AMD Guy stuck in Intel Land :-)

Hey everyone... I've got a few questions, hopefully someone here can help me out. First of all, I've been overclocking, modifying, and just generally working with hardware for an incredibly long time (so long I can remember upgrading my first computer from a 286 to a 386...) and since then I've collected A LOT of computers (most of which are sitting around my room, happily collecting dust), but most of my recent ones have been AMDs. Pretty recently, though, I got a good deal on an ASUS CUSL-2 motherboard and a retail P3-933 cpu. So, I stuck 'em in an older case I had and put a nice new GeForce2 MX in along with some other older parts and added it as my 4th "in-house" machine for the lan parties I run occassionally. Alright, still with me? Then here're my questions (they're coming... really ):

There's really nothing wrong with this set-up, but I'd obviously like to push the thing as hard as it'll go so it can at least pretend to keep pace with the other rigs I have. The video card is already overclocked slightly, so I'm moving onto the CPU. The case is "somewhat" well cooled right now. I've thrown on a Swiftech MCX370 Heatsink and a Delta 38CFM fan (and DAMN is it loud), a front-mounted intake fan, some ramsinks, and a blue orb on the video card (I know it's not the best cooler around, but it keeps the air around the card cooler better than a lot of other fans, which is good for me in this case since almost all of the PCI slots are filled). I've got the cpu up to a little over 1ghz right now, but I'm not really happy. And since I'm not familiar with this particular cpu (or any P3 CPU clocked this high) I figured I'd ask how far you think I could push it and keep it running at least fairly stable with this set-up? And if this is it, any suggestions on relatively cheap methods to increase cooling? Thanks a lot everyone, and sorry for the long post!

welcome to the forums. the 933 is a tough overclocker since it has the 133 bus. you need exceptionally good ram and other components to get it to go very far.

a lot of us recentally got cDo stepping p3 1000E and 1100E cpus. these are the 100fsb type chips so they have more headroom to overclock. If your looking for speed in a p3 board you might want to replace the 933 with one of these.

I think the average overclock on these two chips has been arround 30%

Ebola said:

welcome to the forums. the 933 is a tough overclocker since it has the 133 bus. you need exceptionally good ram and other components to get it to go very far.

a lot of us recentally got cDo stepping p3 1000E and 1100E cpus. these are the 100fsb type chips so they have more headroom to overclock. If your looking for speed in a p3 board you might want to replace the 933 with one of these.

I think the average overclock on these two chips has been arround 30%

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Well, I've got to say I was hoping for some better news than that... but thanks for the advice. I was actually considering upgrading, but like I said... I got a great deal on these (I paid just under $100 for the board and processor together), so buying a new Pentium III chip would cost almost twice what I've already put out. It seems to be running stable at 1ghz, though, so I'll probably end up leaving it there for now.

How far you can overclock that CPU depends on lots of factors, including what stepping it is, components, etc. If the default voltage is 1.7v then it's a cC0 and if it's 1.75v then it's a cD0. My P-III cC0 700 is really the same CPU (7X multiplier) that runs at a default 100 FSB instead of your 133 FSB. I would think that 150 FSB would be a fairly nice goal to try and reach (1.05 gig) with your setup. If you have the cD0 and if you're lucky, maybe a little more. My P-III seems quite happy and rock solid at 150 FSB, although I can also run a fairly stable 1071 MHz (1.1 gig gets shakey).

Now those of you who have always wondered why a 800E is more expensive than a 800EB, this is why....lol

If the option is available, always go for the 100 bus "E" chips. The 133 "EB" chips generally have a lower yield when overclocking because the FSB you start at is so high, and the multi is so low. But, there's also a point at which the multiplier gets too high, and works against you the other way, too. This is why the Celeron 700/733/766 are notoriusly bad overclockers...very high multipliers.

batboy is right on the money. About 150 FSB would be good for that chip. I've got a 700E myself (cB0), and the highest I've had it stabvle is 968MHz/138FSB.

Good score on that for less than a "C" note though. Even at default, that's a real steal. Congrats on getting that for the $$ you spent. Good luck on overclocking it!

Yup BatBoy include various important factors..

And you'll be able to hit higher than 1gig me thinks just see what you can do ..

Just checked the dbase for this CPU and it shows an average of 1080 over 28 entries. Some of the higher ones (1200+) are on the CUSL2. All I know is that your board is a good one, so you might want to check the Motherboards section to see if anyone there is still running with one of those. Good luck with it, and if my KK266/Athlon deal goes through, I'll be in your neighborhood in a couple of weeks.

Well, I say burn it in, and crank it up!
I have a cCO 700E and it is running stable at 1115mhz
Although it was bought gauranteed to run 1050 at default volt.
But with a burnin, some patience, and persistance I got it to 159fsb...any higher and it looses the hdd controler.
What a steal you got even at default...at worst you could find a intel fan and sell it for a profit.
I should think you could get it to 150-155 fsb rather easily with the right ram etc.
Good luck,
Doc

Yup I think he is guaranteed to get the 150fsb point as long as he gets some better ram.. Possibly of PC-150