Identifiying an old motherboard

iKettles

iKettles

iKettles

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I have an old P3 motherboard in my draw. Is there any way I can identify it? I've looked at it and there's no labels stating manufacturer or model.
Thanks.
 
Must be an identifying number on there some where. Look between the PCI slots. Also check for stickers on the actual PCI and maybe ISA slots.
 
Can you just plug it in? That would be the easiest way. Otherwise it is needle in a haystack time. Was a homebuild or from a PC builder? And we have the obvious problem here that you can't name PC builders that are still in existence so that brings the odds up further.
 
BillytheImpaler said:
Can't you? I wouldn't be breaking the rules if I said I had a Dell Optiplex GX280, would I?
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I think it is a bit of a grey area really, certain manufacturers seem to be allowed but if you link to them then it is still a no-no and I'm sure I've seen some competitors names removed when that was only a name. I struggle to see the significance of actually linking as compared with simply naming, if you can read a name you can type it into a search engine and find the site. For simplicities sake I try to mention as little as possible that could be even vaguely deemed a competitor.
 
Seems to have got a very good review in that first link, 91/100, lol, and they do mention overclocking with it, but not too much because of the lack of vcore adjustment.
Just to go back to the OP, the board linked to is a slot P2 board, were u sure that it was a P3 board then?
 
schumi84 said:
Seems to have got a very good review in that first link, 91/100, lol, and they do mention overclocking with it, but not too much because of the lack of vcore adjustment.
Just to go back to the OP, the board linked to is a slot P2 board, were u sure that it was a P3 board then?
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Positive, the actual heatsink thing that slots into it says P3 all over it, as does the CPU.
 
P3 slot1 cartridge went upto 100FSB and 1000MHz believe it or not, even though ones above 650MHz are rare as hens teeth now.

you could overclock it and it might even be worth it depending on what the FSB will goto on the mobo. If you can achieve 133FSB you would have a great overclock and 112FSB would be suffice to get that bit better performance out of the machine to make it from being quite slow to a useable workstation IMO.
 
Motherboard seems to be intact, got it connected to an old 300w PSU outside of the case. Is there any way I can get it to boot without putting it inside a case?
 
So were P2 and P3 the same slot then?

You learn something new every day. My old PC from about 6 years ago was a P3 800MHz socket instead of a slot, ran at about 25 degrees, lol, but wouldnt overclock for anything.
 
iKettles said:
Motherboard seems to be intact, got it connected to an old 300w PSU outside of the case. Is there any way I can get it to boot without putting it inside a case?
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You can jump start it with a screwdriver, just touch it on the pins where you would connect the power switch until the system starts
 
Not a clue, do P3's even use slots? Also here's how I've got it set up atm. I can hook it up to this monitor for a bit. Just need to figure out how to get it to boot up. Can you locate the POWER SW pin for me? I can get a picture if you need of the board.
EDIT: I think I found the pin using the manual. I touched both pins for it with the screwdriver at the same time and nothing happened.
 
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schumi84 said:
So were P2 and P3 the same slot then?
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Wikipedia will give you more information than you ever wanted to know, essentially yes, the early CPUs (Katmai and some Coppermines) used the same slot design as the PIIs but with some alterations. The later ones (some Coppermine and all the Coppermine-T and Tualatin CPUs) used socket 370.

iKettles, the power switch is normally near the end of a largish block of pins that are used for the front panel, it can be difficult to read the board labelling though, particularly if it is covered in dust. :)

//edit well it could be that the motherboard is actually dead, the PSU is or you could be doing it wrong. Do you know if either should be working?
 
From the picture I can find on Google, It looks as if the connectors are at the bottom left of the board to the left of the battery. The picture I've seen is too low res to tell you exactly which, but it should be labeled, PW or PSW something similar
 
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