Looking for good 'old-school' o/c board

[spitoon]

I recently aquired a 766MHz celeron processor (66MHz fsb), along with my existing 566MHz celeron (also 66MHz fsb). The 766 will not work in my current mobo as it requires 'split plane' technology that the old board does not have. I was wondering if anyone can recommend a good mobo that would accomodate these chips, and allow for some good o/c ability as well as possible future upgrades of the cpu. I realize that these chips are 'older' technology, but I am looking to have some fun with them before retiring them and building a new system in 12-18 months. I figure that I should be able to keep the costs quite low as these boards will not be in high demand.

 

[Crashman]

Doubtfull that you speak the truth. The "566" and "766" Celerons were both Coppermines. It is more likely that your board simply doesnt' support the higher multiplier of the "766". This is a very uncommon problem, best known among boards produced by Asus, and fixable with a hard to find BIOS update. What motherboard do you have?

The nerve of some people, asking questions and not providing system details.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[spitoon]

Sorry about not including my system details, however I was not really asking a question about my existing system. I was looking for advice on purchasing a new motherboard in which to use the 766. I got that info regarding the split plane mobo from the intel website. [support.intel.com/support/processors/celeron/24766.htm]

Anyway, I have one of those dreaded e-Machines Anaheim2 motherboards that I am running the 566MHz celeron in. I have a BIOS update that I have not yet tried to flash. As you well know the Anaheim mobo is not very flexible with regards to overclocking although I have been able to get 701MHz out of the 566 using only CPUFSB.

- Motherboard Anaheim2/2A Micro ATX form factor
- Intel Socket-370 (Socket-370)
- Intel Celeron Coppermine 566(FC-PGA Type) @66MHZ Host clock
- Intel 82810 chipset
- 320 MB system memory
- 64MB Nvidia GeForce 2MX400 PCI video card (no AGP slot)
- 15G harddrive
- 40G harddrive
Documentation shows 100MHz host clock support, however no confirmations of this have been found. Hence my decision to get the 766MHz chip at 66MHz fsb.

I was hoping to use the 766 in this board, however, if I can purchase a 'real' mobo for a reasonable price that does actually have some overclocking possibilities, I would be interested in that.

 

[Javic]

Its very likely that the 100MHz FSB support lies in that lovely BIOS flash you have yet to implement. I would suggest trying that first (especially since its free) before you decide to spend the money on a new board.

 

[Crashman]

You could easily run a PIII on that board, at least up to 850MHz. And you could run a Celeron 850, it's also the same speed (8.5x100). You could even overclock your 566 to 850 WITHOUT CPUFSB if you modified the processor.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[spitoon]

First off I must commend you Crashman, after searching these boards for a while, it seems to be your name that comes up most often with solutions.

I found the info on the Intel site that will help me with the chip mod. I am just mustering up the courage to do it. I would feel better about doing it if I could get this darned 766 to work...do you think that the BIOS upgrade will do it? I have never 'flashed' a BIOS and I have heard some bad stories about it.

When I put the 766 in I got pretty much nothing out of the machine. No POST, did not even activate the monitor. My current BIOS is Phoenix Bios version 1.01, I have 1.04 as yet un-flashed.

 

[Crashman]

It might fix the problem with the 766. I've seen weird BIOS multiplier limits before, usually around 10x.

I've actually instructed several people on overclocking 566's to 850. You can raise the bus speed by breaking off a pin, and the voltage by wiring some pins together. It should run at 850MHz with 1.70v or less.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[TheMadCat]

I think I have the solution. I think the best you can do is buy an Intel D815EEA it comes with Integrated Audio (Creative), 2 usb, ata 100, supports PIII up to 1 Ghz, integrated Intel graphics video chip but if you dont want it you can use the provided AGP 2x/4x slot. Nice mobo I have 2 of them and they work just fine.

Hope this will help

 

[Crashman]

You can't overclock with that board, why didn't you simply suggest the Asus TUSL2-M?

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[spitoon]

Post deleted by spitoon

 

[spitoon]

Finally got up the nerve to try it. Once again the right honorable Crashman is correct.

My 566 celeron is now running at 850MHz on a 100MHz FSB. I can't get it to run at 1.7V though, I have to leave it at 1.9V and it seems to lock up after about 20min or so, I am assuming overheating. This is all with stock cooling, I am picking up a new heatsink and fan on Thursday, hopefully that will fix the freeze up problems.

Any advice on the 766??? or shall it put it up for sale?

 

[Crashman]

Yes, the pins definitions are the same, but your base voltage can be different.

Many Celeron 566's were 1.50v I think, to get 1.5v to 1.9v, close VID3 (to VSS).

To get it to 100MHz bus, open BSEL0.

Opening VID2 would drop the voltage from 1.90v to 1.70v, don't know if that's enough.

Closing VID1 (to VSS) would raise 1.70v to 1.80v, which should be enough.

All of these assume you start off with a 1.5v processor! The best method is to find the lowest stable voltage for 850MHz on an adjustable board, then add .05v to the permanent modification. Simply shooting straight for 1.90v would be the easiest altenative, but requires good cooling (a large 60mm fan cooler).

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[spitoon]

Thanks Crashman,

My 566 is the 1.5V version. It seems to work at 1.9V but does lock up as I mentioned. I will try 1.8V as 1.7V did not seem to work. I am also adding a bigger fan.

Thanks again.

 

[spitoon]

One more question, I promise.....maybe...

Note: Added a Glacial Tech heat sink and fan to the CPU.

I haven't really given the new set up a chance yet, but I have had a few lockups while pushing the FSB even further using CPUCool (something about 'can't leave well enough alone). I did get to 901MHz (106*8.5) for a while.

Anyway, I have decided to leave it at 100MHz FSB and see how it goes for a while. My question is this, "Sandra" reports my PCI bus speed at 50MHz! is this possible? I sort of thought that anything over 40 was next to impossible. Do you think that the mobo is smart enough to change the dividers now that the FSB has been boosted from 66MHz to 100MHz? I don't really want to risk any damage to hard-drives or my PCI graphics card (sorry no AGP slot on my crappy mobo). My graphics card (PNY Nvidia GeForce 2 MX400 - 64MB) has a heat sink and fan as well as a second heat sink on the back of the memory chips, this second heat sink does feel hot to the touch after running for a while. I am looking at adding some kind of small fan to it, maybe just the old stock cpu fan that I am not using anymore, I'm just not sure that my crappy PSU will handle anymore stress.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Crashman]

Does your CPU boot at 850MHz, or are you overclocking with software? 50MHz PCI is possible only through software overclocking, if you've made the thing permanently 100MHz by breaking the BSEL0 pin, it will boot at 100MHz bus and give you a PCI 1/3 bus divider. If it boots at 66MHz, it gives you a PCI 1/2 bus divider.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[spitoon]

Yes it boots at 850MHz (BIOS splash screen says 866MHz???). I don't know where the 50MHz PCI came from, because I haven't seen it since. It is now reporting the correct 33MHz PCI bus speed.

I can't seem to push it any farther. Even 103MHz FSB using CPUCool will lock up after a while. It has been running solid at 100MHz FSB for a few days now with no sign of any problems.

 

[Crashman]

Everything sounds good, glad I could help. BTW, that proves a PIII 850 would also work (same bus speed and multiplier).

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[spitoon]

Do you think the PIII 850 would perform any better than my overclocked celeron?

 

[Crashman]

Yes, probably around 15% quicker due to 100% faster cache and 100% more cache. Probably NOT worth the money unless you can find one cheap.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[spitoon]

Yes, i agree. The cheapest I have found one so far is about $84 (US) plus shipping. That converts to a lot of Canadian Pesos....