SECC2 or FC-PGA

[rootdown]

I'm thinking of buying myself a new CPU for my old and reliable P2B mobo (P2-350 at the moment). I was looking to buy a PIII-700 (and push it to 933). I found a place selling the chip and they have it in the SECC2 and FC-PGA formats. What format should I buy? The P2B is slot 1, so I thought SECC2 but will the chip overclock better in a slotket and FC-PGA. I just need to get the fsb to 133 since my mobo doesn't allow more.

Almost forgot, what HSF should I get. I found a Golden Orb for SECC2 format, is that enough? Haven't bought it yet.

Thanks all, this is a great board. I've been hanging around for a while and learned loads.

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P2-350
Asus P2B rev 1.04
Radeon LE @ 183/183
256 MB PC133

[WillysNut]

FC-PGA is the way to go! You will need a Slot 1 to FC-PGA Adapter or "Slocket" for your P2B. There not too pricey but be sure to get one from a "name brand" manufacturer like Abit or Asus. One great advantage of a good slocket is you have the ability to manually adjust the voltage.

The reason to go FC-PGA you ask? Because the L1 and L2 cache is "on-die" w/ fcpga meaning it's integrated into the CPU core. On Most SECC2 chips, the Cache is external to the core..it sits to either side of the core on the PCB board. Cooling those chips properly requires removing the casing and buying a monster HSF setup. ..just my .02!

[dadx2mj]

FC-PGA is definatly newer but the slot 1 P3 coppermine does have on die L1 and L2 cache. I would go with the slot 1 myself. Why use a slocket if you don't have to. I have a P3 750@1000. I recomend an Alpha P3125 or Global Win VOS-32 over the Golden Orb

[rootdown]

So if I get this right, the big advantage of FC-PGA in a slotket is the manual voltage adjustment. Apart from that both should overclock the same. But since the P2B does not have voltage jumpers, I guess it will be harder to get a stable overclock with the slot 1?


---
P2-350
Asus P2B rev 1.04
Radeon LE @ 183/183
256 MB PC133

[dadx2mj]

Yeah if your mobo doesn't have vcore adjustments either by jumprs or in the bios then a slocket would be good. I had a slot 1 600e that would do 900 at default vcore. I now have a 750@1000 but it requires a vcore of 1.90 to run stable.

[WillysNut]

Originally posted by rootdown
So if I get this right, the big advantage of FC-PGA in a slotket is the manual voltage adjustment. Apart from that both should overclock the same. But since the P2B does not have voltage jumpers, I guess it will be harder to get a stable overclock with the slot 1?


You've got it! Of course the "overclocking the same" part depends on the core type, stepping, mobo setup, etc. Don't forget...Playing w/ voltage is a serious deal. The amount of heat produced by voltage increases warrants proper cooling..even w/ Intel chips that tend to run cooler than AMD. Good luck!

[rootdown]

Thanks WillysNut and dadx2mj for your help. I'll go with the sloket adapter for the Vcore adjustments. I may buy a new case too since the one I have is all cluttered and air doesn't flow very well.
One last question, I saw that my RAM slots are pretty close to the CPU, do you have a low profile heatsink to suggest, in the mean time i'll check if my motherboard works without DIMM in the first slot.

---
P2-350
Asus P2B rev 1.04
Radeon LE @ 183/183
256 MB PC133

[JetMech]

Originally posted by rootdown
Thanks WillysNut and dadx2mj for your help. I'll go with the sloket adapter for the Vcore adjustments. I may buy a new case too since the one I have is all cluttered and air doesn't flow very well.
One last question, I saw that my RAM slots are pretty close to the CPU, do you have a low profile heatsink to suggest, in the mean time i'll check if my motherboard works without DIMM in the first slot.

---
P2-350
Asus P2B rev 1.04
Radeon LE @ 183/183
256 MB PC133 Yes. That slot can be left open.

[batboy]

I agree with those who recommended the PC-PGA. Also, Jet is correct, you can leave the closest DIMM slot open. Forget the Orb cooler though, there are much better ones to use. A good slotket cooler is the Alpha PEP66, that's what it was designed for.

[Baboo]

Only one small point - check at the asus website to check for mobo compatibility with the PIII.

I noticed you're using a P2B. I have a P2B-S (onboard SCSI) and when I upgraded from a PII to PIII, I had to buy a new mobo as the rev was not high enough to support the cumine.

I had to upgrade my 1.03 for a 1.04 (these rev no's are not the same as the P2B!) which was very costly. Bah.

But I'm happy now.

[Clevor]

Baboo is right. I had a P2B-S or whatever (the one with the on-board U2 SCSI), and it was a Rev. 1.02, so I was limited to Katmai's even with Asus's latest BIOs update.

My 300 PentiumII burned up and took the MB with it anyway, so it's junk. Back in 1998 it was my dream, killer rig, but compared to what's out now . . .

Try getting a P3B-F on Ebay. You might be able to get one for $40 or something. Make sure it is Rev. 1.03 and up. It will run all the latest Coppermines with the latest BIOS update. However you are limited to 133, 140, and 150 FSBs over 130.

[funnyperson1]

p3v4x is te beast if you want an asus......but if you are going for a new one there are tons of people who swear by them bx boards.....

[JetMech]

Another good board to consider is the Asus CUSL2-C. The price is in line with the p3v4x and you get an Intel chipset. The 815EP chipset far outperforms the via set. My only regret about aout 815EP is that it limits onboard Ram to 512mb. Do your homework and get the most recent technology for a given pricepoint

[rootdown]

Thanks for the inputs. I looked into the CPU database and nice overclocks of the PIII-700 were achieved using P2B motherboards of lower revision than mine, so i'll keep my P2B. I just want a cheap upgrade, if I had to buy a new motherboard I'd probably go AMD anyway.
I'll start looking for all the parts I need (slotcket, alpha heatsink, new case maybe) and I'll post the results when all is done (probably in a couple of weeks, too much work right now).
Since I will buy the CPU in one or two weeks I may buy the P3-800 or higher. My mobo multiplier is 8x max, but since the intel cpu are multiplier locked I don't think there would be a problem using say PIII-850 or cel 1ghz. Am i right?

Thanks all.