Newbie with an easy question

[Noodleboy]

Hello OC Masters! I am completely new to overclocking and was given a piece of info that I think may have been incorrect. I am building a new PC and am attempting to buy parts that will enable me to experiment with overclocking. I was told that I will need to get a 200MHz FSB and not a 266MHz if I want to OC. Is this true? I can't seem to find any info to back this up, and after looking at the results of the CPU poll, it looks like a lot of you use the 1400MHz Athalon with a 266 FSB. This all contradicts the info that I was given, so I think it was incorrect. However, before I go out and make a wrong coice, I thought I'd verify with everbody here.

And, While I'm at it, I thought if anyone here has any problems with the ABIT KG7-RAID mobo. I'm thinking of running the 1.4GHz Athalon (266 FSB) in this board. Any warnings or problems I should look out for?

Thanks in advance for you help!

[UnseenMenace]

The 266 mhz refers to an internal double pumped FSB for the cpu (133 x 2) the 200 mhz refers to a internal double pumped 100 mhz FSB for the CPU.. I am not aware that you can actually obtain the 1.4 Athlon T-Bird with a 200 mhz FSB and this is the reason why a lot of the people do not appear to use them.

[SickBoy]

Welcome to the forums, noodleboy.

The truth of the matter is that once you get your 1.4 Athlon, you're probably going to unlock it via the pencil trick or similar. Once you unlock a chip, there really is no difference between the 200 and 266 versions. GENERALLY (there are caveats but they're very rare) most AMD chips including Durons and Athlons will run at any FSB from 100 or less up to about 145 MHz. (200 MHz to 290 MHz DDR)

The long and the short of it is you're going to have to do some FSB overclocking, as **I THINK** most boards only have multipliers up to 14 right now. Neither chip is going to be particularly advantageous either way. The important thing would be to get a chip that has a good stepping code (AHYJAR with a Y as the first character on the third line) no matter what the default ratings say.

SickBoy

[Noodleboy]

Originally posted by SickBoy
The important thing would be to get a chip that has a good stepping code (AHYJAR with a Y as the first character on the third line) no matter what the default ratings say.

SickBoy

Okay, so finding a chip with a good stepping code would require actually looking at the chip and picking one with this physically printed on it, right? This means I should not order my CPU online, correct?

And thanks for the quick response and the welcome! ^_^ Hopefully I will be joining the happy ranks of the overclocked masses soon! I just got my Lian-Li PC60 case yesterday! Yahoo!

[thefly]

If you plan to overclock the cpu make sure you get a motherboard that can do 133frontside bus. Don't get an old motherboard that does 100fsb.

Happy computing

[Cocytus]

I thought all 1.4 were unlocked??

[Chronical]

Ya I thought all the 1.4's came unlocked too Cacytus

[FRANK]

Once again, Welcome.

It is generally accepted that all 1.2G and above CPU's come unlocked. It's not a big problem if it is locked though, just connect the dots.

The 266FSB CPU's overclock very well as do the 200MHz variety, check my signature to see some of my results.

My advice to you would include a trip to the front page of this site under the heading of "Beginers Guides", in there you will find a very good article on unlocking the AMD socket "A" CPU's as well as a wealth of other information pertaining to overclocking in general. This would be time well spent.

Good Luck!

As far as the codes, see below;

[phiber]

Originally posted by FRANK
Once again, Welcome.

It is generally accepted that all 1.2G and above CPU's come unlocked. It's not a big problem if it is locked though, just connect the dots.

The 266FSB CPU's overclock very well as do the 200MHz variety, check my signature to see some of my results.

My advice to you would include a trip to the front page of this site under the heading of "Beginers Guides", in there you will find a very good article on unlocking the AMD socket "A" CPU's as well as a wealth of other information pertaining to overclocking in general. This would be time well spent.

Good Luck!

As far as the codes, see below;
that is a good pic i always get something to save for later on

[Noodleboy]

Originally posted by FRANK
Once again, Welcome.

My advice to you would include a trip to the front page of this site under the heading of "Beginers Guides", in there you will find a very good article on unlocking the AMD socket "A" CPU's as well as a wealth of other information pertaining to overclocking in general. This would be time well spent.

Good Luck!

Okay, so I'm going to go with the 1.4GHz with a 266 FSB. And don't you worry! I'll be spending TONS of time reading those beginners guides here AND at other sites before I go doing anything rash. I feel pretty confident that I can learn MOST of the stuff I will need from the articles. I may have a few questions before I go doing anything nasty. My plan is to build the PC with good components and use it for a bit that way. THEN I will delve into the world of overclocking.

Oh, and I found an online vendor with the AYHJA Y Stepping 1.4 Athalon for only $106! Yay! Thanks for the help everybody!

[Cocytus]

Let me know how it goes