Clocking Pentium 4 CPU

[nickel052]

I've been using my old VIA P4M266-8233 for the past 6 years. The computer itself is 9 years old but I stick to old stuff for what I use it for. The computer had a Pentium 4 1.8GHz processor in it for the longest time. I swapped it out for a Pentium 4 2.40GHz that a friend gave to me from his old computer. I installed it, booted and worked fine. But it wasn't clocking at the full 2.4. It was still clocking at the old 1.8. I did some research online on how to overclock a processor. I went into bios and noticed that there are only 2 changeable settings; CPU voltage and speed. The default voltage is 1.525V and the default speed was clocking at 100x18.0 (1.80GHz). Based on what I read online, for the default speed, the only required voltage was between 1.250V and 1.450V. So I decided to bump up ONLY the CPU speed. I cannot bump passed 102x18.0 (1.84GHz) and 1.525V without boot failure. Sometimes the computer turns on and does nothing, at other times it boots and restarts and other times it boots and freezes shortly after boot. I have tried lowering and raising the voltage. The CPU temperatures were between 49 and 55 celcius. At which these high temperatures were AFTER I raised the voltage. It got so hot that my boot screen was being displayed choppy and was obviously too hot. Why am I not able to push past 1.84GHz on a 2.40Ghz P4 processor? Is it because the computer is just too old? The system BIOS is dated July of 2002. I do have 3 PCI components installed. A wireless device, USB 2.0 card, and a modem. The onboard graphics adapter has given me a heck of problems in the past. The computer has 1 GB of ram installed. I was also told that it could be possible that the components installed may not be capable of overclocking, but I am confused since I have actually yet to overclock the capable speed of the processor. I do have some ideas on how to repair but I would be trying new ideas all day. I thinking of removing the stand-alone components. I was wondering if anyone else had any more ideas to solve this crap, maybe someone who has had more experience with this then I have had or maybe knows what the best repair idea is.

Any help I can get is great. If not 1.84 is still better than 1.80.

 

[nickel052]

Might I add in 3 of the processor leads were bent a I straightened them out. Don't know if it damaged the processor but all plugged in fine.

 

[satrow]

It reads like your motherboard can only use CPUs with a bus speed of 400Mhz and the 2.4 you currently have installed is one that uses a bus speed of 533Hmz. This table shows the P4 CPUs made that use the 400Mhz bus, be aware that you'll need to check with the maker of the 'board to find other limits that may prevent some of these CPUs from functioning with your hardware.

http://ark.intel.com/MySearch.aspx?... Pentium® 4 Processor&Sockets=478&Bus=400 MHz

 

[cdogg]

VIA is the manufacturer of the chipset, but who is the manufacturer of the motherboard (and what's the model)?

satrow could be right. However, getting us more information will help determine that. The VIA P4M266 has the ability to run the FSB at 133MHz in order to accept DDR 266 memory. So in turn, it should be able to power a 533MHz "quad-pumped" Intel FSB. The chipset was used in a lot of different configurations in order to meet different pricing points, however, so some features may not be present on the motherboard you own. That's why we need the actual make/model.

Also give us the following:

- CPU description showing in the BIOS
- type of memory (SDRAM PC100/PC133 or DDR 200/266)
- if you happen to have any product numbers written down from the processor's faceplate (I wouldn't advise removing the heatsink at this point just to get that)

Carl

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test
a man's character, give him power." - Abraham Lincoln
[tab][navy]For this site's posting policies, click [/navy]here.

 

[rclarke250]

+1 for Cdogg

Looking at a few of the manuals for mother boards that were made with this combo,p4m266 north bridge,and 8233 south bridge. Some manufacturers boards only supported 400mhz for the front side bus. It was more common for the maker to use a 8233a or 8233c south bridge in boards that supported the faster bus speeds as that chip allowed the ATA 133 spec.

 

[nickel052]

Hi everyone thanks for replying.

This is the info I've gotten.

System bios shows this: P4M266-8233A-6A6LWV5AC-00

Windows XP system info shows this about processor:
x86 Family 15 Model 2 Stepping 7

I did remove the whole system board hoping to find a model name on the back since none is displayed on the front. There is nothing written on the rear of system board but on the front I found a sticker with a barcode and a number written under it. This is what is said:
P4MA-1 Rev.B
C1227005289

The chipset displayed this on it when I removed the heatsink:
P4M266
0217CD
2IA3032721

I looked up and down everywhere and I cannot find anything that actually specifies in particular the system name/number. I can only assume the barcoded sticker has the model number.

I also removed the processors heatsink even though cdogg said it wasn't necessary. No worries about that its pretty easy for me to access.

Processor said this:

Intel '01
Pentium 4
2.40GHz/512/533
SL6RZ
7319A639

I do not have any books or manuals for this computer. It was given to me by my father's old employer.

I have taken some pictures of the system board if it helps at all. I can upload them to mediafire and can share the link here if needed.

Thanks everybody for your replies!

 

[satrow]

From a little searching around,the P4M266A chipset looks like it supports 400 and 533Mhz bus, the earlier P4M266 < yours, appears to be limited to 400Mhz only.

 

[rclarke250]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/images/i...x/p450-2225/xfx-p4ma-mnb-manual-p450-2225.pdf

Try this for the manual. Looks like it should support the 533 FSB, Also, something like CPU-z will give you model and specs of the motherboard, and other specs. It can be found here :

http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

Let us know what this says.

 

[paparazi]

It sounds like your motherboards chipset is right on the cusp of change between 400 and 533fsb processors. Therefore it could be that applying the latest bios flash to the motherboard might make it compatible (if the chipset indeed supports 533fsb)
There should be no need to manually adjust core voltage but fsb (look at motherboard manual) may need a physical jumper moving to 533 setting.
Lastely....make sure your heatsink/fan is capable of cooling this 'hotter' CPU. Obviously if you are using the old cooler it may not be up to the job...
Also
The heatsink should have been properly cleaned and new (quality) paste applied (silver based heat transfer paste)

Martin

On wings like angels whispers sweet
my heart it feels a broken beat
Touched soul and hurt lay wounded deep
Brown eyes are lost afar and sleep

 

[rclarke250]

check here for the bios update.

http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/mainboards/others/p4ma_pro.jsp

 

[nickel052]

Hi everyone thanks for all the help.

I've done some more research and found the specific manual for the VIA P4MA-L motherboard that I have. The chipset IS limited to the 400 MHz fsb.

http://www.via.com.tw/download/mainboards/3/4/P4MA_Manual_v1.0.pdf

I checked for any possible jumper changes that would allow me to upgrade to 533 MHz but there aren't any jumpers on the board for that. I checked the links that rclarke supplied above and they are for slightly newer boards than I have. The links above were for the VIA P4MA Pro, MNB and MLB. I checked the VIA website with my motherboard model for any bios upgrades and I found that I had the newest one already installed.

http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/mainboards/legacyProducts.jsp?motherboard_id=13

I put the old 1.8 GHz back in the machine for now. I'll keep my eyes peeled for a faster Pentium 4 compatible with 400 MHz fsb. If not, no biggie, the machine is almost 10 years old after all. I will probably just look into getting a laptop if I end up needing a newer machine, which I probably won't.

Thanks everyone for all the help. I was pretty much lost before this thread but now have a much better understanding. Once again thanks a lot!

 

[BadBigBen]

Glad that your research was not fruitless, one always gains when learning something new... ;-)

and thanks for posting back, when I researched the mainboard, all I got was older MSI or Asus mainboards with that chipset, thus the need to identify the maker...

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[EmuDan]

I put a 2.2 Ghz Pentium 4 with a 400Mhz FSB in my mother-in-law's old E-machines PC and it seemed to work pretty well. Doing a little research, I found that the P4 Northwood processors go up to 2.8 Ghz on the 400Mhz FSB. As long as your BIOS can support it, of course.

Dan