Overclocking the FC-PGA Coppermine: Part 1

Conclusion

For the money, you can't beat these two chips. On a BX board with a Socket-370 to Slot-1 adapter, you receive the equivalent of a Pentium III 700 (Coppermine) at about half the cost. This makes for the perfect upgrade if you are looking to make the move to a Coppermine and don't mind overclocking.

In this article, we have only showed you half the story, the performance benefit you get from upgrading your standard BX board + TNT2 Ultra setup using a FC-PGA 500E/550E and a Socket-370 to Slot-1 adapter. In Part 2 of this article, we'll show you the other side of the coin as we put together a very cost effective 733MHz Pentium III bundle out of a FC-PGA 550E and a new motherboard for well under the cost of a new 733MHz CPU; we'll also be experimenting with how far the 133MHz+ FSB settings allow you to truly push the 500E and 550E with the aid of a Peltier cooler. All of that and more will be explored in Part 2 of Overclocking the FC-PGA Coppermine which will debut later this week.

Until then, begin scouting out for the best places to buy an FC-PGA Coppermine and a Socket-370 to Slot-1 adapter, these things are going to be going pretty fast once users start overclocking them.