Can I use a Sempron CPU on a Biostar M7VIG Pro-D mb?

awdrifter 2005-06-20 21:58:39 UTC #1

I originally have an Athlon XP 2000+ (Socket A) CPU, but it burnt out. And I can't find any new Athlon XP CPU's. Some people said that the Sempron will work as long as it's socket A. Is this true? Can I use a Sempron CPU on a Biostar M7VIG Pro-D motherboard? Thanks.

Quema34 2005-06-20 22:35:18 UTC #2

I believe I'm correct in saying that as long as it is a Socket A, yes, it will fit the slot. However, go to Biostar's website and lookup that motherboard id (M7VIG Pro-D), and it should list the processors you can use with it.

http://www.biostar.com.tw/products/mainboard/model.php3?socket=a

http://www.biostar.com.tw/support/cpu/socket_a.php3#m7vigp-d

I've included the links, but they don't appeared to have updated their processors that can be used with that. My ECS motherboard has a list of supported CPUs a mile long. So, whatever Sempron CPU you have in mind to use, contact Biostar for a list of all Sempron CPUs the motherboard will support, so you can increase your possibilities. Best wishes and hope you get the replacement with no trouble and have your system back to 100% asap!

H3rB3i 2005-06-20 22:53:32 UTC #3

I believe that you need a BIOS update to get support for Sempron CPUs, but what I've found in behind the links posted by Quema34 is the latest Version from 2003, so I don't think that your mobo supports Sempron CPUs.

I would contact Biostar support like Quema34 suggested

Quema34 2005-06-20 23:17:28 UTC #4

Ugh, H3! I just checked the Bios updates and there hadn't been any since 2003. wow...I thought something was strange when their supported processor list was so short.

By the way, have they stopped making AthlonXP processors, since they have the Semprons and 64s out now?

H3rB3i 2005-06-20 23:25:04 UTC #5

hmm, don't know, but I don't think that production has stopped now (probably development).

Quema34 2005-06-20 23:27:47 UTC #6

Thanks, H3! Maybe it's the Durons they're cutting back on, since it seems the Semprons replace those?

JayC30 2005-06-21 03:19:43 UTC #7

As the site hasn't updated it's info on its' own motherboards just go to AMDs own website: http://www2.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/1,,30_182_869_11521%5e11522,00.html?1114123331 here you can enter the maotherboard details from drop down menus.

THis is what I get when I searched Biostar: http://www2.amd.com/us-en/recmobo/DetailHandler/1,,30_182_869_11521%5e11522,00.html?queryID=75822

Oleh 2005-06-21 03:59:33 UTC #8

Your motherboard must support 166MHz FSB. See it's specifications... If it indeed supports 166MHz, then probably Sempron processor will work with it, even without upgrating BIOS... But during the POST you'll just see "Unknown processor at <frequency> MHz" or "AthlonXP at <frequency> MHz" or something like that

pinto2 2005-06-21 04:41:57 UTC #9

There is a chance your mobo also got damaged when processor "burnt out".
My advice; avoid all the hassle and get you a new mobo, processor and RAM.
If you can't afford it right now, you'll still be able and find a AthlonXP in "second hand" market.

fsb for Biostar M7VIG Pro-D is max. 266MHz... Sempron runs at 333MHz (166x2).
But sure, processor might still run at reduced fsb speed, if it will run at all.

lui_gough 2005-06-21 05:07:59 UTC #10

The Athlon XP is reduced production, still producing. Mostly FSB333+ models.

Semprons in boards with unsupported bios sometimes report as Athlon MP, unsure whether lower than normal FSB should cause a problem. New Semps are on a slightly different voltage maybe? dunno whether your volt-regulator will be able to control.

JayC30 2005-06-21 07:01:15 UTC #11

Pinto it realy depends on how old his mobo is if he will need new RAM. If he already has DDR memory, then I doubt he would need new memory if the mobo is also fried.

Matth 2005-06-21 08:38:48 UTC #12

The page lists the motherboard as using a KM266 chipset, and shows Sempron support for OTHER boards, but not this one..

The Sempron is a 333FSB (166 clocked) CPU, and it MAY run at 80% speed in a board that only goes to 133.

I'd concur though, unless you have a cheap old original Duron, or some other throwaway CPU to test with, you could be wasting money on a CPU for a dead motherboard, or even a motherboard that will kill the next CPU.

In fact, after a failure, the problem of "killer components" can be serious - with parts, either those that caused to problem, or others damaged by it, waiting to destroy the next system..

I'm not kidding, that kind of failure chain has happened before, and will happen again.

PS. RAM - if it's DDR266 and not much of it, that would also be a very poor match to a new motherboard and CPU of 333/400FSB

awdrifter 2005-06-22 20:30:21 UTC #13

So if I buy a Sempron CPU I'll have to take a gamble. I think I'll just look on eBay for a used Athlon XP CPU. I don't know how to update the BIOS. :o So I'll just have to look for an used CPU. Anyone knows any good sites to buy a CPU besides eBay? Thanks for the help everyone.

Matth 2005-06-23 08:24:21 UTC #14

It depends how badly it failed - a real fry-up of the CPU is definitely capable of damaging the motherboard

awdrifter 2005-06-24 20:44:47 UTC #15

I just ordered a Duron 1.8GHZ. According to the BioStar site, my mb will support it. It's just slightly slower than my 2000+. I'm so glad I got my laptop right now. Thanks for the replies.

erikbaron4 2005-06-25 04:00:52 UTC #16

awdrifter, I bought my Athlon XP 3000+ from www.newegg.com. They've been known to have lower prices and they always have sales on stuff, so u should check to see if the XP's soon go into their clearance section, where the best deals sometimes lie. Also www.zipzoomfly.com is comparable, as well as www.outpost.com (the online fry'z electronics dealer). I've found that even though the XP's are a bit old now, they still perform well enough on most new programs, including many games. Btw, most new bios flashes are capable through windows for some boards. For instance, I did my flash through MSI's Liveupdate in Safe mode. You need to be sure u have no extra programs running otherwise it could result in damages. Your board may not support it, and then u'd have to flash it on a "floopy". Hope this helps. However, dont go out of your way to spend too much dough on a proc if that board is faulty. I agree with the other's that say get some spare junker parts and test it if possible.

Erik

Matth 2005-06-25 14:31:53 UTC #17

A Duron 1800 may be faster than you think...
http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/K7/AMD-Duron%201800%20-%20DHD1800DLV1C.html
That is REAL CLOCK SPEED 1800 (133 x 13.5) but with a 64/64/64 cache

While the 2000+ runs at 1667 REAL (133 x 12.5) bus has 64/64/256 cache.

Real world, it probably is a shade down on the 2000+, as an extra 133MHz may not be enough to make up for the cache reduction, unless there is better than average cache locality (small test programs may show up better!)

awdrifter 2005-06-25 23:12:08 UTC #18

Thanks for the info. I bought the Duron through newegg. I bought from them before, they are pretty good. I bought my CPU for $43+3 rush delivery fee. I brought my mb to a local shop to check it out. They did some things to it, and they said it's most likely fine. So I'm going to believe them and install the Duron once it arrives.

Oleh 2005-06-26 01:29:21 UTC #19

In some cases Athlon 2000+ will be more and more faster than Duron. Encoding video, for example.
The frequency of processor in not the index of productivity since not such recent time.

P.S. Thanks for link - for some reason I always thought that ALL Durons have 100MHz FSB...

Matth 2005-06-27 09:22:57 UTC #20

THREE CPU types have carried the "Duron" name...

The "Spitfire" core - Duron version of the Thunderbird core ( less than 1GHz , always 100 clock)
The "Morgan" core - Duron version of an AXP, probably the Palomino - also a 100 clocked CPU - main speeds were 1.1-1.3GHz, but has been spotted at lower speeds.
The Duron-Morgan can also prove troublesome in motherboards that predate AXP.
The Duron "Applebred", based on the Thoroughbred core and all versions - 1.4GHz-1.8GHz run at 133 clock - may have issues with motherboards that don't support a T-bred core properly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duron

The new "cheapie", The Sempron, runs at 166 clock

It IS fair to compare an Athlon XP and a new Duron on actual MHz, as their architecture differs only in cache size.

How much worse a Duron of the same actual speed is, is a measure of the cache effectiveness of the "full" Athlon XP - both have a pair of 64k L1 caches for instruction and data, but the Duron has only 64k secondary, While the Athlon XP has 256 and the Barton had 512.

Some real world tests suffer very badly on the Duron.