Overclocking???

[hot_ice]

Hey all, recently I have been getting very stressed and annoyed with my crappy old Celeron 400MHz computer. Out of some stack of papers in my room I found the 'BX System Board Technical Reference' booklet and had a read, where it said that I can get my computer to run at a maximum 450MHz and front-side bux of 100MHz (currently 400MHz and 66MHz front-side bus).

I did as the instructions followed (change the jumper to get a friendly BOIS menu to appear when restarted) and when the menu appeared, it would only allow me to set clock speed to 300MHz or 333MHz. I set it to 333MHz, but when I restarted (after setting jumper back), it was still running at 400MHz.

Would anyone know how to change the front-side bus or get the clock speed upto 450MHz??

Thank you,
Greg

[Vorlin]

Well, while my first response would be "Buy a better motherboard and processor" but since that's probably not an option at the moment, check the following:

1: jumpers on the motherboard should control the FSB. Find these (get your motherboard docs online if you don't have the book) and set the FSB jumper so that it's for 100.

2: find the jumpers for the multiplier and set it to 4.5.

100 x 4.5 multipler = 450 mhz.

If you can't set the FSB to 100, you'll have to set the multiplier to 6 for it to even out to 450.

Disclaimer: while I believe this is correct, I could be wrong and this may or may not render your motherboard/processor useless. I don't condone overclocking to any degree as it induces instability and other problems, mainly heat.

[Focmaester]

Overclocking is stupid, I don't see what ppl.like about it. It ****s up your system and costs money to cool it.
Get a new board and cpu.

[Vorlin]

It allows them to squeeze that extra 50 mhz out of a celeron or something. Other than that, I can't imagine what they're really buying as heat rises really fast on procs that're doing what they aren't made to do.

As it is, a 400 mhz celeron probably failed at 500 mhz so that's why it's slated for 400. That's how they do some of the processing ability testing on wafer chips after they've been made. Interesting, nonetheless.

[cousinit]

Save youself headaches and frustration....buy a new board and processor.

Remember, no matter where you go....there you are.

[hellbringer87]

Your complaining about a slow computer? i have a P166!!
sure it bugs me but i live with it

[VictorKaum]

A computer is slow depending on the tasks that the box has to perform.

80386, 80486,P133, P166 pc's could still do many many jobs...

I mentioned in an earlier post a Linux routersoftware / firewall / gateway / proxy that fits on 1 floppydisk and runs on a 80386 with 8MB RAM !

Although it is fun to play RTCW on a P4 or to render some 3D on fast systems. It is all a question of:
What do I need?
and: What can I afford?

If you enjoy multimedia -> a fast box is a must
browsing the net and some text work -> a P133 can do the job

Overclocking? Don't do it if you don't have to. That little extra on CPU speed is not worth the extra heat that makes the pc instable.
Tune your pc to optimal speed without overclocking.

[Ouroboros]

Originally posted by hot_ice
my crappy old Celeron 400MHz computer.

Intel processors are a b*tch to overclock and they do everything possible to prevent you from doing it.

Would anyone know how to change the front-side bus or get the clock speed upto 450MHz??

For more info on overclocking, go to Overclockers.com
I've done it to a Pentium 350...clocked out at 525-533...fun to play around with, but NOT worth the expense and the potential damage to your system, in my opinion. Just upgrade your hardware...

Ouroboros

P.S. Edit: And when I say 'potential damage to your system'...I mean that 9 times out of 10 when you overclock without sufficient cooling and let it run long enough (48hrs straight, or so), you WILL fry your processor...trust me. <sigh>

O

[Terr]

BX board... 400mhz... Would this be a Dell XPS system? I've got a P2 400mhz, and my board (whatevertheheckitis) only takes up to 450 for obscure technical reasons. I've been scouting around at stuff for some time now, and I figure I can get a good new barebones system for about $300. (KT266A-variant Motherboard, AMD 1600, 256mb RAM, and the cpu fan, case, etc.)

And then I just migrate (in theory) my hard drive, video card, monitor, speakers, sound card, network card, and modem right over.

At any rate, I feel I identify with your predicament, but at the same time, I haven't really had any problems with a 400mhz processor, I figure it teaches patience, and most of the time the speed really isn't an issue for me.

P.S.: The reason for the new ram and cooler and case is that the remains of the first machine are going to be reused for another upgrade. (It's actually slightly more complex, but that's the spirit of it.)

[hot_ice]

Thanks all for your feedback. I've decided not to touch this system at all (which is a Gateway), as I would have no idea how to overclock, it all seems to complicated.

I'm gonna go for a new system. Build it myself from scratch, but this time I will choose AMD (I believe it's got the goods over Intel right now, and is obviously cheaper).

Thanks again,
Greg