confused... 1.33 Athlons, motherboards, memory...

[Guest]

Hey everyone, I'm thinking of finally upgrading my system (from a P2 400, believe it or not), and I had my heart set on an Athlon 1.33 266fsb. I also wanted to get an ASUS A7A266 motherboard, BUT I was told that going higher than 1.2 was a no-no for stability. Can anyone help me out? What should I do?
I like the A7A266's support for both DDR and SDR, but should I give that up in lieu of a better motherboard? ASUS has great reviews, and I'd like to stick with them, but I'm open to any suggestions. Also, I was hoping to get away with not buying a sound card (what can I say? I'm on a budget).
Any ideas, any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Guest]

Oh yeah... I suppose I should put down the rest of the things on my shopping list, just for the curious...

AMD Athlon 1.33 266fsb
ASUS A7A266 w/ audio
Micron 256 DDR (no idea on CAS, etc)
ThermalTake Volcano II HS/fan
ATi Radeon 64 DDR (hopefully SE)
Samsung 40G 5400 HD
Sparkle 300w power supply

I have components like a DVD drive, and a CDRW that I planned to salvage... including an old Dell case. Is that crazy or being cheap? I think it's ATX so it should be okay, right? So confused...

 

[marabob]

If the dell case is from your current P11 400 and it is still working I would keep it up and running. Buy a new case. You will find trips to the net eg. tomshardware very useful as you attempt to get your new machine running. The CD burner can be transfered after the new machine is up and running. It's very useful in tranfering new drivers - updates - Bio's from the net to your new machine.
I just went through this building my first puter.

When it hits the fan, it make a mess.

 

[Guest]

Ah, thanks... yes, the Dell case is from my P2 400, but I have a laptop that I can use to transfer updates, BIOS, etc, so keeping the old system alive isn't really a big deal for me. At least, not that I can see.
I've been prodding around in the forums, and I've read lots about people complaining (and vindicating) the A7A266... my main concern is the max processor it supports. Why do they have to be unclear and say "Athlon processors up to 1.2+Ghz" on the ASUS website?

 

[unitron]

If you do get the Asus A7A266 Mobo make sure you get the new
version of it. You can tell the new from the old from the
DIP switches near the BIOS chip. The old has 4 switches and
the new has 10 switch.

Another thing, normally the BIOS is not the most updated and
won't support Athlon above 1.2Ghz properly. So please first
run your processor at 1.2Ghz or below and install everthing
first then upgrade the BIOS to the new version which support the 1.3Ghz Athlon. The new BIOS version should be 1005 if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Guest]

Just to check on the Dell case: i am sitting in front of a PII 350 here at work, it is an Optiplex G1 desktop case, now if your PII 400 Dell is actually the same as this then it is NOT ATX! Reason being, the ports at the back are all in the wrong placs for ATX

DELL Optiplex G1 layout

Parrallel Mouse PS/2
Serial1 Keyboard PS/2 USB, Serial2 Video Network Audio

Normal ATX layout

mouse PS/2 parallel Game
Kayboard ps/2 USB serial1 serial2 Audio jacks


Also, knowing preivous Dells, the copmany has bought, the power supply, may well be of different dimensions, so your new one may not physically fit.

The expansion port openings are sideways, such that a riser card is needed. etc. etc.

Go check it out before, starting anything!

can't say much on the 1.2+Ghz thing since I use a Duron 800 in mine. But someone has mentioned BIOS updates, Over at <A HREF="http://www.amdmb.com" target="_new">http://www.amdmb.com</A> the ASUS forum their has details of a new BIOS version 6 (1006.001) about to be released.


Topher Bear

Don't wait for tomorrow! Live for Today!

 

[Guest]

My advice would be: Buy the EPOX 8K7A+ instead of the ASUS eventhough it only supports DDR SD-RAM cuz the DDR RAM is low in price and will give your system a boost. I'm going to buy the same Mobo in a couple of days.

 

[Guest]

Yeah, thanks for the heads up on the case. I don't have an Optiplex, I have a Dimension case. I'm not sure as to what you're talking about, layout-wise, but I am pretty sure that the case is ATX-compatible. I guess the only way to be absolutely sure would be to call up tech support and prod for some answers there. I think everything is okay though, if my ruler is correct anyway. But thanks! Working with proprietary parts always has this kind of danger, huh?

 

[jlanka]

Ditch the Dell case. It's incompatible (OK, have we told you enough times already ).

<i>It's always the one thing you never suspected.</i>

 

[Guest]

It's hard parting with that case!

Nah, I just wanted to save a few bucks... besides, it'd be kinda cool to have a Dell case with all new insides... I'm just being stubborn. I guess I'll have to see when I get the motherboard and stuff all together... if it doesn't fit, oh well!

Hindsight is 20-20, and sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken...

 

[jlanka]

Well, if you're really into it you can break out the Sawzall. Just make sure you've removed the mobo when you start cutting.

<i>It's always the one thing you never suspected.</i>

 

[Guest]

Sawzall? cutting? These words frighten me! I don't plan on doing anything like that...
I really think the case is ATX. I've been comparing it to some pictures and close ups of other cases, and it looks right. Guess I'll know for sure within a week or so since I ordered all the stuff I need today!
I'm kinda excited... but I need sleep!
Anyone know of any issues I should be on the lookout for? It's the A7A266, so I guess I've got some bumps ahead...

Hindsight is 20-20, and sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken...

 

[Guest]

Well, since I already ordered the stuff, I might as well be prepared to receive it! Anyone have any info on what the newest BIOS and drivers for the north and south bridges are? Do I have to start worrying over stuff like that, or should the disc with the motherboard have it all?

 

[marty10g]

If you are confussed now fierydoggie you will be more so by time you try to get that new one up and running. I am only trying to help here, but if you haven't worked out the difference of an atx case from another yet you need to do some serious looking and a lot more reading before you start playing around with bios updates etc.

INTELigence is gained by obtaining aMD

 

[Guest]

Well... I am not really confused with the case. I think it's ATX, and well, if it isn't, then oh well, I'll have to go buy a new one! I'm just trying to save some money.
If you recall, the main reason I was "confused" was over the A7A266 and its rating of only 1.2+GHz Athlon. I wanted to know if it's okay to use something like a 1.33 Athlon with it. I've heard of sucessful 1.4 setups, but I don't have (er... I didn't order) a super-powerful heatsink/fan or a 400w power supply. I just wanted to know if ASUS was being conservative when putting the "1.2+GHz" on the motherboard.
So, the case is the least of my worries here. :tongue:

<i>sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken</i>