[docinthebox]

If you have a KT7 non-A mobo running a T-bird, it's time to upgrade your CPU! I got a TBred B XP2100+ from Newegg and put it into my KT7 non A and it works perfectly *without any mods*. Its stock frequency is 13x133=1729 and since 13 is already past 12.5, the 5th multiplier bit is already set (even though the KT7 bios still shows 5x-12.5x)

I'm using the latest bios A9 modded to include the HPT370 bios 2.34. I set the multiplier in the bios to 10x and lo and behold, the CPU now runs at 2300MHz. With my Thermalright SLK-800 heatsink and the YS-tech fan running at the max 48cfm, the CPU temp is just 38 deg C. Ran Prime95 and it's rock solid.

WCPUID shows 2300MHz but doesn't show any multiplier, so I think this is one of the reserved remapped multipliers of the XP2100+ (since theoretically, with the 5th multiplier bit set, you add 8 to each original multiplier and this way, the max multiplier you get is just (12.5+8)x= 20.5x, whereas I'm running 23x100. So this must be a remapped multiplier.)

Anyway, check out these screens:

wcpuid - cpu

wcpuid - chipset

sandra - cpu arithmetic

This is the first mobo I've ever owned that even after 2 years of use, I can still upgrade to the latest CPU and it'll still work. Amazing!

Note that I'm talking about the KT7 *non A* here, NOT the newer KT7A.

[Sonny]

Cangratulations Let's hope it's as easy for everyone else to get the T2Bs to work in their older boards.

[Latrini]

... 2 things I may raise:
1) according to THG the T Bred B starts at AMD Athlon XP 2440+.
So what are you using, as I'd need a speed up for my KT7 as well
Palomino or T Bred A? What yre the power settings in the Soft Menu?
2) how did you mod the A9 bios to get the HPT to 2.34?

inputs highly appreciated
THX

[Sonny]

Welcome To The Forums!!!!!

.....and to the addiction

The list is outdated. There are Thoroughbred B 2100+ now.

[shadowdr]

wow,that might change my upgrade plans for the future instead of a low speedt-bred to a higher one.
could you post the codes on the chip if you wrote it down?
you think meybe they meant for these to work on older boards without documenting it? Could be a good move on AMD's part to sell the higher speed t-breds before they get dirt cheap.
anyway congrats on the effort and the posting.........I bet it'll work on the kt7a.

Oh,, Welcome to the forums!!!

[Latrini]

thx 4 the update/w-come. How do I determine the differences?
Iknow that the Pal... DIE is a square and the T bred a rectangle with the "sticker" below the Malysia. But how to determine between T bred A and T bred B? Does it matter in case putting it into the grand Pa mainboard KT7? Palo requires soldering,
if Tbred B does not, then let's go for it ........

[docinthebox]

Originally posted by Latrini
... 2 things I may raise:
1) according to THG the T Bred B starts at AMD Athlon XP 2440+.
So what are you using, as I'd need a speed up for my KT7 as well
Palomino or T Bred A? What yre the power settings in the Soft Menu?
2) how did you mod the A9 bios to get the HPT to 2.34?

inputs highly appreciated
THX

I'm running at 1.85V which is the max you can set in the A9 bios.

The A9 bios modded to include the HPT370 2.34 bios is available at Paul's KT7 FAQ at Sudhian:

A9_2.34 bios

The actual file download is here:

A9_2.34 file download

HTH!

[docinthebox]

Originally posted by shadowdr
wow,that might change my upgrade plans for the future instead of a low speedt-bred to a higher one.
could you post the codes on the chip if you wrote it down?
you think meybe they meant for these to work on older boards without documenting it? Could be a good move on AMD's part to sell the higher speed t-breds before they get dirt cheap.
anyway congrats on the effort and the posting.........I bet it'll work on the kt7a.

Oh,, Welcome to the forums!!!

Thanks Shadowdr!

The model number for the TBred B XP2100+ I'm using is AXDA2100DUT3C, stepping AIUHB, week 48. If you go to Newegg's picture and click on the chip, you'll see the serial numbers:

Close-up picture of the TBred B XP2100+ I'm using

[docinthebox]

Originally posted by Latrini
thx 4 the update/w-come. How do I determine the differences?
Iknow that the Pal... DIE is a square and the T bred a rectangle with the "sticker" below the Malysia. But how to determine between T bred A and T bred B? Does it matter in case putting it into the grand Pa mainboard KT7? Palo requires soldering,
if Tbred B does not, then let's go for it ........

There's a good overclocker.com tips article on how to tell the TBred B apart:

Overclockers tip #173

You can also refer to the Newegg picture I posted a link to above. That's exactly the chip I got.

BTW, theoretically I think both the TBred A and TBred B should work fine in the KT7 without any mods. Of course, I haven't tried TBred A so that part is just my guess. But the key things are:

1. TBred's all come with unlocked multipliers, whether A or B. That saves modding efforts. You don't need to close bridges to unlock the multiplier.
As we know, the KT7 non A can only be overclocked by multiplier and not by FSB, since the northbridge won't go above 115 or so no matter how hard you try.
2. It's crucial to get at least XP2100+ if you want it to work *without any mod*, because its stock multiplier is 13x (stock freq 13x133=1729). 13 is past 12.5 so you'll get the multiplier range 13x to 20x.
If you get anything lower than 2100+, eg. the XP1700+, you'll get the multiplier range 5x to 12.5x. In that case, you'll get at most 12.5x100=1250 without modding. (You'll need to mod it somehow to bring the 5th multiplier bit high, eg. solder a resistor to the back of the motherboard, in order to get the multiplier range 13x-20.5x.)

[hooziewhatsit]

congrats, this makes me want to get a 2100+ and throw it in my kt7-r (with new capacitors so I can load windows at 122fsb) and see what an old board can do.

[docinthebox]

> with new capacitors so I can load windows at 122fsb)

You mean you can increase fsb by putting in new capacitors? If so, I'd like to know.

[paulus563]

Originally posted by docinthebox
If you have a KT7 non-A mobo running a T-bird, it's time to upgrade your CPU! I got a TBred B XP2100+ from Newegg and put it into my KT7 non A and it works perfectly *without any mods*. Its stock frequency is 13x133=1729 and since 13 is already past 12.5, the 5th multiplier bit is already set (even though the KT7 bios still shows 5x-12.5x)

I'm using the latest bios A9 modded to include the HPT370 bios 2.34. I set the multiplier in the bios to 10x and lo and behold, the CPU now runs at 2300MHz. With my Thermalright SLK-800 heatsink and the YS-tech fan running at the max 48cfm, the CPU temp is just 38 deg C. Ran Prime95 and it's rock solid.

WCPUID shows 2300MHz but doesn't show any multiplier, so I think this is one of the reserved remapped multipliers of the XP2100+ (since theoretically, with the 5th multiplier bit set, you add 8 to each original multiplier and this way, the max multiplier you get is just (12.5+8)x= 20.5x, whereas I'm running 23x100. So this must be a remapped multiplier.)

Anyway, check out these screens:

wcpuid - cpu

wcpuid - chipset

sandra - cpu arithmetic

This is the first mobo I've ever owned that even after 2 years of use, I can still upgrade to the latest CPU and it'll still work. Amazing!

Note that I'm talking about the KT7 *non A* here, NOT the newer KT7A.

You say the cpu runs at 2300 Mhz but the wcpuid-cpu screen shows 2400 Mhz. Do you know the reason for this?
What do you mean by "and lo and behold" in the sentence
"I set the multiplier in the bios to 10x and lo and behold, the CPU now runs at 2300MHz."?

[docinthebox]

Originally posted by paulus563


You say the cpu runs at 2300 Mhz but the wcpuid-cpu screen shows 2400 Mhz. Do you know the reason for this?

Well, when I made the first post, I hadn't really tried anything higher than 2300. I was pretty excited at that time. Since then, I've tried 2400 (which shows up as 1050(100) in the bios - it's a remapped multiplier.) The system works fine except it fails prime95. But I've used the most aggressive settings for my CPU (eg. fast command decode, etc.) I think if I relax those settings, 2400 would be stable as well. The wcpuid-cpu screen was updated when I got 2400 to boot up.

The highest I've tried is 2520 (24x105). The system boots up fine until it starts to load windows, then it hangs. I'm not sure if it's the CPU or the disk controller giving in. I suspect it's the disk controller (I'm using a RAID-0 array on the HPT370 as boot device) that gave in, since I was overclocking the PCI bus to 105. Too bad AMD didn't remap any of the multipliers to 25. Otherwise, I could have run 25x100=2500 without overclocking the PCI bus.

What do you mean by "and lo and behold" in the sentence
"I set the multiplier in the bios to 10x and lo and behold, the CPU now runs at 2300MHz."?

2300 and 2400 are both remapped multipliers. The more recent Athlons use 5 bits to represent the multiplier, so you get 2^5=32 settings. This corresponds to 5x up to 20.5x. However, KT7 was developed at the time of thunderbirds, which use only 4 bits to represent the multiplier. So KT7 does not support the 5th bit. What this means is, in the bios, you'll either get 5x-12.5x, or 13x-20.5x, depending on whether the 5th bit is set to 0 or 1 by default. For the XP2100+, the 5th bit is set to 1, therefore I get the range 13x-20.5x. However, even within this range, AMD has remapped certain multipliers to something else. For example, the 10x I was using, since the 5th bit is set to 1, it should now be 10+8=18x. However, I'm getting 23x (hence the 2300 frequency). When I said "Lo and behold", I meant I was expecting 18x100=1800, but I got 2300 and I was pleasantly surprised.

[hooziewhatsit]

Originally posted by docinthebox
> with new capacitors so I can load windows at 122fsb)

You mean you can increase fsb by putting in new capacitors? If so, I'd like to know.

yea, since the capacitors abit used weren't the best, I bought some good ones and had most of them replaced. With the better caps, the noise and whatnot on the board is a lot lower than it is with the crappy ones already on it.

The only bad thing is that right now my USB stops working around 107 (possibly PSU related) and my NIC dies after 115, so I can't get online.

I bsod'd shortly after booting at 122, so I may just need more voltage.

It's not guaranteed that it will help anything, but it won't hurt either.


good luck!

[Latrini]

hi docinthebox,
the bios a9-234 linkyou posted does not work.
Do you have other resources to use?
thx a lot
ps: my cpu is on the way ...

[docinthebox]

Originally posted by Latrini
hi docinthebox,
the bios a9-234 linkyou posted does not work.
Do you have other resources to use?
thx a lot
ps: my cpu is on the way ...

Here are the updated links:

A9_2.34 bios

Actual file download

Have fun with your new cpu!

[Latrini]

to whatever strange reason I get timeouts when trying to download the zip. Will try tomorrow morning when US is asleep; assuming this site is in the US ;-?

by the way: is your cooler OK or on the lower end for this CPU? I am thinking about a Coolermaster ....... to make sure it does not get to hot as you mentioned 1.85 V

[docinthebox]

I'm pretty happy with my SLK-800. At 1.85V, I got about 39 deg with the case open, 45 deg with the case closed. Not bad at all. And the price is good too. $29.99 at svcompucycle.

I have the YSTech variable speed fan at its max 48cfm though.

[agent le'Man]

So...Are you saying that the 2100+ WONT work in a KT7A Raid?

[docinthebox]

Originally posted by agent le'Man
So...Are you saying that the 2100+ WONT work in a KT7A Raid?

I don't know too much about the KT7A. Everything I said pertains only to the KT7 non A.