Overclocking Athlons

[saidin]

Here is the question? Do you have to "unlock" the Athlon inorder to over clock it. Over can you just adjust the settings in the bios. I am new to AMD, and confused on the issue!
Please straighten me out!

I wanted to add this:
is it necessary to add a shim or thermal compund to the processor when installing it....or can I just put the heat stink on it and be on my marry way. I know the shim or compound will help with cooling, but I thought I would ask!
Thanks

[Darthtanion]

Unlocking Athlon
It depends on which Athlon we're unlocking. If it is an older Thunderbird type processor, then all you really need is a good pencil and you're on your way. But if you are talking about one of the newer AthlonXP processors, then you'll have to do a little minor surgery to get the job done right. There was a recent review here at TweakTown that shows a product made for unlocking an XP processor. Check out the HighSpeed PC Athlon XP Unlocking Kit. It's simple and reasonably priced. :)

Shims
Contrary to popular belief, the shim does not have any effect on your processor's or HSF cooling capabilities. It is simply a spacer that gives a little peace of mind to those who are in fear of cracking the processor core. Other than this, there is no added benefit of a cooler system.

TIM
Concerning thermal interface materials, ALWAYS use them. If you don't put any goop between the processor core and the HSF, then you're just looking for an accident to happen. Even el-cheapo coolers come with a little tube of crappy silicone goop. While not the greatest, it will at least work in a pinch.

The main reason for using a TIM is to fill in the minute gaps that exist between the core and the heatsink. The TIM helps create a bond between the two metal pieces and helps transfer the heat into the sink so that it can be removed by the fan. Failure to use anything between the two will cause for a very ineffective cooling setup and very possibly the destruction of the processor later on down the road.


Hope this helps you some. :)

[saidin]

Darthtanion
Thanks for the reply. I was curious about the thermal compound, I was going to use it....but I wanted to see if it was necessary. Thanks for the info!!!!
I am not sure if I will over clock my athlon or not. I do not know if I want to take a risk....but then again, they are kind of cheap :)

[Rice-a-Roni]

Hi, I'm new to these forums and also new to overclocking also. I have a 1Gig Athlon that I would like to overclock. How do I go about getting started? What do I do with a pencil anyways? If anyone has the time and knowledge could you please do a step by step? If not then could you please pm or email me. Thanks in advance.

[Darthtanion]

Assuming that you are using the SocketA variety of processor, you can check out our old guide covering the overclocking of it. It gives you a little background information and guides you through some easy steps to overclocking goodness. Here's the link:

http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=guide&dId=18

Good luck! :)

[FLaCo]

Well Saidin...Darth takes pride in his responses:) ...You don't have to unlock the Athlon to overclock it...You can simply go into bios and raise the FSB from there...unlocking just lets you lower your multipliers so you can raise your FSB to an insane amount and since an "upping" of the FSB increases the performance of everything else (i.e. AGp..etc..) then you will have an increase of overall perfromance.

[Rice-a-Roni]

Yes it is a socket A processor. I read the guide but still a bit confused. I know how to increase the FSB and all that but I want to know how to 'unlock' the processor, is that the term? And what do I do after I unlock it or whatever. Anyways, here is my system specs:

Soyo SY-K7VTA-B
1Ghz Athlon socket A
40Gig WD 7200rpm HD
1Gig PC133 Memory
32mb Video
etc...

[saidin]

hehe, I think I can safely say that the "regulars" do take pride in their posting!!! :D

[CMCHomer]

Athlons are the best for overclocking :)

I have been an Intel man for many years but decided to go the way of the AMD`er and i havent looked back :)


Die Intel :flames:

[Darthtanion]

I know how to increase the FSB and all that but I want to know how to 'unlock' the processor, is that the term? And what do I do after I unlock it or whatever.

After looking at your mainboard, I see that it uses the older VIA KT133 chipset. I'd like to start right off with a disclaimer. The KT133 was a very decent chipset when it first came out, but it is highly unlikely that you will ever hit 133MHz FSB speeds with any sort of reliability. Normally an FSB of 110-112MHz is about the best you can ask for.

Which brings us to the unlocking part. When you unlock the processor, it allows you to manipulate the clock multiplier. This gives you some more versatility when it comes to overclocking. Since your board will probably not go too high in the FSB department, see if you can raise the clock multiplier to get some more speed.

To unlock the processor, you need to connect four bridges. Bridges are nothing more than a series of dots that have been cut at the factory to lock the multiplier at the specified value. When you unlock your processor, you make a connection between these dots so that you can adjust the multiplier settings from within the BIOS.

I'm attaching a picture below that should help you out in figuring out exactly what I'm talking about. Though mine has been fixed with solder, a good HB #2 pencil can connect these bridges and give you the same flexibility in your overclocking. The picture is just being added so that you will know where these bridges are so you can connect them. They are marked L1 on the top of the processor. Make sure that you connect the dots only in the up/down direction indicated. Crossing over the wrong way can fry your processor.



Image doesn't want to post... I'll try again later. Hopefully the explanation above at least helps you a bit.

[Wiggo]

Some may find this interative Athlon XP/Duron bridge manipulation guide of help (NOTE: does not work with Thoroughbreds) for unlocking and changing of multipliers plus changing the default vcore settings. ;)
<center>:cheers:</center>

[Rice-a-Roni]

I haven't bridged L1 yet but I don't think that's going to be a problem. But the thing is, how do I tell what my multiplier is at right now? And how do I change it in the Bios, I don't see anything about the mulitplier in the Bios. I basically have everything on default right now except for the FSB. I really appreciate all your help guys. This is the nicest forum I've been to. Once again thanks...

[Darthtanion]

Since your running a KT133 based board, I'd be willing to bet money that you have a T-Bird 1000MHz processor with default settings of 10x multiplier and 100MHz FSB. These processors will generally go much higher without any trouble, but your motherboard is really going to be the limiting factor still.

[Rice-a-Roni]

You are right on the money about that. Even with the mobo being the limiting factor. What can I get or do with what I got. I mean, what would you do or recommend I do? It doesn't have to be anything too extreme, this is only my first time at this that is. I just won't to get as much juice as possible with what I got, know what I mean...

[Darthtanion]

Go into the BIOS and make sure that there is a way to adjust the clock multiplier on your board. If you can, then go ahead and unlock the processor using the pencil trick or something more permanent if you like. From there, it will just take some trial and error to see how high you can get the system to run with any degree of stability.

Oh, and before you start, make sure that you know how to reset the CMOS values. This will save some heartache when your system locks completely down on you the first time and refuses to reboot. Resetting the CMOS at this time will cure your problems 99 times out of 100. :)