On Thu, 04 Dec 2003 08:52:14 +0000 lerninlinux@comcast.net writes:
> I have two identicle boards, Asus A7V.  Both I need to do some 
> testing with.  One supposedly has problems with the onboard ide 
> controllers.  I am wanting to use an offboard ide controller so 
> that's not the issue.
> I have always seen articles on overclocking, but I have an old AMD 
> 1700, that I was wanting to UNDERclock to the boards max (1200 if I 
> remember right).  This is some old stuff that has been donated to me 
> for my Mythtv project.

Wow, amazing coincidences.  I just finished flashing the BIOS of an Asus
A7V133 (with two extra IDE ATA100 channels on it) so it could use an AMD
1300 CPU.  

From what I read about which CPUs work on the A7V series, the A7V series
really doesn't take a CPU above 1.3Ghz.  You can flash the bios up to
revision 1009 for up to 1.3Ghz compatibility, but beyond that the system
just won't turn on.

Now, that is with using the internal BIOS/CMOS settings, the "drop in a
CPU and the motherboard recognizes it for what it is and makes all the
right voltage and clock settings".  I haven't wanted to play with jumper
blocks and DIP switches for a CPU for some time now, so the Asus boards
have been a big relief.

What is the full model name for your Asus board?  Asus A7V133 only went
up to 1.3Ghz (and some of the older ones only with a BIOS upgrade) but
the A7V266 goes all the way up to 1.8Ghz Duron and the Athlon XP 2600
(again, with a BIOS upgrade).  

The main trick is in getting the voltage settings right for your CPU,
since you can disable the autodetect CPU feature and set the whole thing
up manually.  Just set it up for a similar clock setting and get the
voltage settings right, and the system *might* just work.

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