CPU Upgrade Options

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CPU Upgrade Page

There are many options for upgrading you CPU, of course the first is to just buy a higher processor and change the jumpers in your system. Unfortunately for many of us that is not an option. For example my system does not support the dual voltage required for MMX and I needed an option that would allow me to use a processor with MMX.

These products that allow you to get an MMX processor in your system are called Overdrives and voltage regulators. The overdrives typically are one piece units, whereas the voltage regulators are separate from the CPU (Which may or may not be sold with it). The advantage of the voltage regulators is that they can be upgraded with a faster processor later, or you can choose the processor you want. The advantage of a overdrive processor is they do not need to be put together. (However, voltage regulators like the PowerLeap can be bought assembled).

Before upgrading to MMX technology check to see if your systems BIOS is compatible with MMX, visit the Intel web site for a utility that will tell you . Some products on this page can allow you to put any processor you want in your system, however you should be aware that non-intel processor may require a BIOS upgrade. Some products may include the BIOS upgrade, such as the Evergreen MXPro. Be sure to find out what your system requires before buying, or buy from a place that will let you return. You may need to get a third party BIOS in some cases, check out my review of Mr. BIOS.

Can you put Pentium II in your PB? -
Yes, real soon there will be products available. One version of this upgrade that I have seen works by placing the upgrade in the PCI slot. This upgrade even has it's own BIOS and chipset. See below for links.

Products - Here are some interesting products that will allow you to upgrade to MMX or higher processor speeds without buying a new computer or motherboard. Some have sent me email about the Powerleap adapter and they love it, I love mine as well. It has brought me up to 233MHz MMX. I have also got a lot of email from people that bought the Evergreen MxPro and they are quite happy with it. Please let me know if you use any of these other products.

Product	Web Site	Product	Advantages
	PowerLeap	PL/ProMMX PL/ProMMX Plus! PL-54CMMX Your choice of processor for Socket 4, 5 and 7 motherboards Intel AMD IDT Cyrix	Works in Socket 5 and Socket 7 Motherboards regardless of electrical characteristics of the motherboard and it can handle any dual voltage CPU on the market today. Read my review of this Product. This is the most versatile of all CPU upgrade and it is great for overclocking.
	Friend Tech Computer Co., Ltd	PL/ProMMX PL/ProMMX Plus! PL/586-133 PL-54CMMX PL-C6/200	This site has a number of upgrades available, including many PowerLeap items, since this company is related to PowerLeap.
	Evergreen	Evergreen MxPro (TM) 180 MHz 200 MHz 240 MHz	Socket 5 and 7 compatible. Come with BIOS upgrade for system that need it. Simple and easy to install. 64K write-back cache. Read my review of this Product.
		Spectra 333 MHz	Socket 5 and 7 compatible. Allows AMD®-K6®-2 processor. Simple and easy to install. 64K L1 cache.
		EclipsePCI™ Celeron upgrade with - 440 BX chipset, Socket 370 Ziff -66 to 100 MHz bus speed. OR AMD K6-2 upgrade with ViaMVp3 Chipset, Socket 7 66 to 100 MHz bus speed. (Available Q1, 1999)	Upgrade for Intel® Pentium®, Pentium Pro and some 486 processor-based PCs. This PCI card is like a mini motherboard with it's own BIOS, memory slots, chipset and CPU slot. Disadvantage is cost.
	Zerus	MMXtreme 200 MHz 240 MHz 266 MHz	Socket 5 and 7 compatible. Come with BIOS upgrade for system that need it. Simple and easy to install. 64K write-back cache. Very similar product to the Evergreen MxPro.
	Concept Manufacturing	CM-VA55C	Concept Manufacturing, Inc. has developed a voltage adapter that will allow you to upgrade Pentium® 75-200 Mhz motherboards to the new Intel Pentium® or AMD K6-2 processors with MMXTM technology.
	Intel	Visit the intel web site to find out about their latest overdrive processor.	You can also try Intel's Upgrade Guide it can recommend an Intel product for your system, that is if you can find it they changed the link and I don't know where it went.

I do not endorse of promote any of these products, I simply place these here to inform you of your choices to upgrade. The two links below will take you to two products that I have researched and tested.

I am running a PowerLeap Adapter in my system, this is a great product. If you want to know more then read my Review of the PowerLeap Adapter. This adapter may be a better choice in the long, because you can chose which processor you want to use the only draw back being the need for a BIOS upgrade on some Packard Bell Systems.

Also Check out my MxPro Page - This is an interesting overdrive that I got to try out. Click here to read my review of this product.

Click here to go back to my upgrade section.