Theoretical limit to OC a P4 1.6...

[Franklogus]

My doubt is about how can I to push my CPU, to increase its speed. I recently made an parcial upgrade of my current PC (from 2001), and, in few days, I will be upgrading another components, except CPU, because I have no money to it right now ... As an observation, my PC has everything running in default speed, without any "boost" ...
My main configuration is : Actual --> UPGRADE

1) CPU : Pentium 4 1.6 Willamette (socket 478, 256 cache) --> NO UPGRADE, for the time being.
2) MOBO : Asus P4B (i845) --> I have already upgraded to Asus P4SDX (SiS 655)
3) MEMORY : 03 sticks of 256 MB each one (SDRam PC 100 Mhz - Samsung) --> I have already upgraded to 02 sticks of 256 MB each one (DDR 333 PC 2700 - Kingston)
4) VIDEO CARD : Inno3D GeForce4 MX 440 (128 MB) --> I will upgrade (within few days) to Gigabyte 9600XT (128 MB).
5) HD : 40 GB Maxtor Ultra-ATA 100 5400 RPM --> I will upgrade (within few days) to 120 GB (Maxtor) ATA 133 7200 RPM.

- I can say that, with this parcial upgrade that I have already done (MoBo, Memories), I didnt feel any sensible gain of performance (Instead, sometimes it looks like a bit more slow, in spite of I have changed the SDRAM memory to DDR 333)... Would it be normal?

- Is there some technical possibility of to make some "overclock" in my CPU (P4 1.6 Willamette), while I dont have money to UpGrade the processor? Would it be recommended in this case? If YES, how could I make this "boost", without any additional cooling fan, in a SAFE WAY, please ?

Any hints would be very appreciated !!
Thanks a lot in advance !

 

[SickBeast]

Well, first of all, in all honesty, your recent upgrades have been almost a complete waste of money, and your future ones are shaping up to be nearly as bad. That said, yes, you can more than likely overclock your CPU. This is done by increasing your memory frequency, AKA the FSB. Since you only have PC2700 memory, you're going to have to run a 5:4 divider on the memory if you can.

Now, so you hopefully won't make the same mistakes again, here is what is wrong with what you did/plan to do:

-you went from a perfectly stable and well-performing chipset to a much less reliable SiS chipset and spent $100 or so in the process
-you purchased PC2700 memory when PC3200 would have cost the same, and is more future-proof
-you plan on buying a 9600XT that costs almost as much as a 9700PRO but only has a little more than half of its performance

The thing is, usually when you upgrade your motherboard it's so that you can run the newest, latest and greatest processor. It's typically foolhearted to buy a new motherboard just to run the CPU that you have already.

In any event, I wasn't aiming to offend you with this post, and I apologize if I have. I just wanted to let you know my opinions on your purchases.

Good luck overclocking, IIRC those chips are difficult to push beyond 2ghz.

 

[FullRoast]

Franklogus - I think the fastest Willamette P4 that Intel shipped was a 2.0 GHz. That has to be close to where the Willamettes will top out. You'll be doing well to get your processor up to 2 GHz.

 

[Franklogus]

Thanks all for your opinions!!
First of all, I am not injured with your opinion, SICKBEAST ... I am very pleased with your hints ...
I know it seems a "fool" upgrade (may be it is, really), but I would like to explain the context in which I have chosen these components...
1) I live in Brazil, and here (unfortunately), we haven't ALL options of purchasing that the people from USA and Europe have ... Additionally, the hardware price here is around 60% to 100% more expensive (converting local money to US Dollar) than in these areas. (In other words - LESS variety of Hardware to purchase and MUCH MORE expensive products).
2) I am, at the same time, getting ANOTHER PC, with a better configuration (P4 3.0C HT, Asus P4P800, 200 GB SATA 150, 1 GB DDR400 Kingston, Radeon 9800XT, etc ...). So, my "old PC" (this one which I want to give some "boost"), will be my "back-up" (for ocasional/no intensive use/to share with my brother). Anyways, I would like to prepare it to have an intermediate configuration in the future (Remember that the signification of "intermediate", here, in Brazil, is DIFFERENT than USA & Europe). As I have no money to buy a new PC (with that configuration above) AND, at the same time, to make a COMPLETE up-grade in my "old machine", I decided to go changing my "old" gradually ... I have chosen to let the CPU upgrade to be the last thing to do, perhaps around December (its the more expensive component of all them). That's because I would like to do a OC in my current CPU, wishing to get a little better overall performance ...
3) About my new "MoBo", I know the SIS chipset isnt so reliable as Intel, but, anyways, it seems not so crap (I have read many reviews about Asus P4SDX and it got good final grade in all reviews - and I got it because it had a good price/performance ratio (remember always: I am in Brazil ...).
3.1)This MoBo supports only some few especific memory DDR400; despite of this, Asus recommend to use DDR333 for better performance (Some reviews confirmed this "thesis"- this MoBo runs better with DDR333). I know that DDR400 is better and have almost the same price as DDR333, but, as I am getting an ANOTHER PC (to "Best Performance"), I was thinking about a good price/performance ratio in my "back-up" one (looking for future, after complete (including CPU) up-grade ...)
4) Video Card: I agree with you ... It seems a madness to buy a 9600XT, when I COULD choose a 9700 Pro ... In this specific matter, COULD, here, in Brazil, NOT means CAN ... There is NO option to buy this very good model of video card here... So, the option was to choose a mid-range card (AVAILABLE here), with performance around similar (In this matter, sorry, I can not agree with you -> according to many reviews, 9600 XT have around 80%-90% performance of 9700 PRO - in some applications, 9600XT is virtually in-line with 9700 PRO)
Well, I think I have explained the reasoning I have used until now. Perhaps I have done a BIG error, but, in this context (It will not be my main PC, only a back-up with a "intermediate" profile), I did the best choice that my limited money admitted.
And do not forget... I was thinking within my reality, which is far different from folks of "more developed nations"...
Anyways, THANKS A LOT FOR YOUR HINTS. I like very much to see other opinions, because I am not an expert (far from this ... right??), and I like to learn any time more.
Many THANKS to FULLROAST, too !!
All your hints were very useful !!

 

[Tyrant222]

Hey,

I think you made some fine choices and did your homework,

Its not easy upgrading intel, has it can get expensive.

Also disagree with the 9600XT statement, it is a very fine card when you cannot get or afford a 9700/9800

 

[Franklogus]

Thanks for your opinion, Tyrant222!! Its nice to see different opinions about some matter; I respect all of them. And I am happy to see that I am not so stupid ... Hehehehehe...
Thanks for all and any opinion. This is the democracy fundament: each one has your own opinion, and none is the "truth's proprietor" ...

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: Tyrant222
Also disagree with the 9600XT statement, it is a very fine card when you cannot get or afford a 9700/9800

Check this link for proof
Look at the 1024x768 results w/ 4XAA/8XAF; they are the most demanding on the graphics card. These are the results: 118.7 (9700PRO) vs. 78.7 (9600XT). That means that the 9700PRO is 51% faster; or conversely the 9600XT is 66% of the speed of the 9700PRO. 66% is "a little more than half" in my books, which is exactly what I said. Granted, these are results from one game at one resolution, but I chose what I thought was the most demanding of the benchmarks, and that game engine is still relevant today.

In any event, Franklogus, I was unaware of your entire situation so I apologize for slighting your judgement.

Do they not sell AMD systems in Brazil though? For the cost of a decent Pentium4 processor you could probably buy an Athlon XP processor, motherboard, and 512mb of RAM. It honestly seems more logical to me as it would more than likely offer better performance for less money. On top of that, you could keep your old system just the way it is and have two computers...err...in your situation I guess I mean to say three computers. That said, I have no idea what prices are like down there and what you have access to purchase.