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would it be "cheating"?

J

JDT

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Feb 17, 2007
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To put a PODP5V (Pentium Overdrive 80mhz) chip in to my 486 rig...
I want an ultimate 486... and so far I think I'm doing pretty good. I have this OD CPU, it works, I had it installed for a little bit but then got to thinking... is it really still a 486 box anymore at that point? And I put the DX4-100 back in.
 
Cheating? Nah, the technology was out and lots of folks did it. I do however think it's a 586 after that though not a 486 if that's the cheating your thinking about. I never read up enough on all the different clock speeds but I do recall in a lot of tests (and it's absolutely possible we had it misconfigured or had a limit on our bus speed) but the dx4 I had outperformed the pentium overdrive quite shockingly. Now my friends and I were just starting to tinker with hardware professionally so we may not have known quite enough but I do recall us setting the jumpers on the system for the new processor.
 
It's your decision, really. The PODP had a Pentium core on a 486 bus, so, no, it wasn't really a 486. On the other hand, it was an available upgrade during the 486 era, some people bought them in order to extend the useful life of their 486s, and it's not super-common.

I don't fault your logic, but I also wouldn't fault you if you put the chip in. It was an expensive chip at the time, and it had a reputation for having compatibility issues, though the experience of people here on this site suggests that the chip's reputation for issues was probably overblown. I knew a lot of people who had 486s, and I only ever knew one person who bought and used one. And I think one of the big reasons he got it was because I was able to use my employee discount to get it for him below retail. A system with a PODP in it is harder to find than a system with a DX4-100 in it.
 
Yeah, I have no idea how or where we were getting our chips from. I think folks were trading in their systems for upgrades and/or if the company couldn't fix them the customer would just say "keep it" and they'd try to sell the customer a new PC (it was a shady company a friend worked for who would try to get the customer to buy a new PC rather than fix it, then they'd sell the used parts (as used parts at least)). Anyway, that said I recall we had a large selection of processors for free and equipment that the company didn't care about and would give us, or they'd buy out another company and we'd help haul the equipment in our trucks with the agreement that we could snag a few pieces for our own fun (got servers and other toys that way).

Anyway, that was the only reason we had the PODP was because it was free and we'd upgrade our CPUs once and a while when something better showed up or if one of us upgraded the friend network could have the old chip.
 
My opinion? It's "cheating" :) I kept my DX4-100 in my system for just that reason. My goal was to have the "ultimate" 486 that I wanted back in the day, not the pentium-in-a-486 that the podp offered, and ultimately, what I already have in a real system.
 
If games are your goal, I've found the 486DX4-100 to be faster than the POD 83MHz - unless you are talking about Quake or later 3d games, which greatly benefit from the pentium's stronger FPU. However, I posit that a 486 is not the best platform for those kind of games anyway :)

If you want the ultimate 486, an Am5x86-133 is pretty much just a 486DX4 at 133MHz with a funny name. That will be a better choice for the ultimate 486 than the Pentium Overdrive.
 
I'm of the opinion that it's better to pick the software you want to run and get the right system to run it, instead of trying to shoehorn software onto a system that wasn't designed to run it. If you want to run games that run better on a Pentium, I'd replace (or supplement) the 486 w/ a Pentium system. (But I also recognize that that's easy for me to say, because I've got 3 or 4 Pentium motherboards sitting around in my 'spare parts' bin.)
 
Abbub said:
I'm of the opinion that it's better to pick the software you want to run and get the right system to run it, instead of trying to shoehorn software onto a system that wasn't designed to run it. If you want to run games that run better on a Pentium, I'd replace (or supplement) the 486 w/ a Pentium system. (But I also recognize that that's easy for me to say, because I've got 3 or 4 Pentium motherboards sitting around in my 'spare parts' bin.)
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I've got 'em all and the Am5x86-133 is the best performer of the batch. My 133 is OC'd to 150 mHz. BTW, I wouldn't lay awake at night worryong about whether or not I was 'cheating' on a cpu selection. As far as I'm concerned, if you can strap it on to your mobo its a go. I don't think anyone's ever been busted for hotrodding a 486.
 
I have a few Am5x86 133 chips, Z & W. but my board doesnt support the voltages, 5v only.
 
barythrin said:
Cheating? Nah, the technology was out and lots of folks did it. I do however think it's a 586 after that though not a 486 if that's the cheating your thinking about. . . .
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That just about sums it up. AFAIK the chips were sold as "Intel 486 Overdrive Processors". Yes yours is basically a P54 - Pentium so not technically a "486", but I think that if you called it a "486 Overdrive" you would be correct.

BTW, you call it an 80mhz. Did you not mean 83?
 
^ this is probably splitting hairs, but I've always seen them referred to as 'Pentium Overdrive for 486 Processor'. Remember there was 486 Overdrives available as well (eg the 486DX4 Overdrive with 5V regulator).


I have a few Am5x86 133 chips, Z & W. but my board doesnt support the voltages, 5v only.
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well... you could just wing it and hope it doesn't melt... I've been running a 3.3V DX4-100 in a 5V only board for a couple of months now and it hasn't had any issues, but who knows how long it will last.
Generally for a 5V only board I think you'd be better off getting one of the 5V DX4 Overdrives, as its practically the fastest CPU officially supported by the motherboard.
 
There are plenty of Evergreen 486/133 chips out there for 5V machines if you want to find one.
 
What would your opinion be of an XT class machine with a Tiny Orchid board installed? Those are considered quite collectible.

I think it's OK to have a 486 with an Overdrive processor. Many of those boards had 2 CPU sockets on them. One of the sockets solely for an Overdrive upgrade. It's not the same as pulling out the motherboard and replacing it with an entirely different system.
 
There are plenty of Evergreen 486/133 chips out there for 5V machines if you want to find one.
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I've never been able to find one... had a post in the wanted-to-buy section of this site and never got any replies, and they never seem to come up on ebay. Whereas the 5V DX4 overdrives seem much easier to come by (I've got a few of them already).
 
The evergreens are perfect for testing oddball 486 motherboards I get since they will run in anything no matter the settings (to see if the board posts). There are a few types out there some with fans and somewithout.
 
Unknown_K said:
The evergreens are perfect for testing oddball 486 motherboards I get since they will run in anything no matter the settings (to see if the board posts)...
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Except for an IBM oddball that checks CPUIDs: The Type 4 'N' (meaning a 486DX2-66) complex for the Model 90 and 95s. Try a 486 that doesn't have a CPUID it likes, and it doesn't do anything.
 
DonutKing said:
If you want the ultimate 486, an Am5x86-133 is pretty much just a 486DX4 at 133MHz with a funny name.
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That was the processor of choice for all my friends who still owned 486 machines back in the mid 1990s. We played Red Alert and Duke Nukem 3D over LAN and all the 486s that were capable were upgraded with this processor and a lot of extra RAM (and sometimes a faster PCI video card). It really made all the difference. Very cost effective.
 
I don't recall how many things we tested to see the performance or if it was an actual benchmark test (may have been with 3d studio dos version now that I think about it). Terminal Velocity is a great game if you get to play it (the demo even is worth playing). It was the first game I think I really saw a benefit from a Pentium vs 486 but a fast 486 chip is still a great system. Actually I guess Descent also was a good 486 candidate (get some 3d flicker shades and check that one out).
 
It's not cheating. Many chips that are late for one socket have things implemented that newer CPU generations incorporate in a newer socket.
Is a P4HT cheating because i7 uses HT?
Is upgrading a Slot 1 P2 to a Slot 1 P3 cheating because the P3 supports SSE?
If POD83 is cheating because it's basically a scaled down 586 made to fit in a Socket 3, wouldn't then the Cyrix 5x86 be cheating as well because it itself is based on a scaled down M1 core?
Heck, there were even a couple boards made with both 486 and 586 socket! ...cheating? I think not ;)
 
Tetrium2 said:
It's not cheating. Many chips that are late for one socket have things implemented that newer CPU generations incorporate in a newer socket.
Is a P4HT cheating because i7 uses HT?
Is upgrading a Slot 1 P2 to a Slot 1 P3 cheating because the P3 supports SSE?
If POD83 is cheating because it's basically a scaled down 586 made to fit in a Socket 3, wouldn't then the Cyrix 5x86 be cheating as well because it itself is based on a scaled down M1 core?
Heck, there were even a couple boards made with both 486 and 586 socket! ...cheating? I think not ;)
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Of course, nothing is "cheating". :) However I think it is about whether you call this a 486 or not. Would you call a Pentium Overdrive 80mhz a 486?
 
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