sarniscool
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Difference Pentium II 350 vs 400
I brought a Barebone system awhile ago and I finally got the system today. I ordered a Pentium II 400, but when I received my system, and after studying it carefully I notice that the jumper settings on the motherboard were set for a Pentium 350. I have a Pentium II installed in the slot but I can not tell what mhz it runs at. I'm not sure if I got ripped off or not. How can I tell what mhz it is just by looking at it. Do I have to remove the heatsink and fan? because I don't want too ;)
As we buy things that are electronic, a no return policy is normally in place. I would recommend that you contact the vendor and say "What is the deal" This will cover you in any ventures you take, like stated above (which is correct I might add)
Glenn
Glenn
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ASKER
its a barebone system and all i have is the case, cpu, motherboard, video card, and a fan is it safe for me to turn it on now?
yes the worst thing that will happen is the error for no hard disk, floppy etc.... which is all well after the first screen we need to see. The first thing you will see is the bios version, chipset, memory test & CPU speed.
You may have to put ram in it or it might not boot up.
You may have to put ram in it or it might not boot up.
You don't have to take the CPU out to check what speed it is. I'm assuming this is an intel chip (correct me if I'm wrong) if you ordered a chip that's supposed to be 400Mhz and the jumpers on the board are set to 350Mhz, there will be nothing that could damage the chip. Overclocking it as MnNCOMM suggested is not really good for anything because I have a P2-333Mhz running as a P2-400Mhz, and you can set the jumpers to everything between the two and still come up fine.
There is a utility that was made specifically to adress your problems for intel chips at the following
http://support.intel.com/support/processors/tools/frequencyid/index.htm
There is a utility that was made specifically to adress your problems for intel chips at the following
http://support.intel.com/support/processors/tools/frequencyid/index.htm
Intel puts a "lock" on most of their cpu's to prevent overclocking. Thus, no matter what you set the clock multiplier at, nothing will change. To test this, change the jumper settings and during boot hit the F2 key to enter the BIOS. The cpu will always read 400MHz.
The only way to change the speed is if you have jumpers on the motherboard for the FSB. If you have these, they should be set at 100MHz. Try setting them at 66MHz and reboot and check the BIOS. The speed will read around the 250MHz range.
The only way to change the speed is if you have jumpers on the motherboard for the FSB. If you have these, they should be set at 100MHz. Try setting them at 66MHz and reboot and check the BIOS. The speed will read around the 250MHz range.
Khas,
This has allready been said in above comments. We post COMMENTS instead of answers so we can have more input for a question. Kindly change your answer to a COMMENT as THAT is what we do here, as well as the fact that this has allready been mentioned prior to your entry.
This has allready been said in above comments. We post COMMENTS instead of answers so we can have more input for a question. Kindly change your answer to a COMMENT as THAT is what we do here, as well as the fact that this has allready been mentioned prior to your entry.
Khaos changed the proposed answer to a comment
Sorry,
Didn't know the protocol.
However, I do not see anything about anyone saying anything about Intel's lock on their cpu's.
I will, however, only comment from now on. Thanks for the heads up.
Didn't know the protocol.
However, I do not see anything about anyone saying anything about Intel's lock on their cpu's.
I will, however, only comment from now on. Thanks for the heads up.
<<then I would say set the switches for 400 and see if it says 400Mhz>>
If you set the jumpers for 400, it will say 400. I have a Celeron300A which says 504MHz at boot thanks to overclocking.
<<Usually it will tell you what it has detected as a CPU and what MHz it is running at>>
Depending on what the jumpers are set at. Also, many OEM's have been caught selling, for example a 300MHz proc overclocked to 400MHz which costs them much less and makes them more profit.
<Intel puts a "lock" on most of their cpu's to prevent overclocking>>
This is not true at all.
"Multiplier limiting (only affects P2-350/400 processors made before mid-August '98) uses a signal from the motherboard to detect the bus speed and then places an upper limit on the multiplier based on the bus clock speed. For example, with the bus set to 66 MHz, the processor can be set to a higher multiplier than it can when the bus clock is set to 100 MHz. In effect, this limits the CPU to a maximum internal speed while allowing lower speeds. With a 66 MHz bus, a "multiplier limited" P2 would accept higher multipliers than at 100 MHz. "
"Intel says it uses multiplier locking and multiplier limiting to prevent unscrupulous retailers from re-marking processors to higher speeds.
Bus locking is a myth, at least at the present time. If it was implemented, it would prevent a processor from being used at a higher bus speed than it was designed for. For example, since all Celerons are meant to use a 66 MHz bus clock, bus locking would prevent the CPU from running at any other bus speed. Since bus speed is set on the motherboard, Intel would need to design and incorporate special circuitry in the CPU to detect the bus speed and compare it to the "proper" clock rate. "
The only thing that makes sense for you is hewittg's comment. If the seller promised you a 400 and what you got shows 350, it's not what you purchased. Might be as simple as they set the jumpers wrong but I doubt it and testing this could void your warranty with them or the components' manufacturers. Contact the OEM and ask them what they would like you to do. Though the difference in performance is not huge between a 350 and 400, you should get what you expected from them and anything less is misrepresentation.
If you set the jumpers for 400, it will say 400. I have a Celeron300A which says 504MHz at boot thanks to overclocking.
<<Usually it will tell you what it has detected as a CPU and what MHz it is running at>>
Depending on what the jumpers are set at. Also, many OEM's have been caught selling, for example a 300MHz proc overclocked to 400MHz which costs them much less and makes them more profit.
<Intel puts a "lock" on most of their cpu's to prevent overclocking>>
This is not true at all.
"Multiplier limiting (only affects P2-350/400 processors made before mid-August '98) uses a signal from the motherboard to detect the bus speed and then places an upper limit on the multiplier based on the bus clock speed. For example, with the bus set to 66 MHz, the processor can be set to a higher multiplier than it can when the bus clock is set to 100 MHz. In effect, this limits the CPU to a maximum internal speed while allowing lower speeds. With a 66 MHz bus, a "multiplier limited" P2 would accept higher multipliers than at 100 MHz. "
"Intel says it uses multiplier locking and multiplier limiting to prevent unscrupulous retailers from re-marking processors to higher speeds.
Bus locking is a myth, at least at the present time. If it was implemented, it would prevent a processor from being used at a higher bus speed than it was designed for. For example, since all Celerons are meant to use a 66 MHz bus clock, bus locking would prevent the CPU from running at any other bus speed. Since bus speed is set on the motherboard, Intel would need to design and incorporate special circuitry in the CPU to detect the bus speed and compare it to the "proper" clock rate. "
The only thing that makes sense for you is hewittg's comment. If the seller promised you a 400 and what you got shows 350, it's not what you purchased. Might be as simple as they set the jumpers wrong but I doubt it and testing this could void your warranty with them or the components' manufacturers. Contact the OEM and ask them what they would like you to do. Though the difference in performance is not huge between a 350 and 400, you should get what you expected from them and anything less is misrepresentation.
ASKER
Thanks for all your help. To kannabis, I tried the program but it said that my CPU was not supported by the Intel Processor Frequency ID Utility program. I don't know why, since it is a Pentium II. The answer to this problem could have been solved by turning on the computer, but I wasn't sure if it would be safe to do so. When I did turn on the computer it said 400mhz. So I assume that the manufacturers knew more about the motherboard then the guy who was writing the manual for the motherboard. And since micro66 mentions that I decided to give him the points.
Someday I would like to be hired just to translate motherboard manuals correctly. You would think it wouldn't be hard to run a good QA program on them.
Glad we could help.
Glad we could help.
Gee, Looking at the first screen that comes up with the CPU speed
Hmmmmm I heard that from somewhere before, Where could that be...... Guess I just missed out on the points once again....
Ohhh Well....
Hmmmmm I heard that from somewhere before, Where could that be...... Guess I just missed out on the points once again....
Ohhh Well....
If it still remains at 350 or says something different other then 400, then you don't have a 400.