Another techie question

You never know until you try... that's my theory on OC'ing. There are rumors that Intel has pulled the same multiplier shorting on the P2s as they did with the last generation MMX's. i.e. only a bus speed increase will actually show results. Take a look at a new 166MMX, pump it up to 75Mhz no problem, it will give you 188, but try to go from 2.5 to 3 and you'll see that it is still indeed running at 166. You will probably have your best results (depending on CPU run and Motherboard manufacturer... and all the other components in your system, after all you are increasing the system bus speed which = increasing PCI/ISA bus speed) with 4.5x75. If you are going to try any higher, check to see if you have PC100 compliant SDRAM, cheaper SDRAM works fine at 66, but bump up the speed and you may see some problems. it's defiantly a nice place to be, but you have to have a well built system with top drawer parts to keep the stability as well. But remember, Your CPU was designed to work at 66 or lower only, 100 may or may not be a safe place with a 300, you have to check your board too. Some BX boards take the bus speed straight from the CPU and may not 'allow' you to increase it without a little trickery. And check out that RAM, it's a real easy place for a builder to save a few bucks (depending on how much ram you got... it could be quite a bit), because until you go to either overclock it, or upgrade the CPU to a 350 or 400 you'll never know the difference. Overclocking is *not* supported by any manufacturer... therefore you would never tell them that... and by the time you went to upgrade your CPU something better will be out there anyway. In short.... check the RAM, if you don't have PC100, see if you can still make a swap for an extra couple of dollars. And let me know how you make out... I still don't have a PII of my own to try it on, and wouldn't try it on a client's machine, I'm a nice guy, but don't really want to buy a new processor/board/whatever for any of my clients. Cheers Joe Walsh Supercity Internet Services

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>. > The store will only set it at 4.5*66=300 but I'm thinking of setting it >to 3*100=300. Will I notice a speed increase at that setting? Also, >I'm thinking of overclocking it to either 338 (4.5*75) or 350 (3.5*100), >is this a good idea? This is not a cheap system I put together >(relatively speaking) so I don't want to fry the ***. I'm not >looking to set any speed records, but wouldn't mind overclocking it a >*bit*. > Thanks again! > Karl

- Karl, According to Tom's Hardware Page, the most you can o'clock a Klamath (1st Generation) PII to is 350Mhz due to the speed of the 2nd level cache. I took this into account when I bought mine and got a 266, which runs happily at 333 (83 x 4) on an AOPEN BX m/board. At this speed it runs as cool as the proverbial cucumber. To go to 350 I would need to use a 100Mhz clock speed, and run the risk of my SDRAM not coping (not PC100 certified). There doesn't appear to be any advantage in the extra cost of a 300 over a 266 as they will both run at the maximum speed of the cache. A 233 is less promising as it is multiplier-locked at 3.5, so therefore HAS to be run at 100Mhz to get top speed out of it. The 333, on the other hand, is the first of the "Deschutes" chips, and apparently will run happily at 83 x 5 = 415mhz, and some will handle 100 x 4.5 = 450! Sorry for the long explanation, but the short answer is: If you've paid for the 300, yes it should run happily at 333 or 350. If you haven't paid for it, either save some money and get a 266, or spend a bit more and get a 333. Hope this helps :-) PHILLIP ARCHER ------------------ ------------------