P4 unlocking and overclockability

[Goldfish]

Ok, I am putting together my P4 system at the end of the week, at least thats when the heatsink is supposed to come in. I am wondering if P4's come multiplier unlocked or if FSB is the only way to overclock them. For reference I have a P4 1.6 (its what I could afford), a Shuttle AV-40, a GlacialTech Igloo 4200 cooler, a front intake, two fans blowing out and of course the PSU fan. How far should I be able to overclock this, 1.7, 1.8 maybe? I just want to know some ballpark figures, I know it is impossible to give an exact take on what it will hit, just some speculation based on what other people have gotten would be good.

 

[WilsonTung]

Intel CPUs are Multiplier locked - FSB is the only option. I think a later stepping 1.5 GHz Willamette P4 can hit 2+ GHz. Initial Northwood steppings can go to 3 GHz if you are extremely lucky. Newer steppings should allow for greater gains.

 

[christoph83]

P4's come with their multiplier locked. You should be able to hit 1.7ghz-2ghz it you have the right components and a chip with a good stepping on it. For example:

Grabbed from xbitlabs

The overclockability of Pentium 4 CPUs generally depends on the core stepping. Nowadays, Pentium 4 processors can be built on cores with three different steppings: B2, C1 and D0. B2-stepping is used in 1.3GHz-1.5GHz CPUs, C1-stepping - in 1.3GHz-1.8GHz, D0-stepping - in 1.4GHz-2.0GHz CPUs. Naturally, CPUs with D0 core stepping sport the highest overclockability.

 

[cmaMath13]

I think Intel locks up the multiplier inside the processor, so you can't unlock them (at least realistically). Adjust the FSB and then post your ridiculous results. 🙂