new to upgrading help please

[Guest]

Hi, I am completely new to upgrading and find that, whilst I read a lot, I cannot understand all the stuff at once - e.g. I have a 200 mhz CPU which I am replacing with a K6-2 550. I plug it in and it just beeps. Can anyone point me in the very very basic direction of what I need to do. It would be very helpful if someone just had say a list of notes with simple instructions - like 'plug this in'; 'go to the manufacturers web site' ; 'adjust voltage down' etc etc and also a note ( suggestion of a book ) where I can get detailed info on how to do this.
I really really want to get into this, but an very confused by lots of pieces of information and cannot really tie it all together nor understand how, practically, to put it into practice.
I really appreciate your patience with this true beginner.

Thanks.

 

[scwarner]

what mainboard are you using? As far as I know all socket 7 boards require jumpers to be set for new chips.
Also, older boards don't suport faster cpu's. Yow will need to go to manufacturer's website and check out what the capabilities of your board are.(FSB,multiplier,voltage settings) and possibly download a users manual or check into a compatability guide for chips and mobos on thier site.
Good luck.

"Intel people buy their computers to learn. AMD people build theirs because they already have."

 

[Guest]

Thanks for replying. Now this is going to sound silly - but I dont really know what the motherboard is. I can see no names on it. However, if this helps, it is gold in colour, has two big letters ( 1 cm high ) saying CE and a 'number' of GA-586HX Rev 1.55. Does this mean anything to you ? If so, do you know the web address of the manufacturer ?
I appreciate your help - sorry if I am being a bit dumb.
Ta.

 

[scwarner]

The GA- means it is a Giga-Byte board.
The bad news is that it can't support faster processors.
<A HREF="http://www.giga-byte.com/support/mmxtable.htm" target="_new">http://www.giga-byte.com/support/mmxtable.htm</A>
Check out the chart to see what the board supports.


"Intel people buy their computers to learn. AMD people build theirs because they already have."

 

[Guest]

ok -thanks. Well, I just about got to the same place you did, after finding other gigabytes starting with GA and noting that I could not go to gigabyte.com, but had to go to gigabyte.com.tw ( hmmmm - new to me all this ). Well, my first lesson - dont buy the hardware without checking out the board specs first. Basically what you have just taught me. Still, we live and learn. The only reason I brought the chip in the first place was that someone said that 7's should be able to handle k62550s. A little bit of knowledge ( on my part that is ) is a dangerous thing ;0) - expecially for me.
Thanks very much for your help and time. I do appreciate it a lot.

 

[Crashman]

I've upgraded a lot of older Socket 7 boards that did not "officially" support the AMD K6-2 with the same. Although your processor is probably something like 2.4v, you can run it at 2.8v with proper cooling.
Some BIOS won't support that K6-2 at all, but most will accept it even without recognising what it is. My recommendation is, since you already have the CPU, get the latest BIOS and try it agian. Use your old CPU when you flash the new BIOS.
You have the newer version of the board that supports Pentium 233MMX CPU's. I have actually upgraded one and had it work, but I can't remember how well. Using the lowest core voltage available (probably 2.8v, maybe 2.5v) and a large Celeron/PIII/Athlon generic socket cooler (yes, they do fit Socket7 as well, but stupid salesmen DO NOT know that), and the 2x multiplier. With your CPU, 2x is converted to 6x internally, and 6x66=400. So 400 is the best you can do unless you can find a higher bus speed setting (6x75=450, 6x83=500).
I am almost sure that the thing will fire up with the new CPU after flashing the newest BIOS. I think the display will read 266 or 66, because the higher speed is not in the table, but running a diagnostic will prove that it is running at 400.

What's the frequency, Kenneth?