I created this FAQ because, after reading
literally thousands of posts, I still see the same requests for basic instructions
over and over in each Newsgroup and forum. There are many web sites
with similar information, but many people either can't find these
sites or they don't have web access. Since I have never seen a FAQ
like this posted in any of the Newsgroups I read, I took it upon myself
to offer this small contribution to novice overclockers everywhere.
I don't claim to have all the answers and I can't guarantee that everyone
will be able to overclock their Celeron, but after reading this FAQ you
should be well on your way to a successful experience.
Overclocking is not recommended by any
manufacture (especially Intel) and will void your warranty. I do
not advise anyone to follow these instructions unless they are willing
to assume all associated risks. I have consolidated in this document
information that I've learned while overclocking my own system or that
I have read about the experiences of others. Overclocking can damage
your system. Working inside your power supply or wiring 110 volt
fans can cause serious personal injury if done by the inexperienced or
without the proper precautions. If you're unsure or in doubt about
any of these procedures, seek professional advice. I am providing
this document for informational purposes only.
If any one out there in Net-land has suggestions,
comments or contributions for this FAQ, feel free to contact me.
Frank Monroe email: monroef001@hawaii.rr.com
So
you want to overclock a Celeron?
You've read a few post, maybe visited a
few web sites. Everyone is reporting their success and claiming fantastic
speeds from a lowly 266 or 300 mHz CPU. You're excited at the prospect
of a high performance CPU for, essentially, small change and you want to
get in on the action. The speed of a P2-400 or -450 for $90 or $150
sounds too good to be true. But wait, they're talking about S-codes,
multiplier locking, Pin B21, CAS-2, and other esoteric terms. Names
like Deschutes, Klamath and Mendocino are bandied about while you wonder
what these words have to do with computers. Now you're confused.
How hard is this going to be? Is it worth it? Do you
need to be an Electrical Engineer to overclock a Celeron? In a word,
no. With the right hardware and a little luck, it should be a snap.
Why
is the Celeron so overclockable?
As you may know, a given chip design is
used for CPU's of many different speeds. The P2 and Celeron designs
are named after Western US counties: Deschutes, Klamath and Mendocino.
More on this later.
In theory, a CPU is tested first at it's
maximum speed. The ones that pass the testing process at this speed
are marked as such and sold as top-of-the-line CPU's. Those that
fail at the fastest speed are tested at successively lower and lower speeds
until they run reliably. These slower cores are then marked with
the speed at which they passed the testing process and sold as slower processors.
At least, that's the theory. No one really knows how Intel decides
which cores get marked for a given speed. Several other factors,
such as customer demand and production quality, affect how many processors
of each speed are produced.
A CPU of any given speed can usually be
made to run somewhat faster if one is willing to play around with the motherboard
settings. This is the overclocker's bread and butter. Now, through
a convenient turn of events, Intel has produced a CPU with an unusually
high capacity for overclocking.
Intel has long controlled the high-end
CPU market while it's competitors, Cyrix and AMD were gaining market share
in the low- and mid-price range because of the popularity of lower priced
PC's. Intel finally realized what was happening and wanted to recover
the low ground while also keeping the high end market (can you say "total
market domination"?). When Intel designed the CPU core for their
newest line of processors, the P2, they changed the way the CPU was mounted.
All P2's are mounted on a circuit board, called an SECC (Single Edge Contact
Cartridge), that plugs into a special, patented CPU slot (Slot 1) similar
to a PCI slot. [Intel calls the Celeron packaging a SEPP (Single
Edge Processor Package) but it's still compatible with the Slot 1 connector,
go figure.] AMD and Cyrix do not have a Slot 1 CPU, so if you
want high-end speed, you need to buy an Intel processor. Thus
the high-end market is preserved for Intel. Now, Intel needed a cheap
Slot 1 CPU to corner the low-cost PC market.
