A7A266: Worthwhile to update to BIOS revision 1012 & V5.12.01.0638 audio driver?

[Paul Moloney]

My PC has an Asus A7A266 motherboard, currently at BIOS revision 1008,
and an 1800+ XP CPU (presumably a Model 6 "Palomino", judging
by the revision number):

http://www.asus.com.tw/support/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx

Judging from the above page, the limit of my motherboard
is the Athlon XP 2600+(266FSB) (Model 8) (Thoroughbred).
I'm happy with the speed of my machine at present, but
may upgrade to this in a year.

Is there any point, in the meantime, of upgrading to BIOS
revision 1012? Are there any other benefits apart from
being compatible with this higher-speed CPU? Should
I play safe and leave the system as it is, or are there
other benefits of upgrading the BIOS?

I've also found another upgrade on the Asus site, that
have been released since I purchased the PC:

* cm288b_xp.zip (Windows XP Audio Driver V5.12.01.0638)

Since I have an Audigy soundcard, is this update of any
benefit?

Thanks,

P.

 

[Sick Willie]

My PC has an Asus A7A266 motherboard, currently at BIOS revision 1008,
and an 1800+ XP CPU (presumably a Model 6 "Palomino", judging
by the revision number):

http://www.asus.com.tw/support/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx

Judging from the above page, the limit of my motherboard
is the Athlon XP 2600+(266FSB) (Model 8) (Thoroughbred).
I'm happy with the speed of my machine at present, but
may upgrade to this in a year.

Is there any point, in the meantime, of upgrading to BIOS
revision 1012? Are there any other benefits apart from
being compatible with this higher-speed CPU? Should
I play safe and leave the system as it is, or are there
other benefits of upgrading the BIOS?

I've also found another upgrade on the Asus site, that
have been released since I purchased the PC:

* cm288b_xp.zip (Windows XP Audio Driver V5.12.01.0638)

Since I have an Audigy soundcard, is this update of any
benefit?

Thanks,

P.

The Cmedia sound driver won't do you any good if you are using an Audigy
sound card. Although I usually run the latest BIOS on all of my boards, I
usually recommend to others that unless they are having a problem with their
current BIOS that an upgrade will cure and if they feel any trepidation at
all, to just stay with what they have. IOW, your call.

Sick Willie

 

[KeithM]

My PC has an Asus A7A266 motherboard, currently at BIOS revision 1008,
and an 1800+ XP CPU (presumably a Model 6 "Palomino", judging
by the revision number):

http://www.asus.com.tw/support/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx

Judging from the above page, the limit of my motherboard
is the Athlon XP 2600+(266FSB) (Model 8) (Thoroughbred).
I'm happy with the speed of my machine at present, but
may upgrade to this in a year.

Is there any point, in the meantime, of upgrading to BIOS
revision 1012? Are there any other benefits apart from
being compatible with this higher-speed CPU? Should
I play safe and leave the system as it is, or are there
other benefits of upgrading the BIOS?

I've also found another upgrade on the Asus site, that
have been released since I purchased the PC:

* cm288b_xp.zip (Windows XP Audio Driver V5.12.01.0638)

Since I have an Audigy soundcard, is this update of any
benefit?

Thanks,

P.

Hi,

You should check the board revision number. If it is 1.10, then you can go
to a 2600, but if you have a 1.03 or 1.04 board, I wouldn't try any faster
than a 2100 Palamino. In any case, upgrade the BIOS before changing the
chip, or it won't work.

As has been said, the newer sound driver is only relevant if you have an
onboard sound chip, and are using it.

Keithm

 

[Paul Moloney]

You should check the board revision number. If it is 1.10, then you can go
to a 2600, but if you have a 1.03 or 1.04 board, I wouldn't try any faster
than a 2100 Palamino. In any case, upgrade the BIOS before changing the
chip, or it won't work.

Thanks; I'm guessing mine is 1.10, since it supports an XP chip,
but it's good advice to make sure before I go buying anything.
If it's isn't a 1.10, I'll be very disappointed...

P.

 

[Ramboyd]

My PC has an Asus A7A266 motherboard, currently at BIOS revision 1008,
and an 1800+ XP CPU (presumably a Model 6 "Palomino", judging
by the revision number):

http://www.asus.com.tw/support/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx

Judging from the above page, the limit of my motherboard
is the Athlon XP 2600+(266FSB) (Model 8) (Thoroughbred).
I'm happy with the speed of my machine at present, but
may upgrade to this in a year.

Is there any point, in the meantime, of upgrading to BIOS
revision 1012? Are there any other benefits apart from
being compatible with this higher-speed CPU? Should
I play safe and leave the system as it is, or are there
other benefits of upgrading the BIOS?

I've also found another upgrade on the Asus site, that
have been released since I purchased the PC:

* cm288b_xp.zip (Windows XP Audio Driver V5.12.01.0638)

Since I have an Audigy soundcard, is this update of any
benefit?

Thanks,

P.

Hi Paul. Just curious, I also have this board (without the on board
sound). How did you solve the problem of the OS assigning the same
interrupts to the various cards? All my cards have interrupts of 9,
including the sound card. This results in the music or videos
hickcupping. I've tried 3 different OS and three different types of sound
cards. Even manually assigning an interrupt to the PCI slots in the BIOS
did nothing. I did find some remedies online I have't tried out yet.
Just wanted your opinion first.

TIA

Ramboyd