FAQ

Q: Can the VP6 support Tualutian PIII cpus?
A: No, not only do the PIII-T cpus have a different pin out, they also run at a much lower voltage than the VP6 can support.

Q: Can the VP6 run dual Celerons (I or II)?
A: No, the VP6 does not support the older Celeron I cpus, and the newer Celeron II cpus are not SMP capable.There have been reports of people having luck running one celeron.

Q: Whats the fastest cpu that will run on the VP6?
A: The fastest PIII that will run on the VP6 is the 1.1Ghz (100fsb) FCPGA (non-Tualutian) cpu or the 1.0Ghz (133 fsb) cpu.

Q: I have 2 PIII (x)mhz cpus but the system never reports the correct mhz or doesn't boot at all?
A: Just because the cpus are the same mhz doesn't mean they are the same stepping cpus. Stepping?. Intel reprocesses its cpus in what they refer to as steps. Each step (also know as s-spec) usually fixes numerous minor bugs from the previous step. However in the PIII series, Intel also started changing the voltage requirements for the cpus as it changed steps. That is where your problem lies. Since the VP6 is only able to adjust the cpus voltages together and not seperately you may be trying to run a 1.75V cpu at 1.7V because of the other cpu in your system. Your s-spec can be determine by looking at the marking on your cpu and comparing them to the S-SPEC list on Intels cpu page.

Also on your cpus should be marked their voltage requirements.
Can you make this work? yes and no. Some have gotten 2 different voltage cpus to work by placing the lower voltage cpu into the system by itself booting into bios and then adjusting the cpu votlage to that of the other cpu. Save, reboot and then turn off the computer. Now place the second cpu into the computer and turn on. Hopefully your machine now reports but cpus correctly. If not then sadly you must return one of your cpus to get another to match one you already have.

Q: The manual states the board can use ECC ram is this true?
A: The board can use ECC ram but the ECC option does not function.

Q: I've read that using all 4 memory slots will not work or only certian memory slots work properly?
A: It is possible to use all 4 memory slots, it is recommended that you increase the 3.3V level in bios to ensure you don't run into any ram problems under excessive loads. The manual also states the when filling the Ram slots that you start with slot 1 and fill them in order. People have reported faster memory benchmarks with the ram in the correct slots.

However people have also reported problems when filling all 4 memory slots.No answer is 100% right in every setup.

Q: Whats the best boot options in bios?
A: Depends on your setup. If you plan to boot off your Raid then one of the options must be ATA100Raid. It is strongly recommended to 'disable' the 'boot other option' that is listed just below the boot device order.

Q: I'm not using the HPT370 but I still receive reports of conflicts between it and my pci device in slot 5?
A: If you are not using the HPT370 it is recommended that you turn it off in bios. If you are using it, it is strongly recommended to not use pci slot5. If you must, then use a device that can share its irq easily.

Q: Whats the best Ram options for the best performance?
A: Again this depends on your ram, there is no clear cut case to use for all ram. If you are using good quality cas2 ram then you can try using the 'turbo' mode. Set he Cas option to 2. Reboot, if your system does not reboot then try the next mode 'fast'. Work down the list under your system is stable. Then you can try the setting the 'delay' options. 'No delay' is of course the best but if it doesn't work go down the list until the best is found for YOUR ram. Remember to set the "turbo-fast-etc..' mode the same for all your ram slots and not just one. Also increasing your 3.3V can help you stablize your ram.

Q: My cdrom is installed on IDE3 but it doesn't work?
A: According to Highpoint technologies web-site the HPT370 does not recognize nor was it intended to run any ATAPI type devices only hard-drives. This includes CDRW, CDROM, ZIP, and DVD. You must place the device on either IDE1 or IDE2.

Q: What is the affinity tool and how do i use it?
A: Check out the affinity tool write up done by twobombs.