Why don't AMD just make all their CPUs unlocked?

[screw3d]

I may be missing something here, but tell me !

All OCers will be plain happy to have unlocked CPUs, and non-OCers probably don't give a damn whether the chip's unlocked or not...

So that AMD will get more sales than Intel? OC-ers will not hesitate between Intel and AMD coz they know very well that their babies could run much faster for the same money !

I don't know about the technical parts of this...enlighten me !

 

[Rahminator]

OK, here's the problem that happened way back in time (actually only a few years) when AMD and Intel CPUs were all unlocked. Vendors used to erase the markings on the CPUs and printing new ones that said it's actually a higher clocked genuine one. Case in point - you buy what you think is a Pentium 200 for $500, but in reality it's a $250 Pentium 133 chip. Guess what, you were ripped off big time but you won't even know it, except for the fact that for some reason (overheating), your comp is freezeing often. This may not be technically accurate, but that's what happened and it would happen again if CPUs came unlocked.

 

[designgirl]

right, basically. it's to make it not easy for people to resell it at a higher clocked rate than what it was supposed to be.



if it's too easy, people take advantage of it. (as usual)

 

[FreeFrag]

But, if a feature was programmed into the cpu, that displayed the cpu's rated speed on bootup, the chip wouldn't be unlocked.

If you were a consumer, and saw Athlon XP 1600+ (1.4Ghz) @ 1.65Ghz on your post screen, wouldn't you start asking questions? If you were an overclocker, you'd be proud, but if the rated CPU speed was programmed into the bios then you wouldn't have retailers fiddling with the markings.

IMO, anyway.

 

[dk912]

How can one unlock an AMD CPU??? Can I run my Duron 750 @ on 133Mhz FSB to make processor speed 997.5Mhz? (on a ECS K7S5A mobo)

 

[Dan]

dk912: I see you're relatively new here, so welcome to AnandTech.

I'm not familiar with your particular mobo but your Duron 750 is probably capable of 900-1000MHz, given the right components and cooling gear. (I had a 650MHz Duron that hit just over 1GHz.) If you hang around the forums for any length of time you'll figure out what I mean by "the right components and cooling gear." You should also do a general search online. Here's a couple of links to get you started.

Unlocking the Duron and Athlon Using the Pencil Trick

AMD Duron overclocking project

Unlocking The Duron

And you can see what a couple of Athlon are capable of at my site.

Good luck!