Pentium 4 overclocking question.

JRWYW · May 14, 2002

I'm thinking about getting a new P4 system. With a 2.4Ghz P4B Northwood and, the new Asus motherboard that has the 533MHz FSB and RDRAM.

However, I read that ALL consumer P4 CPUs have a locked clock multiplier...and that all over clocking has to be done through the FSB. Is this true?

If so, what about using the jumpers on the motherboard to change the multiplier?

If I can't change the multiplier, how high can I take the FSB without screwing up PCI and AGP?

I'm new to over clocking, and I'm trying to interpret everything I've learned so far. If I've made some sort of mistake please tell me.

pko/c · May 14, 2002

You can't change the multiplier of the pentium IV even if you use the jumpers on the motherboard.You can only raise the FSB.For the cpu you are reporting can not overclock to high.600 FSB is hard to be achieved.You better take a pentium IV 1.6A which can go up to 2.7 ghz.

Big Nuttz · May 14, 2002

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS
The multiplier is in fact locked. The dividers for pci and agp are usually gonna keep a safe divider. I'm not sure on the P4T533C, but I have a P4T-E and the divider is good. As Yodums had in his signature a while back "FSB is everything people". Increasing the fsb also overclocks your RAM which is gonna give you more memory bandwith. I too wanna get the new Asus P4T533-C and a couple of sticks of PC1066.

You should read the beginners guide on the main page.

Jirnsum · May 14, 2002

...and JRWYW..... never be afraid of making mistakes. We all do every once in a while

batboy · May 14, 2002

Generally, up to 150 FSB is fairly easy and safe FSB speed (PCI bus of 37.5 MHz with a 1/4 divider), assuming you have the 133 FSB default "B" series CPU. By then you'll be pushing the limits of that 2.4 Northy and will probably need lots better cooling and extra voltage just to reach that much. Just to start out with since you're a newbie, try going for 140 FSB (2.52 gig) first and see what happens.

JRWYW · May 14, 2002

Ok thanks. but what is the divider for the PCI and AGP, and what does it do?
Do you think I would be able to get 2.9Ghz+ out of a 2.53ghz P4B with a good watercooling system?

Jirnsum · May 14, 2002

The AGP/PCI divider "divides" the Front Side Bus speed by a certain amount. The fraction of the FSB that remains are the PCI and AGP speeds. PCI should be roundabout 33MHZ, AGP roundabout 66MHz.

I can't tell you much about how far your B-Northy will go. They are still quite new, so I haven't seen lots of experiments with them going on. Be sure to keep us posted though

batboy · May 14, 2002

Anything about 2.7 gig with the current stepping Northwoods will require an exceptional CPU and cooling, plus lots of voltage and luck. My guess is 2.9 gig is about the most you'll get out of a 2.53B NW (19X153=2907) unless you use a motherboard that "fixes" the AGP/PCI buses (like the Abit TH7-II). Most mobos only go up to 1/4 PCI dividers, so 153 FSB would result in 38.25 MHz PCI bus speed. That's getting close to the max that most cards and harddrives can handle and still be rock stable (there are some exceptions of course).

JRWYW · May 15, 2002

Ok. Thanks for all the replies.

With this info I have changed my mind.
Now I'm ditching the P4B and going with a 2.2 or higher P4A.
I'm thinking since the bus speed is higher on P4Bs the multiplier is lower, and hence has less overclockablity. Am I Right?
The MB I want is a Abit TH7II. (was what I wanted before the new Asus).

So, my new comp will consist of:
Abit TH7II motherboard.
Pentium 4A Northwood
Samsung RDRAM PC800 2*512MB=1024MB total
TDK 48x12x48 burner
16X DVD* What's a good brand?
Enermax 500Watt PS
VisionTek Xtasy Ti4600 GeForce4
SoundBlaster Audigy Plat.
Standard Floppy and LAN.
Antec server case.

Do you think these are good components? Has anyone had bad experiences with anyone of them? Thanks for all your help.

Bigsexy · May 15, 2002

JRWYW said:
Ok. Thanks for all the replies.
With this info I have changed my mind.
Now I'm ditching the P4B and going with a 2.2 or higher P4A.
I'm thinking since the bus speed is higher on P4Bs the multiplier is lower, and hence has less overclockablity. Am I Right?
The MB I want is a Abit TH7II. (was what I wanted before the new Asus).

So, my new comp will consist of:
Abit TH7II motherboard.
Pentium 4A Northwood
Samsung RDRAM PC800 2*512MB=1024MB total
TDK 48x12x48 burner
16X DVD* What's a good brand?
Enermax 500Watt PS
VisionTek Xtasy Ti4600 GeForce4
SoundBlaster Audigy Plat.
Standard Floppy and LAN.
Antec server case.

Do you think these are good components? Has anyone had bad experiences with anyone of them? Thanks for all your help.

Here´s a hint for you:
What system are u running @ this moment? I think the system you have got right now will do it for at least one more year....

Just send me the money, that you saved on my hint (i suppose about 1600 buck$) - and we are fine

Nooooooo, just kidding! - Seriously: Sounds very nice, what you are planning - and I think

16X DVD* What's a good brand?

LG Electronics makes the best DVD´s @ the moment...

...and since you are planning to oc - maybe you should wait until you can get PC1066 rams (btw. I think Samsung is a very good choice!)!!

Have much fun with you new pc!

CYA
Bigsexy

batboy · May 15, 2002

Your dream list is looking pretty good. Bigsexy had good advice about the Samsung RDRAM. The PC-1066 was just released and you might think seriously about getting that. One other thing, the 512 Meg RDRAM modules don't overclock as well and get hotter than the 256 meg modules. Since the TH7-II has a dual channel quad pumped memory bus, you might not really need 1024 total megs of RAM unless you have special memory intensive needs. I've read some good stuff about the Pioneer slot loading DVD drives. A comment about that 48X burner. You might save a few bucks and get a slower speed, like a 36X, the speed difference is not really that much on those faster burners, besides, I don't think they have media that's rated that high yet anyway.

mjones73 · May 15, 2002

I've read some good stuff about the Pioneer slot loading DVD drives.

They are nice drives, I put one in my new machine. They are rated at 16X for DVD's and 40X for CD's. Mine rips audio really well too if your into making MP3's, I can rip and compress an average CD in about 3 minutes now with my new PC using CDEX. They are currently going for 45 plus shipping over at newegg for an OEM version.

JRWYW · May 15, 2002

OK cool. I've changed to a total of 512MB of RAM, since the two 512MB chips are too expensive; but before I do anything I guess I should tell you about the comp. I'm using now.

This is the only comp I have in the house.
P3 @ 600MHz.
384MB SDRAM
GeForce2 GTS pro
SoundBlaster LIVE! value.
8x4x32x HP burner
8x24x DVD
400W PS

So do I need to upgrade? I think, yes, since todays CPUs are over 4x faster then mine.

Oh boy I can't wait...

batboy · May 15, 2002

Your current system is not too bad, although you never mentioned what motherboard you have. It would be nice kind of nice to bring your speed up more than 600 MHz. But, it all depends on how much money you have to spend. If you have a good mobo that has overclocking features and if you were on a tight budget, you might want to just do a processor change to a 1 gig P-III or Celeron and overclock it up to 1.2 gig (that would double your clock speed). However, if you can afford it, those Northwoods sure are nice and very fast too. You could transfer the drives and cards over to the P-4 system to save a little cash at first and then upgrade them later at your leisure. A good Northwood CPU, motherboard, RDRAM, and P-4 compliant power supply are not exactly cheap.

JRWYW · May 15, 2002

My motherboard is some unknown brand (cheap). It has a Phoenix BIOS, that is locked up tighter then a bull A$$ at fly time, no Multiplier or FSB changes, and 600Mhz is its max.

Pentium 4 overclocking question.

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