What's the fastest CPU I can run on an IWill KK266 (not R, not Plus)?

L

Ladyhawk

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 5, 2005
Messages
244
Hi,

I've searched for info in this forum, but I have some questions. Am I
correct in remembering that the only difference between the KK266 and
the KK266-R is that the "R" model comes with a RAID controller? If so,
then the information for the KK266-R would apply to the KK266.

As you may (or may not) recall, the IWill KK266 uses the KT133A chipset.

I believe the board is Revision 1.2 (too lazy to tear off the cover and
look).

Also, will I need to flash the BIOS?

Thanks in Advance,

Ladyhawk
 
This review of your board says this:

"The KK266 features a somewhat unique 3-stage power solution, which is capable of sustaining higher current levels in order to support future processors. Iwill claims the KK266 can support an Athlon running at up to 1.5 GHz without any trouble. A 1.5 GHz Athlon would draw anywhere from 70 to 80 Watts of power, so that’s no small accomplishment. It also means the KK266 may be one of the more upgradable KT133A boards out there."
 
It looks like the kk266 (and probably most Via 133A chipsets) only supported the palomino AthlonXP with a 133 FSB. iirc the fastest of these is the 2100+ The Tbreds and later have a 166FSB so are a definite no-go. There might be some tricks needed to get even a palomino working, though an older Thunderbird will work fine (they top out at 1.4 Ghz)

You should be right about the non R/R difference - the board should have a silksceen area where the raid chip would go, but will be the same otherwise.
 
Last night I checked out prices and the old T-birds are actually more expensive than an Athlon XP, probably because they're harder to find.

If anyone else has some info, I'd be grateful. If I go to buy a Palomino, I suppose I can always ask the vendor, although he/she may not be any more knowledgeable than I am about what CPUs the IWill KK266 supports. *shrug*

On edit: thanks to the folks who have responded so far. It gives me an idea of what direction to look.

THANKS! :D
 
Well, here it is many, many weeks later. I tried to ask a vendor for information (New Egg), but they really aren't equipped to provide technical support, which is totally understandable.

I just went to iwillusa.com and filled out a tech support form, but when I clicked on "proceed" I got what looked like an error page, only it was in Chinese so I couldn't read it. :(

Anyone else out there got a more solid answer for me? I don't have a lot of extra cash, so I'd like to get this right the first time.

Thanks!
 
Sorry, just saw this thread. I can answer your question.

The highest you can go is 1.4

Period. And I cant remember the model, but it will *not* do the newer revision that started at 1.5

Some motherboards would, but not the Iwill board, at least not at the time. How do I know? I bought the 1.5 chip and found out the board, even with a bios upgrade, won't support it.

Hope this is in time to help...
 
If you're going to have to spend $75 for a new processor, you might just want to look at getting a cheap mobo/CPU replacement (I got a sempron/s754 board combo for $79 from Fry's).
 
Thanks for the info. I know that if I'm going to buy an Athlon XP it has to be a Palomino, not a Thoroughbred. The 1600+ clocks at 1.4 GHz. I can buy it relatively cheaply, but I want to make sure that the board won't go any higher. Someone else online said the KK266 would go up to a 2100+ as long as it had the Palomino core. I'm getting lots of conflicting advice.

I looked for the old "unofficial" KK266 FAQ and it's been moved around from x-factor.com to anomalysabyss.com and from there, who knows??? I can't seem to find it.

I have another KK266 that I can put this 1 GHz T-Bird in. That's one of the reasons why I'm considering buying a CPU to hold me over until I can upgrade the motherboard/CPU/RAM and probably the video and sound cards as well. I would like a fairly nice system, but cash is tight. For that reason, I may forget about the other old motherboard and just wait until I can afford something a little nicer.

LH
 
I used to run a 1GHZ Axia T-Bird @ 1.4 on this board... Until the mobo died. RIP.
 
Thanks, IanG. I've scanned through the FAQ, but I'm getting conflicting info there, too:

Iwill's new Socket A motherboards, KK266-R and KK266, features the much-anticipated Apollo KT133A north bridge and VT82C686B south bridge from VIA Technologies Inc. Ultimate Upgrade features include: support for 266MHz Front Side Bus (FSB) Athlons coupled with 3 Phase Power to support up to 1.5GHz processor speeds.
Click to expand...

Then, under CPU's:

* What CPUs' are Compatible? Your KK266 is designed to be compatible with both the "B" type (100/200mhz) and "C" type (133/266 mhz) AMD socket A(aka Socket 462) Durons and Athlons(Tbird)CPUs. The "B" type is "sold" to run at the 100 FSB (front side bus) speed. The "C" type is "sold" to run at 133 FSB. While the board runs at 100 or 133 FSB, the CPU runs at 200 or 266 due to it's EV6 DDR architecture. Your KK266 allows you to run either CPU type at either FSB speed thanks to its mulitplier (frequency) adjustments and FSB adjustments. However, you can't run your "B" type at 266 without some modification. See the Overclocking section. It's up to you to unlock the CPU's multiplier by connecting the L1 bridges if you want to overclock it.

*ID your CPU: What's the meaning of all those numbers and letters on top of your CPU's core? OCinside shows it all: Vcore, the Case temp rating, the L2 cache, FSB speed (type "B" is 200mhz, type "C" is 266 mhz), the year and the month of manufacture, etc.

*1.4 GHz Athlons:
Click to expand...

It just leaves you hanging after the colon and doesn't say what kinds of 1.4 Athlons are supported. I'm assuming the T-Bird and the Palomino, but not the Thoroughbred.

Some overclocking information (a link to another site) mentioned speeds of up to 1.53 GHz. Color me confused. Anyone else want to jump into the fray, here? :)
 
toddw is THE man. You were totally correct, dude, but I guess you already knew that. I guess I was hoping you were wrong. :) I ordered a 1.4 T-Bird for, like, $50 to tide me over until I can catch up in the world of hardware and decide what I want to do about a more massive upgrade.

Here is the word from IWill on this matter:

Sir,

The KK266 motherboard only support up to 1.4ghz Athlon Tbird. 1.5ghz was never produced by AMD. The KK266PLUS will support up to AMD Athlon XP1900+ Palomino processor.
Click to expand...

I'm not a "sir," but whatever. :) I'm glad I finally got a definitive answer.
 
Did you check to see if they have notes on the bios revision?

The other thing you could do is have someone pull the processor module out of the .bin file and cross reference the processors in the module...

Try wimbios forum...
 
I have a KK266-R running a 1.3 Duron as a test rig for my DVR, if you can find any BIOS updates share a link, because I was unsuccessful awhile ago.
 
MD_Willington said:
Did you check to see if they have notes on the bios revision?

The other thing you could do is have someone pull the processor module out of the .bin file and cross reference the processors in the module...

Try wimbios forum...
Click to expand...

I believe I looked on IWill's site awhile back and couldn't find anything definite. I just looked at wimbios.com and couldn't find a forum. (I also tried winbios.com just in case there was a typo and it led to the same place.) Maybe I'm blind?

The latest BIOS executable (containing the .bin file) is at http://www.iwillusa.com/product_legacy2.asp?na=KK266&SID=32&MID=26&Value=38 , but I have no clue how to extract the processor info from the .bin file.
 
Nasty_Savage said:
I have a KK266-R running a 1.3 Duron as a test rig for my DVR, if you can find any BIOS updates share a link, because I was unsuccessful awhile ago.
Click to expand...

Hi, I think you're facing the same issue: The KK266 and KK266-R won't support anything above a 1.4 GHz T-Bird. However, I'm sure I can find a link to the latest BIOS and flash utility...here: http://www.iwillusa.com/product_legacy2.asp?na=KK266-R&SID=32&MID=26&Value=39

I hope this helps.
 
Im willing to bet a 1800 Applebred would work..I have one running in my Asus A7V133

it has the same chipset KT133A....and since the chip is a duron..it works right out of the box.. and you can get them real cheap ....

I use it for my File Server.

AMD made the Applebred in 1400,1600,and 1800 specs...

they run super cool..and can easily overclock them of you have a high enough FSB adjustment..

heres one
 
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