Overclocking Computers with Intel Pentium III (Coppermine)

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Intel Pentium III with the Coppermine core, manufactured according to 0.18-micrometer technology, is characterized by relatively strong performance and overclocking capabilities.

The existing technological reserve allows a comparatively large increase of the Front Side Bus (FSB) frequency, which determines the internal and external processor frequencies. Such frequency growth is accompanied by an equivalent increase in CPU performance and, consequently, by improvement in overall system performance.

The best overclocking potential is found in the earliest representatives of the Coppermine line. Technological reserve allowed Intel to release processors based on this core with a clock frequency of 1 GHz or higher.

The following sections provide the results of overclocking this high-performance Pentium III processor and an analysis of its operation in the overclocked mode.

Computer with Pentium III 500E

System Configuration
  • Processor — Intel Pentium III 500E (Coppermine core, 256 KB L2 cache, processor frequency operation, recommended processor-bus frequency of 100 MHz, 1.6 V core supply, FC-PGA installed on the motherboard via Slot 1, Socket 370 adapter)

  • Motherboard — Abit BE6-II (Intel 440BX AGPset chipset)

  • Hard disk — IBM DPTA-372050 (20 GB, 2 MB cache memory, Ultra DMA/66)

  • RAM — 128 MB, PC100

  • Video adapter: Asus AGP-V3800 TV (TNT2 video chip and 32 MB video memory)

  • CD-ROM drive — Asus CD-S400/A (40x)

  • Operating system — Windows 98 with installed drivers for an Ultra DMA/66 controller

Establishing Overclocking Modes

The overclocking modes were established in BIOS Setup by increasing the processor-bus frequency. The core supply voltage for all frequencies was standard (1.6 V). The sequence of selecting and setting parameters is illustrated in Figs. 18.6–18.8.

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Figure 18.6: Opening the SoftMenu III Setup menu in BIOS Setup (Pentium III 500E)

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Figure 18.7: Setting the recommended parameters in SoftMenu III Setup (Pentium III 500E)

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Figure 18.8: Establishing the overclocking mode in SoftMenu III Setup (Pentium III 500E)

Testing the System

WinBench 99 v1.1 tests (CPUmark 99 and FPU WinMark) were used. Test results are provided in Table 18.4 and in Figs. 18.9 and 18.10.

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Figure 18.9: Pentium III 500E test results (CPUmark 99)

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Figure 18.10: Pentium III 500E test results (FPU WinMark)

Table 18.4: Results of Overclocking Pentium III 500E

FSB frequency (MHz)

CPU frequency (MHz)

CPUmark 99 rating

FPU WinMark rating

100

500 = 100 × 5.0

41.9

2,700

120

600 = 120 × 5.0

50.2

3,255

125

625 = 125 × 5.0

52.1

3,373

135

675 = 135 × 5.0

56.1

3,636

140

700 = 140 × 5.0

58.5

3,781

Computer with Pentium III 550E

System Configuration
  • Processor — Intel Pentium III 550E (Coppermine core, 256 KB L2 cache, processor frequency operation, recommended processor-bus frequency of 100 MHz, 1.65 V core supply, in box, 1/28/00 pack date, version A13433-001, made in Malaysia, SL3V5 S-Spec)

  • Motherboard — Abit BE6-II (Intel 440BX AGPset chipset)

  • Hard disk — IBM DPTA-372050 (20 GB, 2 MB cache memory, Ultra DMA/66)

  • RAM — 128 MB, PC100

  • Video adapter — Asus AGP-V3800 TV (TNT2 video chipset, 32 MB SGRAM video memory)

  • CD-ROM drive — Asus CD-S400/A (40x)

  • Operating system — Windows 98 with installed drivers for an Ultra DMA/66 hard disk controller

Establishing Overclocking Modes

The overclocking modes were established in BIOS Setup by increasing the processor-bus frequency. The core voltage was standard for all frequencies (1.65 V). The order of choosing and setting parameters is illustrated in Figs. 18.11–18.13.

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Figure 18.11: Opening the SoftMenu III Setup menu in BIOS Setup (Pentium III 550E)

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Figure 18.12: Setting the recommended parameters in SoftMenu III Setup (Pentium III 550E)

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Figure 18.13: Establishing the overclocking mode in SoftMenu III Setup (Pentium III 550E)

Testing the System

WinBench 99 v1.1 (CPUmark 99 and FPU WinMark), 3DMark2000, and Video 2000 were used for testing. The results are provided in Tables 18.5–18.7 and in Figs. 18.14 and 18.15.

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Figure 18.14: Pentium III 550E test results (CPUmark 99)

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Figure 18.15: Pentium III 550E test results (FPU WinMark)

Table 18.5: Results for Pentium III 550E (WinBench 99)

FSB frequency (MHz)

CPU frequency (MHz)

CPUmark 99 rating

FPU WinMark rating

100

550 = 100 × 5.5

46.1

2,970

120

660 = 120 × 5.5

55.2

3,580

125

688 = 125 × 5.5

57.3

3,710

135

743 = 135 × 5.5

61.7

4,000

140

770 = 140 × 5.5

64.3

4,160

Table 18.6: Results for Pentium III 550E (3DMark2000, Video 2000)

FSB frequency (MHz)

CPU frequency (MHz)

3DMark2000 rating

Video 2000 rating

100

550 = 100 × 5.5

5,013

335

133

733 = 133 × 5.5

6,299

393

Table 18.7: Analysis of the Results for Pentium III 550E (Video 2000)

CPU frequency (MHz)

550 = 100 × 5.5

733 = 133 × 5.5

Video 2000 rating (800 × 600 × 32)

335

393

Data transfer rate (MB/sec)

Non-local local video memory

332.8

447.2

Local non-local video memory

15.6

17.0

Video memory system memory

75.0

89.4

System memory video memory

169.6

213.6

MPEG2 encoding (frames per second)

18.32

24.67

MPEG2 decoding (% of processor workload)

3 Mbits/sec

98

98

6 Mbits/sec

98

98

9 Mbits/sec

98

100

The results in Tables 18.5–18.7 and in Figs. 18.14 and 18.15 show that Pentium III 500E and 550E have significant technological reserve. Their architecture, based on the Coppermine core, uses cache memory that operates at the full core frequency and has an improved operating algorithm (256-bit Advanced Transfer Cache).

Computer with Pentium III 700E

System Configuration
  • Processor — Intel Pentium III 700E (Coppermine core, 256 KB L2 cache, full core frequency operation, recommended processor-bus frequency of 100 MHz, 1.65 V core supply, in box, FC-PGA (connected via adapter), 4/27/00 pack date, version A15753-001, SL45Y S-Spec)

  • Motherboard — Abit BE6-II (Intel 440BX AGPset chipset)

  • Hard disk — IBM DPTA-372050 (20 GB, 2 MB cache memory, Ultra DMA/66)

  • RAM — 128 MB, PC100

  • Video adapter — Asus AGP-V3800 TV (TNT2 video chipset, 32 MB video memory)

  • CD-ROM drive — Asus CD-S400/A (40x)

  • Operating system — Windows 98 with installed drivers for an Ultra DMA/66 hard disk controller

Establishing Overclocking Modes

The overclocking parameters were set in BIOS Setup by increasing the processor-bus frequency in SoftMenu III Setup. At frequencies of 700 MHz, 770 MHz, and 840 MHz, the core supply voltage was standard (1.65 V). At 910 MHz, it was increased to 1.7 V. Parameter selection is illustrated in Fig. 18.16.

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Figure 18.16: Establishing the overclocking mode in SoftMenu III Setup (Pentium III 700E)

Testing the System

WinBench 99 v1.1 was used as the main testing package (CPUmark 99 and FPU WinMark). Test results are in Table 18.8 and in Figs. 18.17 and 18.18.

Table 18.8: Results of Overclocking Pentium III 700E

FSB frequency (MHz)

CPU frequency (MHz)

CPUmark 99 rating

FPU WinMark rating

100

700 = 100 × 7

62.1

3,700

110

770 = 110 × 7

68.7

4,110

120

840 = 120 × 7

75.1

4,470

130

910 = 130 × 7

81.6

4,830

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Figure 18.17: Pentium III 700E test results (CPUmark 99)

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Figure 18.18: Pentium III 700E test results (FPU WinMark)

Computer with Pentium III 800EB

System Configuration
  • Processor — Intel Pentium III 800EB (Coppermine core, 256 KB L2 cache, full core frequency operation, recommended processor-bus frequency of 133 MHz, 1.65 V core supply, in box, FC-PGA2)

  • Motherboard — Asus TUSL2-C (Intel 815E B-Step chipset)

  • Hard disk — IBM DPTA-372050 (20 GB, 2 MB cache memory, Ultra DMA/66).

  • RAM — 256 MB, PC133

  • Video adapter — Asus GeForce2, 64 MB

  • CD-ROM drive — Asus CD-S500/A (50x)

  • Operating system — Windows 2000, Service Pack 2

Establishing Overclocking Modes

The overclocking mode parameters were set in BIOS Setup by increasing the processor-bus frequency in SoftMenu III Setup. The following frequencies were set: 133 MHz (nominal), 160 MHz, and 177 MHz. At these frequencies, memory operated in asynchronous mode at frequencies of 133 MHz, 120 MHz, and 133 MHz. Such modes were chosen because the memory used in this system didn't support operation at increased frequencies. Its operation was accompanied by failures at 140 MHz.

Because the processor multiplier is small (6x), increasing the processor frequency 44 MHz allowed the CPU frequency to be raised only 200 MHz. The resulting frequency was 177 MHz; therefore, overall system performance increased significantly.

Testing the System

The WinBench 99 v1.1 test package (CPUmark 99 and FPU WinMark) was used. Test results are provided in Table 18.9 and in Figs. 18.19 and 18.20.

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Figure 18.19: Pentium III 800EB test results (CPUmark 99)

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Figure 18.20: Pentium III 800EB test results (FPU WinMark)

Table 18.9: Results of Overclocking Pentium III 800EB

FSB frequency/RAM (MHz)

CPU frequency (MHz)

CPUmark 99 rating

FPU WinMark rating

133/133

800 = 133 × 6

73.6

4,250

160/120

960 = 160 × 6

84.4

5,090

177/133

1,062 = 177 × 6

93.5

5,640



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PC Hardware Tuning & Acceleration
PC Hardware Tuning & Acceleration
ISBN: 1931769230
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 111

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