Many questions on OC'ing a T'Bird...........answer only if you know how to accomplish

[RabeaticSquirrel]

Ok,
So I read anand and tomshardware articles on how to OC a T'Bird, as you can guess if I'm posting topics here, I must be confused. First the article I read from anand explained that (of course this was on his modified FIC AZ-11) you needed to cut the BP_FID traces on the CPU to prevent it from telling the chipset which multiplier to use. They went further to explain that you must also solder a dip switch to accomplish the change in multiplier. Now tomshardware explains it differently. They proclaim that you can use some type of conductive material to fill in the "laser cut" gap on the L3, 4, and 6 bridges to sucessfully accomplish a frequency change. But they don't exactly go into how to break the already filled in gaps. So in laymens terms (or as simplified as possible) how the heck are you guys OC'ing your T'Birds? I have no problem modifing my chip, as long as I know what and where to modify. Respective links are posted below. Please note, I am not quoting either web-site, I am simply stating my understanding (which could quite possibly be WRONG).

http://www.anandtech.com/printarticle.html?i=1282

http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/00q3/000711/index.html

squirrel

 

[johncar]

RS,
Neither site really "explains" anything in detail. If you want to "understand" all the various ways to oc a Duron/Tbird go to... http://members.nbci.com/candjac/index.htm Duron OC article which has detailed marked up pics, oc'g circuits diagrams, and most important "explains all"...and every alternative has been tested.
John C.

 

[Dexion]

After reading some of the document that Johncar has recommended. I can't help but say that thats a very COMPLEX document, and theres many alternatives out there that can advise how to unlock the multiplier and overclock a Duron or Thunderbird easier.

Heres a link:
Tweak3D : Overclocking a Thunderbird/Duron

By unlocking the CPU Multiplier, this allows newer boards such as ASUS A7V, ABIT KT7, MSI K7T etc to overclock your processor using the BIOS or Dipswitches(on the A7V). Only read Johncar's link if your interested in how the Tbird/Duron works and overclocking if your using an older board.

I currently own a Tbird 850, and running at 9.5x106FSB on a KT7. I used a graphite pencil to unlock the CPU(but it degrades after awhile), but I do intend to use a loctite/defogger kit to permanently unlock the CPU. Many people claim that using permanent methods can achieve higher clock speeds.

 

[Poof]

Having glanced at both articles and based on what I've seen posted here, it looks like those TBirds in the photo were the early ones that shipped with the L1 bridges closed. At the very bottom of Anand's article is an update regarding how AMD later cut those L1 bridges to lock the multiplier. This is what is more commonly described in this forum and for those, you would need to do the pencil trick or use locite or a conductive pen to rejoin them. That's supposedly ALL you would need to do (other than have a mobo that can give you the variety of multipliers).

When I first scanned your message, what you described almost sounded like what people had to do with the classic Athlons (not the newer T-birds), to use a GFD.

 

[paulip88]

Some of those articles are pretty outdated and came out around the introduction of both the CPUs and the motherboards.

The current situation is as follows:

The TBird/Duron is unlocked by connecting the 4 L1 bridges on the top of the CPU using some electrically conductive material. This can be a pencil, or better yet, something that was intended for conductivity like a defogger repair kit.

To use the unlocked CPU, you will need a board that allows for multiplier adjustment. Here are a list of good boards for OCing:
MSI K7T Pro2
ABit KT7
Asus A7V
Epox 8KTA2

The first two allows all adjustments to be done in the BIOS. The Asus allows for some changes in the BIOS, while the Epox (to my limited knowledge) does not.

You will also need to invest in a quality Socket A HSF like:
Alpha PAL6035
GlobalWin FOP38
Taisol

 

[johncar]

Dexion,
Article covers ALL cases/mobos, not just the easy "close the L1 bridges". Any one can handle that. The reader can just focus on what he "needs to know". And any reader who does not understand the basic digital logic HI/LO oc'g circuits and simple setting algorithms should buy a mobo that has a full complement of oc'g hardware/software. But why discourage people from discovering all the oc'g details to the best of their experience??
John C.