Request info of CPU compatablity of i440BX motherboard

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Durbin
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Hello, This is my first post and I hope it's in the right section :)

I just got a working midtower that has a Daewoo motherboard, model CB648X-BX. The BIOS is Award, 04/26/99 I440BX-18671CB648XBXC-00.

Presently the slot-1 motherboard is using a PII-400 and I searched around the 'net and found the owner's manual from a Korean FTP site. The manual says that the motherboard can support up to a PIII-500.
I was interested in upgrading to a PIII-700E (100MHz version) which is 1.6v. Supposedly I read somewhere that this motherboard has a switching voltage reulator of 1.5v to 3.3v. Well, the present CPU is 2.0v.

To make a long story short, will updating to the newer BIOS support the coppermines, or just the larger Hard drives? Will the motherboard handle the 1.6v PIII-700E? Thanks
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edwin
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Supposedly I read somewhere that this motherboard has a switching voltage reulator of 1.5v to 3.3v.
where? link please.
edwin/evasive

Do not assume anything

System error, strike any user to continue...
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Durbin
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I saved the page as a.MHT file and I can't locate the original website address yet. But here is what the page says--

Up to Celeron 900 MHz processor with new BIOS (rainbows link)update.
Supports Pentium III 450~500 MHz processor cartridge
Supports Pentium II 350~450 MHz processor cartridge
Supports Pentium II 233~333 MHz processor cartridge
Supports Celeron 266~366 MHz processor cartridge
Switching Voltage Regulator 2.5V (1.5V~3.5V)
VRM ver. 8.2

PIII-700E core voltage is 1.6v. Do you think it might work?
The Daewoo owner manual was printed at the time when the PIII-500 was the newest CPU.
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Durbin
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Found the link---
/http://yp.hit.bg/goto.php3?k=1&u=18201
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Ritchie
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I have studied the web page you have provided the link to.

Edwin can probably give a better and more accurate analysis however I believe some Pentium III processors started using a 133MHz FSB. The Celeron processors are designed to be a bit behind in the technology that they use, which makes them cheaper. As you probably know, a Celeron processor at the same speed rating as a Pentium based processor will not give the same performance.

I am guessing that the reason the web site mentions Celeron 900MHz support with the latest BIOS but not support for Pentium processors beyond 500MHz is because Celeron processors up to that speed may all be based on a max. 100MHz FSB, while the Pentium III processors can use either 100MHz or 133MHz. I am not sure but from what I can tell of the website, the board seems to only go up to 100MHz FSB. This appears to me to be the link dictating processor support.

I don't think a BIOS upgrade can increase the FSB capability of a board either. From what I know, this actually has to do with the number of wires on the board that make up the BUS, and a BIOS upgrade cannot add wires to a board.

I wanted to download the BIOS to take a look but could not get enough response from their server to start downloading properly. Hopefully you have better luck if you try it. I would be a little uncertain about how safe this BIOS upgrade is.


Edwin will probably be able to offer a better explanation and hopefully give you better news. Remember that if the board will support your processor, then you may have to upgrade your RAM to PC133 spec if your processor is based on 133MHz FSB.
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Durbin
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Yes, this motherboard can only run 66mhz and 100mhz. Some of the Pentium III's are 100mhz. They only have an 'E' after the speed. The fastest Katmai 512k is the PIII-600.

What I would like to find out is if this motherboard can handle the Coppermine 256k-100MHZ CPU's. (PIII-700E).

I really want to try all the resources available to see if this mobo can be upgraded. With a 7200rpm hard drive it should move along at a good speed.
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Ritchie
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The motherboard and BIOS may exclude support for all PIII processors above 500MHz to avoid the issue of having to make sure that only 100MHz FSB processors are used.

But, there are a few issues in my mind that suggest I may be wrong. The difficult part is proving whether or not your processor is supported and to obtain a BIOS upgrade, if required, to enable that support.
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Durbin
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Anyone ever upgraded a BX motherboard before with a Coppermine?
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soupy
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Durbin wrote:Anyone ever upgraded a BX motherboard before with a Coppermine?
I'm running a Tualatin 1.4Ghz Celeron on my Asus P2B-F. Before that I had a Coppermine Slot-1 PIII-1000.

How's that? :wink:
Flash your BIOS at your own risk.
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Rainbow
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And I have Tualatin Celeron 1,1GHz on P2B :)
Patched and tested BIOSes are at http://wims.rainbow-software.org
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