Overdrive Pentium 166MMX- same thing as a normal P166MMX?

[Ben98SentraSE]

I've found this as a possible CPU to replace both my lesser processors in my signature with:

Pentium Overdrive w/MMX (upgrades up to 166MHz) - Retail $24.00

Now I know the normal 166's are the same as 233's and that you can OC them to 262 or so, but how about the overdrive processors? Are they really any different from their everyday counterparts? Were they just a ploy to get ignorant people to buy them? Can I simply stick these bad boys in my motherboards with relative ease? I know one mobo is a FIC PA-2017 or whatever the best one was that Anandtech voted the best Super7 board a couple years ago. Dunno what FSB/multiplier settings the 133 board has on it, but ya'll think grabbing a couple of these processors would be a good idea for both of these systems? I'm a heavy Seti@Home person and I need a stronger FPU to replace the Cyrix POS plus the 133 could use a boost as well.

TIA

 

[ArcadianII]

You certainly know how to make good use of old parts.... But, to answer your question, you should first be aware what kind of slot the overdrive processor is meant to fit inside. The whole idea behind the Overdrive processor was that Intel thought it could make a processor with the same pinout of a 486, but the power of the Pentium (this sounds pretty quaint saying it today, doesn't it). In practice, however, Intel couldn't get nearly the performance of the Pentium in using compatible 486 bus protocol. I'm sure somebody might have figured that being able to upgrade one's 486 meant more than not having the complete performance of the Pentium. In all reality, it would have been a stretch to call the Overdrive an "upgrade". Even with a lot of the Pentium's technology in the core of the overdrive, it turned out to be too mediocre of a product. That being said, you may find that the Overdrive CPU won't even fit inside your super7 socket.

Besides, you can probably put together a bare bones system with 64MB of memory ($50), a Celeron 366 ($67), and a cheap i810 motherboard ($45), and all the drives from your old computer, for a grand total of $162 before shipping. Obviously more than you were willing to spend ($162 vs. $24, I know), but if you want to have a noticable difference, this setup will probably be faster than you main computer, and you'll still be able to reuse old hardware. Just a suggestion, but I definately wouldn't go for the Overdrive processor. It would be a complete waste of $24.

 

[Dennis]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down there. He's talking about the MMX overdrive....it was designed to upgrade the older pentiums (75, 90, 100 Mhz) to faster processors with MMX....it doesn't go on a 486 board like the older (83Mhz) Pentium overdrive processors. It works on the single rail voltage like the older Pentiums (has a regulator built on for the MMX lower core voltage).

As long as you can jumper your motherboard for a NON-MMX Pentium, then these will work! Set your motherboard up for a P100 and put the overdrive in and it will run at 166Mhz. Not sure about overclockability...

Good Luck,

Dennis

 

[xtreme2k]

yah
the only difference between the OD and the origial P166MMX is the single rather than split voltage on the original P166mmx

it should work on socket5 with 3.3v