Mobo/proccessor question

[phr0zen]

I'm looking to build my own pc. I have found the majority of the parts I would like but I ran across this while lookig at the mobo that've chosen spec's. It says it supports proccessor speeds up to 1733mHz and the processor I was looking at runs at 1800 [I'm not sworn to this chip I'm just sorta wondering] if I installed this chip in the mobo would it?
a) not run at all
b) run fine
c) run at 1733 anyways
d) run at it's normal 1800 speed but be unstable
e) other

 

[Martin]

Generally, whenever I purchase hardware from my local OEM, if I choose a processor that is not supported yet by the motherboard, I usually get a free BIOS flash so that it can be supported... the manufacturer should provide it as well.

With the 1.8ghz processor (Athlon XP 2200+ thoroughbred), and with the most recent BIOS flash, it can be supported on motherboards supporting the existing XP processors.

 

[phr0zen]

One, I'm buying it online so I'm not sure if I can get a bios flash and two whats a bios flash?

 

[Martin]

A BIOS flash is generally firmware update... the functions of the motherboard are programmed into the BIOS ROM for permanent usage. A 'flash' will update the coding of the software/data stored in the ROM, generally fixing bugs and supporting processors of higher clock rates.