Anyone out there wanna help a newb unlock an athlon xp?

[Serp86]

I have an athlon xp 2600+, and was planning to get water cooling, and overclock it a little. However, i can't do much without first unlocking it (dont want AGP going much out of spec). The problem is that i have read some badly written reviews (with just a pic of the L1 and L2 bridges), but i don't know where to start, how to connect them....etc.

Can anyone help me?

Also, as a side note, does an XP 2600+ (266 FSB) on an ABIT KD7 overclock well?

Thanks

 

[Serp86]

anyone?

 

[Chumpman]

If you are that serious about overclocking (buying watercooling and what not) it may be a better solution to sell your KD7 and pick up an nForce2 board on the cheap. The chips are automatically unlocked in them and the AGP bus is locked, so you can take the FSB as high as the board/RAM will let you.

 

[Serp86]

I was considering on getting water cooling because of my load CPU fan, but i figured out that since i had it, i might as well try to whip it a little bit

Also, getting an nforce 2 is out of the question - it would cost too much.

Back on the subject, i am sure half of the anandtechers that have athlon xp's have their multipliers unlocked. Anyone can offer me any tips? Also, does the 2600+ (266FSB) overclock well?

Thanks

 

[amcdonald]

here's what you should do.... Don't buy a watercooling setup. use that $100-200 to buy an nforce2 mb (8rda+ is only $83 at newegg.com). Buy a nice heatsink (ax-7 is only $20 shipped at svc.com)
Overclock and be happy.

 

[Serp86]

I am buying watercooling simply because of the noise my coolermaster Xdream makes. Also, a quieter heatsing wouldn't be enough because i use the computer with the tower right next to me, and it gets quite unnerving after some minutes (3 case fans, Coolermaster X-dream). Also, my temps are already high (52 degrees) because of high room temperatures (37 degrees).

I REALLY need watercooling - not nforce. O/C is just so i dont want to use watercooling without o/c (what's the point of it being 30 degrees, if you can overclock?) That's why i need the multiplier unlocked.

 

[VisableAssassin]

the KD7 will unlock the chip as soon as you drop it in. as long as you got the KT400 version your fine dont need to unlock the chip the mobo will do it for ya

 

[Serp86]

I can select 16.5 and 17 instead of 16, but when i boot into windows and check WCPUID, the multi is still 16

And it is the KT400 (reference bios) - do i need to update bios, or is my mobo faulty?

 

[Serp86]

Wait a sec - just tried 18x and it worked. Anyone knows why 16.5 and 17x doesn't work?.

Anyway it doesn't matter as i'm likely to be leaving it at this speed.

How much does a 2600 with 266 fsb overclock? Is 140fsb and 18x multi possible with watercooling (2520Mhz)?

 

[lchyi]

Why do you absolutely NEED watercooling? I NEED a 2003 Subaru WRX STi but I think putting a turbo in my Toyota Camry would do the trick. (oh forgot, not a car forum). Anyway, if you're that serious about cooling and, like you said, you really don't want to overclock then what you're saying doesn't make sense. Watercooling is for pretty hardcore overclockers. Shoot, just buy low noise fan and a medium quality heatsink if you're looking for noise reduction. Just personal opinion, I would get a nice nForce2 mobo over watercooling any day cause in the end, unless you're writing for some overclocking website that likes to impress their visitors, the added 100-400mhz watercooling adds won't get you your money's worth.

 

[pspada]

what he ^ said. I'd rather pee in my machine than install watercooling. Why not just buy a AC unit for your computer room, and keep it 20c all the time? Then you can open your case, and remove the fans, and it will run much quieter.

 

[VisableAssassin]

Originally posted by: pspada
what he ^ said. I'd rather pee in my machine than install watercooling. Why not just buy a AC unit for your computer room, and keep it 20c all the time? Then you can open your case, and remove the fans, and it will run much quieter.

that would be nice and all but an A/C unit is more than likely louder than the average WC setup. im running one 120mm 86cfm panaflo M1a , four 80mm panaflo H1a's and two panaflo 80mm L1a's funny thing is when im idle or sleeping with the fans turned down some what i hear my hard drives NOT my fans. besides i have yet to see a HSF unit handle a 226w peltier efficently like water does, seeing as the swiftech unit cant run as cold as water nor as silent since you need what? like a 80cfm monster on there to run half assed

 

[Serp86]

it is mainly about silence. I use my computer right next to my ears and since i got pretty high room temperatures i cannot afford to remove some case fans. On load, CPU tops 56 degrees - and i got a pretty good HSF