Intel 443ZX - Tearing my hair out.

[Guest]

If only I'd known then what I know now. Before I started to become more of a hardware enthusiast, I put together my current computer - it was just before a huge explosion of new chips, new form factors, new chipsets - and there I was, thinking that upgrading would be as easy as always.

Boy, was I ever wrong!

My almost three year old Celeron 466mhz-based system is nearing the end of its life, and I'm beginning to wonder if there's anything I can do to speed it up a bit. Many of my components need to be upgraded, so I was hoping I might be able to make my computer more functional for the moment, while I scrape together the money to buy a new video card, a new soundcard, etc, which could be grandfathered into a new P4 (or whatever) system.

I think that it would be terrific to drop a PIII/100mhz FSB and an extra 256MB of RAM into my computer, and call it good for another year or two, and I'm wondering if this can be done with my current motherboard. Common logic would say no, but I would like to know for sure what the answer is before I start planning out my upgrade path.

My motherboard is the EFA Discovery ZX, using the Intel 443ZX chipset. You can find a spec sheet here:

http://www.efacorp.com/products/discoveryzx.htm

I bought this motherboard because it allowed me to use my AT case and my ISA cards, but now I'm just pulling my hair out over it - because EFA no longer makes motherboards, and I'm afraid to email them with my questions because they obviously can barely speak English.

It says, of course, that it only supports Celerons up to 400mhz and 256MB of RAM. Is this actually true? I thought that possibly these specifications were put in there because Pentium IIIs were still Slot 1 and 256MB DIMMs just weren't available. After all, I'm using a Celeron 466 without any trouble.

So according to this, I'm basically stuck with what I've got - but it leaves me wondering, if my mobo is socket370, and the FSB can operate at 100mhz, why shouldn't I be able to put in one of the newer Celerons, or a 100mhz FSB PIII?

Another thing that made me wonder, was that I did a quick search for "443ZX" on Yahoo, and I saw an advertisement for a notebook computer with an 850mhz PIII CPU, which claims to use the 443ZX chipset.

But I can't find a bit of information at Intel's website about this.

If anybody has ANY information, please let me know. I'd rather not chuck this motherboard if it can still be useful.

Thanks!

 

[Crashman]

The ZX chipset actually does support faster Coppermine processors, but your BIOS probably won't. You could try the BIOS from and identicle BX board, or look around for a different brand of the same board. A good place to start is <A HREF="http://www.wimsbios.com" target="_new">http://www.wimsbios.com</A>, you can identify your motherboard by BIOS there and see if another company (one who offers better support) sold the same thing.

Back to you Tom...

 

[Guest]

Thank you!! You have no idea how many people I had to ask, to get an answer on this. I'll post back and let you know what I was able to find out.

 

[Guest]

Alright, I've got my BIOS ID now. So the idea, basically, is to try to find a different manufacturer who sells a later revision of the 2A69K - right?

And, of course, make sure they have a liberal return policy...

 

[Crashman]

right concept, but look at the trailing letters, like 2A69K<b>RBOC</b> or whatever for similar models-when it comes to lesser-known manufacturers many borrow the BIOS and the design from each other, or purchase camplete boards form each other.

Back to you Tom...

 

[Guest]

I think I might have got my answer - from the website you mentioned, I found the Award BIOS replacement site, unicore.com. They apparently need more information about my computer, so they asked me to call them and answer a few questions - the representative was away from his desk, so it looks like we're playing phone tag. He did seem confident that he'd be able to provide a 2001 Award BIOS replacement, though. I guess I'll find out soon exactly what features I'll gain with that.

They don't provide prices on the website, for some reason. Do you (or anyone else) have any idea what I might expect to pay for this? The packages look pretty comprehensive, so I'm guessing they aren't TOO too cheap - but on the other hand, it's just a BIOS chip. And they have to make the option economical, otherwise there's no reason to not just buy a new motherboard. Right?

 

[Crashman]

I've never had to buy custom BIOS. I do know that motherboards with the ZX chipset do exist that support coppermines and a 100MHz FSB, because I helped a guy out with his a while back. I wich I could remember what kind his was-I'll see if I can look up the information.

Back to you Tom...

 

[Crashman]

I have some good news for you! I found a ZX board that supports the features you need. Problem is that it's an ATX board and therefore not identicle. If it uses all the same chips (ignore the onboard audio), the BIOS might work. <A HREF="http://www.bcmcom.com/tech/GT440ZX/GT440ZX.htm" target="_new">http://www.bcmcom.com/tech/GT440ZX/GT440ZX.htm</A> Then again it might not work. It depends on a lot of things. I would only try it as a last resort.

Back to you Tom...

 

[Crashman]

MOre good news. Pine technologies carries a similar board called the TL-ZX21. They also had a BX version which I know for sure could support these processors. Your going to want to get all the details on these boards before deciding for yourself whether they are similar enough to work.

Back to you Tom...