ECS K7SA + Athlon XP

[Dieni]

I have built to PCs using the ECS K7SA mainboard (SIS735 Chipset), one of them has a Athlon XP 1.5 and the other one has an Athlon XP 1.6.

The problem is that when its starts booting it shows their true speed ie. 1.33 & 1.4 respectivley.

Does anyone know if a BIOS update will show the 1.5 & 1.6 speeds.

I don't want to trick my customers, but I don't want them to think that they didn't get the CPUs they ordered.

The BIOS shows an August Release.


Thanks in advance :beer:

[Fightingpiper]

I do believe that is the true speed of those XP chips. I have and 1800XP and they are clocked at 1.53. I'll have to do a little research bu I those numbers look right for each of those chips compared to the 1800.

Cheers

[Fightingpiper]

You can go here to find out about AMD XP rating system

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_756_3734^3876,00.html#10228

[Fightingpiper]

The link didn't work but here is a snip from their FAQ's

"Q: What’s the meaning of the “XP” in the AMD Athlon™ XP processor name?

A: The AMD Athlon™ XP processor is the name of the newest desktop processor from AMD. The “XP” modifier is designed to convey the extreme performance AMD Athlon XP processors deliver for Microsoft® Windows® XP operating system.




Q: What do the 1900+, 1800+, 1700+, 1600+, and 1500+ numbers mean?

A: These are model numbers. AMD identifies the AMD Athlon XP processor using model numbers, as opposed to megahertz, such as 1900+, 1800+, 1700+, 1600+ and 1500+ versions. Model numbers are designed to communicate the relative application performance among the various AMD Athlon XP processors, as well as communicate the architectural superiority over existing AMD Athlon processors. The AMD Athlon XP processor 1900+ will outperform an Intel Pentium® 4 processor operating at 1.9GHz on a broad array of end-user applications.

AMD Athlon XP processor 1900+ operates at a frequency of 1.60GHz.
AMD Athlon XP processor 1800+ operates at a frequency of 1.533GHz.
AMD Athlon XP processor 1700+ operates at a frequency of 1.47GHz.
AMD Athlon XP processor 1600+ operates at a frequency of 1.40GHz.
AMD Athlon XP processor 1500+ operates at a frequency of 1.33GHz.





Q: What is the difference between megahertz and performance?

A: Megahertz is only one contributing factor to overall performance. The other major factor is the amount of work the processor can complete in a given clock cycle. True performance = MHz x work per clock. AMD Athlon XP processor has QuantiSpeed™ architecture, which is designed to deliver the optimum balance of work per clock cycle and frequency scalability, giving end users the best performance across a wide array of application-based benchmarks "

As you can see the XP rating system is a relative rating system. They are Named after what their equivilant T-bird would be but they actually run at a slower clock speed to achieve the same or better performance. Its too bad, but this type of marketing is only going to get more people confused about these wonderful chips.

Good luck

[Dunga Bee]

I think what he is asking for is the BIOS to show something like:

"AMD Athlon XP1600"

not "AMD Athlon XP @ 1.40 GHz".

I had read that AMD has asked board makers to show the "PR Rating" and not the MHz, but not all have complied.

If the board is showing the MHz, the only hope is a BIOS update.

Check out the ECS forum at www.ocworkbench.com . You might find an answer there. That is the best ECS forum around.

Good luck.

[SteveI]

I run the ECS K7S5A w/ XP1600+. You need a bios dated september or october to get the PR rating to show up. It does not show MHz, unless you overclock... which confuses the bios and it show Mhz again :o, not that I would know anything about that... ;).

Update the BIOS and you should be all set.
SteveI.

[MikeTimbers]

I overclocked my XP1500 to a true 1500 and the boot screen shows XP1800+.

===
K7S5A Rev. 0, XP1500 Week 36 running 10x150 with Crucial PC2100. Mem settings are Normal,2.5,7,4. Default voltage.
Cooled with MC462 and low-noise Evercool 80mm.

[chawken]

Originally posted by MikeTimbers
I overclocked my XP1500 to a true 1500 and the boot screen shows XP1800+.

===
K7S5A Rev. 0, XP1500 Week 36 running 10x150 with Crucial PC2100. Mem settings are Normal,2.5,7,4. Default voltage.
Cooled with MC462 and low-noise Evercool 80mm.

The bios doesn't know which Model that you are running, except by the speed of the chip. If you have a Model 1500+ and overclock it to 1.5ghz - the bios interprets that to be a Model 1800+. Take a model 1800+ and overclock it to 1.666ghz and the bios will report Model 2000+.

[SteveI]

I guess I managed to confuse my BIOS then. I'm using the 911 bios on a rev5 board. I think that is the latest OC bios. Which one are you using Mike?