Plll 700 cB0 verus cCO, what is different?

[Gearbox]

I an assembling 1st computer for learning exercise. Using CUSL2 MB and Plll 700 cpu. I see the retail cpu that I just received from Gogglegear is an SL45Y packed 9/5/2000 and made in Malaysia. I beleive this translates to a cBO stepping. Wanted to know how much difference there would be between this and the newer cC0 stepping, and if it is worth effort to return unopened box and try to find a cC0 somewhere? Intention was to be able to overclock to 933Mhz.

Also had question on cooling fan for case. Ordered an In-win Q500 full tower with 300 watt PS from mwave. Currently the only fan is the one on the PS and I thought it would be good to add a second. Is best place for second fan on the front or the back of the case, and should it draw air in or push it out?

Have been spying Anandtech forms for a while and seems like there are many knowledgable people that hang out here. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[mikee]

cc0 stepping PIII 700s are much better overclockers. Mine runs at 1050mhz at default voltage. They all pretty much seem to hit 933mhz. There might be a dud here or there though. However, cb0 steppings are much more luck of the draw. Many do not make it up to 933mhz. The cb0 stepping I had didn't do 933. You can buy a cc0 stepping off Bonkers325 or compuwiz1 in the FS forums for pretty good prices. Not too much extra if you want the guaranteed 933+ mhz.

 

[Sunny129]

Yes there would most definitely be a performance difference between the cB0 abd the cC0. due to their revision over the cB0 the cC0s are said to be able to produce less heat than a cB0 at an equivalent clock speed, meaning that a cC0 can run faster than a cB0 b4 producing the same amount of heat as the cB0 at a lower clock speed. now i havent used any P3 700E cB0s b4, so i cant say that the cC0s are better, but i do have a P3 700e cC0 and it OCs to 1092 mHz, which i think most people would agree that is an insanely high clock even for a P3 700E, which is probably the Pentium OCer. i must say though, i have heard numerous stories about people OCing their 700E cB0s and being very successful. i believe it is overclockers.com that has an OCing chart, and the most common OC for the P3 700E is 933 mHz. and i guarantee you that most of those 700Es have the cB0 stepping, only b/c the cC0s are near impossible to get ahold of. now i would think that most people agree that the 700E is one of the best OCers out there, but most people also say that when t comes to OCing, its all about the luck of the CPU, so a 700E could OC to as high as 1 GHz, or it may only hit 833 mHz. though i definitely think your chances of a good OC are better with the cC0. your only problem is finding one. i would look for one b4 opening that box, but if you cant find one, the P3 700E cB0 is the next best OCer.

as far as the case fans go, i would start by putting one in the back to push hot air out. if you want, get two, one to suck cool air in through the front, and then one to blow the hot air out the back. but one thing is for sure, you need at least one chassis fan...your PS fan cools the PS and the PS only.

PS - last i heard COmpuwiz1 was out of cC0s (thats who i got mine from. great to do business with him, you wouldnt regret it), but it never hurts to ask and see when he'll get some more. i also can OC to 1050 mHz using default 1.7v Vcore. so now you have two first hand accounts that the cC0s are amazing OCers

 

[NOS440]

I believe that most of the Cc0 are OEM version at least thats what I was told.

 

[compuwiz1]

The Retail code is SL4M7, and they are non existant so far.

 

[Gearbox]

Thanks for the info on Plll 700 stepping, that helps a lot. I liked the idea of the 3 yr warranty w/retail package but will give some serious thought to picking up one of the OEM cCO stepping's instead. I also noticed that Intel addressed about 1/2 dozen "errata" with the new stepping. What effect do you think this has if any? I suppose that when people write drivers they account for these to be compatible with all cpu's.

Thanks for the info on cooling as well, basically it's "air in the front and out the back". I did see a number of recommendations for fans that were quieter and seem to do a good job in the CASE & COOLING Forum, and will definitely want to add at least one. I did design work on air-cool engine's some time ago and remember that getting the air to circulate to all the right places in the right proportions was the biggest challenge, at least bore distortion is not an issue with MB and cpu.

Thanks again for the help