Need help overclocking from 1.8 ghz to 2.4ghz on a DELL

[Freestyle23]

I have a DELL Dimension 4400 2.4 ghz 1gb ram with a Intel D845PT model motherboard with a i845d chipset and I upgaded my processor to 2.4 ghz from 1.8 ghz (stock) back in 2005 but I just found out lately that although my computer has always recognized the new 2.4 processor, my bios and fsb speed etc never got updated and set to run faster! I just upgraded my bios from A05 to A06. Still couldn't edit the fsb settings and today moved the jumper on the motherboard from normal to configure setting and still couldn't edit. So a computer tech friend of mine said to just google a fsb program able to flash DELL bios. Help would be great thanks!

Michael

Here are my computer complete stats :

Dell Dimension 4400
2.4 ghz (upgraded from 1.8ghz)
1 gb Ram
Geforce 6600 Gt 128 mb Video card

Core Speed currently running at 1794.3 Mhz
Multiplier at x 18.0
Bus Speed 99.7 Mhz
Rated FSB 398.7
(according to CPU-Z)

Motherboard is
Model D845PT
Chipset i845D
Southbridge 82801BA (ICH2)

[FX5200]

I doubt you will see 2.4Ghz with that dell, you would be lucky to even see 2.0Ghz.
Remember, dell's are not designed for overclocking AT ALL.

Also, what is your exact processor model?

[bravotsx]

welcome to eocf!

unfortunately, you're most likely up the proverbial creek.

that dell mobo doesn't support anything beyond fsb 400 and from your post, i conjecture that your new 2.4GHz chip is really a FSB 533 chip. essentially the dell is doing the best it can with the new chip since both your old chip and this new one have a 18x multiplier (and hence no difference in clock speed)

cpu speed = bus speed * multiplier
1800 = 100 * 18
2400 = 133 * 18

intel's FSB is 4x the bus speed so
FSB 400 = 100 MHz bus
FSB 533 = 133 MHz bus

you will not be able to change the clock speed through the bios either, since the dell bios are locked.

like many a person who started here asking to overclock a dell/gateway/hp (pre-built, mass manufactured computer) and having their overclock dreams dashed instantly, you quickly understand why we choose to build our rigs from the ground up ~ to be able to do whatever we darn well please with them. the computers from the mass manufacturers are explicitly set-up to prevent you from overclocking.

keep in mind that overclocking a pre-built machine is not impossible as I've actually done it on more than one occasion, but my successful attempts were always with doing pin-mods or pad-mods and I was sure the board supported my desired FSB speed.

see my old thread:
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/t285171.html

it's not a bad time for you to upgrade anyhow ~ that clunker of a dell 4400 doesn't even have usb 2.0 ports and only has agp 2x/4x. (i've been there and done that)

[Freestyle23]

Originally Posted by FX5200

I doubt you will see 2.4Ghz with that dell, you would be lucky to even see 2.0Ghz.
Remember, dell's are not designed for overclocking AT ALL.

Also, what is your exact processor model?

Sorry, I forgot to put the processor info

P4 Northwood Socket 478 mPGA


...I'm not sure if it is really overclocking, it's upgrading. I have did hours of research the last 2 nights and I know this motherboard supports up to 2.6 ghz

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Originally Posted by Freestyle23

I have did hours of research the last 2 nights and I know this motherboard supports up to 2.6 ghz

Yes, but as far as i know there were 2.6GHz processors on a 400MHz FSB (100MHz bus). The ones with the outrageous 26x multi.

You won't see much gain anyway, if you can, just upgrade the whole thing to a new machine.

[Freestyle23]

Originally Posted by bravotsx

welcome to eocf!

unfortunately, you're most likely up the proverbial creek.

that dell mobo doesn't support anything beyond fsb 400 and from your post, i conjecture that your new 2.4GHz chip is really a FSB 533 chip. essentially the dell is doing the best it can with the new chip since both your old chip and this new one have a 18x multiplier (and hence no difference in clock speed)

cpu speed = bus speed * multiplier
1800 = 100 * 18
2400 = 133 * 18

intel's FSB is 4x the bus speed so
FSB 400 = 100 MHz bus
FSB 533 = 133 MHz bus

you will not be able to change the clock speed through the bios either, since the dell bios are locked.

like many a person who started here asking to overclock a dell/gateway/hp (pre-built, mass manufactured computer) and having their overclock dreams dashed instantly, you quickly understand why we choose to build our rigs from the ground up ~ to be able to do whatever we darn well please with them. the computers from the mass manufacturers are explicitly set-up to prevent you from overclocking.

keep in mind that overclocking a pre-built machine is not impossible as I've actually done it on more than one occasion, but my successful attempts were always with doing pin-mods or pad-mods and I was sure the board supported my desired FSB speed.

see my old thread:
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/t285171.html

it's not a bad time for you to upgrade anyhow ~ that clunker of a dell 4400 doesn't even have usb 2.0 ports and only has agp 2x/4x. (i've been there and done that)

I know it can support up to 2.6 ghz but just not a processor that is over fsb 400 mhz or bus speed over 100 mhz? It would have to be a processor that just has a bigger multiplier? I will build my own computer eventually just I am low on money right now and just found out about me running at 1.8 and not 2.4, I play games so I could use this speed asap. lol

Additional Comment:

Originally Posted by Th3_uN1Qu3

Yes, but as far as i know there were 2.6GHz processors on a 400MHz FSB (100MHz bus). The ones with the outrageous 26x multi.

You won't see much gain anyway, if you can, just upgrade the whole thing to a new machine.

It is funny I just replied saying the processor that works on this motherboard that is 2.6 ghz must have a higher multi. 26x wow lol. The past 4 years I thought I was running at 2.4 ghz instead of 1.8 ghz, that's my fault for always turning on my monitor after I turn on my tower and never noticed the bios

[bravotsx]

you can try to drop a CPU with a big multiplier to see what happens, as that's the only way i'd know how to get additional performance from that machine.

be warned however: the Pentium 4 with 400MHz FSB was an ABYSMAL performer. I went to college with a Pentium 4 1.4GHz with 400MHz FSB and later upgraded to a Pentium 4 2.0GHz with 400MHz FSB. Although the clock speed increased by +40%, my actual game performance only increased by like 10-15% using a Radeon 9600 Pro.

My subsequent upgrade to a A64 3200+ increased game performance by 200% using the same graphics card. my 3dmark03 score literally almost TRIPLED from low 1400's to shy of 4000.

honestly, any upgrades you make to that machine will be money wasted. like another member mentioned some time ago, it's like peeing in the ocean...

[Freestyle23]

Originally Posted by bravotsx

you can try to drop a CPU with a big multiplier to see what happens, as that's the only way i'd know how to get additional performance from that machine.

be warned however: the Pentium 4 with 400MHz FSB was an ABYSMAL performer. I went to college with a Pentium 4 1.4GHz with 400MHz FSB and later upgraded to a Pentium 4 2.0GHz with 400MHz FSB. Although the clock speed increased by +40%, my actual game performance only increased by like 10-15% using a Radeon 9600 Pro.

My subsequent upgrade to a A64 3200+ increased game performance by 200% using the same graphics card. my 3dmark03 score literally almost TRIPLED from low 1400's to shy of 4000.

honestly, any upgrades you make to that machine will be money wasted. like another member mentioned some time ago, it's like peeing in the ocean...

Thanks for the help, yeah I will get a new machine soon. I play games almost daily so I know my machine is ancient and can't play the new games that are out. I've been playing this game Battlefield 2 since 2005 that says its min requirement is 2.4 but with my "1.8" I can play it ok with the occassional big lag. I was only interested in getting it back to 2.4 since that's what the processor is but I guess I have to just deal with this machine a few more months until I have enough to build my own machine. Any suggestions on how to start on a new machine. First thing a good motherboard or how would you go about it if you would like to share.

[bravotsx]

ideally if we can define your budget people will be posting rig recommendations pretty quickly.

[Freestyle23]

Originally Posted by bravotsx

ideally if we can define your budget people will be posting rig recommendations pretty quickly.

Definately not more than $1k. Something that will let me continue to play brand new games that come out in the next couple of years at least without being maxed out on performance or requirement wise. I will happily pay up to $250 for just the video card alone. I already have the keyboard mouse, dvd drives etc so I guess $500 or less if I can do that for everything except the graphics card.

[bravotsx]

your budget is sufficient for a very respectable rig; in case you were wondering how your 6600gt stacks up, it's about the same as the 7300gt which is about the same as the 8500gt.

just look at how much faster a 4890 is compared to the 8500gt

[StrykerX]

Originally Posted by Th3_uN1Qu3

Yes, but as far as i know there were 2.6GHz processors on a 400MHz FSB (100MHz bus). The ones with the outrageous 26x multi.

You won't see much gain anyway, if you can, just upgrade the whole thing to a new machine.

I had one of those old P4s... it was either 2.2 or 2.4 GHz with a 400MHz FSB. I believe they actually made a 2.8 GHz version with a 28x multiplier though I think they were pretty rare. Those old P4 chipsets were absolutely horrible overclockers... even with a motherboard that supports overclocking you can only get the FSB up to 405 - 410 before it starts crashing. I'd suggest just waiting until you can upgrade the whole rig. You might be able to get away with dropping in a cheap P35 motherboard and Core 2 CPU since those old P4s actually used as much power as a modern dual core, but I suspect any modern GPU will need more juice than your old one and Dell power supplies don't generally have much headroom... they tend to give you one that can handle the rig as built and that's about it.

[Freestyle23]

Originally Posted by StrykerX

I had one of those old P4s... it was either 2.2 or 2.4 GHz with a 400MHz FSB. I believe they actually made a 2.8 GHz version with a 28x multiplier though I think they were pretty rare. Those old P4 chipsets were absolutely horrible overclockers... even with a motherboard that supports overclocking you can only get the FSB up to 405 - 410 before it starts crashing. I'd suggest just waiting until you can upgrade the whole rig. You might be able to get away with dropping in a cheap P35 motherboard and Core 2 CPU since those old P4s actually used as much power as a modern dual core, but I suspect any modern GPU will need more juice than your old one and Dell power supplies don't generally have much headroom... they tend to give you one that can handle the rig as built and that's about it.

I found a 2.6 ghz 400 fsb processor online last night just curiously checking for $40 plus shipping, but forget that it's not worth it I'll just build my own. And I have a more powerful power supply that I had to buy when the stock died back in 2004 or 2005 forgot when but about that time.

[bravotsx]

just remember the dell 4400's mobo only has agp 2x/4x and usb 1.1 ; not worth upgrading at all.

freestyle's already looking to get a new rig so i think maybe this particular thread is dead and done with.