I have a "homemade" computer and would like to upgrade the CPU but am
unsure if my current motherboard will accept a faster CPU.  I'm
running Windows XP.  I have a Jetway 663AS Ultra motherboard with an
Athlon XP 1.4 CPU and 1 Gig memory. According to the manual that came
with the motherboard, 1.4 GHz is the max I can use, but I checked the
motherboard vendor's web site
(http://www.jetway.com.tw/evisn/download/bios/index-1.htm#kt133), and
it shows a possible BIOS upgrade that looks to me as if I can use an
Athlon XP 2000+ CPU after installing the upgrade.  I've never done
this sort of thing before, so I suppose I'm asking for reassurance
that:
1) the file 663AUA07.BIN, when installed using the Award Flash update
utility following the instructions at
http://www.jetway.com.tw/evisn/download/update.htm, will allow me to
install an Athlon XP CPU faster than 2.0GHz,
2) After this BIOS update, I will still be able to use the current CPU
until I purchase and install the newer, faster one,
3) Just how fast an Athlon XP CPU can I use after the BIOS update
(2.4GHz?, 2.7GHz?, 3.7GHz?).

Hello Garwar

I have read through the information at the link you have given and the
answers to your questions are as follows:

1) This upgrade will allow your CPU to be replaced with a CPU greater than 2GHz.

2) You will definitely be able to use your current CPU without any
problems after you do the BIOS upgrade until you buy your new PC. 
BIOS updates are always backwards compatible (unless there was a MAJOR
problem with the old version!).

3) The BIOS upgrade will allow CPU's up to 3.7GHz with the correct
jumper settings (as detailed in the manual).  The FSB can be altered
to 266 and with a multiplier setting of 14x this would enable 3.7GHz:
http://www.price.ro/preturi.php?op=mother&artid=594

You can download the manual for your motherboard by clicking on this link:
http://www.jetway.com.tw/evisn/download/manual/index1.htm

Please also remember to take care whilst upgrading your BIOS as if
things go wrong it can lead to your PC not switching on again!

I hope these answers are sufficient, if not please ask for
clarification.  I am here to help you!

---

Request for Answer Clarification by garwar-ga on 04 Jun 2004 02:10 PDT

Thanks for the quick answer...
Looking at page 8 of the manual for this motherboard, the jumper for
SW1 (which affects the FSB speed) has only the 100/133MHz options. 
How do I make it 266MHz, as you mentioned?  I'm not sure what a
"multiplier" is.
Thanks,
garwar

---

Clarification of Answer by palitoy-ga on 04 Jun 2004 02:28 PDT

Hello Garwar

A multiplier is a small setting in the BIOS that helps you tell the PC
what speed processor you have.  You will need to alter this when you
insert your new CPU.  There will also be a setting in the BIOS that
allows you to change your FSB (front side bus) up to 266MHz.  From
memory you will need to select the 133 option with the switch and make
an alteration in the BIOS to double this up.

Before altering any of the settings you may wish to read up a little
on "Overclocking" - although this is not exactly what you are doing,
reading about it will explain what all these settings do and will
allow you to be more confident in your actions.  Just concentrate on
the BIOS settings (and don't risk doing anything physical to your
CPU).

http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/19970102/
http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/19990826/
http://www.7volts.com/overclock_tutorial.htm
http://www.basichardware.com/overclocking.html
http://www.tutorgig.com/showurls.jsp?group=3514&index=0

Quick and Knowledgable Answer... Just What I Needed!

woah- easy there kids - I went through a whole world of pain when I
tried to upgrade this board, look carefully at the cpu compatibilty
matrix here...

for rev 3.2 board
http://www.jetway.com.tw/evisn/product/CPU_support/663ASU32.htm
look at the "BOM" bit at the top of the chart.

for rev 1.2 board
http://www.jetway.com.tw/evisn/product/CPU_support/663ASU12.htm

basically to be able to upgrade at all you need a rev3.2 v4 board, and
this will then allow you to install up to a 2100+ processor AND the
processor must be an 'old' one fabricated in 0.18um dies, (1.75v) -
this will run hotter than the newer cpus fabricated using the smaller
die sizes and lower core voltages.
might be a good idea to turn DOWN the core voltage a bit to extend the
life (do it in the bios)
(i'm currently trying to source one of these old cpus off ebay. will
post when I have more news!)

note that there isn't a jumper for the clock multipler, its automatic
(I assume since there isn't a jumper) but you can tweak it up and down
a few % in the bios.
there is a jumper for the 100/133 fsb speed.

as for the ddr thing you should not need to do anything to enable it -
the CPU and mother board will simply be set to 133mhz but will use
both edges of the clock to send data.

One thing that has me confused is if I need DDR ram to make this whole
thing work. after reading the mother board manual there is no mention
of DDr ram, so I'm assuming that the motherboard internally supports
DDR - and then the northbridge / southbridge on the motherboard when
talking to the memory buffer the data up and just talk the the memory
at 133mhz....   if anyone has any info on this I would appreciate it
before I make the 200 mile round trip down to my sisters place to 
sort her pc out again (this time with a CPU that should work)....

many thanks
O.