Help! need Help! Comparison on Pentium 3

fearfox · Post by **fearfox** » Mon Jan 07, 2002 12:28 am

Okay this is what matter
i have this kind of stepping for my cpu
SL4MF/SL4C8 SL4C8 cC0

the seller has this stepping for his cpu
CCO stepping , marked SL4C8

here is link on specs of pentium 3

http://support.intel.com/support/proces ... ec/p3p.htm

plz help asap thx

fearfox · Post by **fearfox** » Mon Jan 07, 2002 12:30 am

will these work together

chottoED · Post by **chottoED** » Mon Jan 07, 2002 12:52 am

sounds like u have the same stepping

Judg3 · Post by **Judg3** » Mon Jan 07, 2002 6:33 am

Stepping looks the same, but even if it's not as long as it's close it will work. A stepping diffrence of 1-3 wont matter. You'll receive a pop message saying "The stepping of cpu0 is 0 the stepping of cpu1 is 3, this might cause a problem", but it almost never has. I know a lot of people will argue this fact, but the truth is it's just not as important as it used to be. It's more or less a "want" thing then a "need" thing.
I've been on the phone with Intel, Compaq, and Gateway about this, and all the engineers I've talked to have said the same thing.
From http://support.intel.com/support/processors/dp1.htm :

The DP Platform Matrix used in the Specification Update Guides can determine if steppings are compatible. In the example above, Pentium III processors running at 600 MHz with a 133 MHz bus and 256 KB cache have no issues between processors using the cB0 stepping and the cC0 stepping.
Even though Intel recommends using identical processor steppings in dual processor systems whenever possible (as this is the only configuration which receives Intel's full testing), Intel does support mixing processor steppings, and does not actively prevent various steppings of the Pentium III processor from working together in dual-processor systems. However, since Intel cannot test every possible combination of devices, each new stepping of a device is fully tested only against the latest steppings of other processors and chipset components. In addition, when partially populated systems are shipped, a customer returning for additional processors may have difficulty locating a processor with the same stepping. If this occurs, the customer may have to replace the original processor to obtain a system with two processors of the same stepping.

This is more of an FYI to the people out there. A lot of steppings are compatible with each other, but of course it is always preferred to get the same stepping.