My friend has the 650 classic slot athlon.. he wants to take off the original heatsink to put on this overclock card that he made for his K7M... anyone have any good experiences with the K7M and the classic athlons? Overclocking wise? The heatsink thing is the main issue though... let me know.. thanks.
Removing a slot athlon heatsink.. ???
- Thread starter smp
- Start date
Here you go...everything you always wanted to know about overclocking the Slot A Athlon:
GFD Overclocking Basics
One of the most common questions I'm asked is "How fast do you think my Athlon will go?" Excellent question.
AMD's production yields are so good with this chip they rate the processor lower than it can actually perform, and use cores from higher rated processors to meet market demand for lower ranges of speed. Let's take a look at how it works.
By the way, GFD (Golden Finger Device) refers to all Athlon overclocking cards. The 'golden fingers' is a term used to describe the internal debug connector (highlighted below) on the Athlon's circuit board that the card attaches to.
What's under the hood?
You can make a fair assumption as to how well your K7 will overclock by finding the production week of the CPU.
To give you a general idea of the core and cache speeds without opening up the Athlon, you need to find the production week in the serial number printed in the spine of the case. It will be the bottom row of numbers, under the AMD-K7850xxxxxx. The week will be the fifth and sixth numbers in the string. (xxxx02xxxxxx).
Once you have that info, compare it to what others have posted about their results in this database: http://www.ninjamicros.com/leaderboard.html
But, you can only be 100% sure of your core and cache speed if you open it up, take off the heat plate (careful!) and look at them. Removing the heatplate is not necessary to use a GFD. The Tech Zone offers more direction on removing the heatplate in this article, and deciphering the numbers printed on the core and cache chips here.
How fast you can overclock your chip is a factor of:
1.) The core speed. Many Athlon's have a higher core speed than their case indicates (production week 42 on) due to AMD's excellent yields. For example, my ("old"
week 47 500MHz has an actual processor core of 650MHz.
2.) The speed of the cache memory. Athlons produced in week 42 on vary on cache speed from 3ns to 4ns. The faster the cache speed the more stable it will be at higher speeds. With my Athlon's 650MHz core and 3ns cache, it's comfortable running at 824MHz.
3.) The clock multiplier. Athlons' clock multiplier is locked, meaning its resistors are soldered to it's specified speed, and can't be changed via motherboard jumper or BIOS setting. Hence the need for an overclocking card.
4.) The motherboard's Font Side Bus (FSB) setting. The speed of a cpu, generally, is determined by taking the FSB and multiplying it by the multiplier. (i.e. 100MHz fsb x a multiplier of 5 = 500MHz cpu) Overclocking the cpu via increasing the FSB leads to an UNSTABLE system.
5.)The cache divider. By default the K7's cache divider is 1/2, meaning the cache memory operates at 1/2 the speed of the cpu. Over 750MHz the cache divider switches to 1/3, resulting in slightly slower performance.
6.) Core voltage. The default voltage for the K7 is 1.6v As you increase speed the cpu needs more power (which translates into more heat), so the core voltage needs increased. Another need for a GFD. (over 1.9v can be very dangerous without excellent cooling).
If you want to overclock the AMD chip you will need to open up the Athlon to change it's speed settings. Another reason for ripping out the case is because the Athlon will run cooler once it's stripped down to bare PCB. The casing that house the CPU traps heat, not good if you plan to overclock.
Removing The case:
One word of caution. This operation is not for the weak at heart. Removing the Athlon casing could kill the CPU if you make a slip. I, of course, will not be held responsible.
You only require one tool to remove an Athlon casing, a big flat head screwdriver.
The Athlon is held in its casing by 8 pins. The 4 outer pins hold the heat transfer plate to the plastic casing and the 4 inside pins hold the CPU to the heat transfer Plate.
Removing the CPU out of the casing is pretty easy compared to removing the Athlon off the heat transfer plate. Begin by taking your screwdriver and jamming it between the plastic casing and the heat transfer plate near the first pin. Be very careful.
Now push the screwdriver down. The screwdriver will separate the heat transfer plate from the casing but it's not enough to pop the pin out of the casing. To do that give the screwdriver a 45 degree turn.
Congrats! You have just broken the first pin! Repeat the same procedure for the other 3 outside pins and you can remove the AMD case.
Pin #4 (lower left) is notoriously difficult to release. A lot of force and/or finesse may be needed to free it. This may result in a broken plastic case. Airflow around the CPU is better with it off anyway.
Your heatsink will attach to the heat plate on the other side of the Athlon's circuit board.
GFD installation:
So, the GFD adjusts the clock multiplier and the core voltage. This is done by changing the dipswitches on the card. It's simple, just follow the chart that comes with it.
Begin by setting the dipswitches to your CPU's default speed and voltage settings, this will make sure the card is functioning properly. If you're using a card that requires external power, plug it in now. Place the card on the debug connector, and power up you computer. If it boots normally, shut it back down and continue.
Increasing the speed slowly is important, like 50MHz at a time, to see where your cpu will be stable. Run some apps, games, benchmark programs and such at each level to test stability. When things start acting goofy (won't boot into Windows, crashes, errors, etc.) up the voltage 0.05v and test again. (I wouldn't go over 1.85v)
When you finally get to the highest voltage your willing to run, up the MHz till the first sign of instability, then back the speed down 50MHz to ensure a stable system.
Keep in mind that excellent CPU cooling is needed. A good cooling system may actually help you achieve higher speeds, not to mention prolong the Athlon's lifespan.
I would not remove the heatplate, just the plastic case surrounding the cpu.
Thats it in a nutshell. Hope this helps you.
GFD Overclocking Basics
One of the most common questions I'm asked is "How fast do you think my Athlon will go?" Excellent question.
AMD's production yields are so good with this chip they rate the processor lower than it can actually perform, and use cores from higher rated processors to meet market demand for lower ranges of speed. Let's take a look at how it works.
By the way, GFD (Golden Finger Device) refers to all Athlon overclocking cards. The 'golden fingers' is a term used to describe the internal debug connector (highlighted below) on the Athlon's circuit board that the card attaches to.
What's under the hood?
You can make a fair assumption as to how well your K7 will overclock by finding the production week of the CPU.
To give you a general idea of the core and cache speeds without opening up the Athlon, you need to find the production week in the serial number printed in the spine of the case. It will be the bottom row of numbers, under the AMD-K7850xxxxxx. The week will be the fifth and sixth numbers in the string. (xxxx02xxxxxx).
Once you have that info, compare it to what others have posted about their results in this database: http://www.ninjamicros.com/leaderboard.html
But, you can only be 100% sure of your core and cache speed if you open it up, take off the heat plate (careful!) and look at them. Removing the heatplate is not necessary to use a GFD. The Tech Zone offers more direction on removing the heatplate in this article, and deciphering the numbers printed on the core and cache chips here.
How fast you can overclock your chip is a factor of:
1.) The core speed. Many Athlon's have a higher core speed than their case indicates (production week 42 on) due to AMD's excellent yields. For example, my ("old"
week 47 500MHz has an actual processor core of 650MHz.2.) The speed of the cache memory. Athlons produced in week 42 on vary on cache speed from 3ns to 4ns. The faster the cache speed the more stable it will be at higher speeds. With my Athlon's 650MHz core and 3ns cache, it's comfortable running at 824MHz.
3.) The clock multiplier. Athlons' clock multiplier is locked, meaning its resistors are soldered to it's specified speed, and can't be changed via motherboard jumper or BIOS setting. Hence the need for an overclocking card.
4.) The motherboard's Font Side Bus (FSB) setting. The speed of a cpu, generally, is determined by taking the FSB and multiplying it by the multiplier. (i.e. 100MHz fsb x a multiplier of 5 = 500MHz cpu) Overclocking the cpu via increasing the FSB leads to an UNSTABLE system.
5.)The cache divider. By default the K7's cache divider is 1/2, meaning the cache memory operates at 1/2 the speed of the cpu. Over 750MHz the cache divider switches to 1/3, resulting in slightly slower performance.
6.) Core voltage. The default voltage for the K7 is 1.6v As you increase speed the cpu needs more power (which translates into more heat), so the core voltage needs increased. Another need for a GFD. (over 1.9v can be very dangerous without excellent cooling).
If you want to overclock the AMD chip you will need to open up the Athlon to change it's speed settings. Another reason for ripping out the case is because the Athlon will run cooler once it's stripped down to bare PCB. The casing that house the CPU traps heat, not good if you plan to overclock.
Removing The case:
One word of caution. This operation is not for the weak at heart. Removing the Athlon casing could kill the CPU if you make a slip. I, of course, will not be held responsible.
You only require one tool to remove an Athlon casing, a big flat head screwdriver.
The Athlon is held in its casing by 8 pins. The 4 outer pins hold the heat transfer plate to the plastic casing and the 4 inside pins hold the CPU to the heat transfer Plate.
Removing the CPU out of the casing is pretty easy compared to removing the Athlon off the heat transfer plate. Begin by taking your screwdriver and jamming it between the plastic casing and the heat transfer plate near the first pin. Be very careful.
Now push the screwdriver down. The screwdriver will separate the heat transfer plate from the casing but it's not enough to pop the pin out of the casing. To do that give the screwdriver a 45 degree turn.
Congrats! You have just broken the first pin! Repeat the same procedure for the other 3 outside pins and you can remove the AMD case.
Pin #4 (lower left) is notoriously difficult to release. A lot of force and/or finesse may be needed to free it. This may result in a broken plastic case. Airflow around the CPU is better with it off anyway.
Your heatsink will attach to the heat plate on the other side of the Athlon's circuit board.
GFD installation:
So, the GFD adjusts the clock multiplier and the core voltage. This is done by changing the dipswitches on the card. It's simple, just follow the chart that comes with it.
Begin by setting the dipswitches to your CPU's default speed and voltage settings, this will make sure the card is functioning properly. If you're using a card that requires external power, plug it in now. Place the card on the debug connector, and power up you computer. If it boots normally, shut it back down and continue.
Increasing the speed slowly is important, like 50MHz at a time, to see where your cpu will be stable. Run some apps, games, benchmark programs and such at each level to test stability. When things start acting goofy (won't boot into Windows, crashes, errors, etc.) up the voltage 0.05v and test again. (I wouldn't go over 1.85v)
When you finally get to the highest voltage your willing to run, up the MHz till the first sign of instability, then back the speed down 50MHz to ensure a stable system.
Keep in mind that excellent CPU cooling is needed. A good cooling system may actually help you achieve higher speeds, not to mention prolong the Athlon's lifespan.
I would not remove the heatplate, just the plastic case surrounding the cpu.
Thats it in a nutshell. Hope this helps you.
Boy, do I love to copy and paste feature. I can't remember where, but that is exactly identical to an overclocking guide I read somewhere
YUP...I got it from Highspeedpc's basic Slot A overclocking guide. For some reason you can't make a direct link there anymore. It only links to the homepage, then you have to find the overclocking section. I guess I should've given him credit....So here is his credit...
I got this from Scott at HighSpeed PC. He has a great site and some great products too!!!
I got this from Scott at HighSpeed PC. He has a great site and some great products too!!!
He should get a GFD. IMHO heat is not really a big issue if you stick two big fans on the stock heatsink. My brother has a 750MHz running @950MHz using the stock L2 cache multiplier of 2/5. It is rock solid right now.
Most definetly get a GFD. They are only about $20 now. I just got one on the For Sale/Trade forum for $20.
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