Again, look for the chip in the list.

With CL=3 it is meant setting the RAM timings a bit slower. That is done in the BIOS -> CHIPSET FEATURES SETUP -> "SDRAM CAS Latency Time".
While at it I'd also set "SDRAM RAS to CAS Delay" and "SDRAM RAS Precharge Time" to the highest possible value (at least for the time of testing higher FSB clocks).
That way slower specc'ed RAM COULD run at a higher frequency. But there's no guarantee.
It would help if you could post a picture of your RAM (if you haven't already, sorry I didn't read the whole thread). Then someone here could tell what speed it should run well on or if you'd need other RAM for 133MHz.

For setting the FSB:
As I understand it you already proved that setting the FSB to 112MHz and 124MHz worked in general (stability may be another point). That's good.
Did you also try it with the new CPU already? Does 133MHz work with that?

I don't know CPUFSB and it's FSB options, but the obstacle I see is that you/CPUFSB may operate in the upper half of the FSB table in the clock gens datasheet (that's where FS3=0 / chap. 6-2).
Problem here is that there's also a 133MHz option but with that you overclock the PCI bus to 44.33MHz. That COULD also be a reason the system get's unstable (besides that the BX chipset itself or it's implementation on the mainboard may not like it).
Anyway, it would be better to use the second half of the FSB table, that's where 133MHz FSB correlate to 33MHz PCI which is fully in spec.
If CPUFSB can't do that then it should be possible to use softFSB with an own dll instead.

softFSB as is (at least the versoin I'm looking at) doesn't have a config file for your clock generator, yet.
But it gives the possibility to make own dlls. Unfortunately this is a bit fiddly to use but as soon as you understand how it is working it should be no big problem.
That way all possible FSB settings of the clock gen can be mapped to a setting in softFSB, which in turn you could test with you HW setup.
In general, it is important that softFSB knows how to speak to you clock gen (that is: what clock gen you have). The type of your mainboard isn't of interest. That's what myne wanted to tell you.

softFSB doesn't start on my working machine, but if I find some time I can have a look into it on an older machine if you want to try.

myne wrote on 2025-01-21, 03:43:

Again, look for the chip in the list.

Sorry, your posts tend to be a bit vague. 😅 But I’ll try looking in the lists.

ChrisK wrote on 2025-01-21, 10:06:

With CL=3 it is meant setting the RAM timings a bit slower. That is done in the BIOS -> CHIPSET FEATURES SETUP -> "SDRAM CAS Lat […]
Show full quote

With CL=3 it is meant setting the RAM timings a bit slower. That is done in the BIOS -> CHIPSET FEATURES SETUP -> "SDRAM CAS Latency Time".
While at it I'd also set "SDRAM RAS to CAS Delay" and "SDRAM RAS Precharge Time" to the highest possible value (at least for the time of testing higher FSB clocks).
That way slower specc'ed RAM COULD run at a higher frequency. But there's no guarantee.
It would help if you could post a picture of your RAM (if you haven't already, sorry I didn't read the whole thread). Then someone here could tell what speed it should run well on or if you'd need other RAM for 133MHz.

For setting the FSB:
As I understand it you already proved that setting the FSB to 112MHz and 124MHz worked in general (stability may be another point). That's good.
Did you also try it with the new CPU already? Does 133MHz work with that?

I don't know CPUFSB and it's FSB options, but the obstacle I see is that you/CPUFSB may operate in the upper half of the FSB table in the clock gens datasheet (that's where FS3=0 / chap. 6-2).
Problem here is that there's also a 133MHz option but with that you overclock the PCI bus to 44.33MHz. That COULD also be a reason the system get's unstable (besides that the BX chipset itself or it's implementation on the mainboard may not like it).
Anyway, it would be better to use the second half of the FSB table, that's where 133MHz FSB correlate to 33MHz PCI which is fully in spec.
If CPUFSB can't do that then it should be possible to use softFSB with an own dll instead.

softFSB as is (at least the versoin I'm looking at) doesn't have a config file for your clock generator, yet.
But it gives the possibility to make own dlls. Unfortunately this is a bit fiddly to use but as soon as you understand how it is working it should be no big problem.
That way all possible FSB settings of the clock gen can be mapped to a setting in softFSB, which in turn you could test with you HW setup.
In general, it is important that softFSB knows how to speak to you clock gen (that is: what clock gen you have). The type of your mainboard isn't of interest. That's what myne wanted to tell you.

softFSB doesn't start on my working machine, but if I find some time I can have a look into it on an older machine if you want to try.

Thanks for the lengthy reply. And that would be great, if you could. This is all new to me, so a lot of these options are a bit over my head. I’ll try making a custom dll for SoftFSB as I don’t think CPUFSB can do what you suggested. It just makes it 133 and 44.33. And yeah, I tried it with the new CPU and got the same result.

As to the RAM, I suspect those options are unavailable to me in the BIOS, as usual. 😕 Which is why I’m considering this other motherboard, which offers more customisation. I’ll take a look a bit later. I’ll also take a pic of the RAM as well.

Also, I’ve been informed that if I bought this Abit BE6-II motherboard to replace my MSI 6156, that ideally it should just be a simple ‘drop in’…? That I wouldn’t need to reformat…? As it’s a similar to my current one. Is that possible? I was under the impression that a reformat is in order no matter what motherboard you replace?

DustyShinigami wrote on 2025-01-21, 13:05:

As to the RAM, I suspect those options are unavailable to me in the BIOS, as usual. 😕 Which is why I’m considering this other motherboard, which offers more customisation. I’ll take a look a bit later. I’ll also take a pic of the RAM as well.

Well, I've seen these options in the manual to your board (BIOS section). So they should be available.

DustyShinigami wrote on 2025-01-21, 13:16:

Also, I’ve been informed that if I bought this Abit BE6-II motherboard to replace my MSI 6156, that ideally it should just be a simple ‘drop in’…? That I wouldn’t need to reformat…? As it’s a similar to my current one. Is that possible? I was under the impression that a reformat is in order no matter what motherboard you replace?

That could be possible, never tried that.
But what would you gain with the BE6-II? It is a good board, sure. But it has the same chipset as yours so all restrictions also apply to it.
You get better clock control via the BIOS and some more expansion slots, but idk, that alone won't make that huge difference imho. But it's your choice of course.

ChrisK wrote on 2025-01-21, 16:15:

Well, I've seen these options in the manual to your board (BIOS section). So they should be available. […]
Show full quote

DustyShinigami wrote on 2025-01-21, 13:05:

As to the RAM, I suspect those options are unavailable to me in the BIOS, as usual. 😕 Which is why I’m considering this other motherboard, which offers more customisation. I’ll take a look a bit later. I’ll also take a pic of the RAM as well.

Well, I've seen these options in the manual to your board (BIOS section). So they should be available.

DustyShinigami wrote on 2025-01-21, 13:16:

Also, I’ve been informed that if I bought this Abit BE6-II motherboard to replace my MSI 6156, that ideally it should just be a simple ‘drop in’…? That I wouldn’t need to reformat…? As it’s a similar to my current one. Is that possible? I was under the impression that a reformat is in order no matter what motherboard you replace?

That could be possible, never tried that.
But what would you gain with the BE6-II? It is a good board, sure. But it has the same chipset as yours so all restrictions also apply to it.
You get better clock control via the BIOS and some more expansion slots, but idk, that alone won't make that huge difference imho. But it's your choice of course.

I was informed by the seller that it's more customisable? I presume in the BIOS. As well as it supporting 133MHz for the FSB. And what sorts of restrictions, exactly?

ChrisK wrote on 2025-01-21, 10:06:

With CL=3 it is meant setting the RAM timings a bit slower. That is done in the BIOS -> CHIPSET FEATURES SETUP -> "SDRAM CAS Lat […]
Show full quote

With CL=3 it is meant setting the RAM timings a bit slower. That is done in the BIOS -> CHIPSET FEATURES SETUP -> "SDRAM CAS Latency Time".
While at it I'd also set "SDRAM RAS to CAS Delay" and "SDRAM RAS Precharge Time" to the highest possible value (at least for the time of testing higher FSB clocks).
That way slower specc'ed RAM COULD run at a higher frequency. But there's no guarantee.
It would help if you could post a picture of your RAM (if you haven't already, sorry I didn't read the whole thread). Then someone here could tell what speed it should run well on or if you'd need other RAM for 133MHz.

For setting the FSB:
As I understand it you already proved that setting the FSB to 112MHz and 124MHz worked in general (stability may be another point). That's good.
Did you also try it with the new CPU already? Does 133MHz work with that?

I don't know CPUFSB and it's FSB options, but the obstacle I see is that you/CPUFSB may operate in the upper half of the FSB table in the clock gens datasheet (that's where FS3=0 / chap. 6-2).
Problem here is that there's also a 133MHz option but with that you overclock the PCI bus to 44.33MHz. That COULD also be a reason the system get's unstable (besides that the BX chipset itself or it's implementation on the mainboard may not like it).
Anyway, it would be better to use the second half of the FSB table, that's where 133MHz FSB correlate to 33MHz PCI which is fully in spec.
If CPUFSB can't do that then it should be possible to use softFSB with an own dll instead.

softFSB as is (at least the versoin I'm looking at) doesn't have a config file for your clock generator, yet.
But it gives the possibility to make own dlls. Unfortunately this is a bit fiddly to use but as soon as you understand how it is working it should be no big problem.
That way all possible FSB settings of the clock gen can be mapped to a setting in softFSB, which in turn you could test with you HW setup.
In general, it is important that softFSB knows how to speak to you clock gen (that is: what clock gen you have). The type of your mainboard isn't of interest. That's what myne wanted to tell you.

softFSB doesn't start on my working machine, but if I find some time I can have a look into it on an older machine if you want to try.

I’ve checked both Soft and SetFSB, but I don’t see any options for the RAM or CL=3. Nor any option to make my own DLLs or accessing the second half of that FSB table. 😕

Those three options in the BIOS you mentioned are there, but they’re set to the highest setting already, which is 3.

I’m guessing that means the RAM is already set to SL3…?

I did try CPUCool, but it tells me Windows 98 isn’t supported. I think I read someone else say the same thing in another thread.
Going to podien.de didn’t appear to take me anywhere, so I’m guessing I can’t get the full registered version of CPUFSB, which means I can’t set the FSB to anything that will ‘stick’. That tool lists four Tray Frequencies as follows:

Although I have been able to set it higher than 100.3. Not sure what the ‘not avail’ is for or related to.

EDIT: I was just able to put it to 133 and 33, but it still crashes.

The seller showed me a video of the BIOS options for the Abit motherboard and I'm quite impressed with the amount of customisable options. Particularly the CPU. I don't imagine I'd need to worry about throttlers too much if things can be adjusted manually in the BIOS. 😀

Bought the motherboard. They're also going to include some RAM. 512MB, I believe. Much more than I was expecting. I'll probably take one stick out so it's 256MB. 😀

I have got a question regarding the RAM. I can't seem to find anything doing a search. Dual Channel RAM has been around since the 60s from what I read, but did that become a common thing as we know it now as early as that? Particularly in the 90s? I understand that Dual Channel/two sticks is faster than a single stick, but is that the case with SDRAM?

Dual channel I believe was some revision of the Pentium 4. And the Athlon 64 X2 on the AMD side.

SScorpio wrote on 2025-01-21, 23:01:

Dual channel I believe was some revision of the Pentium 4. And the Athlon 64 X2 on the AMD side.

I see. So not something that will have any benefit on a Pentium 3 with two sticks of SDRAM then?

DustyShinigami wrote on 2025-01-21, 23:07:

SScorpio wrote on 2025-01-21, 23:01:

Dual channel I believe was some revision of the Pentium 4. And the Athlon 64 X2 on the AMD side.

I see. So not something that will have any benefit on a Pentium 3 with two sticks of SDRAM then?

No. Pentium 3 is single channel only.
More sticks = more RAM = same bandwidth (like single stick)

DustyShinigami wrote on 2025-01-21, 16:41:

I was informed by the seller that it's more customisable? I presume in the BIOS. As well as it supporting 133MHz for the FSB. And what sorts of restrictions, exactly?

Intel BX chipset that is not designed for 133MHz although it may run at that inofficially on some boards.
Also AGP clock will be at 89MHz instead of 66MHz which some (many?) AGP cards don't really like.

DustyShinigami wrote on 2025-01-21, 19:43:

Those three options in the BIOS you mentioned are there, but they’re set to the highest setting already, which is 3.

Then there's nothing more to do.
You still didn't show a real picture of your RAM so no one can tell you if that's the problem with running the board at 133 MHz.
But since you bought the other board everything should be fine now.

ChrisK wrote on 2025-01-22, 07:42:

No. Pentium 3 is single channel only. More sticks = more RAM = same bandwidth (like single stick) […]
Show full quote

DustyShinigami wrote on 2025-01-21, 23:07:

SScorpio wrote on 2025-01-21, 23:01:

Dual channel I believe was some revision of the Pentium 4. And the Athlon 64 X2 on the AMD side.

I see. So not something that will have any benefit on a Pentium 3 with two sticks of SDRAM then?

No. Pentium 3 is single channel only.
More sticks = more RAM = same bandwidth (like single stick)

DustyShinigami wrote on 2025-01-21, 16:41:

I was informed by the seller that it's more customisable? I presume in the BIOS. As well as it supporting 133MHz for the FSB. And what sorts of restrictions, exactly?

Intel BX chipset that is not designed for 133MHz although it may run at that inofficially on some boards.
Also AGP clock will be at 89MHz instead of 66MHz which some (many?) AGP cards don't really like.

DustyShinigami wrote on 2025-01-21, 19:43:

Those three options in the BIOS you mentioned are there, but they’re set to the highest setting already, which is 3.

Then there's nothing more to do.
You still didn't show a real picture of your RAM so no one can tell you if that's the problem with running the board at 133 MHz.
But since you bought the other board everything should be fine now.

Ahh, yeah. Sorry. I did forget to take pics of the RAM. But I know the speed of that is 100MHz. I don't believe the motherboard will accept it any higher, to be honest. It overclocked a bit when I overclocked the FSB to 124MHz, but I think 100 is the maximum supported.

At least this other motherboard natively supports 133MHz as well as the RAM. And the BIOS allows both to be changed from anywhere between 66MHz - 133MHz. 😀