Overclocking Computers with VIA C3
Overclocking Computers with VIA C3
VIA C3 saw the development of the VIA Cyrix III line. The bases of VIA C3 processors are cores such as Samuel2, Ezra, Ezra-T, and Nehemiah. Because of their 0.13-micrometer technology, the development of these processors is characterized by increased operating frequency, low heat emission, and reduced supply voltage. For example, the Ezra core's supply voltage is 1.35 V, lower than this parameter for Samuel2 (1.6 V). VIA C3 processors are characterized by low power consumption, which allows them to use coolers without fans.
VIA C3 processors have significant technological reserve that allows increases in performance through overclocking modes.
Computer with VIA C3 800 MHz
System Configuration
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Processor — VIA C3 800 MHz (128 KB L1 cache, 64 KB on-die L2 cache memory, processor core frequency operation, standard FSB frequency of 133 MHz, 1.35 V core supply, Socket 370, 0.13-micrometer technology)
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Motherboard — FIC FR33E (VIA Apollo PLE133T chipset)
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Hard disk — IBM 180GXP (120 GB, 2 MB cache memory, Ultra DMA/100)
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RAM — 256 MB, PC133, SDRAM
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Video adapter — Trident Blade3D
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CD-ROM drive — Asus CD-S400/A (40x)
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Power supply unit — 250 W
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Operating system — Windows 2000 Server, Service Pack 2
Testing the System
The tests from the WinBench 99 v2.0 package were used for testing and performance analysis.
Establishing Overclocking Modes
The overclocking modes were set using BIOS Setup. The processor-bus frequency was increased to 150 MHz. The frequency increase was 100 MHz.
Test results are presented in Tables 18.43 and 18.44 and in Figs. 18.97–18.99.
|
Frequency (MHz) |
800 = 133 × 6 |
840 = 140 × 6 |
900 = 150 × 6 |
|
CPUmark 99 rating |
45.1 |
47.5 |
51.2 |
|
FPU WinMark rating |
1,550 |
1,630 |
1,750 |
|
Disk access time |
9.46 |
9.48 |
9.44 |
|
Disk CPU utilization |
13.8 |
13.1 |
12.3 |
|
WinMark 99 high-end disk rating |
10,100 |
11,200 |
11,400 |
|
WinMark 99 business disk rating |
2,520 |
2,590 |
2,900 |
|
Frequency (MHz) |
800 = 133 × 6 |
840 = 140 × 6 |
900 = 150 × 6 |
|
AVS/Express 3.4 |
11,600 |
11,800 |
12,500 |
|
FrontPage 98 |
13,300 |
15,400 |
19,200 |
|
MicroStation SE |
9,340 |
10,900 |
10,600 |
|
Overall |
10,100 |
11,200 |
11,400 |
|
Photoshop 4.0 |
8,140 |
8,240 |
8,170 |
|
Premiere 4.2 |
9,830 |
12,800 |
9,720 |
|
Sound Forge 4.0 |
16,500 |
17,400 |
17,100 |
|
Visual C++ 5.0 |
7,060 |
7,850 |
9,660 |
Figure 18.97: VIA C3 800 MHz test results (CPUmark 99)
Figure 18.98: VIA C3 800 MHz test results (FPU WinMark)
Figure 18.99: VIA C3 800 MHz test results (WinMark 99 business disk)
