GA-586S2: CPU-Upgrade with AMD K6-2 or K6-III

Version 1.0.3-en (11/27/2004)

Es gibt auch eine deutsche Version dieser Seite!

Preface

This page is a short english version of my longer German article. I decided to write it, because I found out that many people translated my original article using Google Language Tools or similar. However, the results of these translations are in most cases at best funny or at worst useless.

I hope, with this version I can help those poor people who are not able to speak/read the German language. If you have still questions or you've found some mistakes, feel free to send me an . Suggestions or criticism are welcome, too.

Requirements

You can use any AMD K6-2 or K6-III processor to upgrade your GA-586S2 based computer. However, an AMD K6-2/450 CXT is possibly the best solution. The K6-III is not officially supported, but I heard that it's working, too.

To use any of the above mentioned processors you will have to update the BIOS to version 2.2 using a suitable version of Award Flash (e.g. verion 6.6, see FAQ). Both files can be found via a Google search for "ga586s2 bios 2.2" respectively "awdflash 6.6". After downloading and unpacking the archives copy the files 5S2_22.BIN and AWDFLASH.EXE to a bootable floppy.

Award Flash Version 6.6:	AWDFLASH.EXE	05.11.1998	05:50	25.028
BIOS Version 2.2:	5S2_22.BIN	27.12.1998	16:11	131.072

Update the BIOS following the instructions on the Gigabyte web site and/or of Award Flash. A BIOS update is always a risky process with which one can destroy the BIOS (e.g. by a power failure).

For Windows 95 you will also need an OS patch, which can be found via a Google serch for "amdk6upd.exe".

Configuration

The GA-586S2 is configured by 8 dip switches and one jumper. The dip switches can be found near the last ISA slot, the jumper is near the IDE ports.

Fig. 1: Overview GA-586S2

Fig. 2: Jumper JP1

To set up the processor correctly you'll have to configure the following settings:

FSB clock
Multiplicator
Core Voltage

FSB Clock and Multiplicator

FSB	JP1	SW1	Comment
60 MHz	OPEN	ON
66 MHz	OPEN	OFF
75 MHz	CLOSE	OFF
83 MHz	CLOSE	ON	undocumented, not recommended

Table 1: FSB clock

Multiplicator	SW2	SW3	SW8	Comment
x4	ON	OFF	ON
x4,5	ON	ON	ON
x5	OFF	ON	ON
x5,5	OFF	OFF	ON
x6	ON	OFF	OFF	only AMD K6-2 CXT, K6-III

Table 2: Multiplicators (selection)

Processor	Configuration (1)		Configuration (2)
K6-2/300	66x4,5	300 MHz	75x4	300 MHZ
K6-2/333	66x5	333 MHz	75x4,5	337 MHz
K6-2/350 K6-2/366	66x5,5	366 MHz	75x5	375 MHz
K6-2/400	66x6	400 MHz	75x5,5	412 MHz
K6-2/450+			75x6	450 MHz

Table 3: Possible configurations (selection)

Core Voltage

Voltage	SW4	SW5	SW6	SW7	Processor
AUTO	OFF	OFF	OFF	ON	only Intel, Cyrix, AMD K5
2,2 V	OFF	ON	OFF	OFF	AMD K6-2 and AMD K6-III xFx
2,3 V	OFF	ON	ON	OFF	AMD K6-2 xGx
2,4 V	ON	OFF	OFF	OFF	AMD K6-2 and AMD K6-III xHx
2,9 V	OFF	OFF	ON	ON	AMD K6 ≤ 200 MHz
3,2 V	ON	OFF	OFF	ON	AMD K6 > 233 MHz

Table 4: Core voltages (selection)

Tuning

SetK6

SetK6 controls and sets the internal processor registers for write allocation and write combining (only K6-2 CXT and K6-III). If the BIOS does not recognize and initialize the processor correctly, the processor will operate about five percent slower than possible. See SetK6 documentation for details!

SetK6 v3 (152 KB)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can I "underclock" a processor?

Yes.

Although I configured a multiplicator of 6x and a FSB clock of 75 MHz, the BIOS reports an "AMD K6(tm)-2/400". Although I'm using an AMD K6-III processor the BIOS reports an "AMD K6(tm)-2/400". What's wrong?

Nothing. Use the AMD CPU Information Display Utility (69 KB) to find out the real CPU type and clock.

What about the multiplicator 6x? I can't find anything about that in my manual.

The multiplicator 6x is actually the multiplicator 2x, which is interpreted as 6x by the K6-III and K6-2 CXT processors. Therefore it is only available for these CPUs.

What is a "CXT version" of the K6-2 and how can I recognize it?

The CXT version is already based on the core of the K6-III and supports the multiplicator 6x. It has the imprint '26351' in the lower left corner of the CPU.

What does AFQ, AGX etc. in the type name of the K6-2/-III CPUs mean?

The three letters describe processor attributes.

Letter	Attribute	Value	Meaning
1	Package	A	321-Pin CPGA
2	Core voltage	F	2,1 - 2,3 V
		G	2,2 - 2,4 V
		H	2,3 - 2,5 V
3	Max. temperatur	Q	0 - 60 °C
		R	0 - 65 °C
		X	0 - 70 °C

Where do I get a manual for the GA-586S2?

You can download the manual (405 KB) from the Gigabyte web site.

What Versions of Award Flash support the GA-586S2? Do I have to use Award Flash Version 6.6?

You will need a version that is not too old and not too new ;-). Version 6.6 and 7.61 are known to work. All versions between should work, too.

What are the differences between AMD K6, K6-2 and K6-III?

	AMD K6	AMD K6-2	AMD K6-2 CXT	AMD K6-III
Socket	Socket7	Socket7¹	Socket7¹	Socket7¹
Package	321-Pin CPGA	321-Pin CPGA	321-Pin CPGA	321-Pin CPGA
MMX	yes	yes	yes	yes
3DNow!	-	yes	yes	yes
L2 Cache	onboard	onboard	onboard	128K²
Write Allocation	-	yes	yes	yes
Write Combining	-	-	yes	yes
Multiplikator 6x	-	-	yes	yes

¹ Up to 100MHz FSB ² Onboard cache works as L3 cache

Why is this article shorter than the German one?

Because I'm too lazy.

Is there an English version of your famous "GA-586S2 Upgrade Guide"?

Not yet, see above.

History

Version 1.0.3-en (11/27/2004)

Removed dead links
Added Google search hints

Version 1.0.2-en (04/26/2004)

More minor improvements

Version 1.0.1-en (08/19/2003)

Minor improvements

Version 1.0-en (08/19/2003)

First version based on German version 3.0.4

Note: Some of my statements on this page are based on personal experience and may not apply to all configurations. For possible damage I do not take responsibility.
Sources: Manual GA-586S2, Gigabyte Homepage (www.gigabyte.de), AMD Homepage (www.amd.com), AMD K6-2 and AMD K6-III technical documentation