# Overclocking my P-III **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 23, 2000, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overclocking-my-p-iii/37936 "2000-10-23T02:55:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Squee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Squee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squee)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overclocking-my-p-iii/37936/1 "2000-10-23T02:55:45Z")
I have recently upgraded most the components in my machine, including motherboard. My motherboard, an Asus P3V4X, supports 4x AGP, so I bought it to work with my Riva TNT2 card. I see that it also supports the new 133Mhz FSB PIII Coppermine. My current chip is a PIII, 500Mhz, Katmai, running at 100Mhz bus. Can I set the motherboard settings to run at a 133Mhz bus, while reducing the multiplier to 4? This would give me a chip running at 532Mhz. Is this possible with this or any other processor? I know I can change the multipier to get faster CPU speed, but I really only want to adjust the bus speed. I have never overclocked a CPU, so any experiences/advice would be appreciated. Oh, I almost forgot… My PC is running Win98SE/Win2000 dual boot, with 512Mb PC133 RAM. Thanks again for any help. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overclocking-my-p-iii/37936/2 "2000-10-23T03:07:10Z")
You can accelerate the bus speed and thus get the rough equivalent of over clocking the CPU in terms of processor performance if the CPU and system will tolerate this. You cannot overclock the PIII CPU directly as the PIII’s are clock clocked to prevent this to the best of my understanding. Overclocking is (IMHO) harmless if your data is relatively worthless and you don’t mind buying another CPU if it toasts or losing data due to flakey system lockups as a result of over clocking. If neither of these is the case it’s a stupid bet. ---
**Author:** ![absoul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@absoul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/absoul)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overclocking-my-p-iii/37936/3 "2000-10-23T03:27:37Z")
Sure, its all possible… Check out -\> [http://www.overclockers.com/](http://www.overclockers.com/) I noticed several people had reviews on your chipset and motherboard. (DONT try to Overclock your chip if you can’t replace it!) Here are the switch settings you’ll need - [http://www.asus.com/Products/Techref/chipset/p3cpueb.html](http://www.asus.com/Products/Techref/chipset/p3cpueb.html) Looks like with your voltage set from 1.75-195mv you should be able to push this baby up to around 700-800Mhz without a peltier. ---
**Author:** ![Squee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Squee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squee)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overclocking-my-p-iii/37936/4 "2000-10-23T03:29:16Z")
Thanks for your reply, **Astro**. I guess that is the question I should have asked in the first place. Is my current processor “bus locked” and incapable of change? I don’t mind buying a new CuMine processor, but I figure if I can get more performance out of my current PIII, maybe I’ll wait til prices drop even further until then. BTW, I recently purchased a [new cooling fan](http://www.3dcool.com/dualoverkill.shtml) for my CPU. Will this increase my odds of having overclocking sucess (if it is indeed possible)? ---
**Author:** ![Squee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Squee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squee)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overclocking-my-p-iii/37936/5 "2000-10-23T03:39:37Z")
**absoul** , you snuck in there while I posted! 🙂 I have checked the Overclockers site, not really finding too much info. I dunno, maybe I’m looking in the wrong places. I’ll go look again. As far as the Asus link, I don’t think that is too much help either. I’m running a PIII 500 at 100Mhz… the link you submitted is for a PIII 600-800Mhz with the 133Mhz busses. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overclocking-my-p-iii/37936/6 "2000-10-23T03:43:06Z")
No chips are bus locked…they’re simply multiplyer locked. Yours is mult. locked. Basically, you can up your bus speed, and thus the clock speed. So, if you run your bus at 105, you’ll have a 525MHz machine…go to 110…you get the picture. It’s very doubtful your chip would handle a 133 bus, but not completely out of the question…just keep a fire extinguisher handy. 🙂 Jman ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overclocking-my-p-iii/37936/7 "2000-10-23T03:50:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Squee \* > \*\*Thanks for your reply, **Astro**. I guess that is the question I should have asked in the first place. Is my current processor “bus locked” and incapable of change? I don’t mind buying a new CuMine processor, but I figure if I can get more performance out of my current PIII, maybe I’ll wait til prices drop even further until then. > > BTW, I recently purchased a [new cooling fan](http://www.3dcool.com/dualoverkill.shtml) for my CPU. Will this increase my odds of having overclocking sucess (if it is indeed possible)? \*\* I believe your PIII 500 is “clock locked” (ie the internal CPU frequncy is locked to 500 mhz as my PIII 500 is) as are most if not all PIIIs. Re “bus locking” I don’t think there is a restriction other than the ASUS motherboard parameters and the system stability to prevent you from trying faster bus speeds than 100 mhz. A highly efficient fan will assist somewhat in letting you run faster if you wish but only within limits. If you want the most bang for the buck overall upgrade re performance a new 7200 RPM hard disk would be a good bet if you currently have a 5400 RPM unit. see [http://www.storagereview.com/](http://www.storagereview.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Squee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Squee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squee)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overclocking-my-p-iii/37936/8 "2000-10-23T03:53:09Z")
Danke, **Jman**! The fire department is only a block away, so I’m not too worried. 😉 I guess this shows how little I know. I assumed you could only run the bus at 66, 100, 133. How do I adjust it to get frequencies of 105, 100, etc? The MB guide only gives me DIP switch settings for 133, 100, 66? Mayhaps I am over my head here! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Squee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Squee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squee)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overclocking-my-p-iii/37936/9 "2000-10-23T04:03:27Z")
> [@](#): > > If you want the most bang for the buck overall upgrade re performance a new 7200 RPM hard disk would be a good bet if you currently have a 5400 RPM unit. I have 2- IBM 7200rpm 75GXP ATA100 45GB drives and a Promise FastTrak100 RAID controller. I guess I should kick down the $$ for the new CPU, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Wonko\_The\_Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Wonko\_The\_Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wonko_The_Sane)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overclocking-my-p-iii/37936/10 "2000-10-23T04:05:38Z")
check out [http://www.hardocp.com](http://www.hardocp.com) for info. It has some cool info and links to other sites. ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overclocking-my-p-iii/37936/11 "2000-10-23T04:31:57Z")
My favorite site for computer stuff is [http://www.dualboot.net](http://www.dualboot.net) . I’m not much of a hardware guy, but someone there will be able to help you. HardOCP is a little juvenile for my tastes. That said, if you don’t have a jumperless mobo, I’d say your overclocking chances are nil. ---
**Author:** ![Squee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Squee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squee)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overclocking-my-p-iii/37936/12 "2000-10-23T04:40:14Z")
Thanks, **Wonko** … I’ll check into that site but it doesn’t look too easy to navigate. **Flymaster** , my motherboard does indeed have jumpers (as well as Award bios that will let me set CPU configs from there)… but when I tried the BIOS method, it froze my system from booting up at all, so I chose to use the DIP switch method. Unfortunately (for me anyway), the manual only lists methods for setting the switches to 66, 100, and 133 Mhz processors. Ideas anyone? Everyone’s input is much appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![absoul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@absoul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/absoul)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overclocking-my-p-iii/37936/13 "2000-10-23T04:46:18Z")
Sorry about the previous link… This, I believe is your boards manual- [http://www.asus.com/products/motherboard/manual\_slot1.html#p3v4x](http://www.asus.com/products/motherboard/manual_slot1.html#p3v4x) First off, double check your current settings against the manual. Shut down your host and up your settings to the next level. ((Manual 3. Hardware Setup) 3. CPU Bus Frequency Selection & 4. Cpu Core: Bus Frequency Multiple) Restart your computer and check for any “glitches”. If it does start to “glitch” then you would need to up the voltage settings to your cpu. This board can increase voltage by .05mv. _This is the increased heat factor that can damage your cpu_ Keep on doing this until your knuckles are white and your breathing has almost ceased. This is the thrill of overclocking! ---
**Author:** ![Squee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Squee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squee)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overclocking-my-p-iii/37936/14 "2000-10-23T05:01:26Z")
**Jman** , I looked at the manual again, and I see how to config the bus settings. I may just give it a go and see what the consequences are. Thanks again to everyone who has replied. I still welcome anyone who has had experiences with this or continued advice. ---
**Author:** ![Squee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Squee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squee)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2000, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overclocking-my-p-iii/37936/15 "2000-10-24T00:30:52Z")
_bump_ \<-- (well, kinda) I had some moderate success bringing the bus up to 110 Mhz. I say this because my system booted up, however, now Windows 2000 won’t recogize it. Any ideas?