Old mobo

[Hammazoid]

Hi I wondering about this old mobo i picked up its a GA-686BLX, i have runing in it is 128 sdram, orignal 3D Rage Pro agp 2x, and a 266 mmx celeron. I was wondering if anyone would have a link to the manual or specs.

thanx

[tounge]

 

[endyen]

Are you sure it's not DLX or BX? Try here <A HREF="http://tw.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Products/Products_NewProduct_List.htm" target="_new">http://tw.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Products/Products_NewProduct_List.htm</A> under other.

 

[Hammazoid]

i'm positive that its a GA-686BLX, well at least its writtin on the board,

[tounge]

 

[Hammazoid]

i'm positive that its a GA-686BLX, well at least its writtin on the board,

thanx

[tounge]

 

[Crashman]

<A HREF="http://www.esc-ca.com/pdfs/686blx.pdf" target="_new">Download Here</A>

Now, I know more about BX/LX stuff than most motherboard manufacturers (they don't update their information), so I can give you some details!

It looks like you have 4 DIMM slots. That means you can support up to 1GB of PC66/100/133! The BX/ZX/LX/EX and TX support 256MB/slot! There's a DENSITY limit of 16MB/chip, so that a 16-chip module can be up to 256MB, an 8 chip module can be up to 128MB, etc. I've tested this stuff extensively and recommend Crucial's CT32M64S4D7E.16T 256MB PC133 module.

The second thing I can tell you is that your board supports at minimum all Celerons with the Mendicino core, and with a BIOS dated after 2000 it should support Celerons with a Coppermine Core and 66MHz bus as well, but with a voltage adjustable adapter.

OK, the Mendicino core Celerons that will surely work were available at up to 533MHz. 66MHz bus Coppermines went from 533 to 766MHz. Since the 533 was available at both speeds, you have to look closely to know what you're getting. All 500's were Mendicino, all 566's were Coppermine.

Standard slot adapters work with the Mendicino. You can get them inexpensively at places like computersurplusoutlet.com. If you want a voltage adjustable adapter for use with a Coppermine Celeron, you can buy one from...me.

The deal with Coppermine's is, they have a lower core voltage than supported by most LX chipset boards. And when the board sees the lower voltage, it refuses to boot. Voltage adjustable adapters allow you to set the detected voltage to something the board CAN support, namely 1.80v.

So you can have up to 256MB per RAM slot. And you can use an old Mendicino core Celleron on a standard slot to socket adapter. Or you can use a Coppermine Celeron on a voltage-adjustable slot-to-socket adapter.

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