large HD partition: who is right?

My P3 MB cannot support > 130GB HD (no more BIOS update) and i want to use a
500GB HD.
I was told that XP SP2 has LBA48 bit support built in it and should be able
to see the 500GB partition, even if BIOS does not have LBA48 bit. XP scans
the bus and ignoring the BIOS.

While checking online, I came across posts which said that in order to use
the whole 500GB partition, both BIOS and OS must have LBA48 bit support.

Now, who is right? Do I need both to work?
If i could get it to work with just XP SP2, I would be very happy.
If not, I need to buy ATA133 PCI card to connect HD and break the 130GB
barrier, right?

Thank you in advance for answering my post!

.

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