How to overclock the processor on a computer or laptop. Increasing processor performance How to overclock a dual-core intel processor
It's probably no secret that the performance of a computer can be increased not only by replacing a part with a more efficient one, but also by overclocking the old one. If it’s still a secret, then I’ll explain.🙂
Overclocking, overclocking- this is an increase in the performance of PC components (processor, , and ), due to an increase in their standard characteristics. If we are talking about a processor, then this means increasing the frequency, multiplier coefficient and voltage thereof.
2 Frequency increase
One of the main characteristics of a processor is its frequency. .
Any processor also has such a parameter as a multiplier (number), which if multiplied by the FSB bus frequency, you can get the real processor frequency.
Therefore, the easiest and safest way to overclock a processor through bios is to increase the frequency of the FSB system bus, due to which the processor frequency increases.
In all variants the processor frequency will be 2 GHz
— bus 166 and frequency multiplication factor 12;
— bus 200 and frequency multiplication factor 10;
- bus 333 and frequency multiplication factor 6.
The simplicity lies in the fact that the FSB frequency can be changed directly in the BIOS or programmatically in 1 MHz steps.
If earlier, this method could easily end sadly for the processor (burning out). Today, it is very problematic to kill a multi-core processor by simply increasing the frequency.
As soon as a novice overclocker goes too far with the processor frequency, the system will immediately reset its settings to default and after a reboot everything will be fine.
To change the bus frequency you need to go to BIOS and find the CPU Clock value there, as shown in the picture.
Press Enter on this value and enter the bus frequency. next to it you can see the processor multiplier and the effective processor frequency of 2.8 GHz.
Please note that the processor multiplier in the example is quite high - 14x at FSB 200MHz; in this case, I would recommend increasing the FSB in steps of no more than 5-10MHz (that is, the frequency will increase by 70-140MHZ).
In the case of other multiplier and frequency values, increase the bus frequency in increments of no more than 10%. There is no need to rush when overclocking, and with this step it will be easier for us to calculate the most optimal frequency for your CPU in tests.
If you want to achieve tangible results when overclocking. Then you cannot do without a good cooler, pay attention to the Zalman cooler.
We carry out tests with temperature measurements and at maximum load on the processor. This can be done with programs such as Everest, 3D Mark.
If the temperature at maximum load is above 65-70 C, then it is necessary to either increase the cooler speed to the maximum or reduce the FSB frequency.
3
The processor multiplier can also be changed. This will affect the increase in CPU frequency. For example, at frequency:
- bus 133 and frequency multiplication factor 10; (1.33 GHz)
you can change the coefficient to 15 and as a result get 2.0 Ghz instead of 1.33 Ghz. Not a bad increase, right?
There is just one thing, your processor must be unlockedmultiplier, such processors are usually labeled as Extreme if the processor is Intel and the Black Edition is an AMD processor.
But even if you don’t have the extreme version, you shouldn’t be upset. After all, with the right approach to the first option, you can achieve excellent results. Although, most likely, you cannot do without...
4 Voltage increases
The principle is simple. If you apply more voltage to a light bulb than it needs to glow, it will burn brighter. A processor is a more complex thing than a light bulb, but the meaning is approximately the same.
Increasing the voltage allows you to more seriously overclock the processor. To achieve stable operation of the processor at higher frequencies, it is necessary to increase the voltage on it. There are several points to consider here:
- be sure to install a good cooler.
- do not increase the voltage by more than 0.3 V.
To do this go toBIOS (Del key when starting the PC), after that go to Power Bios Setup => Vcore Voltegeand increase the value by 0.1 V. Next, set your cooler to maximum and set the FSB frequency higher.
We test, if everything is fine and the performance suits you, then you can stop there.
When you reach a critical level of processor performance (that is, if you increase the frequency by 3-5%, a reboot will occur), I advise you to reduce the frequency by 5%, this way you will secure your overclocking with stable operation for a long time.
To increase your computer's performance, you can overclock its processor. The safest way is to change the BIOS settings. Before you start mastering this area, it is very important to study and have the motherboard manual on hand during overclocking. The instructions must be followed clearly and consistently; doing things on your own can lead to disastrous results.
Let's start by updating the BIOS to the latest version; to do this, go to the official website of the manufacturer of our particular motherboard (mostly such sites are in English), go to the “Downloads” tab, select the “BIOS” section. Click on the “View Detail” link opposite the motherboard model, in the page that opens click on the “floppy disk” label opposite downloads to download the update to the BIOS.
You should not set all BIOS parameters at once, as this can harm the system. If situations arise that the computer reboots when loading the operating system, testing or playing games, then in the BIOS you need to slightly raise the voltage value on the processor. Periodically monitor the processor temperature using a program during overclocking. At high temperatures, the processor's performance is lost, which can cause the system to crash. If necessary, it is worth replacing the thermal paste, and possibly the cooler on the processor.
Perhaps many people know, but for those who don’t, we’ll tell you that the performance of any computer can be significantly increased not only by replacing existing hardware with new hardware that has higher performance, but also by overclocking the old one.
Overclocking or overclocking involves increasing the performance of PC hardware components such as processor, video card, RAM, and motherboard by improving their nominal characteristics. In the case when the processor is overclocked, we will increase its clock frequency, multiplier coefficient, and also the supply voltage.
How to increase frequency
So, how to overclock an intel processor? When talking about methods of this type, let's start with increasing the frequency characteristics. Where does this opportunity come from? The fact is that manufacturers of microprocessor technology always supply their products to the market with a certain safety margin, the value of which ranges from 20 to 50% of the characteristics stated in the passport. For example, the Intel 2.5 GHz installed in your PC has a maximum clock speed of 3 GHz.
In other words, during a properly executed overclocking process, you can achieve an increase in its characteristics to 3 GHz. However, this does not mean that in this mode it will work longer than at its nameplate frequency. When the processor gets very hot, the peak frequency is reset to minimum values. In addition, there is absolutely no guarantee that you will be able to increase this figure, but some simple manipulations will easily increase it by 20-30%.
Each processor is characterized by the presence of such a parameter as a multiplier. If you multiply the value of this parameter by the FSB bus frequency (BCLK), we find out the frequency. Therefore, the simplest and absolutely safest method of overclocking Intel is to increase the frequency of the FSB system bus (BCLK).
The accessibility and simplicity of this method comes down to the fact that changing the FSB (BCLK) can be done directly in the BIOS, as well as programmatically, using a step equal to 1 MHz for this purpose.
In more “ancient” models, using such a method could lead to dire consequences - the processor could simply burn out. Today, in order to “kill” modern multi-core Intel only by increasing its clock frequency, incredible efforts will be required. But we do not set such a goal, and, therefore, this method is completely safe.
In the event that a novice overclocker even overdoes it with the settings, the system will instantly reset the settings, reboot and function in its normal mode. To change the bus frequency, go to the BIOS, then find the value of the CPU Clock value, press the “Enter” key within this value, and then enter the value of the bus frequency.
Attention! It is recommended to overclock only desktop processors. It is better to leave processors in laptops in their current state, because... they cannot cope with the increased heat generation of processors under overclocking. To enter the BIOS, you usually use the “Del” key when booting the PC. Read this article: . But only to familiarize yourself with the frequency and other parameters.
So, we enter the BIOS, open the information about the CPU and see:
Set new values in the FSB or BCLK line settings. In this screenshot, BCLK is equal to 100 MHz, which when multiplied by a factor of 33 gives a processor frequency of 3300 MHz. If you set the BCLK value to 105, the final frequency will be 3465 MHz. Remember that most modern Intel processors are sensitive to changes in this value. It is better to overclock them by increasing the multiplier. Read about multipliers below.
In order for the overclocking result to be as effective as possible, it is necessary to replace the existing cooler with a more efficient one. To determine the efficiency of a particular fan model, you should measure the Intel temperature at its maximum load. Programs such as Everest and 3D Mark will help with this. If the temperature at maximum load is 65-70°C, it is necessary to either increase the fan performance to the maximum value, or reduce the FSB bus frequency (BCLK).
How to change the multiplier
Also, increasing productivity can be achieved by changing the multiplier. This is only possible if the existing “stone” is unlocked with a multiplier. As a rule, such devices are labeled “Extreme”. If the version of your existing Intel does not belong to this category, you should not be upset, since using the first option will be enough to obtain it. Or you cannot do without increasing the voltage.
We change the multiplier upwards from the standard one, as in the screenshot.
There is no need to set large multipliers right away. Try adding 2-3 units to start. Save and restart your computer. If it works stably, you can add another unit. And so on until stability is disrupted. Let's assume that the computer freezes when turned on after setting the multiplier to 45. Then it is better to set the Final multiplier to 43. This way the computer will work stably.
If the motherboard cannot reset the settings on its own, help it. You need to remove the round battery on the motherboard. If you don't know what it looks like, it's better not to overclock your processor!
How to increase the supply voltage
How to overclock an intel processor by increasing the processor voltage? The principle of increasing productivity by increasing voltage is quite simple. To implement it, you just need to increase the power supply of the device. In order to make your dreams come true, you must:
- install a more efficient cooler;
- do not increase the voltage value higher than 0.3 V from the nominal value.
In order to increase the voltage, you need to go into the BIOS, find an item called “Power Bios Setup => Vcore Voltege” or something similar, increase the supply voltage by 0.1 V. Then, you need to set the cooler to the maximum value and set a higher FSB frequency (BCLK) or multiplier.
Many computer users have heard that you can significantly improve the performance of your computer by overclocking its processor. In this article we will talk about how to overclock an AMD processor (AMD), let us introduce you to the features of this operation.
As a rule, a newly purchased computer becomes obsolete within a year or a year and a half, due to the rapid development of modern technologies. Very soon after purchase, it begins to be unable to cope with new games that require large computing resources and to slow down. Overclocking the processor will extend the life of the computer, saving a significant amount on buying a new one, or on replacing its main parts (upgrade). In addition, some people use overclocking immediately after purchase, trying to increase its performance to the maximum, because in especially successful cases it can be increased by 30%.
Why is overclocking possible?
The fact is that AMD processors have a large technological reserve built into them by the manufacturer for reliability. To understand how to overclock an amd processor, you will have to say a few words about its design. The processor operates at a certain frequency, which is set for it by the manufacturer. This frequency is obtained by multiplying the base frequency by the internal multiplier that the processor has and can be controlled from the BIOS. For some of them, this multiplier is locked, and these are not very suitable for overclocking, while for others you can change it yourself. The base frequency is generated by a generator installed on the motherboard. The frequencies of this generator are also used to generate other frequencies necessary for the normal operation of the computer. This:
- Frequency of the channel that connects the CPU and the north bridge. Typically this is 1GHz, 1.8GHz, or 2GHz. But in general, it should not be greater than the Northbridge frequency. This channel is called HyperTransport.
- The frequency of the North Bridge also depends on this generator; the frequencies of the memory controller and some others depend on the same frequency.
- The frequency at which the RAM operates is also determined by this generator.
From here we can draw a simple conclusion - maximum overclocking of a computer is possible only when choosing components that function reliably in extreme conditions. First of all, these include the motherboard and RAM.
The question arises — how to overclock an amd phenom or athlon processor? There are two ways to do this - you can increase its multiplier, or you can increase the frequency of the base generator. Let's say our generator has a standard frequency of 200 MHz, and the processor multiplier is 14. Multiplying one by the other, we get 2800 MHz - the frequency at which the processor operates. By setting the multiplier to 17, we get a frequency of 3400 MHz. True, whether our processor will work at this frequency is a big question! The second way is to increase the frequency of the base generator. By increasing its frequency by 50 MHz, we will have a processor frequency of 3500 MHz (with a multiplier of 14), however, the frequencies of all board elements that depend on the generator will also increase.
System heat dissipation
As the frequency increases, the heat generation of any element always increases and a limit comes when it refuses to work at a given frequency. In order to restore its functionality, the voltage on it is increased. This, in turn, increases the heat it generates. Ohm's law says that increasing the voltage by 2 times increases heat generation by 4 times. Hence the simple conclusion - in order to successfully overclock an amd processor with a hairdryer (athlon), you need to take care of its good cooling. Moreover, if overclocking is carried out through a generator, then the motherboard must also be cooled. For cooling, both high-performance coolers and water cooling are used, and in extreme cases, liquid nitrogen.
CPU overclocking
This can be done using the AMD OverDrive utility, which allows you to overclock the processor and test its operation. This utility is produced by AMD and is designed to facilitate this process.
But many users prefer to carry out such overclocking through the motherboard BIOS. True, this path requires some theoretical preparation and knowledge. You will also need a utility that will allow you to evaluate the result - this is CPU-Z, it will show the new processor frequency and Prime95 - a utility that allows you to evaluate the stability of the system under overclocking conditions, as well as some others - to monitor temperature and performance.
BIOS settings
Depending on the type of motherboard, the settings in the BIOS may change, but we recommend setting some of them like this:
- For Cool ‘n’ Quiet, select Disable.
- For C1E select Disable
- For Spread Spectrum select Disable
- For Smart CPU Fan Control select Disable
You should also set the power plan to High Performance mode.
Remember that you perform all actions to overclock the processor solely at your own peril and risk!
Overclocking technique
It is recommended to overclock an amd athlon (phenom) processor by gradually increasing its multiplier by one step. After each increase in the multiplier, you need to check the stability of the processor at the new frequency using the Prime95 utility, and if the test fails, make another attempt by increasing the voltage on the CPU by one step. After passing the test without errors at least three times in a row, you can increase the multiplier by one more step and try to pass the tests again. By doing this, you will find the multiplier and voltage value at which the processor will be stable, and the next increase in the multiplier should result in the test failing. Once this value of the multiplier and voltage has been found, it is recommended, for continuous operation, to reduce them by one step. When overclocking, carefully monitor the processor temperature; it should not go beyond the limits set by the manufacturer.
If by changing the value of the multiplier it is not possible to achieve high overclocking, then it is worth trying the second way - increase it by increasing the frequency of the base generator.
In this short article, we talked about the very principle of how to overclock amd athlon and phenom processors, without dwelling on the details. For those who want to learn more about this, there is a lot of literature, both in paper and electronic form.
Overclocking What is this?
Overclocking is forced operation of equipment at higher frequencies. Overclocking of processors directly by the user has been around for quite some time, starting with approximately 486 processors. Even back then, people wanted to speed up their computer without spending money from their budget. Since the processor was the part of the computer whose performance was always measured in megahertz, the goal of overclocking was to increase these same megahertz. At first, processors were not very keen to bring joy to their owners. The reason for this is that in those distant times computers were much more expensive than now, and processor manufacturers squeezed everything they could out of them. Therefore, they had practically no frequency reserve. But time changes everything. In our case - for the better :) (otherwise this article would not exist). So, the purpose of this article is to help novice users as much as possible, and minimally help processor manufacturers :) ...
Why do CPU manufacturers please us with overclocking?
In fact, the CPU manufacturer does not strive to please users, it only tries to squeeze the maximum benefit from its “products”. In addition, there are a few more points regarding the possibility of overclocking, here they are:
Processor release system.
For example: AMD Athlon XP 1500+ and 2000+ on the Palomino core are not released separately (that is: AMD needs to fill the gap in the market for XP 1500+ processors, great, we’re starting the process of manufacturing XP 1500+... it’s not that simple). That's why:
Heterogeneity of nuclei
Modern processors are very complex devices that contain millions of transistors. How can we make it so that two 1500 processors have, for example, 40,000,000 million transistors? No way. There will definitely be, for example, 100 more in one, 200 less in the other. And the first one will work a little faster, and the second one will work a little slower. And the number of transistors directly depends on the processor’s ability to overclock.
How can the manufacturer know which CPU to put the 1500XP label on and which 2000XP?
Test processors? So: 10,000,000 Athlon XP Palominos were produced. Put 10,000,000 computers with these CPUs, put 10,000,000 people behind them and give everyone the following instructions: overclock the processors to the maximum. It is clear that no one will do this due to the very high costs. And this is where a science like statistics comes into play. Let me demonstrate a simplified model: The AMD plant produced 1,000,000 processors per year. In the first half of the year 400,000, in the second half of the year - 600,000. They took 100 from the first and tested them. 10 processors worked like 2000XP, 90 - like 1500XP. From the second: 10 – 2100ХР, 90 – 2000ХР. We mark the first batch as 1500XP (it makes no sense to select 10% of 40,000 CPUs that work like 2000). We label the second as 2000XP for the same reasons. I will discuss why the first batch was smaller and the quality was worse in the following paragraphs.
Test conditions
The fact is that at the factory, processors are tested under harsh conditions (temperature conditions, testing time, etc.) so that they are guaranteed to operate at the declared frequencies. When buying a processor, we try, on the contrary, to provide it with good conditions (we buy an expensive cooler, sometimes we even leave the case open, etc.). The processors thank us for this and operate at higher frequencies.
Brand and others like them
Such computers are not very common in the CIS countries due to their high cost. There are many corporations that sell ready-made computers in branded cases, often with their own production of monitors, mice, keyboards, etc. Among such companies: Dell, Compaq, Toshiba, etc. They equip their computers only with high-quality components. Therefore, the processors in these computers can be installed with deliberately lower frequencies for maximum system reliability.
Marketing
It is important not only to produce a high-quality and fast processor, but also to skillfully describe its advantages. For some reason, manufacturers don’t like to disclose shortcomings :). All this is done to convince us to buy the product of this particular company, and not any other. Intel skillfully uses this rule.
Not all processors are created equal...
There is always a demand for top models, but it is relatively low. It often happens that processors with low frequencies sell much better. This creates a gap in the market. Manufacturers are trying to fill it and relabel processors. If this is not done, then top models accumulate in the warehouse. But they will still have to be sold sooner or later, and at a price that is noticeably lower than planned.
Technical process
In the second half of the year, the plant produced more processors and their frequencies were higher. This is due to the technical process that determines the size of the transistor, measured in microns. The lower this value, the better the processor will overclock. That is, more transistors can be placed in a core of the same volume and, therefore, the frequency will be higher. And with the younger models we will do this: we will place fewer transistors in the same volume, which will result in less heat generation and a higher propensity for overclocking.
Potential
Since processors of the same series are produced on the same production line and differ only in frequencies, we can observe the following picture: a 1500MHz processor is overclocked to 1800MHz, and a 2000MHz processor is overclocked to 2100MHz. What do we see? Of course, the second processor is the leader in frequency, but it was overclocked only by 100MHz, and the first by 300MHz, although it is inferior in frequency. This is explained by the fact that 2000MHz is already operating almost at the limit of its capabilities. Therefore, processors of the same series with the lowest frequency overclock much better in relative terms than their older brothers.
Date of issue
The later a processor is manufactured, the better suited it is to overclocking. Company engineers are constantly trying to better organize production in order to ensure a higher percentage of usable products and, therefore, reduce costs. This is achieved through the use of more advanced technologies (new case packaging, etc.). And the more technologically advanced the processor, the better suited it is to non-standard frequencies.
Why do we need this acceleration?
Overclocking is done for a number of reasons, ranging from increased productivity to enthusiasm. These are the reasons:
- I want it faster! (c) Our user
- I want it for less money! (c) Our user
System balance
This often happens: I bought a cool video card and thought that everything was OK. But it was not there. I forgot/didn’t know/didn’t remember that the old Duron 600MHz was still in the system, and the GeForce 4 was already on the table. The processor, in terms of its importance in games (since almost every user is experienced in games, it happens that people overclock for the sake of games) occupies the same podium with the video card. Therefore, in order to somehow make the video card work as expected, the processor is overclocked.
Excitement
And now comes my favorite point! Many people (including me) overclock everything they can for excitement. Why overclock a 2GHz processor? – a novice user/overclocker will ask. And then it’s interesting to get the most out of it! (Even if this maximum is not really needed) It’s like roulette: lucky - you accelerated well, unlucky - you still accelerated, but not by much. What adds even more adrenaline is that with such manipulations you can burn a “gem”. Although cases of processor crashes due to overclocking are extremely rare. You just need to do everything wisely, and not with stupid passion. If you do everything correctly, then the probability of failure is 0.0XXX%.
What if it burns out?
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, with the right actions the risk is extremely small, but it is there. Here are a few disadvantages of overclocking:
Fatal outcome - the processor burned out. This can happen if:
- During assembly I forgot to attach the cooler. The cure is simple: you need to be careful and check the system as a whole before starting.
- The cooler stopped. The BIOS of most motherboards has an option: stop the system when the cooler stops.
- The processor temperature went off scale beyond the permissible limits, one fine day the computer froze and did not “come to life”. Monitor the temperature. Typically it should not exceed 60 degrees.
- I wanted to unlock the multiplier on Athlon/Duron and after that the system does not start. Carefully wipe off the remaining conductive varnish/pencil from the processor and, if in this case “nothing starts” (c) Masyanya :), take the stone to the company where you bought it under warranty. When talking to the manager, you need to put on an innocent, stupid face and mumble all the time: I played Quake/Unreal/NFS...and he...he stopped and is not working now. No buzzwords to the manager’s questions about whether you took out the processor/removed the cooler, etc. Say - NO.
- I went to my neighbor to put my stone on his computer, brought it home, inserted it into my computer - it didn’t work. See point above.
- The core is chipped due to careless installation of the cooler, but there is a guarantee. Try to put some thermal paste on the core so that it covers the crack and go to the company. There are few options for a successful outcome, but they exist. This is better than mourning a dead processor at home.
- The leg broke off. Try contacting a professional workshop, they may be able to help. I advise you not to trust this task to some neighbor “Sasha”, who supposedly knows how to handle a soldering iron - you will take the processor to the workshop with five broken legs.
Lifetime
Processors are designed for approximately 10-15 years of continuous operation. By your actions you can reduce their service life to 5-10 years. But after this time your processor will cost a couple of cans of beer :).
Extreme overclocking
An activity for fearless people. I am not one of those people, therefore, I don’t do such things (I won’t describe them in this article, since it is intended for beginners and advanced users who would rather not take up this activity. And experienced overclockers would hardly find anything new in my knowledge of extreme overclocking) and I don’t recommend it to you. But if you still feel like it, you can try it. I will only note that the chances of the processor dying increase sharply.
Manufacturer and overclocking
Manufacturers have a negative attitude towards overclocking, but there are some exceptions (why doesn’t AMD “tightly” block the coefficient?).
Feasibility
What will I get from overclocking if I have XXXMB memory, GeForce X video card, etc.? It is advisable to overclock the processor in all cases (with the exception of such situations: you are a gamer, you have a 3GHz CPU\TNT2 M64\64Mb RAM). The question is, what negative aspects can overclocking bring?
- When overclocking using FSB, not only the processor, but also all system components heat up. Therefore, almost everything can fail (memory, hard drive, SCSI card, even power supply).
- The problem is to determine: what exactly is wrong? Most often: memory or CPU.
- After several hours of operation, the computer freezes. This almost always happens due to overheating. Need a better quality cooler.
- After purchasing a more sophisticated cooler, the case will make much more noise.
- Sometimes: feeling of fear. What if it burns?
Optimization
Often, after optimizing the memory (by setting lower timings in the BIOS, configuring the OS, etc.), overclocking and optimizing the video card, you can get a O a greater increase in performance than from overclocking the processor.
Free RAM
If you have little frame and your tray in Windows represents something like: AVP Monitor, ICQ, PowerStrip, Chat, CPUCool, Winzip, Windows Messager, etc., then it makes sense to unload something, since these programs take up precious space in random access memory.
Main board
Update BIOS. It may include settings that were not previously available. Typically, manufacturers do not like to talk about any specific changes in BIOS versions, so you usually have to check for yourself. P.S. The purpose of writing this article is to help the user get “free” megahertz, and not to tell about the BIOS settings under the title: “Put a pair of Enabled and 2T in it and everything will work 2 times faster.” This is a question for a separate article.
OS options
It is possible to tune the performance of almost every OS. Therefore, you can simply reinstall or configure the OS. The performance gain can be significant (depending on the state of OS neglect :)).
Overclocking a video card
This item is addressed to those who like to play 3D games. For such users, overclocking the video card can give the same gain as overclocking the processor. “How and what” to do is perfectly written in the article “FAQ on overclocking video cards” (for which many thanks to my namesake Alexey F. aka fin:)).
Video optimization
It is possible to optimize the video card. This is done using settings in the drivers.
Preparing for overclocking or bringing it to mind.
To do this, you will need fine-grain sandpaper, GOI military paste, a piece of cotton :) fabric and thermal paste. This is done something like this: Unpack the freshly purchased cooler. If foil or some kind of viscosity similar to chewing gum may be glued to its base, feel free to tear it off. We look at the place where the core should come into contact with the base of the radiator: there should be no traces of glue on it. Next, take sandpaper and polish the base of the heatsink (in some articles, the authors also recommend polishing the surface of the processor core... I strongly do not recommend doing this) so that it is even. An ideal surface cannot be achieved. Here GOI paste is called upon to come to our aid (in the army it is not used for polishing radiators :)). We rub a piece of cloth on it and polish that same base. When the work is finished, you will be able to see the reflection of your satisfied face on the radiator :).
Next, we take Sovdepov-made thermal paste KPT-8 (I don’t recommend using pastes based on silver, etc.: firstly, because KPT-8 does its job perfectly for less money, and secondly, because when using pastes based on conductors there is a risk of shorting something) and apply it to the processor core. There is no need to worry about overdoing it, since when installing the cooler, the remaining paste will be squeezed out; you just need to move the radiator slightly from side to side.
How can I overclock my processor?
Overclocking a processor depends not only on the processor itself, but also on the specific hardware in the system. I'll take the case when all system components are perfectly adapted to overclocking:
By changing the FSB frequency
The most popular overclocking option, available to almost everyone. The formula for calculating the processor clock frequency is: FSB x Multiplier=Clock Frequency. In the BIOS of the motherboard or using DIP switches (there used to be jumpers. The same as DIP, only the device is simpler :)) you set the FSB frequency you need, multiply by the “multiplier” and get the processor frequency. We increase the FSB frequency by 5MHz, start the computer, run 3D Mark2001 a couple of times or something like that. If everything went OK, we repeat the procedure... we get to the point where the system boots, but after a couple of minutes it starts to work unstable (fatal error, 3D Mark crashes, strange system errors appear, etc.). It's time to move back 5MHz. We test the system for several hours for overheating (more is possible, but after several hours of 3D Mark, CPUBurn, etc., everything will become clear.). If all tests are passed, the processor is overclocked. All that remains is to adjust the frequency by adding 1 MHz to the FSB and testing as described above. Overclocking using FSB gives O a greater increase in performance (since almost all components of the system are overclocked, in particular, RAM gives the greatest increase of these “all”) than using a multiplier.
Using a multiplier
Almost all modern processors, with the exception of AMD Duron/Athlon (I don’t take into account old processors and Athlon for Slot A), do not have the ability to change the multiplier. Initially, Duron/Athlon could not change the coefficient, but after smart people figured out AMD's secret, everything became more fun :). For different modifications of these processors, the multiplier is unlocked differently. Here are the unlocking instructions:
AMD Athlon (Thunderbird), Duron (Spitfire)
These processors were unlocked without much difficulty. It was enough to connect the L1 bridges with a simple pencil (graphite passes current, but has a high resistance, which, however, is not that big for this procedure :)), seal the whole thing with tape (graphite tends to crumble over time) and the processor is ready for use :).
AMD Athlon XP (Palomino), Duron (Morgan)
Here the situation is much more complicated. Let me remind you again: if you are not sure that everything will work out for you, DO NOT DO IT. So let's get started:
Means and tools
So, how can you make your Athlon XP work not at the frequency that was given to it, so to speak, from above, but at a higher one, and at the same time prevent the processor from losing its face, that is, its presentation?
This is more difficult to do than in the case of the AMD Athlon Thunderbird, the bridges on which were closed with an ordinary pencil, but it is still possible. For this we will need: a sharp knife, like a stationery or surgical knife, high-quality transparent tape, some kind of fast-hardening glue that does not conduct current (the so-called superglue, which is available at any flea tray, will do), a tube of conductive glue "Kontaktol", which can be buy at any decent auto parts store, a magnifying glass (aka magnifying glass) and 40-45 minutes of free time from work and worries.
It is also highly desirable to have a multimeter or tester. Superglue can be replaced with any other glue, the only important thing is that it quickly changes its state of aggregation, that is, becomes hard - we don’t want to sit on the processor for 24 hours?
Instead of Kontaktol glue, it is quite possible to use any other well-conducting, solvent-washable and sufficiently adhesive substance - for example, tsaponlak with a metal filler, which is sold in any self-respecting store that sells all sorts of smart radio components.
Melted solder is unacceptable: you will, of course, achieve results, but you will definitely lose the presentation of the processor.
Of course, in addition to, so to speak, acquired resources, we will also need some innate and acquired human qualities. Which? Yes, the simplest ones: straight arms, the same head, preferably located not anywhere, but on your own shoulders. Do not drink alcohol before you are planning to do the indecent things described here to your processor - everything can end badly for both it and you. The movements you perform must be clear, fast and confident.
Changing the multiplier
So, the L1 bridges are still there. And they are even located on XP in the same place as Thunderbird. But look at these bridges carefully: between the two points that, in fact, we need to connect, there is an inconspicuous groove in which, with further staring contest, it is quite possible to see a thin copper coating.
If you nevertheless try to close the bridges with a pencil or solder, you will inevitably not only connect them to each other, but also close them to the same copper substrate. The result will be quite sad: the processor will refuse to start, and it will be very difficult to bring it back to life.
As you already understand, our task is to close the L1 bridges without “grounding” them to the copper coating. To do this, you just need to fill the grooves with a dielectric, which in our case is superglue or its substitute. This, despite the apparent simplicity of the task, must be done very, very carefully - after all, the dielectric should not get on the contact pads of the bridges, but the groove must be filled to the brim - for better insulation.
We must localize the grooves using tape, which is what we will do. Clean the surface of the processor substrate with alcohol or cologne. (Just without swallowing and exhaling in a thin layer onto the substrate)
Then stick two strips of tape about 1 cm wide, each along the bridges - so that they cover the contact pads, but do not affect the grooves. The width of the resulting gap should not exceed 1-2 mm. If the rubber foot on the backing bothers you, tear it off or cut it off. After this, use two more strips of tape of approximately the same width to finally localize the place where the glue is applied - in other words, stick them perpendicular to the already pasted strips so that only the grooves of the L1 bridges remain open, and nothing else.
It is extremely important that the tape you use has good adhesion and does not have the bad habit of puffing up anywhere. It must be glued onto the substrate tightly so that no swelling remains along the seam, otherwise glue can leak into such a swelling, covering the contact pad and thereby ruining the entire first stage of Operation Kommersant.
If you did everything correctly, then after the glue has dried and peeled off the tape, you will see a smooth (or not so smooth) lump of glue lying exactly on top of those same ill-fated grooves. By the way, we don’t need this mound at all: applying normal, even conductor paths over a thin, uneven and crumbling mound of glue is a much more thankless task than doing the same thing, but on a smooth substrate surface.
Therefore, we take a scalpel in our hands and carefully, moving the blade parallel to the substrate and almost touching it, cut off the remaining glue. At the same time, it is important not to apply excessive force to the knife - you can scratch the substrate or, for example, pick out the dielectric from the groove. It is also important that the knife is really sharp, and not one that you have been promising to sharpen for a year, and even the bread under it does not cut, but breaks.
That's it, you can open your eyes. What do we see? And we see an idyllic picture - a smooth, clean surface of the substrate and neatly filled dielectric grooves that we hate. If we see something different, it means we did something wrong and this “wrong” must be changed immediately.
But even after obtaining a perfectly flat surface, you cannot use a pencil - the resistance of graphite is too high and the processor will still not work the way we want. The use of sharpened solder is also not justified - after all, glue, even hardened, tends to crumble and scratch, so you still won’t get a smooth path. This is where our liquid conductor comes in handy: with its help, as well as with the help of the adhesive tape that has already served us, we can create smooth and reliable paths between the contact pads.
Again, cut two strips of about 1 cm wide from a roll of adhesive tape. Again we glue them along the platforms, but now we leave them open too. Then we glue two more pieces of tape perpendicular to these strips so that only the first bridge out of five remains open. That is, only a tiny rectangle remains open.
If at the previous stage I advised you to glue the tape tightly, then here I STRONGLY RECOMMEND you to glue it VERY TIGHT - the conductor is not a dielectric, its leakage is much more dangerous, an unnecessary short circuit can cost you the processor.
Pasted? Now take a deep breath and use a thin tool to apply a layer of conductor to the open rectangle. There is no need to feel sorry for it, nor do you need to overfill it. You should apply a good layer, but not a drop - we don’t need it at all.
You can breathe out. While the cloudiness in the eyes caused by a lack of oxygen in the blood passes, put all the tools in place and do not touch anything else until the glue or varnish is completely dry. I emphasize - complete drying! That is, such a state of the conductor when it will be possible to stick tape on it without fear that careless pressure will cause the glue to spread. After this significant event has occurred, feel free to tear off and throw away the tape.
And repeat the procedure for the second, third, and so on bridges. The most important thing at this stage is to prevent any short circuit between the bridges. Of course, you can then remove the small “goat” with a scalpel, but there is a high risk of scratching the substrate. The result of processing all bridges is the unlocking of the processor multiplier. Carefully inspect the bridges, preferably under a magnifying glass, to make sure that there really are no unnecessary contacts between them. After this, it is highly advisable to measure the resistance of the resulting tracks, and also ring them for contact with each other.
This is where a multimeter comes in handy. Without applying any force to the probe, place it on the first bridge and touch the other end of the same bridge with the second probe. The resistance should approach 0. If this is not the case, it means that the bridge has not been built - repeat the procedure for applying the conductor. If this is the case, touch the second probe sequentially to all other L1 bridges. If you get almost zero resistance between the probes on any measurement, look for a short.
If this does not happen, move on to the next bridge.
Did all tests pass successfully? Great, now press one probe to the small contact pad above the inscription “Assembled in...”, and with the second, sequentially go through all the newly created bridges. The resistance must be different from zero in all cases. The area to which the first probe is pressed obviously has direct electrical contact with the copper plating, and this test verifies the reliability of our adhesive insulation.
If there is a breakdown somewhere, you will have to destroy the newly built bridge, re-fill the groove with glue and then restore what was destroyed again.
So, everything is done and you can start overclocking.
P.S. Be extremely careful when unlocking “brown” athlones. Once, after such a procedure, the Athlone overclocked to a frequency of 0 MHz:(. Moreover, there were no signs that the processor had burned out, there were also no “unintentionally closed bridges”, the handling of the processor was extremely careful. To make the bastard work, I removed the conductive varnish, but that didn’t help either. So think after this: what did I do wrong? On the “green” Athlone, I shorted all the L1 bridges to each other, after which the processor simply did not start. When removing the varnish, everything worked.
AMD Athlon (Thoroughbred)
When the processor based on the Thorobred core was released, AMD met overclockers halfway: firstly, it left the multiplier unlocked on some models (on those with a factory multiplier of up to 12.5), but unlocking the rest is not particularly difficult. Secondly, I made a well-overclockable processor (which is good news). Well, let's figure out how to unlock torobred with a multiplying factor higher than 12.5. And this is very easy, you just need to close the 5th bridge of group L3, this can be done in two ways:
a) This is the traditional method: connect two points of the 5th bridge of group L3 with conductive varnish, having previously sealed the slot between the points with tape or superglue, and the processor is unlocked.
FIG. 1 b) This method is even simpler: you just need to short-circuit the two processor legs AJ27 and AH28 with a thin wire (Fig. 2), the result is the same. (More about the legs below).
FIGURE 2
When unlocking the processor using these methods, it will be possible to set various (up to 12.5 inclusive) multipliers using the motherboard, if the latter has such a function. But what to do if there is no such function, or you need to set the multiplier above 12.5, then this method is no longer effective. Read below how to do this.
You can set different multipliers from 5 to 18.5 by setting different combinations (open, closed) of 5 L3 bridges. For example, you have a torobred 1700+, its native multiplier is 11, the position of all bridges is closed (they are all closed), and we need to set a multiplier of 13. To do this, we need to cut the 3rd and 5th bridges of group L3, and in order to return the multiplier to 11 we need to cover them with conductive varnish.
More details about L3 bridge combinations:
FIG.3
To cut bridges you need two 1.5 volt batteries, one contact to one of the points of the bridge, and the second one needs to be connected to a needle and moved between the points and the bridge will be cut. However, you don’t have to cut the bridges, but simply isolate certain processor legs that are connected to the top points of the L3 bridges.
This is done like this - pull out wires from the network cable (twisted pair UTP), pull out the wire from the insulation and pull this (or some other) insulation over the legs - in this case, you need to very slightly drill (by hand) the holes on the moving part of the socket, so that later When the processor was removed, the insulation did not remain there:
| Bridges L3 | CPU feet |
Isolating these processor legs would be equivalent to cutting the L3 bridges. Also, with the help of these same legs, it is possible to restore the previously cut bridges of L3. You just need to connect the GND signal to the pin corresponding to the top point of the bridge L3 - this will be equivalent to closing the bridge:
FIG.5
Ensuring stability during overclocking.
Voltage
The voltage can be increased/lowered on CPU, RAM, AGP, IO. Typically, increasing the voltage on the processor gives more stability, and with its help you can get better overclocking results. True, when the voltage on the CPU/RAM/NorthBridge increases, they begin to heat up more. To do this, it is necessary to ensure good cooling. A review of processor coolers can be found on almost any hardware website. Chipset cooler mat. It is advisable to replace the boards, for example, with a cooler from a Pentium I. Radiators attached to its chips will suffice for memory. You can make them by cutting a radiator from an old mat. board or processor. Then glue it with hot glue (not superglue!), which can be bought at any radio market.
RICE. 6
I recommend increasing the voltage by a maximum of 15% of the nominal value. Higher is not safe! With overclocking the CPU, it is necessary to increase the voltage on the memory, since most mat. The boards operate in synchronous FSB/RAM mode. There is no need to increase the voltage on AGP, since modern video cards can operate at AGP frequencies much higher than the nominal ones. This option is relevant for owners of Matrox video cards, whose products have long been famous for their dislike of overclocking. The IO (Input/Output) voltage can be raised to improve overall system stability.
FSB/PCI/AGP ratio
To ensure that other equipment (hard drive, PCI devices, video card, etc.) does not suffer during overclocking, dividers were invented. For example: Intel Celeron I operates at 66MHz FSB; in synchronous mode, the PCI/AGP frequency will also be 66MHz. AGP has a nominal frequency of 66MHz, but PCI has a nominal frequency of 33MHz. When the frequency increases by 2 times, the hard drive will refuse to work at all. Table showing the dependence of PCI/AGP frequencies on FSB frequencies:
From this plate you can see that there are FSB/PCI/AGP dividers: 1:2:1; 1:3:2/3; 1:4:2; 1:5:2/5; 1:6:3. At the same time, mat. a board that supports a divider, for example, 1:6:3, has a set of previous dividers. Moreover, it can select the one needed depending on the FSB frequency, but lower the nominal frequencies for PCI/AGP mat. boards do not know how (for example: an Intel 815 board with a FSB frequency of 95MHz will select a divider of 1:2:1, and not 1:3:2/3.
Conclusion: when overclocking, it is better to use officially supported frequencies (see table above). That is: you have an AMD Athlon XP running at 133 MHz FSB. It will be easier to persuade it to work at 166 MHz (if you have a motherboard with a 1:5:2/5 divider) than at 159 MHz.
Cooling
As you may have guessed, effective overclocking requires a good cooler. Remember: a cooler cools not only the processor, so it is necessary to provide high-quality cooling to almost all components.
Housing design
It is better to choose cases with a horizontal power supply (it is positioned so that air can freely flow to the processor cooler); fortunately, this design is present in almost all recent cases.
Processor Descriptions
This is what many new overclockers really want to know. Description of processors, overclocking capabilities, etc.:
AMD Duron (Spitfire/Morgan(Duron XP)):
Frequencies: 600 to 900MHz for Spitfire and 900 to 1300MHz for Duron XP
Morgan is a stripped down Athlon XP (the second level cache is trimmed down, as always, and FSB=100MHz, not 133).
Specifications:
Technology 0.18; 0.13 microns, core voltage 1.6-1.7V, power dissipation from 26 to 45W - Spitfire, from 46 to 57W - Morgan, both cores include about 25 million. transistors. The bus for both is 100x2=200MHz, the real frequency is 100MHz, the data is simply transmitted on both edges of the signal. Bus bandwidth 1.6 Gb/s. The first level cache is 128 KB (64 KB for data and 64 KB for instructions), the second level cache is 64 KB. Both caches store data that does not overlap and complement each other, so the effective volume is 192kb. Thanks to this caching system, AMD processors manage to be faster than similar Intel processors.
Package:) :
Connector – Socket-462 (Socket – A). Socket-A-PGA462 is manufactured. The processor crystal is brought to the surface for better cooling. The processor is quite fragile, so be careful when installing the cooler; for this purpose, four spacers are installed along the edges to soften the load. When buying a processor, check the core for chips (usually along the edges of the chip) so that you do not have to go through the warranty return procedure immediately after purchase. The Athlon XP/Duron XP series processors have a built-in thermal sensor that allows you to most accurately measure processor temperature. True, only the latest boards support this function.
Command Sets:
Spitfire: MMX extended (+19 additional instructions) and Enhanced 3DNow!, with 5 additional instructions. instructions. It uses 3 superscalar fully pipelined floating point calculation units with the ability to change the command execution sequence and 3 superscalar fully pipelined address calculation blocks with the ability to change the command execution sequence. This allows you to achieve impressive performance in applications that use a large amount of complex mathematical and geometric calculations, in particular in games.
Morgan: Same instructions as Spitfire+3DNow!Professional, which includes 107 SIMD instructions, which is 52 more than 3DNow! Enhanced. Thanks to this innovation, the 3DNow! Professional is compatible with the SSE instruction set used in Intel processors. Changes have also been made to the mechanism for predicting used instructions, thanks to which the new core tries to load instructions in advance into the processor cache that may be required for further calculations. Thanks to this technology, it is possible to reduce the number of idle processor cycles associated with waiting for the necessary data to arrive from RAM. Use of an enlarged fast address translation buffer (TLB buffer), responsible for caching main memory data.
Performance:
The processor is ahead of: Intel Celeron Mendocino (20-30%), Coppermine (10-20%). Lagging behind: Intel Pentium III (3-5%), Intel Pentium III Tualatin (10-20%), Intel Celeron Tualatin (5-15%), AMD Athlon/XP (5-20%). The difference between Spitfire and Morgan is approximately 2-5%. As the ratio of Duron processors increases, the lag behind Athlon increases due to the smaller cache size. The difference in percentage depends on the system bus frequencies, the type of memory used, and test applications.
Overclocking:
Low-end processors with frequencies of 600-650 lend themselves well to overclocking, but they have already been discontinued and are very difficult to find on sale. They usually accelerate up to 1 GHz. Their frequency ceiling is approximately 1100 MHz (due to 0.18 micron technology). Therefore, older models accelerate poorly. New models of processors based on the Morgan core, released using 0.13 micron technology, overclock quite well. Overclocking depends on the amount of cache memory (the smaller the better for overclocking), and on the Duron it is only 64kb. To overclock, you need to take care of good cooling, since the heat dissipation of these processors leaves much to be desired.
Pros:
- Quite high performance.
- Lowest price among competitors.
Minuses:
- Very hot during operation.
- Quite fragile.
Low clock speeds (I don’t consider it a minus, since the processor is positioned for inexpensive office and home computers).
Summary: An excellent processor for home and office. Excellent price/performance ratio.
AMD Athlon (Thunderbird/Palomino/Thoroughbred)
Thunderbird: From 700 to 1300 at 100 MHz FSB and from 1000 to 1400 at 133 MHz FSB
Palomino: From 1333 to 2000 MHz (from 1500 XP to 2400 XP) at 133 MHz FSB
Thoroughbred: From 1466 to 2167 MHz (from 1700XP to 2700XP) at 133 MHz FSB
Specifications:
Thunderbird: Same as Duron Spitfire, except: FSB 100 and 133 MHz. Second level cache (L2) - 256kb. Dissipated power from 50 to 90W.
Palomino: 37.5 million transistors, 0.18 microns, power dissipation from 60 to 90 W. The rest is the same as Thunderbird.
Thoroughbred: 0.13 microns, power dissipation from 60 to 90 W. The rest is the same as Thunderbird.
Package:
Thunderbird: Same as Duron Spitfire. Only the body is painted coffee color. Early versions of processors produced for Slot A were in SECC2 cases.
Palomino: Same as Duron. They are only produced in plastic Socket-A-OPGA462 (Organic pin grid array) in brown or green (latest models), which makes the processor a little lower.
Thoroughbred: Same as Athlon XP. Only the area of the crystal decreased and it became rectangular in shape.
Command Sets: Thunderbird: Same as Duron Spitfire.
Palomino: Same as Duron XP.
Thoroughbred: Same as Athlon XP.
Performance:
Thunderbird: The processor is ahead of: Duron, Intel Celeron, Intel Pentium III, Intel Pentium 4 (there are several applications, for example, WinRAR and Quake3, where the P4 is slightly ahead). Lagging behind: Athlon Palomino/Thoroughbred, AMD Athlon Barton. On par with Intel Pentium III Tualatin (Depends on the type of memory and applications used).
Palomino: The processor is ahead: AMD Duron, AMD Athlon Thunderbird, Intel Celeron, Intel Pentium III, Intel Pentium III Tualatin, Intel Pentium 4. Lagging behind: AMD Athlon Barton. Thoroughbred: Same as Athlon Palomino. The difference depends on the system bus frequencies, the type of memory used, and test applications. The data were obtained at equal frequencies.
Overclocking: Thunderbird: Accelerates worse (due to larger cache) than Duron Spitfire. Only the frequency ceiling is approximately 1500 MHz. The rest is the same as the Duron Spitfire.
Palomino: The first versions in brown cases overclock poorly. Versions in green cases overclock well (most likely due to technological standards). Green stones marked 1500XP and 1600XP accelerate the best. Usually, with good cooling, it is possible to set the coefficient to 12.5 and make them 2000XP or set them to 166 MHz FSB. The latter gives a big increase in productivity. On some, mat. boards (KT333, KT400, etc.) you can set the FSB and memory to operate asynchronously, but this gives a negligible performance increase. The frequency ceiling is approximately 2 GHz.
Thoroughbred: Due to 0.13 micron technology, processors of lower ratings overclock simply quickly. The 1700XP (1466MHz) stone is the king of overclocking. Honored overclockers of the Russian Federation :) on the website www. Quite a lot of processors are chasing the 2700XP rating. The ceiling is approximately 2.4 GHz.
Pros:
- Excellent price/performance ratio.
- Good overclocking capabilities (for Athlon XP).
Minuses:
- Very hot during operation.
- High power consumption (demanding power supply).
Summary: Excellent processor for home/professional/gaming/video/graphics systems.
AMD Athlon XP (Barton)
Frequencies: from 1833 to 2167+MHz
Specifications:
166(333)MHz FSB is used. L1 cache – 128kb, L2 – 512kb (at processor frequency). Technology: 0.13 microns. Voltage: 1.65V, heat dissipation: 55 – 74 W.
Package:
Connector – Socket-462 (Socket – A). Socket-A-PGA462 is manufactured. The processor crystal is brought to the surface for better cooling. There are four spacers installed along the edges to soften the load. The processor die is rectangular in shape (large ribs are longer than Thoroughbred). The processors have a built-in thermal sensor that allows the most accurate reading of processor temperature data. True, only the latest boards support this function. Barton supports a fairly large number of motherboards on a wide variety of chipsets (sometimes even those that do not officially support 166MHz FSB). The list can be found at the end of the article.
Command Sets:
Many were hoping for the SSE2 instruction set to be added to the Barton core, but unfortunately this did not happen. The processor supports the same "gentleman's set": 3DNow! Pro, MMX, SSE.
Performance:
Unfortunately, the 512kb L2 cache does not provide the desired performance increase (about 5-10% compared to Thoroughbred). And the price of processors still leaves much to be desired, but Barton is still the leader in performance today. Overtakes: Everyone. Lagging behind: No.
Overclocking:
Despite the doubled cache memory, the processor overclocks quite well (it gets hot, though, like a frying pan). Approximate overclocking is comparable to the Athlon Palomino. True, for this you need to have a modern mat. fee. So far, the best “products” for these purposes include only nVidia nForce2 and VIA KT400A CE, since they are capable of stably operating at FSB frequencies above 200MHz.
Pros: Leader in performance.
Minuses:
- Fairly high price (at the time of release)
- Very hot during operation.
- Mat required. board that works correctly with 166MHz FSB.
- A high-quality and powerful power supply is required.
Summary: The processor will find its application in high-performance Hi-end computers. At the moment it is not suitable for a home gaming computer due to its high price.
Intel Celeron I (Mendocino)
Frequencies: from 300 to 533 MHz.
Specifications:
66MHz FSB is used. L1 cache – 32kb (16kb each for instructions and data), L2 cache – 128kb is integrated into the core and runs at the processor clock speed (the first versions of Celeron (from 266 to 333MHz) for Slot1 did not have L2 cache, and their performance was quite low) . Technology: 0.25 microns. Voltage: 2V, power dissipation: 18 - 30 W. Package:
PPGA housing with cover to protect the chip from damage. Socket-370 connector. Some younger models were released in Slot1 version. If you have a mat. board for Slot1, then processors for Socket-370 can be installed with a special adapter Slot1->F-PGA or FC-PGA.
Command Sets:
It has two MMX modules, a pipelined floating-point calculation unit (thanks to which it was faster in games than similar AMD K6/K6-2 models). Supports the execution of commands with changes in the execution sequence.
Performance:
It has low performance by today's standards (66 MHz FSB, small cache size, no SSE support). This processor is ideal for office PCs. Lagging behind: all others discussed in this article. Outperforms: AMD K6/K6-2 (30-40%), VIA/Cyrix (40-50%) in games. On par with AMD K6/K6-2 in office applications.
Overclocking:
266 MHz Celeron without L2 cache was almost always overclocked to 400 MHz (100 MHz FSB). Younger CeleronA models (300, 333MHz) were usually overclocked to 400-450MHz. Sometimes it was possible, by raising the voltage by 0.2-0.3V, to make a 400MHz Celeron work at 100MHz FSB (600MHz). The ceiling of the Celeron I is 600MHz, so, for example, a 500 MHz processor did not want to sit down even to a 75 MHz FSB.
Pros:
- Low price.
- Compatible with older boards based on Slot1, PPGA, FCPGA.
Minuses:
- Low performance.
- Low clock speeds.
Summary: Inexpensive processor for performing simple office tasks.
Intel Celeron II (Coppermine128/Tualatin)
Clock speeds: From 533 to 766 MHz – 66 MHz FSB, from 800 to 1100 MHz – 100 MHz FSB for Coppermine128. From 1200 to 1500 MHz for Tualatin
Specifications:
Coppermine128: 32kb cache L1, 128kb cache L2. 0.18 µm, voltage depends on frequency: from 1.5 to 1.75V. Power dissipation: from 11W to 30W. Tualatin: 32kb cache L1, 256kb cache L2. 0.13µm, voltage: 1.475V. Power dissipation: from 30 to 38W.
Package:
Coppermine128: FC-PGA package, green. The processor can be installed in the motherboard. board with Slot1 connector with an adapter. About his support. The board can be found on the manufacturer's website; you may have to update the BIOS. This is due to the fact that not everyone is old. Boards for Slot1 can set the voltage to 1.75V.
Tualatin: FC-PGA2 case, green in color, with a special protective heat spreader cover (Integrated Heat Spreader), which promotes better core cooling, as well as protection from mechanical damage. The processor cannot be installed in an old motherboard. A board without the intervention of a soldering iron (old motherboards do not support 1.475V power supply and flashing a new BIOS will not correct the situation).
Command Sets:
It has two MMX modules, a pipelined floating point unit, 8 additional registers and 70 additional SIMD (SSE) instructions. Tualatin additionally has an improved block for predicting and caching data that the processor may need for current operations, which gives a performance increase of several percent.
Performance:
Coppermine128: Lagging behind: Intel Pentium III, AMD Duron/Athlon. Ahead: Intel Celeron I, AMD K6/K6-2, VIA/Cyrix. Tualatin: Lagging behind: AMD Athlon. Ahead of: Intel Celeron I/Pentium4, AMD K6/K6-2, VIA/Cyrix. On par with Intel Pentium III, AMD Duron.
Overclocking:
Coppermine128: The ceiling is approximately 1200 MHz. Younger models overclock relatively well (for example, 600 MHz was overclocked to 900-950 MHz). Tualatin: The ceiling is approximately 1700-1750 MHz. Due to the use of 0.13 micron technology, the processors overclock well, but the increased L2 cache interferes with overclocking.
Pros:
- Not bad performance (for Tualatin).
Minuses:
- Slow performance (for Coppermine).
- Relatively high price.
- There are no versions with FSB 133MHz.
Summary: Coppermine is a fairly slow processor. Designed for upgrading old systems. I consider it economically inappropriate to buy a computer based on Celeron Coppermine. Celeron Tualatin is a good processor that can take pride of place in the machine of a not very demanding gamer.
Intel Pentium III (Coppermine/Tualatin)
Clock speeds: From 533 to 1133 MHz for Coppermine (Index E means 100 MHz FSB, EB – 133 MHz FSB). From 1133 to 1266 MHz for Tualatin cache L2 256kb, from 1133 to 1266 MHz for Tualatin L2 512kb
Specifications:
The Tualatin version with 512KB cache was originally intended as a server version of the processor, and was called Pentium III-S. There are no differences from the version with 256kb cache, except for a slightly lower voltage.
Coppermine is produced using 0.18 micron technology, and Tualatin using 0.13 micron technology. The FSB frequency can be 100 or 133 MHz. L1 cache – 32kb. Voltage for Coppermine – 1.65-1.7V, for Tualatin L2 256kb – 1.475V, for Tualatin L2 512kb – 1.45V. Mobile versions of processors are always equipped with 512 kilobytes of L2 cache. Power dissipation – from 20 to 35W.
Package:
Versions of processors for the Slot1 socket are no longer available. Now processors are available in two types of cases: FC-PGA ((Coppermine) a small black crystal on a green plastic case for the Socket370 connector) and FC-PGA2/Socket370 ((Tualatin) a green plastic case with a special protective heat dissipator cover). In Slot1 you can install processors in FC-PGA packages via an adapter. Processors based on the Tualatin core should be installed in the old motherboard. The board will fail without re-soldering.
Command Sets: The same as in Celeron on similar cores.
Performance:
Coppermine: Lagging behind AMD Athlon, AMD Athlon Barton, Pentium III Tualatin. Outperforms Intel Celeron/Pentium4, AMD Duron. Tualatin: Lagging behind AMD Athlon. Outperforms Intel Celeron/PentiumIII/Pentium4, AMD Duron.
Overclocking:
Coppermine processors are usually overclocked at 150-200 MHz. The most suitable processors for overclocking are those with an FSB frequency of 100MHz. Tualatin L2 256kb are overclocked at 200-300MHz. Tualatin L2 512kb usually accelerates to 100-150MHz. For Coppermine the ceiling is approximately 1250 MHz, for Tualatin – 1700 MHz.
Pros:
- Great for retrofitting (for Coppermine).
- Low power dissipation.
- Good performance (for Tualatin).
Minuses:
- Low performance (for Coppermine).
- Relatively high price.
- Low limiting frequency.
Summary: a decent processor for a home PC/working with audio/video data (for Tualatin). The processor is most suitable for upgrading a Celeron-based computer (for Coppermine).
Intel Pentium 4 (Willamette/Northwood)/Intel Celeron
Clock speeds: Celeron: From 1700 to 2000 MHz. Willamette: 1.3 to 2 GHz. Northwood: 1.6 to 3.06 GHz
Specifications:
Uses 400MHz FSB, bandwidth 3.2 Gb/s. L1 cache – 12000 instructions (8kb), L2 cache – 256kb (512kb for Northwood) runs at processor frequency. Manufacturing technology 0.18 microns for Celeron and Willamette, 0.13 microns for Northwood. Power dissipation – 50 – 70W.
Package: Socket423 for Willamette, Socket478 for Celeron and Northwood. Voltage – 1.7-1.75V for Willamette, 1.475V for Celeron and Northwood.
Command Sets:
The integer operations unit operates at double the core frequency. Added 144 new SIMD instructions - SSE2 set (total 214 instructions). Uses a new pipeline - Hyper Pipelined Technology with a depth of 20 stages. Improved prediction of transitions and execution of commands with changes in their order - Advanced Dynamic Execution.
Performance:
Celeron: Lagging behind: Intel Pentium III/Celeron Tualatin, AMD Duron/Athlon. Ahead: Intel Celeron Coppermine, Via/Cyrix. Pentium 4: Lagging behind: Intel Pentium III/Celeron Tualatin, AMD Duron/Athlon. Ahead: Intel Celeron Coppermine, Via/Cyrix. Depending on the type of memory used, the gap may decrease.
Overclocking:
The Celeron races quite well. Some copies with a frequency of 2 GHz can be overclocked to 3 GHz if there is good cooling. This fact is explained by the presence of a small amount of cache memory. Pentium 4 Willamette is not the best object for overclocking. It nominally operates at fairly high frequencies. 200MHz average overclocking result. Thanks to 0.13 micron technology, the Pentium 4 Northwood races quite well. For younger models, the average result is 400 MHz.
Pros:
- Leader in clock frequency (for Pentium 4).
- SSE2 set.
Minuses:
- Not suitable for modernization.
- High power dissipation.
- High price.
Summary:
The Pentium 4 is a good processor for professional high-performance systems, which, unfortunately, is not very suitable for home gaming systems due to its poor price/performance ratio.
It’s hard for me to recommend Celeron for any system. Today's Celeron has nothing in common with the Celerons of previous versions, which at one time combined excellent characteristics at an affordable price. The processor is absolutely unnecessary by today's standards.
I do not consider other processors, since they are relevant only for office applications and this information will be of interest to a very small number of users. In the paragraph "SUMMARY" my personal conclusion is expressed. If anyone disagrees, write.
The same thing, only in tables:
| CPU | Supported chipsets |
| Athlon 100FSB | VIA KT133/A, KM133/A, KL133/A, KLE133/A, KT266/A, KM266, KT333, KT400, Ali Magik 1, SiS730/733/735/740/745, nVidia nForce/2 |
| Athlon 133FSB | Ali Magik 1, VIA KT133/A, KM133, KT266/A, KT333, KT400, AMD760, SiS730/735 |
| Athlon XP 133FSB | VIA KT133A, KM133A, KL133A, KT266/A, KM266, KT333, KT400, Ali Magik 1, SiS730/733/735/740/745, nVidia nForce/2 |
| Athlon XP 166FSB | Almost all boards are based on KT333\400 and nForce2 (at the moment the full list is not available to me) |
| Duron 100FSB | VIA KT133/A, KM133/A, KL133/A, KLE133/A, KT266/A, KM266, KT333, KT400, Ali Magik 1, SiS730/733/735/740/745, nVidia nForce/2 |
| Celeron 66FSB | |
| Celeron 100FSB | i440BX, i810, i815, VIA PRO 133A/PM133/PL133/PLE133/266, Ali Alladin TNT2, Ali Alladin Pro5, SiS630/633/635 |
| CeleronT 100FSB | Like Celeron128, only T or B is added at the end of the model (in Intel motherboards). Example: i815B or VIA PRO 133T |
| CeleronW 400FSB | |
| Pentium IIIC 100/133FSB | i440BX, i810, i815, VIA PRO 133A/PM133/PL133/PLE133/266, Ali Alladin TNT2, Ali Alladin Pro5, SiS630/633/635 |
| Pentium IIIT 133FSB | |
| Pentium IIIS 133FSB | Like Celeron128, only T or B is added at the end of the model (in Intel motherboards). Example: i815B or VIA PRO 133T |
| Pentium 4W 400FSB | Intel845GL/845D/845A/I850/I845PE/I845E/I845G/I845GL, SiS645/645DX/648/650, VIA P4X266A |
| Pentium 4N 400/533FSB | Intel845GL/845D/845A/I850/I845PE/I845E/I845G/I845GL, SiS645/645DX/648/650, VIA P4X266A |
Finally…
Thank you for reading the article to the end. I hope you learned something new from it. The article turned out to be not very small :), and, unfortunately :), it will be constantly updated (for now for myself, and if people are interested, then it will be posted on the Internet). Please do not judge strictly, since this is my first article, the writing of which took the author, that is, me, a lot of time (1.5 months). But be that as it may, what I wrote was useful not only to me, but also to my friends and acquaintances. This means that the time has not been wasted... Several things prompted me to write this article:
- I remember myself when I got a computer (~5 years ago)... At first I was just passionate about games and so on. Then I wanted something new... I started getting interested in overclocking: first I burned the BIOS of my video card when I tried to change the initial screensaver using a notepad :), then the memory started to work poorly when overclocking my Celerone, then it killed me (or maybe it killed itself :) ) My neighbor's Athlone... That's it, by trial and error, reading a bunch of articles (which I was tormented to look for on the internet) and so on. I learned how to squeeze the juice out of a computer (including the processor). And so I decided to put all this into one note :) for beginners.
- The second point is closely related to the first: for friends, acquaintances, comrades, etc., who bombard me with questions related to overclocking something in their machines.
- Alexey F aka fin, which seemed to me very interesting material, despite the fact that I already know all this. I wanted to do something similar, only about another, no less significant part of the computer.
- Of course I want to see my work on the pages of the www.site. The main thing is participation, and the prizes are not for me to decide.
In this article I tried to combine the FAQ with an “overclocking tutorial for beginners”. The author of the article has too little modesty, so he admits: my name is Alexey, I live in Minsk, Belarus, I study at the Faculty of Law at BSU. I am interested in girls, money, cars, computers, etc. In the distant future, I plan to create a website on overclocking, where all the information I know about those computer components that can be overclocked will be posted :). Home computer configuration:
- AMD Athlon XP (Palomino) 1600XP@1920MHz (167FSBx11.5@Vcore=2V)
- Volcano IX+KPT8 4000RPM
- Gigabyte 7VAX KT400
- 256Mb DDR PC2100 CL2.5@167MHz CL2, 2.5.2., 1CMD.
- Elsa Gladiac 920 (GeForce3) 200/460MHz@250/560MHz
- HDD 80Gb IBM 120GXP 7200RPM UDMA100
- CD-RW Teac W54E 4x/4x/32x
- SB Live! Value
- Lucent 56K Modem
- Realtek 8139AS net
- 15` Monitor Samtron 55B:) Antique
10062 parrots in 3DMark 2001SE if anyone is interested :). For all this it was necessary: 1. Change the radiator with cooler on the video card to a cooler from PIII, put the whole thing on KPT8+Superglitch. Attach the radiators to the memory in the same way (in my opinion, they were simply glued there). 2. Hang the fan from the case near the video card for additional ventilation of the chip and memory. 3. Place the cooler from the first Pentium on the back of the video card chip. 4. Change the radiator with cooler on the northbridge mat. Fees. Just like I did with the chip on the video card. 5. Place the radiator from P3 on the south bridge of the motherboard (before this it was quite hot to the touch). 6. Place the fan on the case to draw air into the case. 7. Lubricate Volcano IX with Castrol synthetic engine oil :).
After all this, it was possible to overclock the system and bring down the fervor of the roaring volcano so that it was no louder than the other coolers in the system, of which there were 6+1 on the power supply. If I have a digital camera, I'll post pictures :).
Let me remind you once again: almost everything written in this article has been verified by me personally (those who don’t trust me may not read further :)), but using these instructions/tips to overclock your computer is at your own peril and risk. Therefore: (now there will be an excuse :)) the author of the article does not bear any responsibility for broken/burnt equipment.
Gratitudes and ingratitudes:
Many thanks to my neighbors - Egor Nemtsev and Dmitry Levin for their help with the design. To Sergey Buchin and the website www.upgrade.ru for saving me from writing an article on the topic of Athlon XP (Palomino) bridges, for the same reason I thank Tyl'a, who kindly provided me with an article about Thoroughbred's bridges and legs for use.
Ingratitude: to my girlfriend Anya and my neighbors and friends, who, without knowing it, distracted me from writing an article by inciting me to drink, bars, movies, etc. Their efforts were in vain :). I thank in advance those who will help me and make comments or additions. Don't kill your critic!
Summary: if any words or expressions are not clear, write to me by e-mail. I’ll be happy to explain, but I don’t think any words will cause any difficulties.
(c) Lisok Alexey
This article was submitted to our second competition.
