Can my mb handle this?

[RavantH]

I have a PII 450 processor on my motherboard. (New to this, so I'm not sure how to find out what kind it is.) I was looking to upgrade to a PIII 733... is it possible? just curious... cuz I heard that PIII 733 is the max I can do on my mb. I got this info without the person even knowing what kind of motherboard it was... so I don't know how truthful it is. Thanks.

[Philip1952]

We will need a mfg name for your mother board to tell what it takes. Look for a name on the board some where. If there is no name look for the bious number string at the bottom of the first page on boot up. With the bious numbers you can go HERE (http://www.wimsbios.com/) and look it up to see who made your board. Then you can look up the model number and see what it will take from the mfg's website.

[RavantH]

The only problem is that the Dell logo image is displayed instead of page#1 of the bios. Page 2 is covered by the Windows logo... then I'm in windows. I opened my computer, cleaned out the dust, then looked on the mb. All I saw was Intel one one microcontroller, SMSC on another, then on a sticker, a Dell logo. Which is the brand?

[RavantH]

I ran a bios test from that site u sent me... it returned all german info. :rolleyes: Here's the info anyway:

BIOS-Info, c't/Andreas Stiller, V. 1.5 10/00
Computer ID : FC, SubTyp: 01, BIOS-Level: 0
Rechnertyp : AT-3, Konfigurationsbyte $74
Maustreiber : Microsoft kompatibel, Version: 08.30
Maustyp : PS/2-Maus
Bus : ISA/PCI
Hauptspeicher : 640 KB, davon verfügbar : 636 KB
Extended Memory : 65535 KB
BIOS Datum : 08/14/98
PCI-BIOS gefunden : Version 02.10, 32-Bit-PCI-BIOS Revision:0
PCI-Busse : 2, Konfig-Mech.: 1, Special-Cycle-Mech.: 0
Phoenix Bios : for Dell
OEM : Dell
URL : http://www.dell.com
INT-13h BIOS Extension: ja, Version:1.x, Fknt 41..48 unterstützt
PnP (ACFG,ESCD,DMI) : PnP V1.0/ESCD, DMI V 2.1, SM V2.1, APM V1.2
eiter mit D)MI-Info,E)SCD-Info, sonst Exit:



Hope it helps you help me. ;)

[Philip1952]

Ok look for a FCC id tag on the board some where. This number can be crossed to the mfg also. HERE (http://www.fcc.gov/oet/fccid/) is the website. Just type in the fcc id numbers and if this board was certiefied to the USA it will show who mfg it.
I don't know german or I would translate it. LOL. Wish my girl was here she could. Some one might look at this post also that knows german.

[RavantH]

Ok... thanks, Now I guess I'll have to open my computer again. I'll try looking... Would it be on any microcontroller or would it be on a sticker, or on the silicon that makes up the board itself?

[RavantH]

Ok.... I found this: "Model: MM8 "On the bottom of my case... that has nothing do do with it, right... I looked it up anyway... and I got the manufacturer as HT Communications Inc. That wouldn't be it, would it? There's another that I found actually on the mb... AA6, and it returned the following manufacturer: Channel Master Division of Avnet Inc. Never even heard of it. Are you sure that's correct?

[JohnE.]

Try here: Unicore (http://www.unicore.com/biosagent/index.html) . Download BIOS Agent... if your board has an Award BIOS it'll give you the BIOS ID string, chipset and other useful info.

If it is an Award BIOS go here: motherboards.org (http://www.motherboards.org/) and follow the directions.

If it turns out you have a Phoenix BIOS try the directions at motherboards.org for ID'ing a Phoenix BIOS.

Good luck :)

[Inanis]

Um . .this is might sound like a stupid suggestion, but if its a Dell mobo/computer, then contact Dell and ask them what it is upgradable to . . .

[Philip1952]

Thanks JohnE I didn't know about this program. I could have used it a few times in the past.

[RavantH]

Hey, thanks everyone. Ok... 2 replies... 1. Yeah it's a phoenix bios... the german program told me that... I sort of deciphered it.
2. I would normally go to dell, bypassing these forums, but my stinking warrante ran out... and I'm too cheap to get an extension. ;) But still... I'll try @ support.dell.com again anyway... in hopes that I find out something I missed. So Who wants to make a guess @ the max that it's capable of? Form 450PII MMX to ? (Heh... sry... just too curious.) New news... unfortunately, according to motherboard.org, pheonix bios can't be used for ID purposes! That stinks.

[RavantH]

ok... I found specs... but no names were given on who made my mb. So.... I am gonna post the chipset specs... in hopes that helps. I can e-mail additional specs if necessary.

System Information:

System chip set Intel 440BX AGPset
Data bus width 64 bits
Address bus width 32 bits
DMA channels 7
Interrupt levels 15
System BIOS chip 2 Mb (256 KB)
System clock 100 MHz (matches external processor speed)
Diskette/communications ports 48 MHz from the system clock


the processor is an SEC cartridge that connects.

[Philip1952]

Ok just on a wild guess. If you use a slocket card. I wouldn't try anything above a P3-600. That is with a 100fsb also. Or intel lists it as a E at the end of the cpu id. With that old of a computer. It probably won't see anything above that. Or post for that matter.
When the P2-450 came out the P3 was real close to being released. So the bious might have P3 support in it. But for 100fsb only.

[Bait Man]

RavantH, From I have read you have a Intel Mother board se440bx with a p2 450 that can not be over clock or change out due the mother board limation from intel..:mad:

[Philip1952]

My next suggestion would be just pick up a new mother board. A slot one. Asus,Abit or one of the GOOD after market boards. Then also pickup a new copy of windows and a new case. Then you have the freedom to upgrade later. To what ever size of intel cpu you want in the P3 line up. Then just reuse the cpu you have and hard drive and memory. Build better as your buget lets you.
I'm on a Abit WB6 right now. This board on price watch is $39. A new case is around $50. Windows is another $100 give or take a little. Now this board will take up to a P3-1.0gig at 133fsb. Built in video. Built in sound also. If you don't play games it is all right on the video. If you do play games then pick up a used Voodo3 or some card that is pci and then it will do pretty good.
I have also used an Abit BE6-2. Very good board. Nothing built in so it would cost more to setup. You would have to get a video card and sound card. It is slot 1 also. It will handle up to P3-1.0 gig cpu. this board is around $90. on pricewatch.

[RavantH]

My current motherboard is capable of both PCI and AGP connection... but I was told that the only reason I couldn't put in a GEForce3 was cuz I had to upgrade the processor. What can I do for about 50 bucks to allow me to use the GEForce3 I'm getting for Christmas?

[RavantH]

Big problem... I'm on a really small budget... I can only spend a max of $200 on an upgrade... and all I really want to do is be able to stick a NVidea GEForce3 card in there. Do you think I can handle that where I am right now? I have 2x AGP... Or would it be cheaper to get a brand new computer (by the time I finish with ram, HD, CD-R, and other new components) and say the heck with it?

[Harshu]

Well A bad News For You Man ;) i440BX/ZX supports only 100 MHz FSB and P-III 733 runs @ 133FSB. Secondly even if you use P-III700 the 100 FSB one officially i400BX supports only upto 550 Mhz. You can run 700Mhz processor as i have seen it but there will a lot performance loss YOU KNOW WHY?

[Harshu]

Well Your Mobo cannot handle a p-3 733 as i440BX/ZX supports 100Mhz FSB where as P-3 733 use 133 FSB. Even if you use p-3 700 @ 100FSB. You will not be able to get the pure performance. As officially i440BX supports only 550Mhz of p-3.
Secondly using Ge-Force 3 on your 2x agp slot is not a goodthought as the bandwidth will be very low only 512 MB/Sec. And Geforce series uses 4x (1024Mb/Sec). Plus a GF3 requires a fast processor above 1.2 Ghz. I know it is a GPU based card but the truth is that it performes good on processor above 1.2 Ghz. Or it will perform same as GF2 or GF 2 GTS. I have tried out this thin and there was a huge performance lose.

[RavantH]

Ahh, good point... but I have a good point of my own to point out. They're all still faster than my ATI Rage Pro card... which for some reason I can't get AGP texture acceleration, meanwhile the card does support it.