got a poor 2.6, what to replace it?

[donutz]

hi all...
read alot on these and other forums with regards to overclocking these P4's and what not...

I've got a terrible P4 2.6 that won't overclock well. I've spent a fortune on the rest of the machine and I cant stand the fact that the CPU is so damn crap.

My setup:
IC7-Max3
P4 2.6, Made in philippines, SL6WH, FPO: 7321A421
Stock intel HSF
Geil Platinum PC4000 1GB ram (256x2, meant to do [email protected]) Ram is at 2.8V, which works fine (i dont try 2.9+, because of all the issues everyone has with this board)
Antec Truecontrol 550W PSU

My max oc on stock volts and stock cooler is about 2800Mhz. Which is terrible!

I lock pci/agp to 33/66, tried ram at 1:1 5:4 and 3:2, Gat at A-A-A-D-D
Still wont go past 2800 on default volts.

Thing is this mobo undervolts like hell... 1.525 (def. v.) in bios will read 1.49 in MBM5 in windows.

1.575 in bios, 1.54 real in windows under load; will get me to about 2950.

I have even tried up to 1.725 in bios, about 1.7 in windows, for 250fsb (3.25G) and i can boot into winxp and run 3dm01. But at this speed i cant do any prime95.. it fails instantly.

(Weird, at low/default volts this mobo undervolts alot, but as u increase the vcore its more and more accurate between bios setting and MBM5 reading.)

So i have come to the conclusion that this chip sucks alot of ***...
I'll sell it and get a new one..
Just wondering what everyone would recommend...
1) A new 2.6? I like the 2.6 multiplier.. since i am aiming for about 260-270 fsb and 3.4G-ish speed
2) 3.0? I'd probably have the best luck in trying to reach max core mhz, but at the expense of low fsb/ram speed.
3) 2.8, which is a compromise between the two?

I'd be happy to get another 2.6 and try it... but wil it suck as much *** again? What are the oc-ability of 2.8 and 3.0's in general? I'll definitely stay away from Philippines... but is Malay or costa rican more desirable? And any specific week/chip to look for or avoid?

Thanks all.

PS also got an SP94 coming soon.. will test with that before I sell...
but I dont have much hope it will help this cpu since it looks so crap in general.

 

[racpuc]

malay is better. Though they are just packaging locations ones that come from malay "seem" to oc better

 

[flapperhead]

that sux, had the same thing happen to me with my previous 1.8c. most 2.6c chips will run between 3.2-3.4 so why not sell this one and try a new one. most of the newer steppings run similar speeds. so i wouldnt worry so much about the stepping codes...

 

[Akira283-IGN]

malay is better. Though they are just packaging locations ones that come from malay "seem" to oc better

Completely wrong, it makes no difference where the CPU is packaged. This article from AnandTech should help you understand:

Just to clear something up, the markings on the back of the CPU refer to the packaging site - not the manufacturing site of the actual silicon chip itself. Intel has no fabs in either Malaysia or Costa Rica, they are packaging facilities. The silicon die/chips are manufactured elsewhere in the world and are shipped to either of these two packaging sites. In addition, Intel manufacturing has a goal of running a "virtual fab" - meaning that, among other things, products from one fab are statistically indistinguishable from those manufactured at another fab. So even if, for example using fake names, Malaysian packages used chips only from fab #1 and packages marked Costa Rica use chips from fab #2, there should be no difference statistically between these two.

I saw these discussions back in the Celeron days, and I commented back then, but this time around it seems a little different. I have started seeing some online retailers charging more for parts from a specific packaging site and this disturbs me. There is no difference between parts from these two packaging sites. Just as you can have 6 head/tails coin tosses come out heads, there may seem to be a correlation that heads is more likely than tails, but there isn't. In reality the odds are still approximately 50/50.

The silicon is what defines the speed of a CPU, not the package. And the silicon comes from multiple fabs scattered all over the place that are all supposed to be identical anyway.

If you are considering spending more, or buying from a shadier vendor, in order to get a specific package, I would urge you to reconsider. There is no difference and you are only wasting money, and or risking getting ripped off.

Patrick Mahoney
Microprocessor Design Engineer
Intel Corp.

There's been a lot of discussion about which Northwoods are better... Ones "made in Costa Rica", or the ones "made in Malaysia." The problem is, no Northwoods are manufactured overseas. All are made in the USA, with the vast majority coming from Fab20 in Hillsboro, OR. They are packaged (in the Socket 478) overseas, but that has no effect on the overclockability.

Normally, these discussions don't raise an eyebrow from me... But lately I've seen resellers charging more for "made in Malay" chips. And in my opinion, this is a ripoff. I just don't want to see people get taken.

Wingznut
.13µ Lithography Technician
Intel Corp

 

[N.E.R.D_BOI]

I've been through 3 x 2.6c's now.
2 from Philly and 1 from Malay.
The The 2nd Philly overclocked the best which is on my sig!
The malay overclocked the poorest. It couldn't even do 3.2ghz on stock vcore! I gave up on the POS when i found it couldn't do 3.2 on stock vcore like my 2 Phillys.

Just goes to show its luck of the draw. You'll never know what you get!