Overclocking a P4 1.6GHz socket 478

[jonnys]

Just for the record, I am a total noob to overclocking... I tried to overclock my cpu and got many BSoDS. I got a new heatsink and cooler and said whats the worst that can happen? I looked around in my bios (Award) and found the FSB and changed it from 100Mhz to 105Mhz. Loaded windows and BAM!... a BSoD. I thought it had something to do with CPU core voltage so I cranked that up from default (1.711) to 1.750, still got a BSoD. My temps are ok (48C idle) (55C load) for CPU, but my mainboard temp is 74C.:Q Could that be the problem why im getting BSoDS. also am I doing anything wrong?, could some one give me a link to overclocking P4 1.6GHz. I am trying to run games and they are crawling so i need a little more power.

SPECS
MOBO: Soyo P4VSA VIA P4X266 Chipset
Bios: Award 6.00PG 05/02/2002
Socket 478 P4 1.6GHz (FSB 100MHz x16) (49C idle 58C load)... my goal is 2.2GHz is that possible?:roll:
Default Core Voltage: 1.711 V max 1.695 V min
896 MB PC133 SDRAM
Geforce 6200 256 MB

 

[ZavrionX]

Google it

 

[justly]

I think you would need a miricle to make that a decent system, and as far as gaming is concerned I hope you like solitaire and online poker because those are the only types of games I would ever expect that system to run well.

To elaborate a little the P4 1.6GHz was a dog to begin with, running any P4 with SDRAM crippled performance, I don't know if that VIA chipset supported dual channel but with 896 MB there is no way you could properly configure your memory to run dual channel anyway, and even if all that wasnt a problem your video card is still severly underpowered for a gaming card.

If your not totally broke I suggest salvaging as much from that system as possible and upgrading.

If you have any money for an upgrade tell us what you can afford, and I'm sure someone will help you choose what will get you the best bang for the buck (people love to spend other peoples money).

 

[aigomorla]

lol....

Ummm... ocing a second gen. p4 is kinda hard. Also i heard not much noticible results will come out of it.

Its not the same as it was when ocing a Cely 300 -> 450

or OCing the newer machines.

Also Hyper Transport seriously blows, until you reach the near 4-5ghz range which is impossible for your CPU.


Id say try to get a cheap AMD, S939 single Core Opty class if you want to mess around with OCing. You'll get happy results this way and not be so discouraged when you notice nothing is working right on your P4.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Your motherboard doesn't support more than 400fsb, and isn't really an overclocking board at all. I'd say your running very hot, so make sure all your fans are clean and properly installed.

896MB is what 512+256+128? Try running just 512 and see if that helps. You can always try to troubleshoot running more ram later.

 

[justly]

Just got to thinking that you might actually have 1GB of memory, and the reason you are only seeing 896MB is because 128MB might be allocated to that 6200 video card.

If this is the case you might be running dual channel, but even then it still only solves one problem.

 

[Maximilian]

I think those P4's were actually quite overclockable, somone here... it might have been duvie i dunno, but they managed to get an old P4 to around 2.6 ghz once.

Its most likely that mobo thats holding you back. Besides with a 6200 video card a faster cpu wont benefit you at all. Putting in a better card may help. Building a new system would do wonders.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: Soviet
I think those P4's were actually quite overclockable, somone here... it might have been duvie i dunno, but they managed to get an old P4 to around 2.6 ghz once.

Yeah, Duvie had a 2.6 Ghz P4A Northwood. A few other people were their 1.7A's and 1.8A's up to as high as 2.8 Ghz. But, his P4 might not be a Northwood; I don't remember if the 1.6 Ghz models were Northwood's or not, I just remember that the 1.7's and up were.

Its most likely that mobo thats holding you back. Besides with a 6200 video card a faster cpu wont benefit you at all. Putting in a better card may help. Building a new system would do wonders.

You're absolutely correct here, although I wouldn't expect much more performance from a faster card, except with FPS's, or anything at high res.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: myocardia

Originally posted by: Soviet
I think those P4's were actually quite overclockable, somone here... it might have been duvie i dunno, but they managed to get an old P4 to around 2.6 ghz once.

Yeah, Duvie had a 2.6 Ghz P4A Northwood. A few other people were their 1.7A's and 1.8A's up to as high as 2.8 Ghz. But, his P4 might not be a Northwood; I don't remember if the 1.6 Ghz models were Northwood's or not, I just remember that the 1.7's and up were.

Could have been either model.

Its most likely that mobo thats holding you back. Besides with a 6200 video card a faster cpu wont benefit you at all. Putting in a better card may help. Building a new system would do wonders.

You're absolutely correct here, although I wouldn't expect much more performance from a faster card, except with FPS's, or anything at high res.

The video card is reasonably well matched, overall. You can give this system a tuneup, and it will either do the job you want or not, if not, don't upgrade it, ditch it.

 

[Conky]

If it's not a Northwood then it's a Willamette core based P4 and if so then it is virtually worthless for overclocking.

Your biggest issue for modern games though is that Geforce 6200 and your lack of RAM. It would be better to address these deficiencies first before worrying about your CPU.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: Conky
If it's not a Northwood then it's a Willamette core based P4 and if so then it is virtually worthless for overclocking.

Your biggest issue for modern games though is that Geforce 6200 and your lack of RAM. It would be better to address these deficiencies first before worrying about your CPU.

And the best way to address these is with a new system. That's why it's worth making sure this one is working properly, and still not good enough, before buying anything.

 

[nexgenbuilder]

I know you are curious but don't OC this thing please. I know about the old cpu's and those things are not good. Not bashing on your system but that mobo and RAM will not handle the OC anyway.

 

[Zap]

Northwood cores are 1.6A, 1.8A, 2.0A and anything above. jonnys has a Willamette because Northwoods defaulted to lower vcore (just under 1.5v) while Willamettes were just over 1.7v vcore.

That VIA chipset board doesn't have locked AGP/PCI bus, which complicates matters. Also, if that motherboard temp is correct, it may be overheating. Does your motherboard have a chipset fan? If so, is it still spinning?