Celeron D 347 vs D 420

[Roman2K]

I'm building a (kind of) cheap hackintosh (Leopard) equipped with the following components:

• Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-G33M-S2 (supports DDR2-800)
  
• Memory: 2GB of DDR2-800
  
• Processor: Intel Celeron D 347 (3.06 GHz, FSB 533)
  

The problem is that I picked the components in a hurry, so with quick research prior to taking decisions, and picked a D 347 as a processor. At the time of checkout, I was confident with the selection so I didn't bother double checking the items. But a few minutes ago I stumbled upon the D 420 which is not only 2€ cheaper but also supports SSSE3 and most importantly, has an FSB of 800 MHz. I suddenly felt embarassed with my choice because I think I really should have chosen the D 420 over the D 347 since it would have matched exactly the FSB of the memory, which, as far as I know, would have led to better performance.

 

The computer will be my father's and aim at desktop use like browsing the Internet, reading e-mails... and also relatively small games like Luxor 3 and Zuma. Not an intensive use but still, he wants it to be responsive and rock-stable (switched on for days without a windows-like BSoD nor spontaneous reboots).

 

Did I make that a big mistake? What will the consequences be in terms of OS X hardware compatibility, responsiveness, number of parallel applications, power consumption?

 

Note: I can't return the processor and exchange it for a D 420 since my father opened the box to take a look at the heatsink and fan . Plus, it's been bought via Internet and an exchange would imply additional shipping fees...

 

Thanks.

 

Update (12/7/2007): Apparently, the GA-G33M-S2 does not support the Celeron D 347! Confirmation of that statement is to come up in about a week from now.

[BOL_fan]

It should be fine, unless you want to use PC-EFI. In that case, SSSE3 is essential.

 

Don't sweat about the FSB though; it doesn't make a huge difference and you can always overclock it if you want.

 

Where did you buy this from? Most places will take returns if the box is open, but some of them charge a restocking fee. FYI - the "don't break the seal" thing only applies to CDs, and DVDs, and software.

 

Bottom line: If you just want to run Leopard, the 347 will be fine. If you must have PC-EFI, then the return will cost you a little money but it's certainly possible.

[Roman2K]

@BOL_fan

It should be fine, unless you want to use PC-EFI. In that case, SSSE3 is essential.

I was indeed planning on using PC-EFI and wasn't aware of the SSSE3 requirement... I guess I will have to fall back on a modified Leopard installation .

 

Don't sweat about the FSB though; it doesn't make a huge difference and you can always overclock it if you want.

Alright, that's a relief!

 

Where did you buy this from? Most places will take returns if the box is open, but some of them charge a restocking fee. FYI - the "don't break the seal" thing only applies to CDs, and DVDs, and software.

I bought it from LDLC and you are right, they do exchange products even if the box has been opened (just called them for confirmation). Unfortunately, they don't allow on-site exchange, so the parcel would have to be mailed back to their basement and the new CPU mailed too. Shipping fees being my treat, of course: about 10€ for the roundtrip plus the wait... I don't find it worth it.

 

Bottom line: If you just want to run Leopard, the 347 will be fine. If you must have PC-EFI, then the return will cost you a little money but it's certainly possible.

Yes I just want to run Leopard. My father might need Windows XP too, but it can be run from within Leopard in a virtual machine so no dual boot needed. The downside is, I won't be able to genuine OS X updates, right?

 

And thanks for the fast and thorough answer! Other opinions are welcome though .

[Schwinn555]

I also put together a hacIntosh on the cheap. I've got the Celeron D 352 . It's the same series as yours only difference is it a bit faster @ 3.2 GHz. Not a lot of difference. Your info is wrong these cpu's do include SSSE3 (is it 2 or 3 S's?)so not to worry! The D420 series wasn't available when I bought mine last Jan. The D420 is a Core CPU so will be faster and let you use the PC -EFI. Which might make Mac OS upgrades a bit easier but not such a big deal. the 10.5.1 upgrade was way easy for me. I downloaded from Apple. Then use the app Pacifist to install it. I needed to set it to not replace the kernel and 1 kext and away it went a reboot and all was fine! I needed to keep the hac kernel and one kext which is needed for my Intel 950 graphics. More info on OS upgrades are on this forum . So bottom line you've got a nice cpu which will work great with Mac OSX but the other one would be faster but the one you have is no slug.

[Roman2K]

@Schwinn555

Your info is wrong these cpu's do include SSSE3 (is it 2 or 3 S's?)so not to worry!

It supports SSE3 but not SSSE3, the one instruction set that, from what I understand, vanilla kernels need in order to run 64-bit applications. Fortunately for us, netkas has released a patched kernel to address this issue.

 

The D420 is a Core CPU so will be faster

Too bad . What makes the Core architecture faster than the Netburst equivalents anyway?

EDIT: found the answer in this article.

 

The D420 is a Core CPU [...] let you use the PC -EFI

Are you sure about this? From what I read on this forum, PC-EFI is CPU-agnostic. It seems that it's rather the kernel which is picky about the instruction sets the CPU must support.

 

Which might make Mac OS upgrades a bit easier but not such a big deal. the 10.5.1 upgrade was way easy for me. I downloaded from Apple. Then use the app Pacifist to install it. I needed to set it to not replace the kernel and 1 kext and away it went a reboot and all was fine! I needed to keep the hac kernel and one kext which is needed for my Intel 950 graphics. More info on OS upgrades are on this forum . So bottom line you've got a nice cpu which will work great with Mac OSX but the other one would be faster but the one you have is no slug.

Thank you sharing your experience with a similar Celeron. I think I'll stick with the D 347 even though the kernel will have to be substituted for netkas' with the SSSE3-less 64-bit fix, and maybe some core kext replaced by ones working with the patched kernel.

[Roman2K]

Update: Yesterday, I received all the components necessary to build the computer. After having put it together (even the thin wires coming from the front panel of the case which it's a pain in the neck to figure out where to plug in ), I fire the thing up and... nothing comes up on the screen! So I called the hotline and the guy told me that the Celeron D 347 is incompatible with the GA-G33M-S2 . Now that's bad luck! The board supports other Cedar Mill core-based processors (see Pentium 4's in the list linked-to below) but not a Celeron equipped with the same core. I would have never thought so.

 

Indeed, the motherboard is incompatible with this particular CPU. It is not included in the list of CPU's supported by this motherboard. Even the other Celeron D's that are listed there have a "N/A" status.

 

Fortunately, LDLC offer a 15 days return policy which will credit my account by the cost of the current CPU in order for me to buy a compatible one from the same price category: guess which one... the Celeron 420, of course! Well I still have to spit some money out for each shipment (return + new product) but it's necessary.

[Schwinn555]

Well it's the fine details that will get you every time!

QUOTE

The D420 is a Core CPU [...] let you use the PC -EFI

 

Are you sure about this? From what I read on this forum, PC-EFI is CPU-agnostic. It seems that it's rather the kernel which is picky about the instruction sets the CPU must support. end Quote

 

You are correct on this . I'm not claiming to be an expert just trying to help. So yes you can install PC-EFI on most machines but it seem to be worthless if you can't run the Vanilla kernel.

Thanks for the info on SSE3 & SSSE3 I thought it was just a misprint ;-)

Sounds like you'll be happier with the newer cpu so should turn out fine.

My HacIntosh with the Celeron 352 is faster then a Mac G5 2.2 so a pretty good machine yours should be even faster.

[Roman2K]

Sounds like you'll be happier with the newer cpu so should turn out fine.

My HacIntosh with the Celeron 352 is faster then a Mac G5 2.2 so a pretty good machine yours should be even faster.

Yes I think so. Eventually, I found a Pentium Dual-Core E2140 for 20€ more than the Celeron 420 and after having read these articles and various benchmarks, I found the additional euros worthwhile so I went for it. "It's basically a stripped down, low-clocked Conroe processor" (says the latter article). And now, the system boots up properly :-). My new challenge is to install Leopard...