Hi, i'm new to overclocking and all so i have a couple of questions, hope u'll bear with me.

Let's say i want to overclock a P4 3.2 Ghz with the prometeia mach II, as shown in tests carried out here at tom's hardware it's possible to achieve an increase of 30% in processor speed with the mach II, the tests were done with athlon CPUs though, wonder whether it extends to Intel CPUs. Since the multiplier is locked the only way out is to increase the FSB speed right? A 30% increase in FSB speed would bring the bus to 1040Mhz from 800Mhz, and in order to maintain sync with memory, i presume that i would need 2 modules of the fastest ddr ram which is 533 Mhz, in a dual channel mode. Is this setup feasible? I mean wouldn't the super high bus speed screw up the other buses like the AGP and PCI bus? If it does screw up the other buses wouldn't that mean that the athlon 64 fx-51 is the only CPU that can fully utilize the maximum potential of the prometeia mach II since its multiplier can be changed with the BIOS, thus not requiring the FSB to be clocked so high. And if this is true then is it too presumptious to say that in the near future, in order to cater to gamers both AMD and Intel will unlock the multipliers and days of hassle free overclocking a reality?

You have a few things mixed up (but I've seen worse), but first:
The P4 3.2 has a fixed multiplier of 16 and an FSB of 200 (before quad-pumped). With PC4200 you can get the FSB to 266 while still in 1:1 mode (you can get it higher by overclocking the memory). So you get 266 * 16 = 4256.
Many modern boards which support overclocking also allow to set the FSB:AGPCI ratio or even better - let you select a fix frequency for both (like my Abit IS7). So yes, stressing other components should have been a problem but was solved.
Now, both Intel and AMD lock the multipliers on their CPUs but only AMD's can be unlocked, though Tom's and other hardware reviewers usually get unlocked engineering samples, simply because retail CPUs haven't been manufactured yet, or maybe because manufacturers want the readers to see how good their product is when it's overclocked even though they can never recreate what Tom's does at their labs (you'd always get a locked CPU when buying from a retailer).

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I'm a nuclear reactor cooling system programmer, if you see me running, it's probably already too late.

Reminder, there's a very high chance of not being able to touch 4G. You gotta be lucky.

-Intel PIV 2.6C @ 3.575G -Asus P4P800 -OCZ Copper 2x256 4000EL memory @ 275mhz 3-4-4-8 -Sapphire 9800np @ 432/760 -SB audigy -120G Maxtor Diamond Plus9 S-ATA150 hdd -450 Enermax PSU

You should no.

I was pretty lucky.

-Intel PIV 2.6C @ 3.575G -Asus P4P800 -OCZ Copper 2x256 4000EL memory @ 275mhz 3-4-4-8 -Sapphire 9800np @ 432/760 -SB audigy -120G Maxtor Diamond Plus9 S-ATA150 hdd -450 Enermax PSU

Oh ok thnx, that cleared up some misconceptions. So i just need to maintain my PCI bus at 33Mhz and AGP bus at 66Mhz right? If i can't reach 4Ghz with the prometeia then it's a pretty bad investment for it's price, but i thought u said it's possible to reach 5Ghz scottchen, in your guide. Though for a noob like me, i should be thankfull for just 5% increase

if you're a newbie just get a good hsf and a 2.6c and be happy with 3.4ghz.


If it isn't a P6 then it isn't a procesor
110% BX fanboy

I said it's possible because I've seen it been done before, but at 2.25 Vcore.

-Intel PIV 2.6C @ 3.575G -Asus P4P800 -OCZ Copper 2x256 4000EL memory @ 275mhz 3-4-4-8 -Sapphire 9800np @ 432/760 -SB audigy -120G Maxtor Diamond Plus9 S-ATA150 hdd -450 Enermax PSU

2.25, that's pretty high. What if i blow the cpu by setting the voltage too high when i'm overclocking? Will i be able to claim innocence, and have it replaced under warranty?

I'm building a PC for gaming, so should i concentrate more on the graphics card than on the CPU? Also am i right to say that since all it takes for the human eye to see a moving picture is 25 fps, more than that is wasted?

Oh and is the prometeia mach II really safe? I mean the refrigerant is at an artic chill of -50 degree celcius, if it blows up, my head would be one giant popsicle. It should come with medical issurance rather than a warranty<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Oldcolepotatoes on 11/30/03 01:38 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

If you melt your CPU then you do void your warrenty.

-Intel PIV 2.6C @ 3.575G -Asus P4P800 -OCZ Copper 2x256 4000EL memory @ 275mhz 3-4-4-8 -Sapphire 9800np @ 432/760 -SB audigy -120G Maxtor Diamond Plus9 S-ATA150 hdd -450 Enermax PSU

Another question, sorry for the flood of questions but i'm really interested in overclocking and want to learn as much as possible. What happens if the memory timings are too tight or the memory clocked too high, will it hang at POST and produce BIOS error beep codes? If so how can i fix it if it hangs before i can enter BIOS?

Are you afraid of your car radiator exploding? Dehumidifyer freezing you to death, in wall airconditioning unit exploding in your face, refrigerator blowing out?

Seriously if you cannot answer the question above stay away from a prommy.

You clear the bios.


If it isn't a P6 then it isn't a procesor
110% BX fanboy

You make a good point there, but since i'm new to all this and will be installing it myself, not like a professionally assembled car. The risk of it blowing in my face is still pretty high since i'm about as technically inclined as a housewife. Ya better steer away, try my hand at air cooled first to get the hang.

Oh and how do i clear the BIOS? By removing the CMOS battery?

Remove it, wait 10 min...(make sure comp is unpluged from wall)

Flip bios battery over...then put it back in the right way.

Or just use the bios jumpers on most boards.


If it isn't a P6 then it isn't a procesor
110% BX fanboy

Yummy melted cpu and fried mobo.