On 19 Oct 2005 12:52:44 -0700, blargg27@gmail.com wrote:
Among the most likely problems is that ECS boards have
quirky bios that can do odd things when another CPU is
installed. You may need to clear the CMOS for example, or
it might halt unnecessarily when it can't ID the CPU. The
former is more likely than the latter. I don't mean to
suggest it won't work, rather that it probably will but
being an ECS board there is a slight chance of related
complications.
2.083GHz as 12.5X multiplier, 166MHz clock rate FSB, NOT
333MHz FSB. It would be DDR333 FSB though. Yes I know
that's how Newegg lists it, and that is technically wrong.
Anyway, because your board only supports DDR266 FSB and the
multiplier is locked, it would only run at 1.67GHz, as 12.5
X 133.33MHz.
Further, the other big issue is that it's a Barton. That
alone makes it far less likely to work. It is possible,
other makes of KT266 & KM266 boards have been able to run
Bartons, but I wouldn't bet on it with ECS... you'd have to
try it and see.
The safer bet would be to try a plain old Athlon XP2100,
which starts with the correct FSB, still uses 12.5X
multiplier, and will end up running at 1.67GHz. It'd be a
little slower than the Barton, but then Bartons are what may
not work. It can be hit-or-miss getting them to run on any
given board, someone will have a couple old socket A boards
and be able to get a Barton to run then conclude that "all"
skt A boards will run them but it's not so clear-cut.
Unfortunately no manufacturer is going to list them as
supported since they don't have a compatible FSB speed even
if they would POST and run ok.
IMO, you should just follow the list and get the XP2400 on
it. If you had the Barton already it shouldn't hurt to try
it but to buy one for it doesn't seem worth the odds of it
not working. You might Google search for owners of the
board to see if anyone has tried a Barton (any Barton except
a mobile, since the mobiles have a different default
multiplier and FSB).
Frankly you're better off replacing more than just the CPU
if you're looking at spending $135 for an Athlon XP2800
alone. KM266 wasn't necessarily a bad motherboard chipset
for it's time, but the integrated video along with limited
FSB means it's going to bottleneck performance more the fast
a CPU you had installed. Plus, such boards weren't targeted
for the higher amperage of more modern CPUs, there is a fair
chance the board's lifespan will be reduced.
