AMD Motherboard Swap Out

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kurac

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May 30, 2002
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I have a relatively older system, Asus A7V333 (Rev 1), and had to buy a new CPU (don't ask!). Unknowingly, I got the AMD 2600+ 333MHz bus and my motherboard doesnt support this so I have to run it as a 2000+.

The 2600+ 333 MHz bus is supported in a version Rev 2 of the same board. I was wondering if I can simply replace my older MB and put in the Rev 2 without having to reinstall windows.

Thanks for the help!
 
It will work. You might have to reinstall some drivers, but it should prompt you automatically.

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<font color=blue> "Trying is the first step towards failure." </font color=blue>
 
Before you blow all that change on a "same" mobo, try the old one at 166 fsb. I'm pretty sure it has the 5:1 pci ratio, and everything should be fine if you set the ram up right.
 
Thanks for the feedback!

I believe I tried changing the FSB when I first got the processor and it led to a lot of system crashes. But I'll give it another shot. (even Asus's website says that the chip isn't supported with the Rev 1 board)

I just saw the Rev2 MB on EBay for $50 and thought it might be a good idea to pick it up before it disappears from the market!
 
Are you sure you had a Rev 1 board? I tried changing to 166/66 (not sure if it was 166/66 or 166/33) last night and everything worked for awhile untill I started playing a game. Then everything froze on me.

The multiplier option I was given was 12.5x or lower, so I used 12.5x. The only memory option I was given was 1:1, when i chose this multiplier and bus speed. I never had a 5:1 memory option (Only options that I've even seen was a 1:1 and a 4:5)

Is the freeze due to something overheating or an instabliltiy with the memory. If its temperature, I can always turn more fans on (I'll just warn the neighbors that the noise is my computer and not a tornado!)
 
Well I want to buy an old board cause I dont wanna have to reinstall windows or format my hard drive. Just wanna do the easiest thing so I dont end up banging my head against the wall cause things dont work and asking more stupid questions on this board (Sorry, still kinda new to all of this)

If I did buy a new board, I assume my PC2700 RAM would still work, the only problem is the drivers would all be messed up for my VIA KT333 chipset. Lets say I buy a KT400 chipset MB, can I just replace all the parts and turn on the computer and be OK?

Would like to get and idea of what I'm getting myself into before I spend $$$. Thanks for the help and ideas!!
 
Yes it's a rev 1 board. The 5:1 divider is for pci and shows up as 166:33 in bios with 166 being the fsb and 33 being the pci bus.
Do you have pc2700/ddr 333 ram or pc 2100/ddr266 ram? If you are using pc 2100, you should set the ram timing to 5:4. It would be normal for pc2100 to error if run at 1:1 with a 166 fsb.
 
Well I want to buy an old board cause I dont wanna have to reinstall windows or format my hard drive. Just wanna do the easiest thing so I dont end up banging my head against the wall cause things dont work and asking more stupid questions on this board
Click to expand...
Sorry, to disappoint you, but, I can't agree with you. It's a non-sense to buy an "old-technology" motherboard for the price of a NEW one that supports newer technology and is actually faster.

Even if you get the a VIA based motherboard it's not sure that Windows will like the SWAP. Your drivers might be messed up by this MB change. Reinstalling Windows is not so hard and so long. You can even reinstall it over your existing Windows installation.

The only SMART move you can do is to buy a cheap nForce2 based motherboard. It's not WISE to spend your money an VIA KT333/KT400. Whatever argument you will write on this forum can't justify your move. No, maybe one thing would change my mind. If you cna find a KT333/KT400 MB at about 20$. But it's not wise to spend 50$ on something obsolete when you can have something really good for the EXACT same price.

Se please, buy a nForce2 board for 50$ you will not regret your decision. And you will make me happy! :smile:

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Would you buy a potato powered chipset?
 
OK, so it looks like I tried the 5:1 option by setting the 166/33 setting. And I get system crashes with this setting, so it must be something wrong with my system or components that it is not stable. My guess is that its the GFX card, this freeze looks similar to the freeze I got when I OC'ed the GFX card and it got too hot (Freezing only happens when I'm playing games)

As far as buying old components, I completed understand and agree with you. I'm just not that familiar with reinstalling Windows and I dont wanna loose all the programs and information that I currently have. Window installations scare me! 😛

So maybe I'll get around to buying a new MB in the future, but with all this seaching around for info, I have my eyes set on a new ATI 9800 Pro (old card GeForce4 4400). If everything goes smoothly with this card and I can run 166/33, then I won't need a new MB. I was just looking for a simple solution to update my comp so Farcry will play fast and look good!

With all the new technology coming out this year, looks like I may dump this system and build a new one in 6-9 months! Again, thanks for all your help and info!!
 
Alright, I'm going to give in a buy a new MB (and while I'm at it I think I'll upgrade to WinXP, 98SE is showing its age!). I got my new 9800 Pro and I set my FSB to 166/33 and I still have issues with random crashes.

Can anyone suggest a good nForce2 board?? heres what I have in my current system that I will carry over

-2600+ XP Barton? (333 MHz FSB)
-1024 MB Samsung PC2700 RAM
-ATI 9800 PRO
-2 IDE WD hrad drives (not in RAID)
-blah, blah, blah, (I assume the rest don't matter, but I do have firewire and network PCI cards)

I may give over clocking a shot, so a board that is friendly to this would be nice!

thanks again for the advise!
 
nForce2 motherboard are really mature right now! Most of then are really good, I suggest you to get the one that have the feature you want (SATA, FIREWIRE, SoundStorm APU).

There is a wide range of price and feature of nForce2 MB. I can suggest you ABIT, ASUS, DFI or GigaByte boards. At one time, ABIT offered a wide range of good OVERCLOCKING options on NF7 boards. And DFI LanParty is a cool-looking MB with great feature. Any A7N8X are also good choices.

Personally, I would choose a cheap one with the minimum feature, because SocketA is dying slowing. AMD just released the A64 2800+ that is less than 200$US. I guess in at most 1 year you will find your PC slow for games and you will probably want to upgrade to a more powerful CPU. nForce2 MB can't offer performance boost because of the Athlon XP 3200+ is the most powerful CPU you can fit on it (and the performance of this CPU is roughly equal to P4C 2.8GHz or A64 2800+).

So, my recommendation nuy a low priced nForce2 board with the minimum features you need.

--
Would you buy a potato powered chipset?
 
All this upgrading is just to make my PC last another year really! I've been reading all the artices about PCI express, nForce3-250, and the upcoming AMD's. Think I'll let the technology mature and then build an entirely new system!

As always these boards have helped tremendously! thanks to everyone who adds there much appreciate help and suggestions!
 
"Can anyone suggest a good nForce2 board?? heres what I have in my current system that I will carry over"

Anything but Asus...

-Always put the blame on you first, then on the hardware !!!
 
Just a quick question, my 2600 XP is the 333 Mhz FSB kind. I would like to use my PC2700 1GB of Samsung RAM with the new MB board so I dont have to throw down more money. Will there any compatibility issues with the CPU and RAM.

I'm getting big time memory issues running 166/33 on my current MB. Will this config be ok on the NF7-S???
 
The xp2600 really uses an fsb of 166, as does pc2700. Your mobo may need you to set this. Your ram and chip would be in sync, which is best.
The only problem would arise should you oc. Even then, the ram should be good for 10 more mhz, perhaps more. Enjoy your new rig.
 
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