Upgrading sister's system to max it will take, for christmas. she doesnt do anything fancy like gaming or anything so instead of a new system i will simply upgrade the current one. anyway: CPU according to CPU-Z is an AMD Athlon with thunderbird core on Socket A platform. what is the fastest cpu supported by a socket a platform, in general? isnt it 1500+ or something like that?? now, the bus speed/fsb of this cpu confuses me. according to cpu-z the fsb is 100mhz but the bus speed is 200mhz. i thought they were the same thing. apparently not...??? explanations welcome. judging by this fsb and bus speed info what speed of RAM is best to use, PC100 or PC133? 3 memory slots so i will make it 768mb of RAM. so basically, what is the max cpu i could maybe put in this system, what is with the differant fsb and bus speed readings, and what speed of RAM is optimal for this fsb/bus speed??? thanx all.

I drive an awesome 1972 Trans Am 455 Super Duty that gets about 8-10mpg, but thats a small price to pay for such awesomeness.

You have to know the make/model of the board, then check the manufacturer's website to find out what CPUs are supported. You may be limited to 100MHz (200FSB) CPUs only, or it may accept 133MHz (266FSB) CPUs but the core type may be restricted...that is, it may accept Palomino core XPs but not Thoroughbred or Barton core XPs. I'm fairly certain that it will NOT accept a Sempron. The RAM speed should match the FSB...if the FSB is 133MHz (266FSB) you'll need PC133. And if you're buying new RAM, beware the possibility of density problems.

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was just thinking...it definitely won't support a Barton either

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so assuming it wont take a 100/200 fsb/bus what is the best cpu it MIGHT take??? what would be the best cpu it MIGHT take if it will take 133/266 fsb/bus??? also what about the fsb being differant rating from the bus speed?? density isnt an issue i know that it will take high density memory. so what are my best POSSIBLE cpu options if it will take 133/266 and if it will not take it. and why is the fsb and bus speed ratings differant, i thought they were the same thing???

I drive an awesome 1972 Trans Am 455 Super Duty that gets about 8-10mpg, but thats a small price to pay for such awesomeness.

what are the chances of it taking the various core types? now it is a regular athlon but it may take an Athlon XP you say? what are my options?? thanx jam. and any one else who may answer.

I drive an awesome 1972 Trans Am 455 Super Duty that gets about 8-10mpg, but thats a small price to pay for such awesomeness.

Dude, you have to know the make/model of the motherboard. Then go to the manufacturer's website & see what you can find out...they normally have a CPU support page that will list all CPUs that are compatible with the board. You can't just guess! Also, you may need to update the BIOS to allow the board to accept newer/faster CPUs.

For best performance, the CPU & RAM should run at the same bus speed. If the CPU runs at 133MHz, the RAM should be PC133...if you use PC100, it will bottleneck the system. If you have a CPU at 100MHZ, you can use either PC100 or PC133, but they should be run at 100MHz. There's no advantage to running the CPU at 100MHz & RAM at 133MHz...the CPU will be the bottleneck.

On older systems, before DDR, the bus speed was called 100MHz or 133MHz. After DDR, it was called 200MHz or 266MHz...those are the "effective" bus speeds. I try to make of point of using both when I refer to FSB...that's why I'll write 100MHz(200FSB) when referring to an early AMD system. (Intel quad-pumps the FSB, so 100MHz = 400FSB).

"density isnt an issue i know that it will take high density memory"

If the board will accept 512MB per RAM slot, it will also accept high density RAM. But if it only accepts 256MB per slot, it will NOT accept high density RAM. All PC133 RAM manufacturered these days is high density.

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CPU-Z yeilded the following motherboard information:

MSI motherboard (didnt say model)

Chipset= VIA KT133A
Southbridge= VIA VT82C686
Sensor= VIA 686A/B
BIOS= Award, version 6.00

does the 133 in the chipset name indicate support of a 133/266 fsb/bus?? can you find out what motherboard this is from the info i do have??

also, what graphics card should i get for it? it has AGP 4x graphics card slot, but currently just a Rage IIC (4mb) that came when it was new. What graphics card should i get for it? either Nvidia or ATI, which would you reccommend?? either 64mb or 128mb, which would size would you reccommend (i dont mind spending a bit more for a 128mb card)?? maybe a Radeon 9250? an MX4000? other? what graphics card suggestion, basically.

motherboard cpu support and graphics card. thanx jam and anyone else who may answer.

I drive an awesome 1972 Trans Am 455 Super Duty that gets about 8-10mpg, but thats a small price to pay for such awesomeness.

512mb RAM per slot?? overkill for that system, dont you think? i have successfully run a 512mb stick of RAM in it, it does take high-density. But i said 768mb aka 256mb x3 sticks (it has 3 RAM slots) because 1.5gb (wich would be *512mb* x3 sticks) would be a bit exessive evn if it will go to an Athlon XP Barton or something, at least i thought 1.5gb would be exessive for that system. should i make it 1.5gb by using 512mb sticks instead of 256mb sticks?? thanx for answering all my questions jam i know i am probably getting kind of annoying. anyway so yeah what video card should i get (AGP) and is there any way to tell what mobo model that is from what CPU-Z told me??

I drive an awesome 1972 Trans Am 455 Super Duty that gets about 8-10mpg, but thats a small price to pay for such awesomeness.

thanx for bearing with me jam i appreciate.

I drive an awesome 1972 Trans Am 455 Super Duty that gets about 8-10mpg, but thats a small price to pay for such awesomeness.

Read my sig... KT133 board with Tbred at 2.2Ghz

TMP-Man

Asus A7V classic rev 1.05
Athlon XP 2100+ @ 129x17 = 2195Mhz 1.81v
768MB PC133 RAM @ 129Mhz 2-2-2
40GB 540RPM + 120GB 7200RPM HD
128MB Geforce FX5200 128bit 276/515

KT133A, that is good. That means that it will support 266 MHz FSB CPUs. But what does it have right now?

The hard part can be finding a good CPU. Without having to do fancy multiplier adjustments, or running out of spec FSB (neither of which are good ideas when working on someone elses computer) Something like a Palomino XP1600 (1.4 GHz) or a Thunderbird 1.333 or 1.4 would be good choices. I recently picked up a good XP1600 for $25.00. A computer tech who used to work for Epox posted that Epox's older boards voltage regulators were not meant for the .13 micron CPUs voltage requirements (the later Athlon XP Tbred core), and would likely overheat and burn out prematurely with such CPUs. So I'd recommend sticking with the .18 micron Thunderbirds and Palomino core XPs.

You should be planning to upgrade the hard drive as well. ATA100 drives have gotten consistently faster. My first WD ATA100 drive (a 30 gig) gives me about 28 megabytes per second. My latest (160 gig) gives me close to 60 MBPS! A newer sixty to eighty gig drive could close to double the speed of her present drive.

Almost any decent AGP card will be better than what she has now. I recently picked up a GF4 Ti4200 64 meg for $25.00. Something like that would be an excellent choice.

Being careful to check Heatware feedback, I've had good luck (so far anyway) buying things on [H]ardforum.

" I recently picked up a good XP1600 for $25.00. A computer tech who used to work for Epox posted that Epox's older boards voltage regulators were not meant for the .13 micron CPUs voltage requirements (the later Athlon XP Tbred core), and would likely overheat and burn out prematurely with such CPUs."

I used my Tbred on my Asus A7V KT133 Rev 1.05 for over 1.5 years old. In fact, the stock voltage is 1.65V and I'm pushing it to 1.81v to get to 2195Mhz... The most important part is to make sure ur Athlon XP is unlocked so you can adjust the multiplier since 133Mhz is pretty much the max you can go... Suppose he has Tbird 1.4Ghz and upgrading to XP 1600+ palomino, how much will that beneifit from Tbird?

TMP-Man

Asus A7V classic rev 1.05
Athlon XP 2100+ @ 129x17 = 2195Mhz 1.81v
768MB PC133 RAM @ 129Mhz 2-2-2
40GB 540RPM + 120GB 7200RPM HD
128MB Geforce FX5200 128bit 276/515

the hard drive i have already purchased, WD1200 120gb 7200rpm ATA100. so what CPU is recommended, given that it apparently will support 133/266 fbs/bus??? right now it has a 700mhz athlon (100/200). so what cpu should i get?? and i have decided on a 128mb video card so what is recommended?? Nvidia or ATI?? how much RAM, 768mb or 1.5gb?? what CPU?? would it maybe support higher then an Athlon XP 1600+?? if not is that the reccommended CPU?? i want to make it as fast as possible. thanx all.

I drive an awesome 1972 Trans Am 455 Super Duty that gets about 8-10mpg, but thats a small price to pay for such awesomeness.

Hey, are you Dragon or a friend of his? He didn't know how to use Google either...LOL! You've got to stop asking questions & start doing some research. Like I said, you can't just guess!! You know the board is made by MSI & you know it's based on the KT133A chipset...that's you're starting point.

Your board is probably one of these MS-6330 models:

- K7T_Turbo_2 (MS-6330)
- K7T_Turbo_Limited_Edition_w/RAID (MS-6330)
- K7T_Turbo_Limited_Edition (MS-6330)
- K7T_Turbo_Lite3 (MS-6330)

http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_archives.asp?class=mb

I looked at just the 1st board on the list above, here's what MSI says are the CPU choices:

• AMD Athlon XP (Palomino, Socket A) up to 1800+
• AMD Athlon (Thunderbird, Socket A) up to 1.4GHz
• AMD Duron (Socket A) 950MHz

However, if you look at the BIOS updates, you'll find if you flash to the lastest version, it will support even faster CPUs & bigger HDDs. Unless you find it stated otherwise, I would assume that this particular board accepts Palomino XPs only.

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As a side note: About 2-3 yrs ago, my board was an ASUS A7V133-C which is also based on the KT133A chipset. I was running an Athlon Tbird & wanted to upgrade to something baetter/faster, so I went ahead & ordered an 1800+ Tbred without doing my homework 1st. I got it, installed it, but could not get Windows to install with the FSB set at 133MHz. I lowered it to 100MHz & all went fine. Once Windows was installed, I tried raising the FSB to 133MHz again...I got all sorts of errors & blue screens. To make a long story short, the board did not support Tbred XPs. Instead of getting another CPU, it was cheaper to get a new board that did support the Tbred. I'm just trying to save you the same hassle that I went thru....

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TMP, I think it is cool that you have gotten your combination to work. But this is his sister's computer, so he has to play it safe. Some KT133A motherboards, such as the Abit KT7A (before Rev. 1.3 anyway) don't officially support anything beyond the Thunderbird. They may refuse to POST, or you may have to hit the reset button a couple of times in order to get it to POST. Or it may work perfectly. Athlon XPs worked perfectly in both the KT7A and KT7E that I tried them in. But I'd be sure to mention that there is a possibility that they might not work at all to anyone considering trying one.

A Tbred is too far outside the design parameters for me to recommend for a computer for someone who would probably be very impatient with a computer that was even slightly flaky.

If she had a 1.4 Thunderbird, my recommendation would have been to leave the CPU alone, and upgrade the drive and the video card.

And on the voltage regulator, Epox Tech was very clear that it would not immediately fail. Rather, the stress of the low voltage .13 micron CPU would cause the voltage regulator MOSFET to overheat and fail prematurely. Most likely it is the same with other manufacturers motherboards of the same era. If you aren't concerned about the motherboard (maybe you got it for cheap or for free), then as the saying goes "your mileage may vary". I'm using a 2100+ Tbred in an A7V for Folding At Home right now. I have a better motherboard on the way, but for right now it works fine. I can't come close to your number, even flashing to the A7V133 BIOS didn't give me an option in CMOS to change the multiplier (I guess because I have Rev. 1.02). So it is limited to 13x113. But that's with a less than $10.00 motherboard, and a CPU I thought might be dead. So I wasn't afraid to try it.

would the cpu most likely be automatically recgnized, as there are no CPU adjestment settings in the BIOS or jumpers for anything CPU related on the board itself, so if it will take a given CPU the recognition would be automatic, right? so for the CPU if i was to choose a 1600+ or 1800+ Palamino Athlon XP, would that be a good CPU choice?? nobody said what video would be good to use or how much RAM i should give it. what video card (128mb, AGP) is recommended, and how much RAM should i buy for it? it will take high-density sticks, i have successfully tested a 512mb stick of PC133 in it. how much RAM should i buy her for it?? she runs windows xp professional. and i dont know who dragon is, except simply recognizing the name. thank you all.

I drive an awesome 1972 Trans Am 455 Super Duty that gets about 8-10mpg, but thats a small price to pay for such awesomeness.

Dude, WTF?? Why is this not sinking in??

DO NOT GUESS WHICH CPU MIGHT WORK!!

You have to identify the board, check the manufacturer's website to see what CPUs are supported, THEN make your decision!!

And you cannot choose a video card until you choose a CPU. There's no point getting a high end card if you have a low end CPU. All I can tell you about your card is to get one with 128MB @ 128-bit & supports DX9. Do not waste your money on an MX4000 or Radeon 9250...they both suck. And if this is supposed to be a gaming system, increase the total amount of RAM to 1GB PC133.

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jam i really cannot find anything relevant through google searches, i HAVE been trying. there is not much info to go off of. it was made by an affiliate of some mail-in order company called 'Global Computer', affiliate being 'Systemax'. would you like to try and find something with the info i have because if you could pull info out of your butt using google search just like i am, i would welcome the info. no mean to be rude but i have very limited information, is all im trying to say. you are welcome to try to find more info then me, maybe you will get lucky. okay the computer model is: Systemax Excite PJM-700A. this doesnt help much though. there are no references to the motherboard in the manual, and a few google searches combining the model, Systemax, Excite, KT133, MSI, motherboard, etc. in various orders, and have not found anything that will tell me what this motherboard is. if you can find out what it is from the given info, i would very much appreciate it, but i am using google too and there isnt any referance to what mobo it is. good luck. is there anything else that i can do?? lets assume for a sec it is one of the models you listed in response number 13, supporting the CPUs you listed. ASSUMING that is the case would an 1800+ Palamino A XP be a good cpu choice? what else can i do man i am trying to turn a little info into more info and in this case google isnt much help. what can i do but guess??

thanx for bearing with me every one i appreciate it.

I drive an awesome 1972 Trans Am 455 Super Duty that gets about 8-10mpg, but thats a small price to pay for such awesomeness.

Have you taken the cover off of the case and looked at the motherboard? Most motherboards have identifying model and serial numbers silk screened on to them.

I'm not trying to be rude either...well, at least not TOO rude. But you have plenty of options to find out the board make/model. You know already that it's made by MSI & you know it has a KT133A chipset. I listed several of the possibilites that I found at the MSI website, along with a link to they're list of discontinued boards. I did 75% of the work for you! You can either try to identify the board thru software such as Everest Home Edition or possibly SANDRA, or you can take repo man's advice & simply open the case & read the info off the board. Unfortunately, Lavalys stopped offering Everest Home Edition at their site as of yesterday, but you should still be able to find it elsewwhere

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I've kind of read through this forum a couple times because it's come up after 2 different Google searches. So, I figure maybe there's some value here.

My question is the same as the guy's at the top (fastest processor for my mboard?), but... I have more info about my own current setup (ASUS A7V133 rev 1.05). My motherboard manual (just downloaded from ASUS) doesn't seem to be specific about how fast the processor it can handle. From what I've read here, it seems like I might be able to run as fast of an Athlon XP as I can get in a Socket A.

TMP-Man appears to have the same exact board as me running an Athlon XP 2100+ processor at 2.2 Ghz or so (OC). That brightened my day to read that. :)

I just wanted to double-check that I was reading everything right here. I know I'm gonna need some serious cooling if I upgrade, but... I wanna upgrade (or at least overclock).

I wonder what would be the fastest I would wanna make my processor while remaining pretty stable?

OK, too many questions from me, and not enough info. I downloaded Everest Home to get the finer details. So now, my current system, in as much detail as I can think to provide:

MBoard: ASUS A7V133 Rev 1.05 (03/06/2001)
Chipset: VIA KT133A
RAM: 384 MB PC-133 (I know...512 MB HighDensity PC133 in the mail)
Processor: Athlon 908 MHz (9X101, whatever that means)
.18 micron process
Core Voltage: 1.75 Volt
I/O Voltage: 1.6 Volt
HardDrive: IBM Deskstar 46 GB
Power Supply: 550W I think (can't remember... too lazy to crack it)

I think I'd like to take my CPU up to 1 Gig, but... I don't really know what the safest way to do that is. Maybe TMP-Man can help with that one.

Thanks a lot guys!