Processor Remarking?

[whalen]

I read this Post on a newsgroup, and the guy claims to have had his 1.2Ghz Tbird replaced by AMD after being confirmed a remarked CPU. I too have a 1.2 bought from Allstarcomponents.com, and am wondering if it is remarked... that could explain my 20 mhz overclock from this chip. . What exactly is remarking? Is there anyway I could tell it had been remarked?

 

[CTho9305]

if it crashed at stock speed. or if it only OC'ed 20 mhz (just kidding - you could have just gotten really unlucky)

 

[whalen]

Heh, it runs fine at 1200, but I've heard of 2 different people claiming to have gotten remarked CPUs from them. Just trying to find out what you guys think before I send this to AMD to get checked out.

 

[bacillus]

well if it runs fine at 12x 100 then that's normal! for a remarked cpu, you have to run it out of spec in order to attain the remarked clock speed.

 

[Dexion]

Its quite hard remarking(without being obvious) when the Multiplyer is locked at a certain speed. Even if you unlock the "L1s" the default would be the multiplyer for the original CPU speed.
For example:
Thunderbird 1Ghz CPU has a default multiplyer of 10x, if you were to unlock with the L1s, in the BIOS you can change the multiplyer to 12, however if you were to choose "default clock", it would be changed back to 10 and would run only 10 unless you use a custom setting.
However, if they used Tom's hardware guide and did the L1s to the multiplyer settings, then you would have to physically look at the L1s and see if they have any tampering. It would take quite a bit of work to make it look "authentic", and quite a bit of L1 breaking and connecting.

 

[whalen]

<< well if it runs fine at 12x 100 then that's normal! >>


Huh? If it was, say a 1000 remarked to 1200, it could possibly run ok at 1200, but not much higher.

I called AMD and the guy I talked to said that when a chip is remarked, it is almost impossible to see with the naked eye. THey use special microscopes to check for modifications. The two things i noticed that were unusual about the chip when I got it was the green core and that all the l1 bridges were cut

 

[bacillus]

<< all the l1 bridges were cut >>


now that is interesting as most people are reporting that their 1.2 GHz thunderbirds are unlocked when they receive them!

 

[whalen]

^

 

[whalen]

anyone?

 

[Bartman39]

Ever consider the possiblity it was mismarked from the factory??? Possible??? That could explain the core color and L1 bridges or was maybe a preproduction boo boo???

 

[DaddyG]

Heres what to look for, your cpu was sold as a 1.2 so the L6 (not L1) bridge configuration should be . | : | | If the chip was originally 1 gig then the L6 bridges would be . | : : : As you can see, its pretty easy to connect the last 2 L6 bridges and get 1.2gig. There is a corresponding connection on the L2/L3s but you should be able to see it on the L6s. You might need a magnifying glass. You default core voltage may have been altered as well, it usually is with bogus chips. Look for all the L7s being connected, they shouldn't be.

 

[whalen]

Thanks DaddyG,

I sent it back to AMD a few days ago, so I should find out today or tomorrow!!