Well, there is no longer any doubt that the Slot One Celeron 300A is out of production. It is. Besides Intel's Product Change notification that I shared with you last week, we find that this version of the processor is not even included on the list of price cuts announced for February 7th.

The original retail version, sSPEC SL32A, has become scarcer than a sober head at a Dentists convention. Of course, Intel is now packaging the former OEM version, SL2WM for retail sale to fill the void. More on that later...

I have never seen the supply of a discontinued CPU dry up so fast! Usually, when a processor is canceled, we can count on 6 months supply or so. Not so in this case. The SL32A's disappeared in a matter of 2 weeks. It is a feeding frenzy! There are still pockets of chips available, but supply is very spotty and quantities are very small.

It has become so difficult to acquire the retails, and the later weeks of the OEM's are not commercially viable, (at least for me), as an overclock product, so I stopped taking orders for the combo deal on the 25th. This also means that this will be my last regular Celery Report. Maybe, if Anand permits, I can file periodic reports on other topics. Sort of like an "Editor at Large".

Recently many reports began to surface of buyers who picked up a boxed processor only to find that it had the sSPEC code SL2WM. This code was, from the very beginning, the OEM version of the CPU. The original retail, as we know, was SL32A. The first thought among many, myself included, was that unscrupulous dealers were repackaging the OEM in order to grab the higher profit margin afforded the retail versions.

Well, as it turns out, it is Intel doing it. Within the last week, the listing on their web site for this chip has changed from "OEM" to "Boxed". To further add to the confusion, they actually began doing this a while back without informing most in the supply channel. I believe that this was done in order to fill the void left by diminishing supplies of "true" retails and to move out existing inventory as quickly as possible. After all, what better way to generate sales than to put the chips in that blue and white box?

This change was first brought to my attention by an astute correspondent who had purchased one of these processors. After a little research, he discovered what had happened and passed this info along to me (thanks RJ!). I then transmitted the information to many of the technical sites on the web, and it has now been widely disseminated. Even The Register has made mention of it.

This dissertation is my opinion, and I have an opposing point of view I'll be presenting shortly. I believe that these new "boxed" processors will not achieve nearly the overclockability of the previous SL32A's. I've tested a total of 242 of the SL32A's and have had one single processor that would not overclock to 450Mhz.

While the SL2WM has also been a good overclocker, coming in at close to 90% in earlier weeks, it has always had a higher percentage that needed a goose in voltage, and the later weeks have dropped to about 75% success. It's logical to assume that those now being boxed for sale are from the later weeks. With production of the 366 and 400 in full swing, and these CPU's being cut from the same wafers, it only makes sense that the quality of the 300A core can do nothing but deteriorate, the later the chip was manufactured.

Now, on the other hand, I heard from the folks at Mushkin and, according to them, they have been selling the boxed SL2WM version of the processor for "several months with an overclocking failure rate that is close to zero (according to our customers)." Mushkin is a very experienced group and one of the best vendors on the web, so I am certainly not going to doubt their word on this, but...

It is highly possible that these were earlier weeks, prior to 46 when these seemed to turn, and that this is why the success rate has remained high. Personally, I hope that they are later weeks, and that they remain highly successful to the very end, but we shall see.

One final note before we move on. If your buying a CPU or motherboard/CPU combination from one of the vendors offering a 450Mhz guarantee, none of this really matters. The information in this, and previous reports, really only comes in to play if you're out hunting Celery on your own.

Now, a little about the Celery cooking process. Those of you have read previous Celery reports can feel free to skip this section, but I include it for complete and utter disclosure's sake.;-)

I test each CPU under initial identical conditions prior to "burning in" my combos. I do an initial test run using the same Abit BH6, same RAM (single stick 64MB Micron, CAS3) and the same video card, a Trident 975, 4MB AGP. For those who are interested, this is a very fast 2D card that consistently scores better than 5 in Final Reality. Not very good in 3D, but for a business system, it’s a screaming bargain. I use an old 270MB Quantum hard drive (actually have 3 set up identically, so I can burn multiple combos at once). I use an old hard drive because I assume that these setups will be going in to a variety of situations with a variety of drives and that if it’ll work with this clunker, it’ll probably work anywhere.

I run a quick test at 450 using Business Winstone 97. Why such an old version, you might ask? Because I’m not testing for performance, only stability. This works perfectly for that purpose. If it fails, I bump the core voltage up a notch until it passes. If the CPU won’t do 450 or requires more than 2.2v core, I set it aside for later evaluation. After passing the first test on my evaluation board, I move the chip to the motherboard with which it will be mated.

I put each one through 6 full rounds of Winstone and 2 hours of Final Reality. By using these two tests, I’m covering both the 2D business users and the 3D gamers. As an aside, for those who haven’t used it, Final Reality is not only a great test, it is visually stunning. One glitch at current voltage, and it’s bumped up a notch, until it’s completely stable. Because I believe that stability means having a little breathing room, I don’t sell a chip at 450 if it requires more than 2.2v core to stabilize.

I'm happy to report some good news this week. The BH6's I got in didn't seem to be nearly as twitchy as in past weeks. They weren't as picky about RAM and seemed much more stable as a group. One other thing I'd like to note. The overclockability of a particular CPU depends on several factors, including the RAM and the motherboard. Since I have the luxury of trying multiple boards, and multiple memory modules during testing, my results are naturally more favorable than what might be achieved, on average, in the field.

I tested a total of 88 processors this week. Of these, 70 were retail Malay, SL32A (the original retail), and 18 were OEM Costa, SL2WM. As has always been the case, the SL32A's were much more successful than the SL2WM's.

The first group consisted of 40 retail, label code 98450027, Clover symbol, PCB week 9836. These were retail "tray" version. All of these chips had no trouble with 450Mhz, with only 2 requiring an increase in core voltage, and then only to 2.1v.

Next we have 20 processors from label code 98450028, Clover symbol, PCB week 9836. Again, these were the retail tray chips. Of these, all cranked out 450, with one requiring a goose in the core to 2.2v.

Finally, from the retail group, we have 10 of the "boxed" version. These were label code 98480238, Clover symbol, PCB week 9841 and are added in to the table with a batch from previous testing. Again, we have 100% doing 450, with only 2 requiring a bump in the core to 2.1v.

Of the OEM's I tested we have 3 from label code 08471240, Clover symbol, PCB week 43. All three of these overclocked to 450, all three at 2.1v. The other 15 SL2WM's were label code 08471498, Clover symbol, PCB week 9842. This was not a good group. None of these would do 450 at default of 2v. Four required 2.1v, four 2.2v, four 2.3v and three flat-out refused to run at 450Mhz.

To-date, I've now tested a total of 382 300A's. Not all of these are included in the table because, prior to writing these reports, I didn't track the information at this level of detail. Of these, 140 were OEM, SL2WM. These processors have overclocked successfully to 450Mhz at about 86%, with a majority requiring an increase in core voltage.

I've tested 242 retail SL32A, Malay CPUs. Of these, only one chip refused to dance at 450Mhz, and the overwhelming majority required no increase in core voltage. I've concluded that the retail Malay SL32A CPU is definitely superior to the OEM Costa SL2WM. What do you think?:-)

And now, for your Celery shopping pleasure, the table:

NOTE: Label codes beginning with "98" are Malay ,
codes beginning with "08" are Costa Rica.

Before I sign off, I'd like to express my gratitude to our gracious host, Anand, as well as the many of you who provided valuable info and insights the last few weeks! This has been a blast!

Well, happy hunting!

Russ Stringham, Owner
CompuCheap