Enthusiasts have been pushing the limits of silicon for as long as microprocessors have existed. Early overclocking endeavors involved soldering and replacing crystal clock oscillators, but that practice quickly evolved into changing system bus speeds via motherboard DIP switches and jumpers. Internal clock multipliers were introduced but it didn't take long until those were locked down as unscrupulous sellers removed official frequency ratings and applied their own faster markings. System buses and dividers became key for most, while the ultra-enthusiast would physically change electrical specifications through hard modding. The present landscape harks back to the advent of internal clock multipliers. System bus speeds have become increasingly regulated to maintain system stability, which has once again leveled the playing field for the competitive nature of overclocking. These are but a few of the landmark processors revered for their overclocking prowess. Read on!
Intel Pentium III 500E Release date: October 25, 1999 Stock clock speed: 500MHz Overclocked: 667 - 775MHz (~50%) The Coppermine Pentium III 500E and 550E's overclockability lie in conservative binning, a low 100MHz Front Side Bus and the processor's integrated L2 cache. Budget pricing ($239) and the possibility of using older Slot 1 motherboards via Socket 370 to Slot 1 adapters enabled premium performance for a modest outlay. The 500E could easily be run at 667MHz by selecting the motherboard's 133MHz FSB BIOS option or by using tape or lacquer to isolate the Slocket's A14 pin, while 750MHz (150 FSB) and higher were possible on better boards, producing performance equivalent to the $850 Pentium III 800. However, there were some caveats to overclocking, including that motherboards needed to support AGP and PCI clock dividers (1:2 and 1:4 respectively) to maintain stability for attached components and fast PC133 RAM
