P3 600/700e Questions

[Soccer55]

I'm building a new computer and I'm looking at either a P3 600e or a P3 700e (both FC-PGA) to overclock and I have a few questions.

1)I understand that the 600e@133 mhz is basically a guaranteed clock speed. And I've heard that with the new cB0 stepping that 700e@133 mhz is reachable too. I was wondering if the 700e@133 is generally as easy to get as the 600e@133.

2)Is there an advantage of having an SECC2 over an FC-PGA?

3)One last thing, is it worth waiting for a cC0 stepping processor in August or so instead of getting a cB0 one now?

Thanks in advance for helping this poor college student

 

[Ben_Tech]

If I were you I would go for the FCPGA 700 CB0.

You should be able to get 933 out of it with a decent fan (if not with the stock fan) and for $250 I think it's a bargan.

 

[Soccer55]

Is there anything I would need to do to oc the chip other than bump the bus from 100 to 133? (never overclocked before)

 

[Livin4Real]

Before you start ocin' the life out of your cpu go tohttp://www.overclockers.com and start reading up on it.

 

[pvanosta]

In theory, that's all you need to do.
However, in order to overclock, there are a few variables you need to keep an eye on.
If your system boots up at 933/133 with no noticable problems, keep your eye on the temperature. If your MoBo has a temp sensor, install Mainboard Monitor. It's a handy little tool that allows you to monitor temps on all the sensors in your system, as well as all relevant voltages.

Your cpu temp will go up as you overclock it. If you have to boost the voltage in order to achieve stability, that temp will go up even further.
Without investing in extra cooling, and as long as there is a decent airflow going through your case, you should be comfortable around 35 deg C / 100 deg F while your system is under stress (a program like SETI will stress your cpu 100% for testing. Anything over that and you should start thinking about a better cooler (Heatsink/fan combo, like an Alpha 6035).

If you're running a BX motherboard, some peripherals (as well as your RAM) might not like the 133 fsb. If you're running a Via 133A MoBo, you might still need to tweak ramspeed/latency if you're running pc100 sdram.
www.overclockers.com has a HUGE database on all things related to overclocking.
Let me know if there's anything else you need.

My system:
P3-700 cB0 stepping at 1029 MHz / 147 fsb, 1.70 V vcore
Alpha 6035 cooler and Leufkens 55W peltier with custom copper cold plate
256 MB cas2 PC133 sdram
Hercules Prophet II GTS 64 MB DDR
MSI 6309 MoBo

 

[Billy Blanks]

pvanosta:
I am going with basically the same system as you, except for a P3V4X-- how is 1Ghz+ treating you? As long as I am a gig or over I am happy ... but I do have a couple q's-- I plan on going alpha and Leufkens. I don't know if I am going FC-PGA or slot one yet... What powersupply(s) do you have? Think my 300W can handle a 72, or 55W peltier with my system also on it? What are your temps like? Thanks!

 

[pvanosta]

Billy,
1) Ever since I put ont this big-ass copper cold plate, my temps are ALWAYS between 75 and 84 deg F, whether I run at 700 or 1029 MHz, at idle or at 100% stress.

2) I bought a 400W athlon-approved PS to handle my 'bidness' , but a 300W athlon-approved PS will be adequate for a 55W peltier.

3) I would only suggest a 72W or higher peltier, if you were going to use water cooling, as the amount of heat being pulled away from the cpu needs to be evacuated at the other end, which becomes hard to do with simple air cooling.

4) I'm pretty stable at 1029 MHz, however: D3D games, like UT and Deus Ex don't run over 138/966, and SETI has a tendency to lock up over 966 as well. Quake 3 plays fine at 1029, as well as everything else.

5) I just prefer the socket format, as it is easier to set up powerful cooling. I put an additional 120 mm exhaust fan (in a blowhole in my case wall, photo available via e-mail) directly over the 60 mm sunon that's on my CPU, thus creating a vortex/windtunnel of hot air exhaust away from the cpu/peltier.

Let me know if you need anything else.

Patrick

 

[Soccer55]

Thanks for your help pvanosta. The ram speed won't be a concern cause I'm getting some Mushkin PC133 Infineon. I was planning on getting a P3V4X mobo, but I heard the i815 chipset is better for a P3, so I was looking at the Abit SE6. Only thing is that I was wondering how to disable the onboard sound and video should I get that board. Which board is better or which would you recommend? They end up being just about the same price (cause I'd have to buy a slocket for the P3V4X). Thanks in advance

Tom

 

[Soccer55]

One question I forgot to ask.....what is this SETI program you were talking about and where/how would I get it? Thanks for all your help.

Tom

 

[prontospyder]

you can also try RC5 to stress your system...

here's the link:

http://www.anandtech.com/rc5.html

 

[pvanosta]

You can find SETI here:

http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/

Good luck.