Older Boards With Under 2.5v Core Settings

Supporting Current Processors

Here is a list of motherboards which have undocumented settings for vCore, which may allow the use of low voltage processors. One issue that must always be kept in mind when considering the use of new processors on older motherboards is the current draw. Most Socket 7 motherboards were designed to handle no more than 10 amps of current. You can determine what the draw will be by checking the data sheet for the processor, or by using our own CPU Power Requirements chart.

There are two tables – one with voltages from 2.00 to 2.49, and a second with voltages from 1.50 to 1.99. These voltages are listed down the left side of the table, with each motherboard listed across the top which has at least one setting in the table. Empty cells mean that the particular motherboard for that column does not support the voltage in that row. Many of the settings were supplied by reader Will Hansard, who used the Processor Protector that we reviewed in January.

Most motherboards have a single jumper indicator which has more than two pins (perhaps up to 10). In these cases the pins to be jumpered are usually numbered in pairs (1-2, 3-4, etc) and the table will contain only the pairs which are to be jumpered for that voltage. The word ‘All’ in a cell means that all pins are jumpered, while ‘None’ means that no pins are jumpered. Some motherboards have multiple designations for their jumpers (i.e., VID0, VID1, VID2), which may have several settings. These jumpers are indicated with a forward slash between each, and the appropriate pins to be set. For example, 1-2/off/2-3 would indicate that for VID0 pins 1-2 are jumpered, VID1 has no pins jumpered and VID2 has pins 2-3 jumpered.