What is a slocket? A slocket (or slotket) is a converter board that allows you to use a PPGA form factor processor on a Slot 1 motherboard. In the case of the AL440LX, this allows you to use the Celeron 466, 500, and 533 MHz processors.

As of right now, the AL440LX only supports the Celeron's with a slocket.  However, support for the Celeron 2's will be available soon. There are several companies with new slockets in the works. As soon as they become available to the public, I'll update this site accordingly. The Celeron 2's have lower voltage requirements than what the motherboard can produce, which has been the main hurdle so far. Be sure to check the main page for the latest updates.

The AL440LX does not support the Pentium III processors, and I do not foresee support for them in the future. The Pentium III uses a 100 MHz system bus, which the AL440LX is unable to support. As you know, the AL440LX (and all LX based motherboards) uses a 66 MHz bus.  With an appropriate slocket, you could install a PIII -- unfortunately, it would be severely underclocked. Lets take a PIII-800 for example. The PIII-800 uses a multiplier of 8. Multiply 8 by 100 MHz, and you get 800 MHz. If you were to run the same processor on a 66 MHz bus, effectively underclocking it, you would multiply 8 by 66 MHz, giving you 528 MHz. All in all, the Celeron 2's are the most cost effective upgrade for the AL440LX.

In most cases, in order to get the PPGA-Slot 1 converter boards to work, you'll first need to upgrade your BIOS to BIOS P14. You will also need to perform the BIOS upgrade using a normal Pentium II or Celeron processor. Performing the BIOS upgrade with your slocket installed does not work in most cases (depending on which version of the BIOS you currently have installed). If you're performing the upgrade to an OEM machine, such as a Dell or Gateway, you'll have to use the BIOS recovery method listed in my FAQ to upgrade the BIOS.
 

Here's the low down on the installation:

Support for the Celeron processors started with BIOS version P08. So, in theory, a slocket should work with any BIOS P08 or later. I know that some people are a little leery about upgrading their BIOS, so my first recommendation would be to install the slocket and see if your computer will boot with your current BIOS version. If it does, you're all set. If not, then I'd first try upgrading the BIOS. My personal recommendation is to use BIOS P14 if you plan on using a slocket.

If you're upgrading your system from an older PII processor, I recommend doing the BIOS upgrade first, while the PII is still installed. The BIOS update utility is a little easier to use. However, if you've just bought the motherboard or your old CPU died, it is possible to upgrade the BIOS with a slocket installed. In order to do this, you'll have to use the BIOS recovery method, which is accomplished by inserting the BIOS disk into the floppy drive, removing the configuration jumper, and booting the system. A more detailed description on how to do this can be found in my FAQ. With any BIOS below P08 installed, the machine would power up, but not boot with the slocket installed. I successfully used this method to upgrade from BIOS P02 to P12 and P14 with a slocket installed. I didn't have the patience to try every iteration in between, but I think it's fair to assume that this will work for any BIOS.

BIOS P13 and P14 have support for clock multipliers as high as 7, or 466 MHz. BIOS P12 and below support a clock multiplier as high as 5, or 333 MHz. So what happens if you use a 466 MHz Celeron in a computer with BIOS P12? When you boot the system with P12 and a Celeron 466, the BIOS POST screen identifies the processor as a Celeron 450. I found this to be very interesting, considering that no such animal exists! Once the system was up and running, I ran every CPU utility I had, including CPUID and Norton Utilities. Every utility I had reported that the processor was running at 466 MHz. So, what does that mean to you?

You can use any speed Celeron with any BIOS that supports the Celeron (P08 or higher). This includes the Celeron 500 MHz and the Celeron 533 MHz. The only difference you'll see is the processor speed that is reported during the BIOS POST. You can always check the speed of the CPU with just about any diagnostic utility, including Norton Utilities and CPUID.

Unlike the old days of the Pentium processor, the Celeron's and newer PII's are clock multiplier locked. The clock multiplier setting is determined and set by Intel during the manufacturing process, and reported to the motherboard during the BIOS POST through the EBL_CR_POWERON register. You don't need to adjust a BIOS setting to set the clock multiplier for the CPU (and in the later BIOS versions, you don't have the option if you're using one of the newer processors). In fact, in most cases, if you try to adjust it higher, the processor will slow down to 133 MHz (depending on which CPU and BIOS you are using). In the case of the AL440LX, the multiplier settings are only essential for the older PII's, which were not clock multiplier locked.
 

So now it's time to pick a slocket:

Here's a list of some PPGA-Slot 1 converter boards that have proven successful:

Abit Slocket II  
Asus S370                        Review
Gigabyte GA-6R7
Powerleap PL-PII             Review    Review
MSI MS-6905
Tekram P6TS3
AOpen
PCCHIPS/PC100
QDI
IWill Slocket II (Slocket I will not work)
PC100 "Bridge Connection to the PPGA Celeron CPU. (found at many computer shows)

The ASUS S370, Gigabyte GA-6R7, and MSI MS-6905 can be found for sale at NECX for $13.95, $10.95, and $13.95 respectively.
The Powerleap PL-II is available from Powerleap for $29.95.

Before you make your choice, make sure to read the reviews of the ASUS S370 from bxboards.com and the reviews of the Powerleap PL-II from bxboards.com and anandtech. (I'm still looking for reviews of the other adapters.) While the Powerleap adapter is more than twice the price of the others, it is much more versatile and may be a better investment. I'm currently using one in my system and the installation went without a hitch.

The Powerleap adapter installs flawlessly on the AL440LX. You can set the CPU core voltage manually via jumpers on the slocket, or allow the slocket to determine and set the voltage automatically (which it does very well.) The Powerleap adapter also has settings for both 66 MHz and 100 MHz front side bus. This doesn't do you much good with the AL440LX, but gives you some room to grow if you ever want to use it in another motherboard. Finally, it has a temperature sensor on the adapter that will lower the speed of the CPU if the CPU temperature rises above 75ºC. My only complaint about the Powerleap adapter is that it doesn't work with the standard retention mechanism. It fits fine between the standard PII posts, but the retention mechanism on my motherboard doesn't provide any support for the CPU card. Powerleap provides two plastic posts, but they aren't designed very well. They provide some support, but not retention. The adapter is taller than a SECC Celeron CPU, which prevents "cap" style retention mechanisms from working as well. I suspect that this is a problem with all slockets. Of course, my computer spends 99.9% of it's time on the floor, and isn't subjected to vibrations on a regular basis, so this shouldn't be a problem. If anyone has a lead on a good universal retention mechanism that will provide good support and security for a slocket, please let me know.
 

And here's a list of those that have failed:

IWill
ABIT Slocket I
DFI
Super Micro CL2S1
EPoX S370
Procomp D370

The ABIT Slocket I's are a confirmed kill. Paul Annetts reports the following on his Dell AL440LX:
 

"I've had a failure to install a slocket on a Dell AL440LX using an ABIT slocket and a Celeron 400 MHz processor, bought here in the UK. I even took the motherboard out and replaced the retention mechanism on the board with a universal mechanism to see if that would do the trick, but no luck. I'm a heck a lot more confident at motherboard upgrades now, though!!!! I'm writing this using the original PII 233 in the motherboard, so I know the basics are OK."

Alan Segal reports the following on the ABIT slocket and his Intel motherboard:

"Having already upgraded my bios to P14 I tried to install a ABIT slocket and a Celeron 433.  I had a completely dead machine.  Once I put the PII 233 back in, everything worked just fine."

After some further communication with ABIT, Alan found out the following from ABIT Tech Support:

"The LX chipset motherboards should have no compatibility with our Slokets and Celeron Processors.  I suggest you try a different slocket or a different processor first to narrow down the problem.  See if  it is possible to test the combination at a different motherboard first."

At least ABIT is honest about the problem, which more than I can say about some manufacturers. Based on the field reports and the information straight from ABIT, I'd steer clear of the ABIT slocket.

Martin Anderson reports on the IWill slocket:

I have some feedback for you.  I tried installing an IWill daughterboard with a Celeron 400 and no dice...I upgraded to p14 with my P2/233 and it still works now but when I put in the slocket, not even a fan whirr.

I'd love to write a huge installation guide to help everyone through the harrowing installation process, but it's actually pretty straight forward. The key seems to be performing the BIOS upgrade first. I've had several success stories reported with the three adapters listed above, as well as a no name adapter from Taiwan.

If you have any success or failure stories, drop me a line and I'll modify this page accordingly.
 

Michael Earl upgraded his Dell XPS D266 to a Celeron 466 using a Powerleap slocket and reported the following:

"Nuts and Bolts benchmarking tool gave a benchmark of 280 for my old processor (PII 266). It's now reading 502 with this 466 Celeron inside."