• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Socket 478 help - Which processor upgrade?

Archaea

Archaea

[H]F Junkie
2FA
Joined
Oct 19, 2004
Messages
11,934
I've got a Abit IS7 motherboard, with a Northwood P4 2.4 Ghz C (800mhz FSB) processor. It overclocks to rock stable to 3.0 at 1Ghz FSB (250mhz x 4 FSB) @ 1.625 volts. I can't get any faster stable though.....Even 3.06 crashes in gaming.

Since socket 478 has died I was thinking I'd like to get one last processor upgrade for my current setup before the processors become too rare and hard to get. I don't want to upgrade my motherboard yet...I don't feel the need. I've got 1GB of PC 4000 RAM, so my RAM matches perfectly - with my 1Ghz FSB I can run the RAM at a 1:1 ratio. I've got a 6800 GT and don't feel the need to upgrade to PCI-E yet either. So please don't suggest a new board. I don't need it. My Abit IS7 is serving quite well.

I know there are northwoods 3.2 and 3.4's (512KB cache)
Prescott 3.2's and 3.4's (1MB cache)
and Extreme Edition 3.2's and 3.4's (2MB cache)

The 3.2 running at 1Ghz fsb would = 4 Ghz clock speed. That is ideal. I would like a 1Ghz FSB so my ram can be maxed out with the 1:1 ratio.

On which of the above chips would I get the most performance, and on which of the above chips would I have the most likely chance of getting the perfect overclock. (1Ghz FSB 1:1 ratio)
I've got the Zalman - 7000cu cooler - (copper flower) and so I'm not too worried about heat...just more about performance - since this would be my last processor upgrade on this system and would probably be my cpu for the next year at least.

4GHZ or above and 6800GT should be fine for at LEAST another year for my gaming needs.

So given my desires listed, which processor would you recommend?
 
I would go for the 3.4EE. I run mine watercooled @ 225 fsb without issues. You can find them for around $300 and you wont regret it. I score 31000+ in 3dmark 2001 easily when my buddy with a 3.4 Prescott @225 Fsb barely gets 27000 in 3dmark 2001( not that it matters). We both run the x800xt pe cards.

The 3.4EE will kill any other S478 chip easily. Its not the best overclocker, but its not bad @ all. BTW it flies in all other apps as well. I upgraded from a 3.2 northy to the 3.4EE and noticed a huge difference.

If there are certain benchies you would like me to run.....PM me.
 
3.0E's are for sale at newegg for $185 right now...that's a good deal..those can do upwards to around 4GHz on air..
 
I know the EE is fastest when they are stock clocked, but didn't I read somewhere that the northwoods(512KB cache) (because of less length of pipeline or something) were actually faster when overclocked?

If I can buy a 3.2 or 3.4 northwood on ebay for 150ish and actually outpreform and generate less heat than a 3.2 or 3.4 prescott or EE then it only makes sense...I just don't know actual benchmark data for a northwood at 4Ghz vs. a prescott at 4Ghz, vs. a EE at 4Ghz. Anyone have a benchmark link for an apples to apples comparison on this sort of thing?
 
Getting a Northwood core or any .013 chip to 4Ghz plus requires skill and a good chip. Getting a E0 stepping prescott to 4Ghz is, for the most part, fairly easy. If you have really good air cooling or W/C get the prescott.

Also 3Ghz prescotts for S478 are dirt cheap. Try to find SL7PM. This is a good overclock stepping. :p
 
Archaea said:
I know the EE is fastest when they are stock clocked, but didn't I read somewhere that the northwoods(512KB cache) (because of less length of pipeline or something) were actually faster when overclocked?
Click to expand...

The 3.2EE / 3.4EE (single core) & 3.46EE are all based on the Gallatin core which is the same as the Northwood just with an extra 2Mb of L3 cache. Thats why the 3.46EE usually outperforms the 3.73EE! And is the fastest stock P4 made.

I'd recommend a 3.2EE you can find them cheap on ebay all of the time and OC it.

BTW, have you even tried using the 5:4 ratio and overclocking your 2.4C more. So many people don't even think about it or test out with different ratios to really max out their CPU's. Your instability over 3.06 is probably from the ram maxing out at 255FSB.

I used the 3:2 ratio, 5:4 ratio & 1:1 and tested out max OC's with each, and then benchmarked with each. With my 2.4C I could do 3.4Ghz at 5:4 ratio (2.5-3-3-5) or 3.6Ghz with 3:2 ratio (2-3-2-5) anyway, I got better real world gaming with 3:2 ratio & higher clock speeds. In 3dMark 2003 & 2005 the scores were almost the same, in 2001 better @ 3:2.

Anyway, point is try using the 5:4 ratio... you will probably be able to reach a much higher CPU speed and easily offset the minor performance hit you take from dropping the ram ratio.
 
My sig will tell you what I recommend....inexpensive, stable...I'm very happy with my "plain old" Prescott core. It depends on what you want to spend....the EE's are pretty snazzy processors, to be sure.

Regards - B.B.S.
 
Just take a look at my sig i have a 3.0ghz(cost me £120 begining of last year i think) Prescott overclocked on air to 4.1ghz!! Its great. Just a bit hot. So you should go with that. NO point wasting money and gettin a 3.2 or 3.4ghz processor just save that money and get wc or some really good air cooling
 
i had an is7-g running a 2.4c at 3.1ghz. upgraded to a 3.4e that was running at 3.85ghz on air. am now selling my system to upgrade to opteron 170 and a8n32-sli.
i wasn't impressed at all by the upgrade from the northwood to prescott. i have ALWAYS been pro intel but it's time for a change. s478 is dead. time to move on. first time AMD system for me and i cant wait. dual core... w00t
 
Arch, have you made a decision?

I'm in a very similar situation... running a 2.8c @ 3.24, perfectly stable, with 2 x 512mb of Mushkin RAM. I'm running an asus p4c800-e Deluxe, and, basically, I want to throw a faster processor in there, in order to make this rig really last me through the 7800 generation of video cards at the least. (running a gainward 6800gt GS @ 400/1100 (cooled by a DD maze4 GPU... btw, CPU cooled by DD TDX ... all that is cooled by a BlackIce Xtreme III and 3 x M1A fans....)

Anyhow, enough of the details.

Basically, i'm in the same boat; which processor to upgrade to? I look around, and I see a 3.0E for $252 canadian, retail... that's around $212 USD or so. (new, in box)
i'd prefer not to buy (a 3.xExtremeEdition P4) off of Ebay, as it's risky... and new in retail, they want an arm and a leg for anything EE.
retail, a 3.2E, 3.4E start to get around $300 canadian...

I guess the crux of my problem is; do I really want to spend more than $250 on a processor, and will that $250 processor, overclocked, last me(be able to keep up) until this generation of video cards has passed? :confused: How far should i expect a 3.0E to overclock? and how the heck do i try and find a certain stepping? :confused: Never shopped for a certain stepping of a CPU before.

Dunno if this is considered thread jacking, but it is relevant at least.
 
Just do as my last post get a 3.0 and oc it like mad and as you are on WC if you get a lucky chip you should be able to get a very high oc like my 4.1ghz(1.1gz oc). I have a C0 revision processor and that was the first revision of the processor.(got it as soon as it came out). The newer ones are supposed to overclock even higher so definately get a 3ghz one as it saves like £100 for a 3.4 or somthing.
 
3.2E has a 17x multi, set fsb at 250. Would fit your 1GHZ FSB, 4GHZ core speed beautifully.
 
in regards to a 3.0E, what stepping do I want, if i have a chance to ask the shop to check it out for me?

or, should I just go for as new a chip as possible ?
 
The higher the revision say you got an E0 (the highest i think) its the one which i coolest and overclocks out of the C0 and D0.


And pigpen the multi is 17!!! which makes a difference to say a 3.0E with multi 15 at 4ghz.
 
coolkishan said:
And pigpen the multi is 17!!! which makes a difference to say a 3.0E with multi 15 at 4ghz.
Click to expand...

my bad, meant 16. He has DDR 500 that he wants to run 1:1. And is looking for 4GHZ from his OC. So 250 FSB would fit nicely with a 3.2E. That's all i meant.
 
koolkishan, can you reword that last post to make a bit more sense?

Are you saying that the latest steppings E0 being the last, run cooler and OC better than older steppings (D0, C0) ?
 
Momo said:
Are you saying that the latest steppings E0 being the last, run cooler and OC better than older steppings (D0, C0) ?
Click to expand...


That's the general rule, but product varies.
 
OK, so... do I just ask for them to look through the plastic packaging and read the stepping number?

Which alpha-numeric set (on the chip itself) is the stepping? Do you happent to have a link to a picture with it highlighted ?

EDIT: at the www.ncix.com webstore, they have what looks like a model # listed: (all prescott's)
2.8Eghz = (BX80546PG2800E) (800mhz) @ 222 CDN
3.2Eghz = (BX80546PG3200E) (800mhz) @ 292 CDN
3.4Eghz = (BX80546PG3400E) (800mhz) @ 386 CDN

They've also got a:
E 2.8Eghz = (BX80546PE2800E) (533mhz) @ 209 CDN


I'm a bit confused.
I thought northwood's were 533mhz, and prescotts were 800mhz ?
I have a feeling that's not right, heh. Can i get some clarification?

It's been so darn long since i bought my 2.8c, i can hardly remember ;)

EDIT for forgotten queston: is the '0E' at the end of those the stepping?
 
i got a 3.0E to sell
and its E0...
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=981307

hhhhhhh7pz.jpg
 
I dont know how to check but yeah generally E0 is cooler and oc's more that D0 and same with C0. BUt right know you will either get a D0 or E0. E0's are a bit rarer. BUt i dont know how you can check sorry
 
I know you've got one for sale ;)

I wouldnt want all the other stuff... just the CPU...

and besides, I really wouldnt want to buy a used CPU.
 
Think i found what i'm lookin for...

here's the 3.0E (EDIT: ...with HT, Prescott core?) with the 0E revision, right?
clicky

and a picture identifying where to find the "sSpec Number SL7PM" clicky for sticker pic

so! I should be able to simply call up the staff and get someone to read me the last 5 characters on the sticker, right? ;)

EDIT #5486787:
One thing i'm not clear on is on the list of processors; if you click the top link called 'clicky' and hit the back to list button on that page... look for the 3.0ghz p4's that are s478... there's one that is "3E ghz" (SL79L rev C0) and one that is (SL7PM rev E0) ... are these both prescott cores or not? ... i'm gonna assume for now that the SL7Pm is a prescott, revision E0 .... unless one of you wants to correct me ;)
 
Celeron320at38.jpg


E0's are very overclocker friendly :D Here's the info my chip...

CELERON D
2.4GHZ/256/533
SL87J PHILIPPINES
7448A462

6449B193
0053

This SLCode isn't even listed on Intel's spec site. It came out of a Dell. I know its a Celeron D but you get the point.
 
CELERON D??? IS THAT DUAL CORE FOR SKT478? :eek: If it is, would an intel 875p chipset support the dual core features...And would it be worth swapping from the proc in my rig to one of those?!?!?!?
 
Rtstrider said:
CELERON D??? IS THAT DUAL CORE FOR SKT478? :eek: If it is, would an intel 875p chipset support the dual core features...And would it be worth swapping from the proc in my rig to one of those?!?!?!?
Click to expand...

Um no, its just a Celeron...
 
cpuz.jpg




That is what a 2.4C can do. I say, get into some real overclocking. In my personal opinion, Prescotts in S478 form aren't worth getting unless you are going to overclock them with watercooling / phase.
 
Warmonkey said:
That is what a 2.4C can do. I say, get into some real overclocking. In my personal opinion, Prescotts in S478 form aren't worth getting unless you are going to overclock them with watercooling / phase.
Click to expand...

No this is was a 2.4C can do:
screen3666.jpg


2.4C stresstest.jpg
 
What do you think a P4 2.6C can go up to on standard cooling? Those overclocking results are quite impressive.
 
Momo said:
I'm a bit confused.
I thought northwood's were 533mhz, and prescotts were 800mhz ?
I have a feeling that's not right, heh. Can i get some clarification?
Click to expand...

Northwood: 400, 533 and 800
Prescott: 533 and 800.
 
Are you running a divider on that Ram Chris? Those are some insane clocks.

I am all about the 1:1.

Also, what kind of cooling was the 3.6GHz on? 60*C seems crazy hot.

I don't go over 36*C load, but I am on watercooling with an external unit.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top