The Celery Report: Issue #5

I'm happy to report some good news this week. The BH6's I got in didn't seem to be nearly as twitchy as in past weeks. They weren't as picky about RAM and seemed much more stable as a group. One other thing I'd like to note. The overclockability of a particular CPU depends on several factors, including the RAM and the motherboard. Since I have the luxury of trying multiple boards, and multiple memory modules during testing, my results are naturally more favorable than what might be achieved, on average, in the field.

I tested a total of 88 processors this week. Of these, 70 were retail Malay, SL32A (the original retail), and 18 were OEM Costa, SL2WM. As has always been the case, the SL32A's were much more successful than the SL2WM's.

The first group consisted of 40 retail, label code 98450027, Clover symbol, PCB week 9836. These were retail "tray" version. All of these chips had no trouble with 450Mhz, with only 2 requiring an increase in core voltage, and then only to 2.1v.

Next we have 20 processors from label code 98450028, Clover symbol, PCB week 9836. Again, these were the retail tray chips. Of these, all cranked out 450, with one requiring a goose in the core to 2.2v.

Finally, from the retail group, we have 10 of the "boxed" version. These were label code 98480238, Clover symbol, PCB week 9841 and are added in to the table with a batch from previous testing. Again, we have 100% doing 450, with only 2 requiring a bump in the core to 2.1v.

Of the OEM's I tested we have 3 from label code 08471240, Clover symbol, PCB week 43. All three of these overclocked to 450, all three at 2.1v. The other 15 SL2WM's were label code 08471498, Clover symbol, PCB week 9842. This was not a good group. None of these would do 450 at default of 2v. Four required 2.1v, four 2.2v, four 2.3v and three flat-out refused to run at 450Mhz.

To-date, I've now tested a total of 382 300A's. Not all of these are included in the table because, prior to writing these reports, I didn't track the information at this level of detail. Of these, 140 were OEM, SL2WM. These processors have overclocked successfully to 450Mhz at about 86%, with a majority requiring an increase in core voltage.

I've tested 242 retail SL32A, Malay CPUs. Of these, only one chip refused to dance at 450Mhz, and the overwhelming majority required no increase in core voltage. I've concluded that the retail Malay SL32A CPU is definitely superior to the OEM Costa SL2WM. What do you think?:-)

And now, for your Celery shopping pleasure, the table:

NOTE: Label codes beginning with "98" are Malay ,
codes beginning with "08" are Costa Rica.

Before I sign off, I'd like to express my gratitude to our gracious host, Anand, as well as the many of you who provided valuable info and insights the last few weeks! This has been a blast!

Well, happy hunting!

Russ Stringham, Owner
CompuCheap