Worth it to unlock XP 2000+?

[SportSC4]

Hey all,
I have an AMD XP 2000+ Retail (don't really care on the warranty, it'll run out before the chip dies out) and I was wondering if it was worth it to unlock the chip so that it would run at a higher FSB? I would still want to keep it ~1.67 gHz, but would I see a noticeable difference in speed (gaming) if the FSB was higher?

Thanks.

 

[Elcs]

Unlocking only unlocks the Multipliers.

A Chip can be overclocked by increasing FSB and retaining the same multiplier. However as you want to leave the core running at default speed but with increased FSB, you would need to unlock the XP to access the lower multipliers.

Performance, I cannot comment.

 

[BigJ]

This situation depends highly on your motherboard and what type of RAM you have.

If your motherboard doesn't have a 1/5 PCI divider that auto-kicks in at 166mhz...don't expect to be running it that much higher then 145. If it does have a 1/5 PCI divider or better yet, PCI lock like on the new Nforce2 boards, try dropping the multiplier to 8 and raising the FSB really high. Might even be possible to run it at 8.5x196 or 9x186 if theres PCI lock, or in the 180s FSB if theres a 1/5 Divider and your devices are tolerant.

You will see a pretty noticable improvement in performance.

 

[SportSC4]

Thanks for the replies.

I can't find the info anywhere, maybe someone might know.

I'm running an Epox 8k3a+ mobo with 1 stick of 256 meg OCZ PC3000 (or pc2700) and 1 stick of 256 meg Corsair PC3200 - both CL2 and with heat spreaders.

 

[AnAndAustin]

I wouldn't bother personally. The original XP's are pigs to unlock and you can easily render the CPU useless. Not only that but XP2000+ don't have much headroom in them in the first place. I'd suggest leaving it stock and wait for the XP2400+ to come down in price (like I am doing) otherwise raise the FSB and see what you can get out of it. Running an XP2000+ at 333FSB should in theory result in a nice perf boost but I've read and heard a lot to the contrary, XP2400+ and up will benefit but I doubt anything slower will when it comes to the real world. Here's what I have to hand ...

Xbit
AnAndTech

You'd be looking at about a 5% increase at best after the hassle of unlocking the XP2000+ and that's comparing 266FSB+PC2100 vs 333FSB+PC2700 not 266FSB+PC2700 which yields a 2%ish perf increase itself without any hassle at all. I say stick with what you've got or else try hiking the FSB leaving the multiplier locked, this will actually boost your speed nicely anyway as your PCI and AGP bus speeds will increase as you o/c!

 

[yhelothar]

unlocking was pretty easy for me, plus it's reversable..

just fill the pits with a crayon, i'd use yellow since it's more visible

then using a conductive pen or window defogger repair kit(found in auto shop), just paint over all the bridges
then with a pin, scrape off the conductive paint between each bridge..
this worked for me, and it only took around 10 minutes to do..