Good Advice Wanted

[Kryten]

Hi, from the name you have obviously guessed I am a newby to overclocking. (please keep explainations simple).
Firstly the system, I was running an ABIT SA6R @ 76 Mhz with a Celleron 700 (Q041A744-0500 SL4E6) @ the std 1.65v and an ASUS CUSL2-C @76Mhz, due to hardware faults and a unnecessary accident I now have no M/B.
I have 2 x 64Meg PC133 Cassa SDRAM sticks
an 32 Meg TNT2 M64 AGP video on a no name card
20.5 Gig Western Digital 7200 RPM ATA 100 HDD
No name full tower case with Tervan 300w power supply.
Aopen 6x4x24 writer.
Realtek 10/100 NIC
Running Win 2000 Advanced Server
Now I am considering going for a duel processor setup the problem is the 2 different boards the ABIT VP6
and the Asus CUS4X-D both seem to only support 100Mhz and above.
Question... Can I get the Celleron to run @ 100Mhz?
(previously @ 77 it used to lock up 76 was fine and stable)
Would the CPU need to be modified?
Or am I better of throwing the Celleron (and $200) in the bin and considering something completely different
I have a budget of $600 Australian (about $2.50 US)
Any comments or direction would be greatly appriciated.

[Shadow ÒÓ]

Welcome stranger to the OC board! Sit back and make yourself comfortable as you are more than welcome here!

As far as you Cele questions, Mr B is the expert on this one. You can probably get a lot out of that celly but I've little or no experience with them and couldn't advise you on it.

However what kind of budget do you have to play with. I know "the cheaper the better" for most of us, but if you have about $300 USD to spend I'm sure you can get a lot of suggestions for your questions.

Seems you've done a lot of reading here as you knew exactly what to offer for information.....so I'm glad to see you're willing to read a bit before attempting something like OC'ing w/o some knowledge.

[wild_andy_c]

You have completely the wrong Celeron for 100Mhz FSB overclocking :-

1. It is a cB0 which although an excellent overclocker is not very newbie friendly (needs a lot of care, attention and burning in)

2. It is a 700 and as such is based upon a 10.5x multiplier - it will probably not do 10.5x100Mhz (1050Mhz) without some real thermo electric / water assisted cooling.

3. The Celerons best suited to overclocking are the 566 and 600, cC0 stepping preferably. These easily reach 100Mhz FSB without too much increase in voltage.

What I would see though from your posting is that you are a novice playing a very dangerous game. You have a penchant for expensive motherboards, and yet you are killing them.

Read around the net, read the articles on the front page about overclocking basics and so forth before going and damaging anything.

Also - I see no reference to the cooler that you are using. Cooling is paramount in overclocking - overclocked CPU's generate more heat than when they are at standard speed through both the increased frequency and voltage. You ned to control this dissipation of heat with a good cooler such as a Globalwin FOP38, FOP38 or even CAK38 or another quality unit from a manufacturer such as Alpha, Taisol or Swiftech. Do not use any of these gimmick fans which are quite frankly just that - a gimmick - they look nice but don't do their job. The Golden Orb is a gimmick.

Regarding - "Would the CPU need to be modified?", I would state that if the voltage on your motherboard is not sufficient to reach the overclocked speed that you desire, you may want to try more voltage in order to get more poke. I have written pages on how to do this before now that are available elsewhere, however I would state - NEVER GO ABOVE 1.95v. Others may say to do such, however they have lessons yet to be learnt.

Good Luck.

PS - get rid of that 700!!!

[Kryten]

thanks Andy for the advice, the cooling is provided by a cheap and nasty that came with the processor, I realise how important cooling is and the lengths some of you guys go to get it.
Just to clarify a point, The ABIT board was returned to the dealer because they could not sort out an on board sound problem and the Asus board I (bow my head in shame) dropped a screw driver on it and cut a few tracks on the PCB, I have at no time smoked a board.

[Daniel ~]

Moved post to "Intel CPU's"

[DaveB]

Now I am considering going for a duel processor setup the problem is the 2 different boards the ABIT VP6 and the Asus CUS4X-D both seem to only support 100Mhz and above.
Question... Can I get the Celleron to run @ 100Mhz?

Those boards can only work in the dual mode with FC-PGA PIIIs. You can only run a Celeron in the single processor mode, so that would be a waste. If you're on a budget and want a dual setup, pick up a couple of PIII 600's and O/C them to 800 MHz. If you can scrape up some extra $, go for dual PIII 700' @ 933 MHz. Just don't buy a Celeron to put in one of those boards.

[Kryten]

Thanks Dave, unfornately already have the P2 based Celeron was hoping to make some use of it until I could afford a pair of P3's for it.
The lowest speed P3 I can buy in Oz are 700's and they are about $380A each and the M/B's are both over $300A Budget wont quite strech that far.
I would welcome any other manafacturer or Proccesor comments as I am not fixed on Intel, I am just trying to get the most bang for my buck.

[Mr B]

Well, pretty much all the ground needing to be covered has. Wild Andy hit the nail right on the head with his assesment (a bit militant about it, though =) , but 100% accurate).

The 700 is a bugger to o/c, due to the high multiplier. And, as Dave mentions, will not run in SMP (dual) configuration.

Without a mb, you have some options open. Build around the C700 (not the best cpu to o/c with), or go an entirely different direction. The rest of your hardware list looks to be quite good.

If I were you, I think I'd pick up a mb that would support the C700, and start saving the $$ for a P/// 700 FC-PGA. Or search out a P/// 600E and motherboard combo. There's a few hardware sites that sell stuff just like this, however, I can't specifically say who might ship to Austrailia. (I've gotten all my stuff thru e-BAY, or locally)

The $$ you have available would likely get a really good mb, and have some left towards the P/// 700 fund, or get a decent mb/600E set. I'd say to check the "Classifieds" here, but they've been down for a bit, after the goings on of last week.

Search around the net...you might find something really good out there, and have it sent to your doorstep.

Good luck!

Mr B

[Kryten]

I downloaded the manual on the CUS4X-D and it appears that I can actually use the celeron on that board if I manually set the dip switch.
So even though I will be limited to 8 x 66 or slightly higher, I can in fact use the board until I can afford a descent set of P3's.
How does everyone feel about this board?
and any suggestions on air cooling?
The case has provisions for two fans above the PSU obviously this would be a good place to start.
I can really appreciate the effort and extent some of you guys go to to keep things cool, I wont be looking for anything over the top, just simple but effective.
Thanks again to andy (for saving me money by not buying) because I'm new to this over clocking bit I would have bought the golden orbs, since their the only non stock coolers I have seen here in Oz.
If anyone else feel theres a better board please don't hesitate to say so, I am used to constructing stockers.

[DocClock aka MadClocker]

Well, if you aren't too concerned with dualies, I would suggest the Abit SH6 (my current screamer)..it accepts the celerons with glee, and will take most all PIII's. it will go from 66mhz to 250mhz in 1mhz increments. it has onboard audio/video, but I don't use it.. (see my sig) I have run my celeron 300a with no trouble, and a variety of PIII's in this board, and it is most stable...it runs 24/7 at 156fsb. I have had no real complaints about this board, but a few have had some compatibility probs.
BTW, does your TNT2m64 overclock? mine is held back by the crap mem...the core can overclock past 150, but if I go 5mhz over the mem's default, it locks up..stock is 125core/150mem.

[Kryten]

Thanks Doc, I have swore I will never again buy a motherboard with either on board sound or video again.
I know I can dissable them but on principle if I pay for it I want to use it.
I had the SA6R which I felt was a very good board but after 3 times returning it to the dealer because the sound wouldn't work properly I told them they could put it where the sun don't shine.
the VP6 looks ok doesn't have the sound and video (which I like) and still has the RAID controller the SA6R had.
As for being able to over clock the TNT2M64 I must be honest I wouldn't know where to start to find out that info, the only game I ever seem to play is the original Diablo.
Where could I find out about over clocking video cards I obviously need to know this before I get to carried away trying to clock the next board.

[Kryten]

I ordered the Asus CUV4X-D today.
Many thanks to all that put in their 2 cents worth.

[DocClock aka MadClocker]

If you have detonator drivers, you could go to rivastation.com and download the "coolbits" .reg file, and double click it....or right click, and choose install, this will open up the "hardware options" tab in the advanced properties....where you will find a built in overclocking utility. Because it is a registry file, it stays there, even if you update your drivers...the utility will still be there.......I know, I have played with twenty or so sets of nvidia reference drivers.