Newbie Question(s) Please help if you have time

[Bungle]

I have been doing some reading in the CPU/OC forum and went out and bought an Intel 1.6 as well as an Asus P4B533-V board.

I'm new to overclocking but I'd like to give it a try.

The first thing I noticed when i got home from purchasing my new hardware was that my 1.6 was not a Northwood chip. It's a Willamette.
Is that a bad thing? I realized that by noticing the voltage marked on the chip is 1.750V

I called the store and they told me Northwoods start at 2.2... is this guy mistaken?

They didn't have any Corsair ram available at this place so i bought generic 256MB DDR266.

I was planning on picking up some thermal paste for the chip before i install it.

Can anyone offer any suggestions regarding DDR SDRAM timing and stuff like that, I'm still trying to soak up as much info as I can but I realize I do need a bit off assistance here.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

-Bungle

 

[CrazySaint]

Ouch

Originally posted by: Bungle
I have been doing some reading in the CPU/OC forum and went out and bought an Intel 1.6 as well as an Asus P4B533-V board.

I'm new to overclocking but I'd like to give it a try.

The first thing I noticed when i got home from purchasing my new hardware was that my 1.6 was not a Northwood chip. It's a Willamette.
Is that a bad thing? I realized that by noticing the voltage marked on the chip is 1.750V

Yes, that's a very, very bad thing. Willamette P4s are vastly inferior to Northwood P4s.

Willy vs. Northy:

0.18 vs. 0.13 Advantage: Northwood. The 0.13 process allows the CPU to run on much less voltage and thus, are much cooler. It also allows additional overclocking headroom.
1.75v default voltage vs. 1.5v default voltage Advantage: Northwood. See above.
256k L2 cache vs. 512k L2 cache Advantage: Northwood. The increased L2 cache alone allows a 5-10% performance increase.
Very little overclocking headroom vs. Overclocking headroom to spare Advantage: Northwood.

Return that 1.6 Willy as soon as possible and get a Northwood instead.

I called the store and they told me Northwoods start at 2.2... is this guy mistaken?

Yes, very much so. The Northwoods start at 1.6GHz. 400MHz Northwoods are marked with an "A" after the speed, like 1.6A. 533MHz Northwoods are marked with a "B" (such as 2.26B) and start 2.26GHz. This is one reason why you should be very wary of what they tell you at local PC stores.

They didn't have any Corsair ram available at this place so i bought generic 256MB DDR266.

Again, this is almost certainly a very, very bad thing. You'll need some RAM that can handle DDR400 or higher, which is why you need some very good PC2700 RAM like the Corsair XMS series. This is another reason to stay away from local PC stores. Take that generic RAM back as soon as possible and order some Corsair XMS PC2700 CAS 2 RAM. Chances are you also paid at least 30-40% more at the local PC store than you would have spent to buy the same things from a reputable online store like newegg.com, including shipping.

I was planning on picking up some thermal paste for the chip before i install it.

Can anyone offer any suggestions regarding DDR SDRAM timing and stuff like that, I'm still trying to soak up as much info as I can but I realize I do need a bit off assistance here.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

-Bungle

Get some Arctic Silver III.

 

[Doctorweir]

1) Nothing to add => Listen to CrazySaint

2) Bring all the stuff you bought back to your local store

3) Buy the 1.6A, AS III and good RAM online

4) Let the oveclocking fun begin...

Enjoy

 

[Wingznut]

While I agree with CrazySaint about most of his points... "Chances are you also paid at least 30-40% more at the local PC store than you would have spent to buy the same things from a reputable online store like newegg.com, including shipping.", isn't one of them.

I did a comparison with a local store, ENU Inc.

P4-2.26g
Newegg - $270
ENU Inc. - $268

Asus P4B533
Newegg - $145
ENU Inc. - $144

True Samsung PC2700
Newegg - $175
ENU Inc. - $165

And if I don't like the part (for whatever reason) I can simply take it back. I've done that with a couple motherboards in the past, that I simply didn't like. (i.e. The P4B533-VM didn't have the features I wanted, and I didn't realize it until I ran it... Took it back and got a P4B533.)

 

[gururu]

Bungle,

you will have some difficulty overclocking with the parts you picked up. If you can return the chip and RAM, it is worth doing so. The motherboard is excellent!

You may have difficulty finding 1.6A northwood locally, since they have been discontinued. 1.8A would be the next logical choice.

Can you buy the chip and memory online? It is worth the wait. If possible get PC2700 (DDR333) RAM.
I got corsair value select and it is cruising at DDR400. It is a low cost alternative to the corsair XMS or samsung original.


good luck!

 

[Bungle]

Hi guys, thanks very much for all the input, I'm gonna return the chip and the ram, hopefully I'll find somebody at this store with a little more knowledge on the subject. I also forgot to mention though that I'm in Ontario, Canada. Maybe the unavailable 1.6A, has something to do with my location. Who knows, they probably won't have any there under 2.2 but if thats the case, I'll just pick up a 2.2 as far as the ram goes, I think I'm gonna get taken to the cleaners if I get them to order me Corsair... oh well.

Thanks again guys!

 

[mrzed]

If you are anywhere near Toronto, there are many stores here that have the 1.6A in stock. Some also sell quality RAM, although you have to be careful.

Check out canadacomputers.com as an example of a local store that sells decent stuff. There are lots more, PM me if you need more local info.

 

[jbond04]

Hey, wow, Wingznut PEZ! That ENU Inc. place is pretty neat! I didn't even know that there was a store in Oregon that had stuff that cheap. (I live in Roseburg, about a 3 hour drive south along I-5) Maybe I'll shoot up there every once in a while to check it out. Thanks for the (however inadvertant it may be) help!

*Ahem*

Alright, I'm back on topic now.

 

[nemo160]

hope he can return the chip..cause that mobo is socket 478, willy chips are socket 423...not gonna work real well

 

[Wingznut]

There's also:

Pace Computers
and
PC Heiden's

 

[Bungle]

the willy chip I had was s478, but no matter, I now have the 2.26 533Mhz... they didn't have any decent RAM there so I think I'm gonna order some online.

And now I'm broke )

but I have a smokin' system now so who cares.. lol

 

[jbond04]

Originally posted by: Bungle

but I have a smokin' system now so who cares.. lol

That's all a guy needs sometimes...

 

[CrazySaint]

Originally posted by: Wingznut PEZ
While I agree with CrazySaint about most of his points... "Chances are you also paid at least 30-40% more at the local PC store than you would have spent to buy the same things from a reputable online store like newegg.com, including shipping.", isn't one of them.

I did a comparison with a local store, ENU Inc.

P4-2.26g
Newegg - $270
ENU Inc. - $268

Asus P4B533
Newegg - $145
ENU Inc. - $144

True Samsung PC2700
Newegg - $175
ENU Inc. - $165

And if I don't like the part (for whatever reason) I can simply take it back. I've done that with a couple motherboards in the past, that I simply didn't like. (i.e. The P4B533-VM didn't have the features I wanted, and I didn't realize it until I ran it... Took it back and got a P4B533.)

If only there was a store like that anywhere near I live, I'd be in Heaven lol But the cheapest PC store around here really IS 30-40% higher than newegg, and that seems to be pretty typical of most places from what I've heard.