Intel OEM 440BX MB CPU Upgrade?

[JoseB]

I am looking at the various options I have for an upgrade to my "NEC Ready 9905".
The MB is made by Intel.
The BIOS I have is identified at startup as4S4EB2X0.11A.0006.P05
Phoenix BIOS 4.0 Release 6.0
The "Altered Assembly" ID on the sticker on my motherboard is IUS2850 31417 AA 724531-203
I have correlated this to Intel's information on theSE440BX-2 motherboard at http://support.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/se440bx2/
NEC supports no BIOS upgrades to this.
As is, WITHOUT A BIOS UPGRADE, I can run:
* Celeron 266/66, 300/66 * Mendicino 300/66, 333/66
* Pentium(tm)II 233/66, 266/66, 300/66
* Deschutes 266/66, 333/66, 350/100, 400/100 * Pentium(tm)III 450/100, 500/100

I currently have a PII 350. From the notes at Intel's site (http://support.intel.com/support/processors/sspec/p3p.htm), it would seem as if I can run up to a PIII 600 without any modifications (the BIOS won't recognize it properly, but since these CPus are all locked multipliers, I assume that will not make a difference).

I have explored the use of a slotket, with a newer PIII CPU or an overclocked Celeron. But it seems to me that this will not work because NEC says that the core voltage supported is 2.0 volts - which is a problem for any of the new processors - they all want a much lower voltage.

If anyone has been successful in upgrading this type of setup, or if there are other options I am not aware, please post your ideas.
thanks

[PJR]

Just use the latest Intel bios (P17) its a cinch to flash - should work fine with your mobo. I have the Seattle 2 boards in 2 of my machines both running P3-600's. Nice stable boards.

[JoseB]

I am not familiar with the Seattle 2 board. I take it this is another Intel OEM mboard?

I emailed Intel support and they said:

"Thank you for contacting Intel. Your BIOS version indicates an OEM version of an Intel motherboard. Intel sells motherboards to various OEM's (Original Equipment Manufacturers), who then integrate them with other system components (power supplies, disk drives, add in cards, software, etc). These motherboards may be customized to the OEM's specifications. Please contact your OEM or place of purchase for support, as they are familiar with the total configuration of your integrated system and the way all the features interact with each other. Intel is precluded from providing support for these systems."

My Mboard has one integrated item - sound (Yamaha). Other than that, I would expect that the NEC logo would be lost (oooh! ;-)
with an Intel BIOS upgrade.

Also, I assume that there is no magic when it comes to voltage, - I mean the BIOS upgrade won't change the voltages available, right? I will still have a floor of 2.0v, which is not low enough for the newer copppermine CPU's from what I have read.

I just read that Intel reduced its price on their 1ghz CPU to 299. That would be a nice upgrade! drool. I'd take an 850 at this point. 299 is a little too much to put into this old box.

OK, thanks for the post

[PJR]

JoseB, the board you have is a Seattle 2; (the SE stands for Seattle) albeit an OEM version. The P17 bios will work just fine. Both my boards have the Yamaha onboard sound, but don't use the drivers from the Intel site - go to Aria Technology and find the drivers there - much newer. You can use up to a maximum of a P3 600 Katmai cpu. Later boards allowed the use of Coppermine's but you need to check your AA number with the Intel site. Hope this is of help to you.

Paul.

[JoseB]

PJR, thanks for the tips - so that's what SE stands for - duh! I should've put that together before... also, on the Yamaha drivers - that is the first thing I did - what a difference - better stereo effect - the digital enhancement is a big plus.

I will try the P17 BIOS when I get some time this week. Nice to hear it will work for sure.

One other item - I had asked about slotkets earlier - has anyone used a slotket on this board with one of the newer coppermine CPU's? (i.e. Celeron 566 or 633).

[PJR]

Hi again! just checked your AA number with Intel and you're in the same boat as me. Maximum cpu you can put in there is P3-600 Katmai. Should be able to pick them up dirt cheap now. You'll need to move the configuration jumper over to set the new cpu to 600; shut down and change the jumper to its original position and then voila! You should notice quite a difference. Have fun!

Paul.

[PJR]

As an addendum to my previous post; been told can't use coppermine cpu's owing to the voltage difference - no way of altering voltage on your mobo http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/frown.gif

[JoseB]

PJR,
Where would I find a PIII 600 Katmai for "dirt cheap"? I looked at EBay, and on there it looks like they would go for $150 - 180.

BTW, last night I moved the jumper to see if I had a locked or unlocked processor. I had read somewhere that Intel locked the multipliers in about August of 1998, so I was just hoping I had one before then (you can probably guess what I have - yup, there was no ability to change the multiplier).

One side-effect that I did not anticipate was that doing this reset many "default" settings in my CMOS without asking or telling me about it! Nasty results when I booted into Windows! Took me about 1/2 hour to clean that up. Live & learn...

[PJR]

JoseB, here in the UK they go for around £100, but as Katmai's are now virtually obsolete you will find the prices starting to fall. I've built two machines using the SE2 boards both with 600 cpu's and have never had a minutes trouble with them - very stable.IF I were in your position I would flash the bios, stick in a 600; a minimum of 128mb ram and you'll have a relatively fast reliable machine. The decision, as they say, is yours! Just my 2pence worth http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[JoseB]

PJR,
If I could draw on your BIOS flashing experience a little here (perhaps you could email me since this is a bit off the topic).

I have as my "A" drive, a LS120 which is secondary slave. Just wondering if this is a problem for flashing or recovering?

Also, are there any performance improvements with doing the BIOS upgrade to 17 (from what I have, which is 5).