BIOS settings needed for Sempron

[Kevjonlyn]

Hello all. I've trawled through the FAQ's and looked through the threads, but could not anything pertaining to my particular setup. I have a PC Chips M848alu Socket A motherboard in which I have recently dropped in a Sempron 2600+ processor to replace the Athlon XP I recently fried (don't ask!). The problem is that when I fire up the computer, it is recognised as an Athlon XP 2200+

How do I set the BIOS on this particular motherboard so that it runs as 2600+? I have read on the internet that I need to use an 11x multiplier, but I'm lost; the closest to that that I see in the BIOS is 10:9. I have set the frequency to 166Mhz as suggested elsewhere on the net with the multiplier set to 1:1. With this setting it runs as a 2200+ but I want to get the full capacity out of the processor. Any idea, anyone, what settings i need to use? Thanks.

 

[howard_hopkinso]

Hello and welcome to Techspot.

You may need to upgrade your bios in order for your mobo to recognise your Sempron cpu.

Check on your mobo manufacturers website for a bios upgrade.

Regards Howard :wave: :wave:

 

[Jaquio]

Yeap... late MoBos dont know that there is a Sempron brand out there LOL...


Just Flash the Newest Bios... and that should make it :


Regards from Panama

 

[Kevjonlyn]

Thanks for that. Ok, so i've gone to the PC Chips website and downloaded the stuff I need to flash the BIOS. However, the instructions were written in such appallingly bad English that I don't dare attempt the procedure in case I end up wrecking the computer again!

The flash utility I downloaded consists of two files; an .EXE file which I have renamed BIOSFLSH and a file called m848a16.rom
I have placed both of these files in a special setup partition that I have; it's FAT32 so I can access the contents from DOS.

All I need to know is, how do i go about using these two files to safely flash and update my BIOS?

 

[kodrutz]

Best way is to put them on a floppy or a USB drive used to boot, then usually after you boot you have to use them like
a:\<exe-file> <rom-file> <ENTER>
That should do it!

 

[Kevjonlyn]

DONE!! Flashed the BIOS as per the instructions and it went like a dream! And have learnt a new skill to boot! Processor is now recognised for the Sempron that it is, and runs at the correct speed!

Now only one issue remains. I downloaded and installed MOTHERBOARD MONITOR 5 to keep tabs on the processor temperature. If I examain the temperature in the BIOS it states that the CPU is running at around 34c. However, once i go into Windows, MOTHERBOARD MONITOR shows the CPU running at a steady 64c. Why the 30c difference? And does 64c sound too hot? I have read posts where people with similar CPU's have them running at 43c! What am I doing wrong?

 

[schnewb]

I used the exact same motherboard for a good few months and i always found motherboard monitor 5 gave some wierd readings. I found speedfan gave honest readings to a certain extent. Temp 1 will be the cpu and the rest are bogus apart from the hdd temps.

Hope this helps

Sean.

 

[Kevjonlyn]

Thanks for that Sean! I installed Speedfan and have found that it gives the same readings that I get from the BIOS. Excellent! And there was me thinking that I was about to fry a second CPU!!