Rebadged CPU? Defective Mobo? Or just plain old? (long question))

Hey there, long question...

OK: my problem runs thus. I have a AMD K6-2 500mhz CPU (yes yes old I know) & a PC Chips (brand) M577 Super Socket 7 PC100 mobo, 128mb PC133 SDRAM (tho my mobo only does as high as 100mhz SDRAM), a 32mb AGP GeForce 2 MX AGP, etc

as long as I've had my 500mhz CPU (several months, I had a K6-2 300 for ages before that in same mobo), when I boot up the BIOS shows it as a AMD K6-2 400 (and it runs like a 400)... the CPU has a core voltage of 2.1v (I think), and I've got the CPU Freq at 100mhz and the multiplyer at 5.0x. I asked some people and they said it's probably just that my motherboard is too old to read above 400, but then when I upped the multiplyer to 5.5x 100mhz it shows up as a AMD K6-2 522 (it's obviously worse at maths than I am - no mean acheivement), so obviously it does read above 400...

now the problem is, at 522 it's a bit unstable, and no matter what other combinations of multiplyers and CPU freq's I try (eg 4.5 x 100mhz, 5.0x 100mhz, 5.5 x 95mhz, 5.5x 83mhzmhz, 4.0x 100mhz) IT ALWAYS SHOWS UP AS A 400 (and I runs like one too) or as a 522 and crashes after about 5- 30 min into games (which do however run perceptibly better)

does this mean that I bought a 400 rebadged as a 500? probably not actually... is it my motherboard? possibly... am I inept? hell yes!

advice please!!! sorry about lack of good info from programs like Sandra / WCPUID... I just downloaded Sandra and I'll run that and post the results, if useful...

Thanks a lot,
Tom

PS listing whats written in the manual, jumper settings on my motherboard are (ignoring the ones that would leave it below 400 anyway)

CPU MULTIPLYER
4.0x 4.5x 5.0x 5.5x

CPU FREQ
75mhz (PCI 37.5)
75mhz (PCI 30)
83mhz
95mhz (SDRAM 66)
95mhz (SDRAM 95)
100mhz (SDRAM 66)
100mhz (SDRAM 100)

There doesn't appear to be seperate bus settings

CPU CORE VOLTAGES
2.1v, 2.2v, 2.5v, 2.7v, 2.8v, 2.9v, 3.2v, 3.3v, 3.5v

my case is a brand new ATX 250w

i doubt it is rebadged, take off the heatsink and it should say the speed and other thigs like bus speed and operation voltage, mine said somethin like K6-2 500 / 2.05/ 100

Bright Lad

Ok Ok Ok... yes indeed I am inept... downloaded the latest BIOS for my motherboard, now it's all good. Shows up as what it should be etc etc

Now i can overclock to 550mhz... 'cept with my current, bog standard heatsink/fan it still crashes after a while, which sux. Hopefully if if I can get my hands on a very serious fan it will be able to cope... of course, then I'll have to put up with a very noisy computer... damn

thanks anyway! forget my earlier problems, and learn from my mistakes...