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PIII 450 limititaions/overclocking 1

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edmund1978

Programmer
Jan 25, 2001
58
GB
Does anyone know how far you can push an Intel PIII450. I've heard rumours, they are infact the same as the PIII550 but I don't know much about it. Also is it risky to do this?
 
You won't really know how far you can push it till you try. I know that chip makers use the same core's for processors around the same speeds but you would have to do some research to find out if it is in fact the same core. Look for something about microns. If they are the same number then I believe that means they are the same core. I don't really think it's that risky to overclock. I have an AMD 800 clocked at 900 and it runs just fine and doesnt' even get too hot. Any faster though and it runs into a timing problem, (I think) so i'm stuck with 900. Also, it can be a little tricky to do since they lock the multipliers. If you want to give it a shot you'll have to up your bus speed. It may not boot if it's clocked wrong also. I suggest you do a lot more research before trying it out.
 
Your PIII uses a bus speed of 100mhz with the multiplier of 4.5 to get 450.
Neither of these is "locked" unlike the Celeron, which has the multiplier "locked".
You can overclock in two ways, or a combination of both, depending on motherboard.
1. Increase the bus speed. This is the most common, but has it's pitfalls. Some devices (modems, sound cards, etc.) will not work at an increased bus speed, but you can usually increase the bus speed to 110mhz or maybe slightly more. At 110mhz FSB (Front Side Bus) your 450 will now run at 495mhz.
2. Increase the multiplier. By increasing the multiplier to 5x, you may get it to run at 500mhz, or even try 5.5x to get 550mhz. Your CPU/motherboard combination may, or may NOT do this.
3. Increase both multiplier and FSB. This is probably the way to go. First, increase the multiplier to 5x, and make sure the system runs stable (do your normal daily tasks, multitask, graphics, internet, email, etc.) and see if the system runs without crashing. If so, gradually increase the FSB. Start at 105mhz, and do the same testing. Try it at 110mhz. This should give you 525mhz and 550 mhz respectively.
You may be able to go even farther than that, mostly depending on the motherboard.
Before you start!*************
Make sure you know how to turn your computer off manually and back on again, as well as how to clear the CMOS!!!
Some motherboards, when overclocked beyond a certain point, will simply refuse to turn on. You must know how to clear the CMOS to it's defaults to get a bootable system back.
There's lots more reading to be found on this topic, if you check around at it should keep you busy for a week or more. Cheers,
Jim
reboot@pcmech.com
Moderator at Staff at Windows 9x/ME instructor.
Jim's Modems:
 
Being a student I hate to argue with an instructor but I thought Intel has been locking multipliers since the PII's were out? My friend has a 333mhz PII and when he tried increasing the multiplier it was locked. Anybody have a definitive source of info on this?
 
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