIII 550 with 512 K cache, the other a PenIII 550E coppermine with 256 cache.
1) Since they are Pentium III, can I still use them for upgrade? I thought they run on different voltages. Which of the two, the 550 or the 550E, can I use?
2) Do I have to do more than just replacing the CPU and resetting the CPU clock (by changing the jumper JP4(7-8) from closed to open)?
3) Could I, with this M6TBA, go even higher than 550Mhz by safely overclocking? How?

[Paleo Pete]

If the manual doesn't specifically state that it will support Pentium III, I seriously doubt that it will. Pentium II is a socket type CPU, while the info you posted about the P-III's says they are slot 1. No go.

To change to another CPU you have to set the motherboard jumpers for the bus speed, multiplier and voltage settings according to the motherboard manual.

Overclocking...overclocking can be done in some cases, and you can go as far as the bus speed and multiplier on the motherboard support. ie if the motherboard's fastest listed speed is 600MHz, that's as fast as it will go, period.

Safely? that's an entirely different issue. One CPU will safely overclock 100MHz faster than its rated speed, while another identical one might not tolerate being prodded to 33MHz more. That's probably the main risk with overclocking, you never know if it will work or instantly fry your CPU. System instability is also an issue, as well as the fact that you often force periferals to operate faster then they are designed to, and suddenly you're wondering why your video card died.

I do not recommend overclocking at all, if the CPU was intended and designed to run at 3 zillion MHz, it would be stamped on the label. If it says 550MHz, that's what it's designed for. CPu's are tested at the factory, and sold to run at a specific speed. That's the speed at which they run most stably and with the least heat issues.

If you want a faster CPU, buy a faster one in the first place. It's lots better than buying two, which is what you do when it suddenly dies from heat damage.

Overclocking-The dissenting Opinion ( http://www.pcguide.com/opt/oc/index.htm) from the PC Guide.


Maximum PC- Overclocking info (http://www.maximumpc.com/overclocking/)


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Computer Information Links (http://www.geocities.com/paleopete/)

[gfheiche]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Paleo Pete:
If the manual doesn't specifically state that it will support Pentium III, I seriously doubt that it will. Pentium II is a socket type CPU, while the info you posted about the P-III's says they are slot 1. No go.

The manual of the M6TBA motherboard does not mention PentiumIII, only PentiumII. But it says:
1) slot 1 compliant, and
2) supports from 233MHz to 550MHz CPU speed.
I could not find 550MHz PentiumII CPU’s, only PentiumIII's. Are there Pentium II 550MHz CPU's? Where can I find them? Which one should I use for upgrade?

[Paleo Pete]

I'm not sure what the fastest P-II was, you can check Intel's site at Intel (http://www.intel.com) and they should have plenty info. It's a bit late, I'll try to look up a bit more info tomorrow when I get online, maybe I can find some sites that have CPU charts or something similar.

Your friendly neighborhood search engine might turn up a few good hits too.

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If you had everything...Where would you put it?

Computer Information Links (http://www.geocities.com/paleopete/)

[bassvax]

Check out www.cpuscorecard.com (http://www.cpuscorecard.com) for mountains of info on processors and even direct comparisons of 'em. It is not uncommon to find typos in mobo manuals (or any other manual for that matter). I found that my mobo manual (physical book) list some pin 1 locations as the oppsosite of what they actually are. Also, my book says I can only take my system up to 550MHz, but after visiting the site the manual had been revised and allowed for an increase of up to PIII 650MHz. This may or may not requiring a "flashing of the BIOS". According to the above listed site there are socket PIII's available. Just as an example: my Amptron mobo supports both Socket 370 and Slot 1 processors (will not do a dual CPU though). The site will also have links to several technical articles on processors. After looking at that site and others and with the PIII prices steadily declining I am now reconsidering switching to a 650MHz PIII Slot 1 from the
current Celeron 500MHz socket 370. The rating comparisons provide for a very noticeable difference in performance-This said, I realize that these ratings are vendor assigned so marketing tactics must be considered. There is a link on that website that explains the E' & B's of Coppermines (lingo used only for PIII's). Setting the multiplier for the appropriate processor can be done with jumpers or BIOS settings if your mobo has this option (soft bios I believe). Lastly, consider $$ vs performance diff when upgrading. Maybe it is worth getting a new mobo & CPU instead. Happy readings to you.

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Jerry

[gfheiche]

Thank you both for the helpful leads. I also checked with biostar. The answer is: yes one can use tne PentiumIII 550 for upgrading the PentiumII 350 on the m6tba mobo