Will this ASUS P3B-F Mobo work?

[george41407]

Good grief, this gets confusing.....
I have built several computers, in the past, but when it comes to
which mobo to get, I am lost.

I can get a good deal on a ASUS P3B-F. I have looked on several
websites and they all seem to conflict each other.

As I mentioned the other day, I have the the Coppermine CPU Intel PIII
700/256/100/165V S1

What I am finding is that one website said that this mobo will support
over 700mhz and another one that said will only support 450mhz, yet
someone is selling one on Ebay with a 500mhz cpu included. At the
same time, Asus own site dont seem to have any data on their older
boards.

Has anyone on here used a 700mhz CPU on this board?

If this Mobo wont work, which Asus boards will work?

Thanks

George

 

[Guest]

(e-mail address removed) a écrit :

Good grief, this gets confusing.....
I have built several computers, in the past, but when it comes to
which mobo to get, I am lost.

I can get a good deal on a ASUS P3B-F. I have looked on several
websites and they all seem to conflict each other.

As I mentioned the other day, I have the the Coppermine CPU Intel PIII
700/256/100/165V S1

What I am finding is that one website said that this mobo will support
over 700mhz and another one that said will only support 450mhz, yet
someone is selling one on Ebay with a 500mhz cpu included. At the
same time, Asus own site dont seem to have any data on their older
boards.

Has anyone on here used a 700mhz CPU on this board?

If this Mobo wont work, which Asus boards will work?

Thanks

George

Hi, guess u can easily find a processor compatibility table
on the asus website.
I had a P3BF which is quite a good card.
I had a special bios on it and had a Tualatin 1.1 working
on it.
Try googling with P3BF ans u'll find plenty of informations.
Bye

 

[Paul]

Good grief, this gets confusing.....
I have built several computers, in the past, but when it comes to
which mobo to get, I am lost.

I can get a good deal on a ASUS P3B-F. I have looked on several
websites and they all seem to conflict each other.

As I mentioned the other day, I have the the Coppermine CPU Intel PIII
700/256/100/165V S1

What I am finding is that one website said that this mobo will support
over 700mhz and another one that said will only support 450mhz, yet
someone is selling one on Ebay with a 500mhz cpu included. At the
same time, Asus own site dont seem to have any data on their older
boards.

Has anyone on here used a 700mhz CPU on this board?

If this Mobo wont work, which Asus boards will work?

Thanks

George

The second link is the result for your proposed motherboard. This is the
official Asus support list - sometimes faster processors can be used,
with the appropriate mods.

http://support.asus.com.tw/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx?SLanguage=en-us
http://support.asus.com.tw/cpusuppo...spx?type=1&name=P3B-F&SLanguage=en-us&cache=1

One important thing to note in the official support list, can be
seen in an example.

P3-600E MHz(slot1) 1.04 1007.001

A revision 1.04 motherboard has a newer Vcore voltage regulator.
That Vcore regulator has voltage codes for voltages less than 1.8V.
The higher speed processors use voltages like 1.65V for example,
so a revision 1.04 or later board would be needed to power them
if you don't want to do any hardware mods. If you take a 1.03
motherboard and plug the 600E into it, it won't POST.

So at the very least, ask the Ebay seller what board revision is
involved. An older revision is a lot less useful.

In terms of "universal donor" type technologies, a Powerleap slocket
(S370 to Slot 1) adapter, has its own Vcore regulator. A Powerleap
adapter can work with the older revision of board. AFAIK, Powerleap
is no longer selling these from their web site, though Ebay may have
them.

http://web.archive.org/web/20020124072337/www.powerleap.com/Products/iP3T.htm

Other brands of slockets are the "dumb" kind. They rely on the
motherboard having a low voltage regulator, in order to work.
I was able to run a "dumb" slocket on my P2B-S, by replacing
the voltage regulator chip on my motherboard. That is one way to
do an upgrade. That allows me to use a Tualatin 1.4GHz in my machine.

It is also possible to "VID mod" a Slot 1 Intel processor. The
Coppermine processors with SC242 edge connector (slot 1), run at
voltages like 1.7V or 1.75V. The processor will not be damaged
if you change the VID code coming from the processor, to a value
like 1.8V. I have used that to run a Coppermine processor, again
on a cheap slocket, without changing the voltage regulator. You need
a table of VID codes, to figure out what to cut and solder. (Note,
it is not advisable to VID mod to run a Tualatin - running a 1.5V
Tualatin at 1.8V will cook it in about a month. VID mod is for
Coppermine processors, and they go up to 1GHz or 1.1GHz or so.)

This page shows an example of doing a VID code mod, where a careful
choice of processors leads to a really simple mod (no soldering).
Changing the 1.7V code to 1.8V, only needs to change one of the
five VID bits, from a logic 1 to a 0. A grounding strap is all that
is needed, to make the new VID code of 1.8V. Changing a 1.75V VID
code to 1.8V, likely requires more surgery than that (I think I
needed one cut and one soldered strap for mine).

http://www.tipperlinne.com/p2b-ds.htm

This FAQ covers some of the 440BX family boards. Print this out
on large sized paper, and use a pen to mark up the table as you
learn what the comments in the table mean.

http://homepage.swissonline.ch/rscheidegger/p2b_procupgrade_faq.html

The Asus FAQ pages from the German site, are also still available.

http://rma.asus.de/support/FAQ/faq.htm

For example, FAQ086

http://rma.asus.de/support/FAQ/faq086_CPU_Upgrade_III.htm
http://rma.asus.de/support/FAQ/faq086b_CPU_Upgrade_III.htm

That should be enough to get you started.

Having the latest BIOS in the board, installed by using a
known-compatible processor, helps a lot. There is also a procedure
for installing a microcode patch, to cure a warning message you
might see on the screen. That can be done with CTMC, non-destructively.
CTMC works with Award BIOS and uses a BIOS hook to load the microcode
patch into the microcode cache. The microcode stays in the cache, for
as long as the processor needing it, is still installed in the motherboard.
Swapping out processors, means you'd need to reload the microcode.
But as long as the processor needing the microcode stays in the
machine, the microcode will stay put. (You can unplug the computer
and remove the CMOS battery, and the microcode patch is still there.)

ftp://ftp.heise.de/pub/ct/ctsi/ctmc10.zip

Note that various members of the 440BX motherboards, have different
clock generator chips on them. My P2B-S motherboard, can only clock
up to 112MHz, due to a limit in the clock generator. There are some
boards, that can clock up to 133MHz. Since the AGP clock divider is
either 1:1 (for 66MHz CPU and 66MHZ AGP) or 3:2 (for 100MHz CPU and
66MHz AGP), if you go to 133MHz, the AGP using 3:2 becomes 89MHz.
A lot of older video cards can withstand that overclock (MX440 or
similar, Geforce2, Geforce3 etc). Some modern video cards won't like
that, such as some AGP 8X cards with universal voltage capabilities.
An ATI 9800 for example, might not be too happy at 89MHz. I don't
have a comprehensive table of what works and what doesn't. If you
are using a somewhat old video card, chances are you could clock
all the way to 133MHz, with the video card AGP slot overclocked
as a result.

The author of the tipperlinne.com web pages, has run 440BX boards
at 150MHz on the FSB, meaning his video cards have run with 100MHz
on the AGP slot. So some amazing overclocks are possible on AGP.
Just don't expect all AGP video cards to like it.

http://tipperlinne.com/p2bmod

In terms of the practicality of your proposed purchase, there
are some pretty cheap motherboards and CPUs out there. And they
can give a lot more performance than an old 440BX board. If this
is a "museum restoration", then spending the money might make
sense.

For example, on this page, there is a bundle consisting of an
Asus A8S-X and a Sempron 3000+ for only $99. RAM is pretty cheap
these days, so I could probably do better by investigating a
bundle like that, than reviving a 440BX board.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=14

You can even find deals like this 4000+ S939 processor for $62
and use it with a cheap motherboard like the A8S-X for $59.
You would still need with a PCI video card or a PCI Express
video card. I don't think this motherboard has integrated
video, like some others do.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103037
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1696733&Sku=A455-2129

Paul

 

[Ian D]

I had a Coppermine 800 MHz PIII working on a P3B-F rev 1.03 with BIOS 1008.
It was a socket 370 CPU on an ABIT socket 370 to slot 1 converter. At that
time ASUS documentation said that a rev 1.03 would run an 800 MHz CPU
with BIOS 1008. It seems to me there were voltage jumpers on the converter,
so that may have taken care of the voltage issue.

 

[george41407]

Thanks for the detailed help. Todays motherboards are a lot more
difficult to match with a CPU than the old 386 / 486 boards were.
Back then I'd just plug any cpu into any mobo that it would fit in and
they always worked. The last computer I built was a Pentium 266 that
I built in 1996 and it worked great and lasted 10 years. The mobo
finally died last fall. It may have been caps, but I trashed it. The
computer I am using now was an old slot 1 300mhz that I stuck a 500mhz
cpu in. I just found that it will run this 700mhz cpu too.
Unfortunately this mobo is junk. Even with the 700 in it, it's still
slower than my old P266. I already know it's the built in junk video.
The mobo dont even have an AGP slot. In fact all it has is ONE PCI
slot, thats it. (thats why I got it for free).

The ASUS P3B-F on Ebay was a rev. 1.03. I'll change a cap on a mobo,
but not willing to get into modifications. I'll just keep shopping
around for a 1.04. Just curious, what would be the next mobo from
Asus that is slot 1? I know the ASUS P3B-F was very highly rated, I
wonder if their next upgrade was as good. From all I have found, it
seems that this P3B-F was one of the best boards ever made back then.
Only the Abit seemed to rate higher, but I know that Abit boards have
cap problems so I'll pass.

Ya, I know I could get something much faster, but money is very tight,
and I have the CPU and all the memory that will fit that era of mobo,
and all the cards. For web use and some photo editing I really dont
need more power. Just better graphics, and my AGP Rage card will do
that and more. I figure if I can get a mobo for $20 - $25 I'm all
set. I got a nice tower case and even have a USB2 add on card.
On top of that, I still use Win98 most of the time. XP just dont
excite me, and Vista is not even in my vocabulary. I dont need all
that power...... I might upgrade to WinME though, just for the sake
of not needing drivers all the time.

You'll like this <lol>
I have switchable HDDs.
Win98
WinME
Win2K
WinXP

I just plugin which drive I want to use, but most of my data is on the
Win98 drive.

This computer will become one of my permanent ones. Two computers
means I wont have to change drives as often, just switch the monitor
cable.

Thanks

George

PS. I thought the word "Slocket" was a typo, but I guess not. Does
that refer to the Slot 1 types?

 

[Paul]

Thanks for the detailed help. Todays motherboards are a lot more
difficult to match with a CPU than the old 386 / 486 boards were.
Back then I'd just plug any cpu into any mobo that it would fit in and
they always worked. The last computer I built was a Pentium 266 that
I built in 1996 and it worked great and lasted 10 years. The mobo
finally died last fall. It may have been caps, but I trashed it. The
computer I am using now was an old slot 1 300mhz that I stuck a 500mhz
cpu in. I just found that it will run this 700mhz cpu too.
Unfortunately this mobo is junk. Even with the 700 in it, it's still
slower than my old P266. I already know it's the built in junk video.
The mobo dont even have an AGP slot. In fact all it has is ONE PCI
slot, thats it. (thats why I got it for free).

The ASUS P3B-F on Ebay was a rev. 1.03. I'll change a cap on a mobo,
but not willing to get into modifications. I'll just keep shopping
around for a 1.04. Just curious, what would be the next mobo from
Asus that is slot 1? I know the ASUS P3B-F was very highly rated, I
wonder if their next upgrade was as good. From all I have found, it
seems that this P3B-F was one of the best boards ever made back then.
Only the Abit seemed to rate higher, but I know that Abit boards have
cap problems so I'll pass.

Ya, I know I could get something much faster, but money is very tight,
and I have the CPU and all the memory that will fit that era of mobo,
and all the cards. For web use and some photo editing I really dont
need more power. Just better graphics, and my AGP Rage card will do
that and more. I figure if I can get a mobo for $20 - $25 I'm all
set. I got a nice tower case and even have a USB2 add on card.
On top of that, I still use Win98 most of the time. XP just dont
excite me, and Vista is not even in my vocabulary. I dont need all
that power...... I might upgrade to WinME though, just for the sake
of not needing drivers all the time.

You'll like this <lol>
I have switchable HDDs.
Win98
WinME
Win2K
WinXP

I just plugin which drive I want to use, but most of my data is on the
Win98 drive.

This computer will become one of my permanent ones. Two computers
means I wont have to change drives as often, just switch the monitor
cable.

Thanks

George

PS. I thought the word "Slocket" was a typo, but I guess not. Does
that refer to the Slot 1 types?

-------------------

There is a short article here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slocket

If you look at the list of directories on this Asus FTP site, you can
see that Roland's FAQ covers all of the slot 1 motherboards using 440BX.
There are some other motherboards of that era that were usable, but
they have S370 sockets on them.

ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/mb/slot1/440bx

I don't know what the distribution of board revisions would be like
on Ebay, but if you use Roland's FAQ, you can check the "good"
revision numbers there.

To see the VID tables, you can look at a couple voltage regulator
specs. The first is a minimum 1.8V regulator from an older
board. The second is an example of a minimum 1.3V regulator. In
this case, they are both HIP6004 regulators, which is how I was
able to unsolder the first one, and replace it with the second one
on my P2B-S.

http://www.intersil.com/data/fn/fn4417.pdf HIP6004A
http://www.intersil.com/data/fn/fn4567.pdf HIP6004B

Table 1 in those documents, shows the VID codes. To change 1.65V
to 1.8V, to run your processor in a 1.03 revision board, you would
need to insulate a couple fingers on the processor module, plus add
a jumper (using the concept shown on the Tipperlinne page). In my case,
I did the mod on the processor module, using a knife and soldering iron,
because I wanted the mod to be a reliable one. Insulating fingers can
be a tricky business.

I know you don't have a lot of money to throw around, but you could
also use a PCI video card in your current computer. They still make
them, and you can probably find them on Ebay as well. The cheapest
new one here is $33.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048+1069609642&Subcategory=48

If I check a review here, nobody seems to complain about the 2D
performance. Some complain that doing 3D games on PCI is too slow,
which is understandable. You might want to read the reviews for some
of the other PCI video cards, and see if people are happy with their
desktop performance. Although I would have thought, for 2D performance,
the built-in graphics on your current motherboard, should have a higher
bandwidth connection to the rest of the system.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16814103031

Paul

 

[Guest]

Paul a écrit :

There is a short article here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slocket

If you look at the list of directories on this Asus FTP site, you can
see that Roland's FAQ covers all of the slot 1 motherboards using 440BX.
There are some other motherboards of that era that were usable, but
they have S370 sockets on them.

ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/mb/slot1/440bx

I don't know what the distribution of board revisions would be like
on Ebay, but if you use Roland's FAQ, you can check the "good"
revision numbers there.

To see the VID tables, you can look at a couple voltage regulator
specs. The first is a minimum 1.8V regulator from an older
board. The second is an example of a minimum 1.3V regulator. In
this case, they are both HIP6004 regulators, which is how I was
able to unsolder the first one, and replace it with the second one
on my P2B-S.

http://www.intersil.com/data/fn/fn4417.pdf HIP6004A
http://www.intersil.com/data/fn/fn4567.pdf HIP6004B

Table 1 in those documents, shows the VID codes. To change 1.65V
to 1.8V, to run your processor in a 1.03 revision board, you would
need to insulate a couple fingers on the processor module, plus add
a jumper (using the concept shown on the Tipperlinne page). In my case,
I did the mod on the processor module, using a knife and soldering iron,
because I wanted the mod to be a reliable one. Insulating fingers can
be a tricky business.

I know you don't have a lot of money to throw around, but you could
also use a PCI video card in your current computer. They still make
them, and you can probably find them on Ebay as well. The cheapest
new one here is $33.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048+1069609642&Subcategory=48


If I check a review here, nobody seems to complain about the 2D
performance. Some complain that doing 3D games on PCI is too slow,
which is understandable. You might want to read the reviews for some
of the other PCI video cards, and see if people are happy with their
desktop performance. Although I would have thought, for 2D performance,
the built-in graphics on your current motherboard, should have a higher
bandwidth connection to the rest of the system.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16814103031

Paul

More on the P3BF

http://www.mrufer.ch/pc/tualatin_e.html