"Cuzman" wrote in message
...
I've just built a system from spare parts:

- Gigabyte GA-8IDML http://tinyurl.com/4se3t
- Intel Pentium IV 1.5GHz 400FSB
- 2x Kingston 256MB PC133 KVR133X64C3/256
- Gainward GeForce4 Ti4400 128MB
- Western Digital Caviar SE 80GB 8MB ATA100 WD800JB
- FSP 350W PSU

I'm planning on finding a faster processor, and I'm wondering if a mobile
socket 478 CPU will work. The Gigabyte website lists the following
compatible processors, which are all 400FSB desktop variants (
http://tinyurl.com/4l777 ):

Intel P4-Northwood 2.6G 400
Intel P4-Northwood 2.5G 400
Intel P4-Northwood 2.4G 400
Intel P4-Northwood 2.2G 400
Intel P4-Northwood 2.0G 400
Intel P4-Northwood 1.8G 400
Intel P4-Northwood 1.7G 400
Intel P4-Northwood 1.6G 400
Intel P4-Northwood 1.5G 400
Intel P4-Willamette 2.0G 400
Intel P4-Willamette 1.9G 400
Intel P4-Willamette 1.8G 400
Intel P4-Willamette 1.7G 400
Intel P4-Willamette 1.6G 400
Intel P4-Willamette 1.5G 400
Intel P4-Willamette 1.4G 400
Intel P4-Celeron 2.2G 400
Intel P4-Celeron 2.1G 400
Intel P4-Celeron 2.0G 400
Intel P4-Celeron 1.9G 400
Intel P4-Celeron 1.8G 400
Intel P4-Celeron 1.7G 400

The FAQ for this motherboard states that Gigabyte can not guarantee
compatibility with mobile CPUs. http://tinyurl.com/5k4c5

The GA-8IDML BIOS has incremental multiplier and FSB adjustments (although
I'm not sure about voltage adjustment). If a mobile CPU works, I should
be able to get towards 2.5GHz for less money than an equivalent 400FSB
Northwood would cost..

Does anyone have experience in using mobile socket 478 processors in
desktops? Any advice would be helpful.

TIA

I had a go at this a little while ago.

Mobile P4's have worked in a number of boards I've tried. My reason for
being interested is that they can run on zero volts and can withstand
volcanic temperatures g ...perhaps I exaggerate a little. The problem I
found is that Intel have incorporated something called Speedstep into the
mobile P4's - this causes the mobo to run them at the default multipier -
x12. This means that irrespective of the "actual" speed of the chip - it
will ONLY do 1.2GHz . This is not the case oddly enough for the mobile
Celerons though, they will run at their rated speed.

However! Not all is lost, because they can be overclocked like crazy. The
three mobile processors could all do FSB's of 800MHz - a 100% overclock. But
it's still quite a lot of bother to go to just for 2.4GHz @ 800MHz FSB.

Pete