My E7300.....

I mentioned here a while back that I was going to upgrade my E4500
[65nm/2.40GHz/2MB] @ 3.32GHz/1.375V for an E7300 [45nm/2.66GHz/3MB] and that
I was hoping to get 4GHz out of it.

Sadly I was aiming a bit high. After much non-POSTing, not loading Windows,
BSODs and Prime fails I found that it topped out at 3.6GHz but that it
needed 1.400V set in BIOS [CPU-Z reading 1.380V] to be Prime-stable at that
speed. I ran it like that for a week or so but decided that I'd see what I
could get with a lower vcore. I can't afford to fry a CPU and these new
hafnium gate processors are supposed to be sensitive to vcore around 1.4V
and higher over a relatively short time.

Long story short, I'm running at 333 FSB now instead of default 266, multi
locked to 10 x and vcore on default. Temps are very low (they always have
been, not sure that core temp or core temp plugin for MBM5 is reading this
45nm CPU right). vcore in Windows seems to sit around the mid 1.2V range.

So, for my 'upgrade' I've got about the same speed as I had with the E4500
only at lower voltage, lower temps, an extra MB of L2 and a slightly more
efficient processor. (OCed E4500 gave me 3180/7128 Whetstone/Dhrystone
whereas the E7300 at about the same speed is giving me 3469/7179.) I'm
thinking that it's probably a bit cheaper to run too.

Not the big boost I was hoping for really. I've advertised it on the NZ
version of ebay at a $20 loss and, if it sells, I'll think about an E8400.
Maybe. If I sold the E7300 and squeezed my budget I could possibly get a
Q6600 but as my PC is running 24/7, that would cost me quite a bit more in
electricity costs. Also I think it would push the limits of my Tt
MiniTyphoon. Q9300s, while a lot more efficient, are still quite expensive
here.

Maybe I'll just stick with the E7300 @ 3.33GHz and default vcore. It's not
*that* bad a result I guess, 120% OC with no vcore boost. However, as a
dyed-in-the-wool OCer I feel a little unfulfilled. I think maybe the E4500
spoiled me. I do like a 150%+ OC.

I've taken note of those new E1200 / E1400 Celerons, 1.6GHz / 2GHz, 65nm
dual core CPUs for under NZ$100. Shame the L2 is so low. 512 KB. Then again,
I've heard of 200% OCs with the E1200 and it's said that the result is due
in part to the smaller L2 making them more OCable.

Cheers,
--
Shaun.

[Other stuff]
Asus P5K-E/WiFi-AP, BIOS ver. 1013
AcBel R8 700W PSU
2 x 1GB Transcend DDR2-800
Thermaltake MiniTyphoon.
Leadtek 7800GT.
2 x Seagate 500GB 7200.11 SATA II HDDs
2 x Seagate 320GB 7200.10 SATA II HDDs
Pioneer DVR-212 SATA DVD-RW
Windows XP Pro SP3.