In article ,
Trevor Hemsley wrote:
On Fri, 10 Oct 2003 17:34:03 UTC in comp.os.linux.hardware,
(Gregory L. Hansen) wrote:

There's a wide range of prices, so I tried to generalize, and I was
looking specifically at PIII 600MHz 512 cache. I was thinking especially
of a matched pair I saw for something over $100, although they had 256K
cache.

The fact that the top speed for this board is 600MHz leads me to think
that it will only work with the "Katmai" flavour of P-III not with its
successor the "coppermine". The Coppermine was the one where they
halved the amount of L2 cache on the basis that they made it full
speed at the same time. These chips require a lower core voltage than
the Katmai ones and some motherboards don't have voltage regulators
that are capable of supplying the correct one. So, if it says top
speed is 600MHz they probably mean that you're limited to the older,
512KB cache, P-III's.

I didn't realize there was such a difference between a PIII 600MHz 512K
cache and a PIII 600MHz 256K cache. Are all PIIIs with 512K Katmais, and
all PIIIs with 256K coppermines?

When I asked about the VRM, I was told the part number 0950-2837 was for
any PII/PIII up to 600MHz, and they specifically said it's not for
"coppermine". I've asked if the machine would support a faster PIII if a
different VRM were installed, but haven't gotten an answer yet, and I'm
beginning to wonder if I will. I think the motherboard has the 440BX
chipset, if that makes a difference, but I know it also matters which
motherboard the chipset is sitting on. And maybe a BIOS upgrade, which HP
may or may not have, and which I've never done.

The more I learn about this, the more it all gets complicated by little
bits of information like what you've just said above.
--
"Is that plutonium on your gums?"
"Shut up and kiss me!"
-- Marge and Homer Simpson