Athlon XP 2400+ into a ECS K7S5A motherboard?

hello everyone,

I have a computer with a K7S5A motherboard and an AMD Duron processor
running at a clock speed of 1.2GHz and 512MB of DDR ram. I originally
bought and built this computer about 5 years ago and i've never updated
the bios (this computer has always been running just fine). I also have
another computer available with an A7V333 motherboard and an Athlon XP
2400+ processor (this computer doesn't run so well and seems to crash
randomly even when not being used).

I'd like to know if i can simply place the Athlon XP processor into the
K7S5A motherboard (replacing the AMD Duron) or would I need to update
the bios and make some changes? I would like to do this so that i can
take advantage of the significantly larger L2 cache on the Athlon
processor (4 times larger than the Duron) and hopefully obtain a slight
improvement in performance.

I would also like to know if it's possible to damage anything on the
K7S5A motherboard by trying this processor swap......or will the worst
case scenario be that the computer simply won't boot up or be unstable
with the Athlon XP? and if the Athlon XP processor doesn't work out in
the K7S5A motherboard can I simply put the Duron processor back in
without any harm done?

thank you for your time and advice.

patrick

<> wrote in message
news: oups.com...
> hello everyone,
>
> I have a computer with a K7S5A motherboard and an AMD Duron processor
> running at a clock speed of 1.2GHz and 512MB of DDR ram. I originally
> bought and built this computer about 5 years ago and i've never updated
> the bios (this computer has always been running just fine). I also have
> another computer available with an A7V333 motherboard and an Athlon XP
> 2400+ processor (this computer doesn't run so well and seems to crash
> randomly even when not being used).
>
> I'd like to know if i can simply place the Athlon XP processor into the
> K7S5A motherboard (replacing the AMD Duron) or would I need to update
> the bios and make some changes? I would like to do this so that i can
> take advantage of the significantly larger L2 cache on the Athlon
> processor (4 times larger than the Duron) and hopefully obtain a slight
> improvement in performance.
>
> I would also like to know if it's possible to damage anything on the
> K7S5A motherboard by trying this processor swap......or will the worst
> case scenario be that the computer simply won't boot up or be unstable
> with the Athlon XP? and if the Athlon XP processor doesn't work out in
> the K7S5A motherboard can I simply put the Duron processor back in
> without any harm done?
>
> thank you for your time and advice.
>
> patrick

You will do no harm trying the XP processor in the K7S5A, providing you do
not damage anything physically in the changeover. It may work, but you will
need to set the bios to 133/133 (at present you are running at 100/100).
Your existing bios may not recognise the new CPU as a 2400 in which case an
upgrade, downloaded from the ECS website and installed, will be required.
Don't upgrade the bios unless you have to and unless you know how to.


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>

"Mr. Slow" <> wrote in message

> You will do no harm trying the XP processor in the K7S5A, providing you do
> not damage anything physically in the changeover.

Good point. IMHO, there's a substantial risk of physical trauma swapping out
a 5 year old CPU. The heat gunk's gone brittle as may have the cooler
mounting lugs on the CPU socket. Oversize heatsinks often shave off
components if not removed carefully.

I'd do two things first. Benchmarking and inventory. I'd benchmark the
current setup with Memtest and some other tests to make sure whatever I did
actually increased performance. The Athlon 2400+ could be what's making the
other board misbehave. I bought three of the retails at the same time and
one of them was DOA - replaced by AMD by a 2600+ with no questions asked.
That makes me think they *know* they had duds in the channel. So, I
wouldn't simply assume the swap was going to improve anything because of a
faster CPU. As you correctly point out below, there are other issues to
consider.

Then I'd take my digital camera and photograph all the BIOS screen settings
to make sure I could recreate them exactly if it turned out the 2400+ was
unstable. Digital bread crumbs to find my way home.

> It may work, but you will need to set the bios to 133/133 (at present you
are running at 100/100).
> Your existing bios may not recognise the new CPU as a 2400 in which case
an
> upgrade, downloaded from the ECS website and installed, will be required.

Recognise? Blimey, you're a limey! :-)

Bumping the FSB up could cause memory instability if you happened to be
using the old style-SDRAM slots with slow memory. That's why I'd do an
inventory before the swap test to know whether the bump was even feasible.

> Don't upgrade the bios unless you have to and unless you know how to.

Good advice. Should be the 11th Commandment: "Thou Shall Not Update Unless
Thy Hath a Darn Good Reason!"

I'd have to consider whether I would upgrade a 5 year old machine *just* to
see the proper text string on bootup or elsewhere. I've done it when a
machine is new and there's less risk to an existing Windows installation by
a BIOS barf. I would think long and hard about doing it to an established,
reliable machine. The machine should run correctly if the CPU isn't TOO far
removed from the BIOS in terms of manufacture date, despite the mis-ID'ing.

On the other hand, 5 years is about when CPU fans need changing anyway, so I
might go through the swap just because I was going to have to change coolers
anyway. A lot of coolers have to come off to replace the fan because they
use such oddball mounting methods. )-:

Another thing I'd do after I pulled the CPU's would be to sight along the
rows of pins to look for any that have bent. It's really easy to see if you
line them up - even a slightly bent pin stands out quite clearly. The
slightly bent ones are the ones most likely to fold over when re-inserted so
it pays to find them and straighten them with tweezers. It's a lot harder
to bend pins while swapping with ZIF sockets than with those old-style 386
friction-fits, but it's not impossible. I know!

I would also do this on a very humid day to minimize static zaps.

I wouldn't even connect a hard drive. I'd load up Memtest on a floppy and
run the new setup for a day or two. I probably wouldn't even do the swap if
my previous SANDRA and Memtest results on the 2400+ were anything less than
perfect. I've been fooled into thinking boards were bad by bad CPU's and
vice-versa before!

I've got a few Duron-based machines that I thought of upgrading, but whether
I do it depends on what I'll use the machine for. It will also depend on
getting either a great deal on a NIB Athlon from somewhere or having a
motherboard with one already fitted blowing but leaving the CPU intact.

Eric

"Eric Wolfe" <> wrote in message
news:...
> "Mr. Slow" <> wrote in message
>
> > You will do no harm trying the XP processor in the K7S5A, providing you
do
> > not damage anything physically in the changeover.
>
> Good point. IMHO, there's a substantial risk of physical trauma swapping
out
> a 5 year old CPU. The heat gunk's gone brittle as may have the cooler
> mounting lugs on the CPU socket. Oversize heatsinks often shave off
> components if not removed carefully.
>
> I'd do two things first. Benchmarking and inventory. I'd benchmark the
> current setup with Memtest and some other tests to make sure whatever I
did
> actually increased performance. The Athlon 2400+ could be what's making
the
> other board misbehave. I bought three of the retails at the same time and
> one of them was DOA - replaced by AMD by a 2600+ with no questions asked.
> That makes me think they *know* they had duds in the channel. So, I
> wouldn't simply assume the swap was going to improve anything because of a
> faster CPU. As you correctly point out below, there are other issues to
> consider.
>
> Then I'd take my digital camera and photograph all the BIOS screen
settings
> to make sure I could recreate them exactly if it turned out the 2400+ was
> unstable. Digital bread crumbs to find my way home.
>
> > It may work, but you will need to set the bios to 133/133 (at present
you
> are running at 100/100).
> > Your existing bios may not recognise the new CPU as a 2400 in which case
> an
> > upgrade, downloaded from the ECS website and installed, will be
required.
>
> Recognise? Blimey, you're a limey! :-)
>
> Bumping the FSB up could cause memory instability if you happened to be
> using the old style-SDRAM slots with slow memory. That's why I'd do an
> inventory before the swap test to know whether the bump was even feasible.
>
> > Don't upgrade the bios unless you have to and unless you know how to.
>
> Good advice. Should be the 11th Commandment: "Thou Shall Not Update
Unless
> Thy Hath a Darn Good Reason!"
>
> I'd have to consider whether I would upgrade a 5 year old machine *just*
to
> see the proper text string on bootup or elsewhere. I've done it when a
> machine is new and there's less risk to an existing Windows installation
by
> a BIOS barf. I would think long and hard about doing it to an
established,
> reliable machine. The machine should run correctly if the CPU isn't TOO
far
> removed from the BIOS in terms of manufacture date, despite the
mis-ID'ing.
>
> On the other hand, 5 years is about when CPU fans need changing anyway, so
I
> might go through the swap just because I was going to have to change
coolers
> anyway. A lot of coolers have to come off to replace the fan because they
> use such oddball mounting methods. )-:
>
> Another thing I'd do after I pulled the CPU's would be to sight along the
> rows of pins to look for any that have bent. It's really easy to see if
you
> line them up - even a slightly bent pin stands out quite clearly. The
> slightly bent ones are the ones most likely to fold over when re-inserted
so
> it pays to find them and straighten them with tweezers. It's a lot harder
> to bend pins while swapping with ZIF sockets than with those old-style 386
> friction-fits, but it's not impossible. I know!
>
> I would also do this on a very humid day to minimize static zaps.
>
> I wouldn't even connect a hard drive. I'd load up Memtest on a floppy and
> run the new setup for a day or two. I probably wouldn't even do the swap
if
> my previous SANDRA and Memtest results on the 2400+ were anything less
than
> perfect. I've been fooled into thinking boards were bad by bad CPU's and
> vice-versa before!
>
> I've got a few Duron-based machines that I thought of upgrading, but
whether
> I do it depends on what I'll use the machine for. It will also depend on
> getting either a great deal on a NIB Athlon from somewhere or having a
> motherboard with one already fitted blowing but leaving the CPU intact.
>
> Eric
>
>
All good, comprehensive advice Eric. Personally, I would be happy to attempt
this upgrade but that does not necessarily mean that the OP should do so. It
all depends on his competence and confidence in these matters; considering
the nature of his enquiry there is a good case for not tinkering. BTW, what
is a limey? :-)


--
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"Mr. Slow" <> wrote in message

> All good, comprehensive advice Eric. Personally, I would be happy to
attempt
> this upgrade but that does not necessarily mean that the OP should do so.
It
> all depends on his competence and confidence in these matters; considering
> the nature of his enquiry there is a good case for not tinkering. BTW,
what
> is a limey? :-)

I'm not sure if I would upgrade in this case. There's "bad mojo" somewhere.
Maybe the motherboard is bad in the machine he wants to transplant from, but
there's hardly any way to be sure. I chased my tail for months with some
old ABIT's and 400MHz Celery processors. Transferred the CPU's to Asus
boards and they flaked out there, too. I'm *still* ****ed about all the
time I wasted with those CPUs. Haven't bought another Celery or Abit since
then, just on general principles.

I've upgraded a lot of BIOS's, but as I said, mostly when the boards were
"new" (that means sold cheap at sale because newer boards have arrived) -
and BIOS upgrades come out monthly, if not weekly. You almost have to do it
then because of the wide range of problems that are fixed. Running a 160+Gb
drive is easily fixed with a $12 add-in card. My company bills me out a
$125 an hour, so if I spend more than six minutes upgrading a BIOS, I've
lost money. :-) Of course, YMMV.

Here's ECS's take on BIOS upgrades:


IMPORTANT NOTE:

* Please do not update the BIOS if your system is running fine.
* Please do not update the BIOS if the BIOS patch doesn't pertain to your
current problem.
* Please read the update description and special note carefully before
updating the new BIOS.
* Unsuccessful BIOS flash may cause the system fails to boot up.
* Please make sure your M/B PCB version number at first then download the
right BIOS for the upgrade. (How to recognize the M/B PCB version).
*.Please use the BIOS flash utility that published in the web site instead
of the flash utility in CD driver "utility folder".

As for limeys, _The Limey_ is great crime starring Terence Stamp (General
Zod from Superman II) as an Englishman fresh out of jail who heads to LA to
avenge the death of his daughter. It was so good, in fact, you've reminded
me to rent it from Netflix to watch it again.

Limey is also a slang nickname for the Brits, referring to the Royal Navy's
supplying lime juice to British sailors to prevent scurvy in the 19th
century.

No one seems to know where the Aussie word for Brits, Pommy,
came from, though. Although I'm not a Brit, I think I find limey a lot less
offensive than pommy, if only 'cause my Aussie friends always seem to add
"bastards" to the word "pommy." :-) Of course, they call me a "seppo"
which, in some bizarre way relates to septic tanks. I don't take offense,
though. I just tell them when global warming comes, Australia's going to
boil away - it's as hot as hell already.

Eric