P2-400 Intel Mobo

[Guest]

Hi everyone.
This is my first time that I have attempted to overclock anything other than my old voodoo 2.

I recently got a Geforce 2 MX but I am finding that my 3D Mark scores are about 3300 and I'm sure that this AGP card with 64 megs of ram should be performing in the 4000 region so I would like to overclock my p2 400 to try and help it on the way.

The motherboard is an intel mobo as far as I can tell 440BX. Bios version 4MP4BOX
I have tried to find jumper settings on the motherboard but there is only a config one and it doesn't help as it has to be reset because it won'tt start up if i change it any higher than the 400mhz its currently set on. I think that's because their is a multiplier lock? Anyway I know that the thing has a bus speed of 100 mhz and has a multiplier of four. Its an old system but I would like to squeeze as much out of it b4 I buy my new system.

I have 192 megs of ram.
Geforce 2MX Leadtek SHMAX
Voodoo 2 (out of system)
SCSI adapter 2940
30 gig + 20 gig IDE drives (This is one thing I know I should upgrade).
Gaming modem 56kbps

Anyway if you need any more information please email me on john_glen_thomson@hotmail.com

Any information about the system would be useful and how best to upgrade it. I have tried FSB but it keeps crashing also.

My system is well ventilated and I can cool it if neccessary.
Only other thing I think I should mention is that the system is out of warranty now so I don't mind trying more in depth techniques- soldering if needs be to get some more out of what has been a good system.

Thanks for your help
John Thomson
PS. I might take a while to reply (the next evening etc) as I am currently revising for exams. Thank's again!

 

[Guest]

Here is an option:

Buy a slocket (pick from among the many out here) with a jumpered voltage regulator.

Buy a Celeron 2 FC-PGA (socket 370) pick from among 500 - 700+ MHz chips (not sure what the highest C2 66 MHz fsb chip is).

Buy a good cooling fan (again pick from among them many fans available).

Make sure you get one of the C2 chips that are designed to run on a 66 MHz FSB system. Your system's FSB is 100 MHz. The C2 chip multiplier is locked. So your C2 will run at 100 x the C2 multiplier. As an example my C2 700 has a multiplier of 10.5 (700/66 = 10.5). This chip running on my OEM BX MB runs flawlessly at 10.5 x 100 = 1050 MHz (or 1.05 GHz!). Your results may vary… or this set up for you may not work at all, however, your chances of success are very good (as evidenced by many posts on this form).

Also make sure to upgrade your BIOS. My BIOS thinks I have a PIII at 800 MHz? But benchmarks properly recognize the processor.

Your 3d benchmarks will likely double. Despite what you may be told this is a good, inexpensive and very easy upgrade.

Good Luck


Mid Life Computer Nerd

 

[Guest]

Thx very much.

Never had it come across my mind that a celeron would upgrade a pentium2...

Just a quick question.
I saw the PL-IP3 socket convertor going for about 100 quid which seems quite costly but it has loads of options. I then saw on this site an Asus adapter for 20 quid or so. The PL looked much more comprehensive but would the Asus card do? 700 mhz at multiplier 10.5 sounds quite safe but I saw an 800mhz card going at about 12.0 The maximum limit is supposed to be 800 mhz but what happens if I buy a celeron that is over the recommended speed capable by the convertor? Is the worst I can do damage the convertor or the CPU? I would think it would be safe considering that you have got it passed the ghz mark.


Thx for your help again- it is much appreciated. I might not need a new system for a while it seems...

 

[Guest]

I am sure either would be fine. I would go with the less expensive one however as you won't see any performance difference with the more expensive one (I have the IWill and I think I spent less than $20). Again, just make sure you can change the voltage. FWIW, I have not changed my voltage at all, left it at the default setting for the CPU at 1.7v.

The most critical issue is cooling. If you have adequate cooling (check Toms latest cooling review, which BTW has a stock intel fan cooling as well as many other so called high end cooling fans) you should be just fine.

If you are worried about burning up the cpu buy a retail version (with the fan included) with a 3 year warranty (only a few $ more). If you fry it (which I doubt you will) consider returning it for another.

Finally, I was extremely pleased with my upgrade. After much reading, looking, thinking and worrying about the right upgrade path (trust me I thought about all of them, from the AMD DDR Raid systems to the high end P4's - and I have the $ to buy what I want), I have no doubt that I made the right decision. Really the eye cannot see the difference between Serious Sam at 100 fps and 60 fps. Honestly my system benchmarks as well as any PIII 800 MHz system out there for very little hassle.

Cheers!

Mid Life Computer Nerd

 

[wapaaga]

our you could always get the slocket and a p3 700 with the 100 mhz fsb and be fine


i'm not sure which was the last 100 fsb chip out that is still in production

 

[Guest]

Intel recently announced a 1 GHZ PIII with 100 MHZ FSB. Powerleap says their PL-iP3 supports PIIIs up to 1 GHZ, and Celerons up to 800 MHZ.
It's likely you can't overclock your CPU because your motherboard doesn't support speeds over 100 MHZ FSB. When the BX chipset first came out, they didn't support speeds higher than that.

 

[Guest]

Ripper is correct (and I failed to mention this in my original post) that you cannot OC your existing PII via jumpers (there aren't any) or bios. even if you could you would likely only get 50-100 MHz out of it anyhow. So your ONLY upgrade path is a new procesor. The most bang for the buck is the OC C2 chip. I wouldn't pay much attention to the "only supports up to" lines the fact is the C2 is the same chip as the P3 just with the less cache. The slocket you use will run just fine at high speeds (mine does and it has the same "supports up to" line.

That nice new video card of yours is being limited by your 400 PII. If you upgrade you will see a huge difference in your benchmark scores.

Mid Life Computer Nerd