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My question is simple, can I run a 133Mhz CPU on a 100 MHz motherboard?

I have a QDI Zilliox 6 Motherboard which is currently running a Celeron 400 CPU. Through a complete stroke of luck I managed to pick up an old PIII 533 MHz CPU for just £10! - My Motherboard does not support any Pentium 3 processor above 550, but when I tried it it wouldn't work. I then realised that the CPU says 133 on it, and my motherboard is 100 MHz.

However, I have got 2 x 256MB 133MHz memory chips in it and they work, so I wondered if the same sort of reasoning applied for the CPU and there was something I could do to make it work.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Short answer: yes, you can do that..

You can run a 133Mhz processor at 100Mhz but if your mobo does not recognize the P3 you will be out of luck. Check the manufacture's site and see if there is a bios upgrade that will make it recognize the P3. Good Luck

It won't do you any good even if ya would be able to get it to run at 100MHz instead of 133MHz cause the multiplier is locked.
533 / 133 = 4 (multiplier)
4 * 100 = 400MHz , same as your current CPU

Hey doc,

Even though the PIII would still be 400mhz, wouldn't that be a large improvement over a CELERON 400?

Not that I know anything about those myself, I just have NO respect for a celeron anything

I kinda consider them to be of the SX family, from the days of SX DX DX4 386/486 cpu's.

I got burned on intel SX (cheap junk) cpu's a few times in the old days!!

canton_kid

I just have NO respect for a celeron anything

:|

Thou shalt bow to the mighty CELERON 300A @ 450 (sometimes higher)!

You must not have been graced with one back in the day. Many still live on today. IMO (and others) They were up until recently the best and most sure OC that could be had.

Nope, never got stuck, err uhh, blessed with a celeron.

Actually I won't knock them much as I never had one myself and have no experience with them first hand.

I just always thought of them as Intels way of keeping an SX market going with new CPU's technology.
Instead of Pentium SX, they just used a different name. But like I say, I never tried one.

Kinda like saying liver is YUCK when in fact you never taisted it!

I went from INTELL SX systems, to AMD DX 4 100, to K6 2 333, then the big jump to a couple of XP 1700's. And still building.

Skipped the slot phase also,

Only Intell in the closet after AMD came along was a pent 133 I traded a printer for! I only traded because they really needed a printer

canton_kid

The 300A was really a great CPU if you overclocked it.

My first IBM clone PC was a self built I486DX-33,then I went to a AMD486DX4-100, then I went to a Cyrix P150+ at which time I learned the importance of the FPU during the Quake 1 era. Then I got a P200MMX and life was good. The C300A came along and I got one and ran it @464 Mhz. Then I got a P3-750 and ran it @ 1Ghz. Then today here I sit with a P4-2.0a @ 2.65. Had the Northwood not came I would have probably went AMD again but it did and here I am. I can only imagine where I will go next. I don't really have any alegence to anybody, I just buy what I think is the best performance at the time I want to buy.

Going from the Celeron 400 to the PIII 533@400 will give you a minor improvement due to the bigger L2 cache. I doubt you'll be able to tell the difference during regular use, only benchmarks will give you slightly better numbers.

Another problem could be the BIOS not recognizing the CPU, this depends wether the PIII is a Katmai or a Coppermine. The Coppermine also needs a lower CPU voltage (1.65V vs 2V).

Thank you to each of you that answered. I have now found a solution to my "slow computer" problem another way.

On Saturday I bought a new motherboard and an Athlon XP 1900 CPU! This is the first major upgrade in 3 years.

I am now a happy bunny.

Well, with that machine you might see a speed difference
j/k
I hope you enjoy your new toy.

Yes, I bet you are a happy bunny!

Hopping from a celeron 400 to a XP 1900 would make anybunny hoppy

Good luck,

I'm still stuck in the Xp 1700 gear and hoppy too myself!

canton_kid

Celeron 300A's will be held dear to any of our hearts which owned one.