Watch Out -Early Versions Don't Support All P-III Processors
Written: May 31 '00 (Updated May 31 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Widely used and supported main board. Good quality.
Cons: Earlier revisions may not support all Pentium III processors
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| skadar's Full Review: Intel SE440BX-2 |
A lot of mass market system like Micron and Gateway use this board. It is a great board with a lot of support, but it does have a few quirks. Intel is not known for making a highly configurable board, so you might want to steer clear if you plan on tweaking, upgrading, and overclocking. Also, the SE440BX-2 comes in a bunch of different revisions. You can identify your revision by looking for the AA number that is located on a small white sticker near the edge of your board.
The Intel support web site lists these numbers in order for you to determine which revision group your board belongs to. There are two main groups... and it makes a difference. One of the groups can support any and all Pentium III processors. The other group can only support Pentium III processors up to 550 MHz.
I've been doing a lot of research on this board as it is my main system board. I'm currently running a Pentium II 450 processor, and I am thinking about a processor upgrade sometime in the future. I turned up the little revision tidbit in my research and was disappointed to discover that my board belongs to the group of earlier revisions which does not support the faster Pentium III processors. :(
I've also discovered that there are BIOS upgrades available for the SE440BX-2, but when it comes to BIOS... I believe that you should never upgrade unless you have a very specific reason to do so. For instance, if you are trying to install new hardware that needs the BIOS upgrade, then go ahead. Otherwise, if everything is working... leave it alone!
If I were building a new box, I would probably go with a more configurable main board. I believe the Abit boards are very popular with home builders. If you are running the SE440BX-2, there is a lot of info available on the Intel site, and I suggest you check it out before making system upgrades.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): installed
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Epinions.com ID:
skadar
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Location: Connecticut
Reviews written: 158
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