Diff between UNLOCKING + OVERCLOCKING an Athlon XP?

[timers]

Is there one? Thanks.

 

[nealh]

Not sure exactly what you are asking??
overclocking..rquires adjustment in fsb and/or multiplier

unlocking means you have unlocked the multiplier this helps so that you can maximize your options for overclocking....

Overclocking options are greater with both the multiplier unlocked and fsb changes...
thus if the chip is say a 1700...11 x 133
unlocked you may get higher fsb which allows a greater performance at same mhz speed...

eg if 1700 for eg tops out at say 1600 mhz from a stock of 1470
you get better performance from 10.5 x 150 vs 11 x 145.....

does this help or was this already obvious

 

[timers]

It helps. So whats an Athlon XP normally oc'ed to, and after it being unlocked, what can I get?

 

[johndoe52]

That depends on so many things(you're mb, which xp you get, what voltage you're running it at, for fsb your memory).
When I get my XP I'd like to get the fsb to 166. To do that I may have to turn down the multiplier though.

 

[nealh]

overclocking has no guarantees..the Athlon xp overclock about 15% or so...a 1600 may overclock better as it may be a higher chip just set at lower spped to fill the needs of it customer....

there may not be enough customers for athlon xp 2000 so amd jst down clocks it to 1600 since there is more demand rather than keeping a large stock og 2000's..this is just example ...I would bet most 1600's could run at 1800-1900 speeds

my 1700 with extra voltage will do 1650 mhz or about athlon xp 2000

as stated how well you overclock depends on the mobo and the settings available for overclocking..vcore , memory voltage adjustments..etc...the quality of the chip, your cooling solution..the other components in your system..your power supply....

 

[timers]

Ok but lets say an 1800 athlon xp, by unlocking it, what diff does it serve as compared to just chaning the fsb, multilyers, etc?

 

[johncar]

Now we get to the "difference"....

Must unlock before you can "change" the Multiplier since the Multiplier is normally changed by over-riding HI/LO signals sent from the mobo and open L1 bridges are like open switches...the over-riding signals can't over-ride thru "open circuits"...must close/unlock the L1s.
John C.

 

[timers]

So to clear this all up, you must unlock the cpu before you do ne sort of overclocking to it? Caz my Soyo Dragon Plus mobo has on option to increase the FSB, could I not just raise that up?

 

[johncar]

>So to clear this all up, you must unlock the cpu before you do ne sort >of overclocking to it?

No, not "any" sort of oc'g, just oc'g with the Multiplier/s.

>Caz my Soyo Dragon Plus mobo has on option to increase the FSB, could I >not just raise that up?

Yes, locking/unlocking L1 bridges has no effect on resetting FSB.
John C.

 

[RobsTV]

An XP 1800+ actually is set to run at 11.5x133 or 1530MHz.
11.5 is multiplier, and it is locked.
133 is fsb and is not locked.
FSB affects all of your system, included PCI/AGP cards and hard drives, so increasing that helps all.
But, your system has a limit on how high you can raise the FSB before your cards or drives fail.
The best goal is to run as high a fsb as possible, without screwing up cards or drives.
Most systems will run 145MHz fsb fairly easily.
If you leave your CPU locked at 11.5, and raise FSB to 145MHz, it will run at 1667MHz, or XP 2000+ speeds.

But, if for example 1667MHz (XP 2000+) speed is what you are shooting for, then these will get there:
12.5x133=1662 (stock clocked XP 2000+)
12x139=1668
11.5x145= 1667 (XP 1800+ locked multiplier)
11x151=1661
10.5x158=1659 (fastest system performance).
Plus other combinations, including the ability of some motherboards to run 200MHz (400ddr) FSB.
The key is how high you can raise FSB before problems, and effort involved.
In above example, the actual real world performance difference between 12.5x133 and 10.5x158, would be rarely noticable.
With that in mind, and the slight difficulty involved in unlocking the XP, I would simply leave it locked and raise FSB as high as possible.
You may even get lucky and be able to run an XP 1800+ at 11.5x150fsb, or XP 2100+ speed, even though it is locked.

 

[timers]

Thanks RobsTV. That helped the most. Im getting the Soyo Dragon Plus mobo. How far do you think I can raise the FSB, and is it as simple as just going into the bios and changing it? Also, lets say for example I go too far, will my whole cpu be fried? Or does it artifact like a video card or give warning, so I can bring it down a notch. Thanks.

 

[Jman13]

If you overclock too high, your system will lock up. If you overclock WAY too high, you can burn your chip up. Overclocking always carries the risk of CPU failure. I have an AthlonXP 1700+ on a Soyo Dragon Plus, and I currently run at 140FSB, with the multiplyer locked. Thus, I get 11*140=1540 MHz, or slightly above 1800+ speeds. I've run stable at 143 FSB, or 1573 MHz. When I went to 146 FSB (1606 MHz, or 1900+ speeds), I could boot into Windows, but the computer would freeze after about an hour. Raising my CPU voltage only made it crash faster, which leads me to believe it's due to heat. To be on the safe side, I went down to 1800+ speeds.

Whatever you do, do NOT just raise the FSB to a high speed. Start in small steps. First, run the computer for a few days at stock speed to make sure it's working fine without overclocking. Then raise the FSB to 136 or 137. Test the stability with a tough crunching program like SETI or Prime95. Running a 3D app like 3DMark is a good idea too. Run these programs for a few hours to see if it's stable. If so, bump another 3MHz or so to 140...then test again. Keep going up small increments until you experience lockups, then see if raising the voltage a bit will help the stability...sometimes it does, especially if you have good cooling.

I prefer not to stress my chip all that much, since it's plenty fast enough at 1540 MHz. If I get a new HSF like the AX-7, I might go for 1606 again.