Athlon bad stepping what to do?

I have had my Athlon xp 1800+ since last december. I bought it from a retailer in my area as a mobo + cpu combo back in december 2001. I have already exchanged the combo once because of problems that was back in january. This was back before I got into overclocking.

However I think I have the AGKGA. The cpu and mobo is still under a one year warranty from the store, Which is Frys electronics, which has always been very generous on returns and exchanges.

I was thinking of exchanging the Athlon 1800 Xp AGKGA(bad oc stepping) in hopes of getting one with a better stepping.

I know what stepping I want, but what are the chances I would get a better overclocking CPU stepping?

I was gonna be bold and try to ask them to go through the 1800's they got and see if they could give me one with a certain stepping Aroia/agoia fingers crossed of course.

What ya all think?

It depends who you got it from and if they will exschange it, my $$ would be they dont Seind it has been a while.

My 1600+ AGKGA is a cr@ppy OCer also. And I was stuck with it. But love my AGOIA

You can try they can either say yes or no, no harm in trying.

Good luck.

Fry's it tough, they TEST the CPU to see if it works. If it does, they most likely won't replace it... If you can get them to replace it, odds are you will get a much better stepping.

Wait a minute- I don't quite understand...?

You have a working cpu that does not have a problem....and you want to RMA it?!?!?!?!

Isn't that kind of like buying a new television set, taking it home and watching a few shows....the teking it back to exchange it because there is nothing you want to watch on?


RMA's are there to replace items that do NOT work as they should, so unless the cpu does not run at its rated speed (1533 mhz for an XP 1800) what grounds can you rma it under?

i agree. read my sig: Member of the Anti-Unethical Overclockers Army. what you are proposing is unethical and just plain wrong.

Slow DOwn

I was gonna add more to my post but after I changed my sig which is incorrect! That sig is a liar on my first post, that is of a different setup. I changed the sig but I had ot change emails and re-register cuz they dont accept hotmail anymore.

Sorry but after reading Emerica's post I must have gotten the wrong immpression.

Heres a quote

"For athlon XP's the best stepping is AROIA, followed by AGOIA and AGNGA. The best thunderbird stepping is AHYJA i think i have never used one of those processors. GENERALLY if the second line starts with a Y or K it is a great overclocker. If it starts with a 9 or a 4 it is a good overclocker and possibly a great one. if it is a Z then RMA the cpu ASAP cause it will not overclock at all. One of the worst athlon XP stepping is AGKGA."

The CPU is still under warranty, and I dont see how this is bad considering they will test the chip find out its ok, and just figure It was another component in my system giving me probs and they will think im just a retard, and restock the cpu for some other joe.

By the way the chip never ran right either. I use to have trouble running it at 133 fsb because it ran so damn hot. Just to get it to run at rated seed I had to open case and blast a house fan in it. And that was with AS3.

I was only considering it for 2 reasons.
1. CPU was prob from start (exchanged once already)
took extraordinary cooling to run at rated speed.
Right now it runs ok, but if I was to put into a system for my mom and she doesnt want a jet engine in her room, then it wont work at 1533mhz.

2. The stepping on it is the worst, maybe this is part of the prob. I have started wanting to OC and this chip wont, for obvious reasons.

I didnt RMA earlier because of my ignorance on CPU's I have gained more knowledge, and realized that not all 1800+ are created equal. I thought I would just get another 1800+ that needed a house fan to run it.

Now I know better and want to get what I should have from the start.

Re: Slow DOwn

IR1 said:

The CPU is still under warranty, and I dont see how this is bad considering they will test the chip find out its ok, and just figure It was another component in my system giving me probs and they will think im just a retard, and restock the cpu for some other joe.

Click to expand...

My names Joe and im sorry when I pay for a processor I would like a new one, not a second hand one that has been RMA'd without good reason... And this Joe does not want to pay higher costs for processors as the time taken to test a RMA'd processor and the materials used for repacking costs a business money which must be reclaimed from somewhere. I expect they pass the costs down to any old Joe. is that ok ????????

I have some seriously bad processors in terms of clockability and have not looked seeked out a specific stepping for a very long while as I now like the excitement of wondering what I will get. Overclock for fun, for knowledge.

The type of actions suggested as acceptable in this thread imho simply are not

I see...

So your saying that if you were to buy a new car and after a while lets say 6 months your having problems, and the mechanic says the car needs a new stronger radiator or it wont run right.

Your logic says buy a new car, dont go back to the manufacturer and have them fix it when obviously it was poorly manufactured?

I dont see that logic. I understand and Agree that RMaing cuz you dont get a good overclocker is wrong.

They could have labeled my processor a 1600+ and getting to 1533 would have been good, but its not a 1600+ its an 1800+ that barely does 133fsb and 1533, unless I buy a new radiator.

Get it?

Anyway I am getting off topic. Really I want to know if I were to exchange it for another 1800+ do you think I will get an improved one that will run well at and maybe above rated speed and cooler?

And Yes I know for a fact I can get frys to exchange it, but I dont want to get something worse.

I am not an unethical person just a poor college student, with tuition to pay.

I asked for oppinions and I am getting them, though they arnt what I was looking for but that was to be expected.

thanks for your input guys.

Re: I see...

IR1 said:

So your saying that if you were to buy a new car and after a while lets say 6 months your having problems, and the mechanic says the car needs a new stronger radiator or it wont run right.

Your logic says buy a new car, dont go back to the manufacturer and have them fix it when obviously it was poorly manufactured?

I dont see that logic. I understand and Agree that RMaing cuz you dont get a good overclocker is wrong.

They could have labeled my processor a 1600+ and getting to 1533 would have been good, but its not a 1600+ its an 1800+ that barely does 133fsb and 1533, unless I buy a new radiator.

Get it?

Click to expand...

Having been a mechanic for 10+ years.....if you buy a new car, and after six months it's determined it won't run right because of insufficient cooling, the DOT (Dept Of Transportation) or the manufacturer would issue a recall. You would then get something in the mail, informing you of this defect, and to return the vehicle to the dealer for service, not replacement.

In your case, the chip works perfectly at default settings, therefore is fully functioning according to the manufacturer's specifications. There is no "defect" in the chip, just because you got a bad stepping, or just one that doesn't overclock well.

This is the 2nd thread I've seen like this today. It really kinda burns me, too....

There are no guarantees when overclocking processors, vid cards, RAM, whatever.... ANYthing above and beyond default is a bonus. The manufacturer builds in a small amount of headroom into these items, to ensure they will run stable at default settings, not so you can overclock them to be the fastest on the block. If, by chance you get that in your silicon, you're lucky.

Just because you got a "dog" of an overclocker, does that mean you should return it and get another one that might run better.

Just because others are getting higher overclocks is insufficient reason.

I've got an extremely early XP1800+...it hits 1702-1725MHz. I've seen countless run faster, even from the same or similar batches/steppings. And I've still got it...why?? Am I really going to notice a difference between 1725 and 1771MHz?? No. The only way you'll "see" a difference is in benchmark scores.

There's more to life than benchies.

If you don't "like" your chip, sell it, honestly (!), informing the buyer it doesn't overclock well, if that's the primary reason they're buying it, and get a newer stepping with the money you get from selling the older one.

You should still be able to get $40-45 easy for an XP1800+....then take that, and add a few bucks to it, and get a new AGOIA "Y" 1600+ from Newegg for $52-55 (whatever the going price is today...).

Don't RMA it....that's immoral, dishonest, and immature (and possibly illegal).

My $.02

If the cpu is really not running correctly, then returning it is the right thing to do; I have no problem with that, although I still don't understand why it would take so long to decide to do so.

But I am not there; all I can go on is what you posted.

If you do return a chip that is fine, I hope you get what you deserve: caught, or a chip that is worse!
If your chip does have a real and valid problem, I hope they can test it and replace it for you quickly.

Do the right thing.

WELL, in your reference to cars IR1, anyone would show the manufacturer the mechanic slip telling the new parts that were needed. If it was still under warranty, hell most of the time im pretty sure there obliged to fix it up, no?


And also, you dont compare a $7'000-$100'000 (USD) investment to a processor (noting that yours is an xp1800+) That is probably at most $85 (once again USD).


I do not believe in rma'n something that runs fine at DEFAULT GUARANTEED speeds, hell, right now id be glad with something like a xp1600+ (default) 1400 mhz. It is better than a p4 for more money, so id be happy.


It is up to you to do what you want, but there may be more things coming your way, like higher processor prices to EVERYONE for the same thing.......


*me inserts $.02*

also you stated that wouldn't you return your car if you were having problems....is your processor having problems? does it run right and to specs? if you were to throw a supercharger in your car and then say...hey, my 2ton charger won't keep up with your ferrari...i am going to go trade my car for yours. isn't that stupid? you bought a processor to use your computer...tuff tittie you can't o/c worth crap...i have had 2 processors now that wouldn't even o/c, let alone had BAD o/cs

IR1, your first post in this thread mentions NOTHING about your CPU being defective or not working properly. You only mention that it does not overclock as well as you would like and you are considering returning it because of this.

It is because of people like you that RMAing computer parts can be difficult at times. The "test drive" customers are the bain of the retail computer industry. What you are suggesting will benefit only you and the rest of us will pay for your dishonesty. You have a product, it works as the manufacturer specified that it would.

And please don't try to cover your a** with the "it barely does 1533 at 133 bus" baloney. If it can reach those speeds then you have no reason to return it that is legitmate. Shame on you.

obviously you missed something

Ok forget about exchanging it. Obviously the fact that my chip doesnt run at normal speed without extraordinary (as in 6 case fans) doesnt seem odd to you guys.

A normal chip should run with stock HSF and 1 case fan with PSU fan. and should not have problems.

Look my computer sounds like a jet engine and its greatly annoying. And I am not overclocking it!


I can either sell it on ebay or wherever. and then buy somthing better that runs as it should. Or I exchange it for somthing that runs as it should.

My #1 GOAL is to get one that runs at rated speed without crazy cooling.

and if I got a good overclocker then hey thats a plus but not a necessity.

Please read my entire posts... I think you missed some of what I am saying.

THE CHIP DOES NOT RUN AT DEFAULT WITHOUT SERIOUS COOLING.

Any other person who has no case fans would have exchanged this processor because it wont run without way above average cooling.

I woulda exchanged it earlier but I figured that all of the processors would do the same, but I have learned this is not true.

I am just getting into this community give me a break here, you guys got really upset before you got all the facts.

when I originally took the mobo and cpu back to the store because it would not post. This was back in january before I ever thought about overclocking. They gave me a new mobo and cpu I went back home put them in and the same problem occured. It took me a few days to get the computer to work, and it turned out not to be the cpu or mobo it was my powercord it for some odd reason stopped liking my computer. I changed it and it worked.

I felt bad because I returned 2 things that probably worked fine. This is part of the reason I stuck with the CPU i have for so long.
I never got arrested, or fined for being relatively ignorant about computers.

The store tests there products if they end up working they put it back on shelves and lose no money, I have purchased products that were RMA'd at this store. Anything RMa'd has a sticker saying so but the price is the same.

This is not a malicious return,
and I guess you guys think I am trying to rip of this company. I feel like I got ripped off.

had a known people in this community were going to have a thrombo over this I would have given more information in my original post.

sorry for giving you the wrong impression.

oh and

IR1, your first post in this thread mentions NOTHING about your CPU being defective or not working properly. You only mention that it does not overclock as well as you would like and you are considering returning it because of this.

Click to expand...

I would have been more forthcoming with all of the info. I did not want to write a novel but just a qucik post with some helpfull advice.

However I ended up writing a dictionary trying to explain what I had to do to get it to run at stock.

If you think I am a liar trying to cover my butt thats fine.
I cant change that.

I say next time go to a place that has CPUs on display where you can choose your Stepping right from the get go.

I say, sell it on ebay, locked, as is.
more people will be less scared to bid on it.
use that towards a new 1800.
or another chip...

thats what I do.

I am using and Xp1800 "AGKGA" just like you and I can overclock it to 195x8.5.
I can't break 200 yet, I also no matter what, die at 1740.
voltage, multiplier and everything have no effect on it. 1740 is the limit of this chip for me.
but I can OC it OK.

I like the challenge of this chip.
but, I am getting better gear soon.

dreamcast

hey I got my dreamcast connected to my monitor also.

I always thought DC was underated,
its still a blast to play.

the DC controller sucks, but the games when used with the VGA adaptor are just as good as any computer game I ever played.

my favorites are Marvel VS. Capcom 2, fatal fury:mark of the wolves, Capcom VS. SNK 2, phantasy star online V2 and skies of arcadia.
you just can't beat some of them old games.

If it's not running correctly at default, yes, return it. IF it IS, no.

If it's taking extrodinary cooling to run at default, there's something wrong. Either the chip is bad (I think we've covered that above...), the HSF isn't sitting flush on the CPU, or you might have used to much thermal compund, or something along those lines.

Could be you chipped the core when installing the HSF last time.... they have a tendency to overheat when that happens, and not run properly at default.

I just know what you've posted....at the outset, your story didn't sound good, with more info, yes, RMA the chip, IF it's definitely the chip. Check the HSF, etc. first.

B.