Celery 2 "Little Dipper" Kit Review

"A Heavenly Body with Real Big Punch!"

Written: 7/6/2000

Reviewer: Dave Chow    

Supplied by: Proton Computers  

Price: $189.00 US

Initial Observations and Introduction:

Oh yeah!   Do I have a gem to share with you...  Nope!  Not another heatsink review...   Well, not really.   A little over a week ago Ned from Proton Computers volunteered to send me a Celeron2 566 so I could test some socket heatsinks.  Well, much to my surprise I not only got a great CPU in the package, there was an entire killer setup staring back at me from inside the box.  Ned has affectionately named this little rig the "Little Dipper".  I've always gone against the grain and can be considered a menace and non-conformist because I'm not a huge Celeron fan.   Although, I did have a great little Celeron rig about a year ago that included a Celeron 366 that I was able to beat into submission and squeeze an admirable and stable 616mhz out of.  But, the performance always seemed to lag behind that of the Pentium III.  Of course this is just my opinion... Of course I expected the same sort of situation with this new breed of Celeron, too.  I've been proven wrong before and most certainly I expect to be wrong about something again (maybe). 

Okay... I've strayed from the path again.  Let me get back on track.  Not everyone has $500 to burn for a new Pentium 850... I certainly don't and I know many of you don't either.  So, that leaves a dilemma...  What other choice is there?  I have the perfect answer for you.  If you've been contemplating a processor upgrade but don't want to spend a year's salary but don't want to compromise performance, the "Little Dipper" is the perfect solution.  I also know that there are quite a few overclockers out there that roll the dice every time they buy a new CPU.  Will it overclock?  How far will it overclock?  Will I have a stroke when it doesn't perform as I expected?  Proton Computers has taken the guesswork out of overclocking and provides an invaluable service by pre-tested overclocking kits so you know exactly what your getting from the moment you add the CPU to your shopping cart at Proton.   Sure, many people may be mumbling under their breath that it takes the fun out of overclocking.  I definitely don't subscribe to that line of thinking... I don't want to drop my money on something that won't overclock...  Then what?  Go and buy another one and hope that you'll get better results?  Not a chance...  I'd rather go to the racetrack knowing which horse is going to win beforehand... I end up a bit richer in the end.  Ughhh!!!  Before I start straying again... Let's take a closer look!

About Proton Computers:

I like these guys and what they stand for.  Proton is a relatively new player in the online reseller game (Oct '99).  But, so far they're rock solid as proven by some really great customer comments at Reseller Ratings.  Proton is a family owned and operated business with a great sense of pride in what they do and they also have excellent customer service ethic.  You really have to love the fact that you'll get the owner on the line if you give them a call.  Ned is the main man behind Proton and has been a life long Techno/Bum.   He's a musician at heart and has always had a recording studio of some sort going.   Dabbling in styles ranging from primitive to pretty damn elaborate.  An injury forced him to reluctantly take an early retirement as a musician and  soon after, recording lost its relevance. He found a new passion (computers) when MIDI hit the scene.   He started out on a Mac Plus (Ewwwww!  Mac?!) that cost him a whopping $1300.00 that he considers to be a great price.  The sole function of those machines was for music.  A whole bunch of years later, his brother Bruce lured him to the "dark side" and gave him a 486 DX100 with 8 megs of RAM and DOOM 2 installed.    As you can guess, he got bit by the bug and he hasn't looked back.  The other two brains behind Proton are Bruce and Jeannie (Ned's brother-in-law and sister).    They have been running their own business for a number of  years.   They have four kids ranging in age from four to 19.  They started Proton Computers  back in October '99 because Ned and Bruce were so into computers that they figured they might as do it full time. They offer a number of products but specialize in overclocking kits and bundles.  Plus, you've gotta love the names!  "Ball Buster Bundle", "Wee Willie Winkie" and "Little Dipper" are just a few...   They really seem to have their act together and I bet you'll see some big stuff from these guys in the very near future!   Enough about them, let's see what this kit's all about!

Next page: Taking a closer look

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