Intel Celeron 533

Conclusion

As we mentioned a while ago, Intel’s current 0.25-micron process theoretically finds its limits at around 600MHz while upholding the yield percentages Intel is used to from their 0.25-micron CPUs.  At 533MHz, the Celeron line is quickly approaching that limit which makes it quite obvious that the Celeron 533 will most likely be the last Celeron to be produced on the 0.25-micron process.  If the market demands, a Celeron 566 can be produced but don’t expect to see any 0.25-micron Celerons running at clock speeds higher than that.  So with higher clock speed Celerons on the way, why would you even bother with the Celeron 533? 

With almost guaranteed operation at 600MHz using the 75MHz FSB setting, the Celeron 533 comes in at a much lower cost than a Pentium III 600 while offering similar performance in business/office applications.  Then again, if you’re willing to overclock, there are a number of vendors willing to sell you a Celeron 400 that will overclock to 600MHz with the 100MHz FSB frequency and will outperform a Celeron running at 600MHz using the 75MHz FSB frequency.  This continues to make the Celeron 533 a difficult purchase to justify.

The one crowd that the Celeron 533 would definitely be tailored to is the group of users that still have LX motherboards laying around and want to put them to good use.  If you remember, the LX chipset released in August of 1997 was the second Pentium II chipset to be released since the introduction of the CPU that summer.  The LX chipset was the first Intel chipset that boasted an AGP slot; unfortunately, it did not feature support for the 100MHz FSB (support for the 100MHz FSB was later introduced with the BX chipset in May of 1998). 

With no support for the 100MHz FSB, the 66MHz FSB Celeron CPU is ideal for old LX motherboards, all you’ll need is BIOS support for the CPU and you should be good to go on most LX boards.  Since most LX boards did support the 75MHz FSB, the Celeron 533 would be pretty much the only way to hit a clean 600MHz without using the 83MHz FSB setting on an LX board.  And with a street price of around $120 (expect that price to drop to below $100 shortly), a Celeron 533 running at 600MHz is a much more cost effective investment than a brand new motherboard (which will set you back around the cost of the CPU itself) and CPU. 

So while it is true that, for a BX board owner, the Celeron 533 isn’t the best choice by a long shot (picking up a Celeron 366 guaranteed to run at 550MHz using the 100MHz FSB is a much more intelligent and cost effective option, not to mention a faster one), Intel’s decision to stick with the 66MHz FSB for the Celeron for at least one more round spells relief to those owners of LX motherboards that don’t really want to push for the full upgrade just yet.  Grab a Socket-370 to Slot-1 adapter, a Celeron 533, and crank your board up to the 75MHz FSB and you should be good to go.  Just be sure that you have BIOS support for the newer Celeron CPUs. 

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for owners of the old motherboards based on the i440FX chipset, the first Pentium II chipset.  Support has almost completely died for these motherboards that used to retail for well over $200, which also translates into virtually no support for the Celeron.  This is a shame because the Celeron would make the perfect upgrade for an FX board from an original Pentium II 233, 266 or 300, but it seems like the only upgrade option for a FX board owner is to pick up a rare Pentium II 333 or ditch the board in favor of something a little more up to date.  Don’t you just love the way the market works?