> Hello -
> I hasve read quite a few postings here that people are
> "overclocking" the cpu for what I gather is better performance from
> the computer.
> I have a 233 pentium MMX (NOT PENTIUM II) and may be interested in
> doing this if need be with the sim GPL.
> I would appreciate it if someone could post the instructions on how
> to overclock the cpu for thier cimputers.
> I, for one, am interested, and I am sure there are many, many more
> sim racers out there that would appreciate the information for their
> cimputers as well.
> Thanks!
> Doug
Hi Doug...
Likely may be a while before someone will get to you with a more
difinitive answer on overclocking (there's a GPL "feeding frenzy" in
progress right now!), so if you've got 5 minutes, I'll tell you all I
know about it.
Overclocking has to do with adjusting the multiplier so as to force the
CPU to run at higher speeds. This is either done at your CMOS screen
(if your motherboard uses software to accomplish this), or on the
motherboard itself with "jumpers". Using a software based motherboard
such as my old Titanium TX, you simply enter the CMOS screen, and change
the multiplier. Example, a "typical" clock speed setting for a P233 is
66 (the mhz speed of the CPU) times the multiplier of 3.5, which equals
231 (referred to as "233") CPU speed. If you adjust the clock
multiplier up to, say 4, then: 66 x 4 = 264 (or "266"). Thus, your CPU
is now cranking at a higher speed. Things to watch out for is heat on
the CPU. If you have a good CPU fan, you probably won't have much
trouble overclocking up to 266. If your motherboard allows for faster
BUS speed... there's another way to speed up you system: Overbussing.
This is where you up the bus speed. Using this method, by upping the
BUS speed, you can actually slow down the CPU speed, and realize
significant gains in system speed. This is what I do. I'm running my BUS
at 75 mhz (highest my board will allow) and using a 3 multiplier for a
CPU speed of 225. Results are as follows:
Benchmarks on my system using Norton: (Note, a P100 benches at 21.1 for
reference.)
"Speedeasy" CPU/BUS speeds (i.e. your basic "233" settings) benchmark =
57.7
75 mhz BUS x 3 (225 mhz) = 66.0
75 mhz BUS x 3.5 (266 mhz) = 69.8
At 266 with a BUS speed of 75 mhz, my system stumbles upon occassion
when working with Jpeg (graphics) files. But it works great at that
speed for simming. I noticed I could run noticably more detail on GP2
(a CPU hog) at these CPU/BUS speeds. As you can see, this is basically
a "freebie" that's available on most systems just by asking the right
questions!
HOWEVER... don't get your hopes up about GPL on your P233. I understand
that this sim is extremely horsepower hungry once you add AI cars. A
HIGH quality Rendition or 3dfx vid card is absolutely essential for our
machines and I understand we'll STILL be way under the real system
requirements to fully enjoy the beauty built into GPL. That fact has me
quite discouraged about buying the sim. :-(
Hope this helps. Perhaps others will step in here and add to, or
correct, my observations on overclocking.
Andre
