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AMD Hardware

Teach An Old Athlon New Tricks 210

Posted by timothy from the you-dog-you dept.
budn3kkid writes "Seems like Upgradeware have a new gadget out for those overclockers looking to upgrade their age old Athlon mobo (KT133, KT266 etc.) with a spanking new AMD Barton CPU. Also, saw an article at ol' Tom's about it right here as well."
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Teach An Old Athlon New Tricks More

Teach An Old Athlon New Tricks

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  • Junis reporting in... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 07, 2003 @07:02PM (#6386909)
    After digging around at random in the desert, I found this latest gadget. It works fantastic. Baywatch looks crystl clear on my Commodore-64 now!

    Thank you!

  • Already slashdotted (Score:5, Informative)

    by Alan ( 347 ) <arcterex@NOspAm.ufies.org> on Monday July 07, 2003 @07:04PM (#6386924) Homepage
    *sigh*

    Only two comments posted, and already the link is showing a lovely error page.

    Google cache still around though, grab it here [216.239.33.104].

  • Since the provided link is hosed... (Score:5, Informative)

    by ncc74656 ( 45571 ) <scott@alfter.us> on Monday July 07, 2003 @07:06PM (#6386943) Homepage Journal
    ...try this [upgradeware.com] instead. The server isn't /.'d (yet), but the link to the page with more info about the XP-TMC is invalid. (None of the other product links on that page work, either...mighty fine website. :-P )

  • Choked Bus? (Score:5, Informative)

    by rice_web ( 604109 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @07:07PM (#6386949)
    This upgrade raises the concern of the choked bus. I mean, who really wants to run a 3000+ on a 133MHz system bus?

    I do, and benchmarks have consistently shown that an increase in bandwidth for the Athlon rarely produces a substantial increase in speed (i.e. the recent speed "jumps" from AMD).

    • Re:Choked Bus? (Score:2, Interesting)

      by tevenson ( 625386 )
      I don't think they show a substantial speed increase, but I think they show a larger increase than by simply ramping up the CPU clock.

      I know that if I clock my Athlon higher first using the CPU multiplier, and then using the FSB, my results show that the FSB boost is far more effective. Recently AMD has had more significant FSB increases than CPU speed increases (move from DDR200, DDR333, DDR400).

      • Re:Choked Bus? (Score:5, Interesting)

        by rice_web ( 604109 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @07:21PM (#6387062)
        And the jump from 333 to 400 is incredibly small and had Tom's Hardware jumping all over the claimed speed of the Athlon XP.

        Granted, an increase in the FSB helps a lot, but not as much in, say, a Pentium 4 or an IBM 970, where a large FSB is vital. The Athlon is comparatively simple, and the 400MHz FSB is overkill.

        Again, an Athlon XP 3000+ will be faster on a DDR400 system than in my old 133MHz FSB system.

        • Re:Choked Bus? (Score:4, Informative)

          by CTho9305 ( 264265 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @09:32PM (#6387855) Homepage
          The Athlon is comparatively simple, and the 400MHz FSB is overkill.

          This isn't because of simplicity - it has to do with the size of cache lines in the L2 cache. The P4 fetches larger blocks with each miss, meaning a longer wait when a miss occurs. The Athlon, making smaller fetches, requires less bandwidth for a given miss. Obviously, if you designed worst-case code that was aimed at generating pure misses, both processors would be abbysmal and heavily affected by FSB, but normal code is not like that.

          • Re:Choked Bus? (Score:3, Informative)

            by rice_web ( 604109 )
            Take a look at the pipeline stages and you'll see that we're on the same page. The Athlon has many fewer pipeline stages (one reason that the Athlon typically beats the P4 at the same clock speed) than the Pentium IV. As you said, the "P4 fetches larger blocks with each miss", and that's true, thanks to its larger pipeline.

            • Re:Choked Bus? (Score:3, Informative)

              by CTho9305 ( 264265 )
              ...thanks to its larger pipeline.

              You can set cache line size to any arbitrary length when you design a processor. Now, because of the longer pipeline and higher clocks of the P4, I believe that larger cache lines make more sense, but you don't inherently need longer cache lines when you have a longer pipeline.

    • Re:Choked Bus? (Score:3, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      In Quake3 and most of the other benchmarks the CPU with a 133MHz bus @ 2.133GHz performs worse than the cpu running with a 166MHz bus at 1.833GHz.

      http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20030703/tmc_ad ap ter-04.html

    • Re:Choked Bus? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by NanoGator ( 522640 )
      "This upgrade raises the concern of the choked bus. I mean, who really wants to run a 3000+ on a 133MHz system bus?"

      Depends on what you're doing. I did some informal (and unscientific I should mention) tests using Lightwave on an an Athlon vs. a P4 with Hyperthreading etc. The specs on the P4 sounded like should have blown the doors off of the Athlon. Nope. The Athlon was surprisingly quick. It's not even a modern Athlon, either. It's got a 266 bus.

      I don't think LW cares too much about the bus. The
    • Considering that you will be able to buy a 333 motherboard for $50 in a month, I don't see the point.

      If I want more speed, I'll just buy an 2000 thoroughbred for my $50 Biostar and overclock it to 2500.

  • Nice (Score:3, Insightful)

    by desenz ( 687520 ) <roypfoh@gma[ ]com ['il.' in gap]> on Monday July 07, 2003 @07:07PM (#6386950)
    Its nice not to have to put a whole new rig together, but how useful is it? Eventually you're going to end up with a super-fast CPU that is dragged down by the rest of the rig.

    • Re:Nice (Score:5, Funny)

      by Ed Avis ( 5917 ) <ed@membled.com> on Monday July 07, 2003 @07:16PM (#6387020) Homepage
      From the Guide to being l33t [stoneward.com]:
      Your computer is a "box" It is no longer acceptable to refer to your computer as a machine, workstation, CPU, PC, server, etc. Your computer is a "box". And you must refer to your computer as a box at all times.

      I propose a modification to this. When talking about gaming or about overclocking (and especially AMD systems), your computer is not a 'box' but a 'rig'. The correct phrase to express that your computer is fast is that it is a 'sweet rig'.

      • Re:Nice (Score:5, Funny)

        by outsider007 ( 115534 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @08:22PM (#6387419)
        and by 'guide to being l33t' they mean
        'guide to being a parents' basement dwelling uber-dork'.
      • I agree. Some computers are simply not boxes.
        I mean, what in the hell is this [slashdot.org] then? Or this [slashdot.org]?

      • A box? (Score:3, Funny)

        by dmaxwell ( 43234 )
        'Your computer is a "box"'.

        Uh....no. A "box" is something else entirely and I have severe doubts that 90% of the guys posting here will ever see one in person. While we're at it, a "rig" is not a modified "box". A "rig" is a piece of equipment that same 90% of Slashdotters will have no real use for except self-pleasure. Well, I suppose a "rig" can be a computer after all.

  • hmm.. (Score:5, Funny)

    by geekmetal ( 682313 ) <vkeerthy@gmail.cAAAom minus threevowels> on Monday July 07, 2003 @07:08PM (#6386959) Journal
    Sooner or later, everyone has to face the problem that their computer is not fast enough. The conventional way to solve this by buying a new one or upgrading the current one quickly becomes expensive and is only seldom justifiable. However, home users have the option of tuning their systems using all the tricks in the books. Yes indeed, we're talking about traditional overclocking.

    A tradional alternate solution for a conventional method to solve a problem.. interesting

  • "Now you don't need to paint the L3 bridges with a silver pen or cut the L3 bridges with a penknife on your Athlon XP processor jut in order to adjust multipliers. XP-TMC total multiplier controller can help you to do the job without any mod on your processor. The warranty of your processor can be kept alive"

    So now stores that sell these CPUs now have even less to work with when determining whether John Smith walking into the store asking for a CPU exchange actually had a faulty CPU to begin with or was do

    • Re:I'm sure retailers will love this. (Score:4, Insightful)

      by TrekkieGod ( 627867 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @07:27PM (#6387092) Homepage Journal
      Why is this a good thing? Someone that's willing to buy this device seems like they'd also be of the mindset to lie at the return counter if their CPU kills itself early after an Overclocking Session Gone Bad (TM).

      Oh, c'mon. I don't want to physically mess with my cpu and all of the sudden I'm an immoral person?

      Overclocking processors isn't that dangerous of a thing, btw. Unless you did something physically wrong while installing the thing, or the heatsink (which would cause the proc to burn even if you didn't overclock it), all you'll have is an unstable system, in which case you bring the speed down until you get your perfect heat and speed balance. Chances are many of these cpu's computer stores refused to take back were indeed bad, and they were using overclocking as an excuse to screw the customer.

      • Agree there. On an Athlon, mistakes like a loose heatsink are instant death no matter if it's overclocked or not. Other things that cause permanent damage like electromigration are long term effects. They'll take much longer to appear than the 30 day warranty on an OEM CPU, and for retail CPUs the warranty is void anyway if you use any other heatsink than the retail cooler which is adequate for the stock speed and not much more.
        • By the time electromigration becomes an issue, you probably don't need that chip any more, either. But just in case, my mom's Celeron 333@605MHz has been running more-or-less 24/7 since, oh, 1999. Overclocking nowadays usually isn't worth the time, but when a Tbred XP1700 manages 66% overclocks on its stock HSF, it's worth looking in to.

    • not quite so (Score:3, Insightful)

      by gl4ss ( 559668 )
      you can do most(all) the stuff the adaptor does for the price of few small bits of wire.

      the newer, better (and the better older too) mobos have this functionality already built in. with tbred and over you don't need to do any mods to the cpu at all to have it 'unlocked'(you needed the pen trick with athlon).

      and from my experience, the odds are that the individual screwing the cpu while overclocking could have screwed it up even without overclocking, that is, the person did something horribly stupid in the
    • Someone that's willing to buy this device seems like they'd also be of the mindset to lie at the return counter if their CPU kills itself early after an Overclocking Session Gone Bad (TM).

      I would have modded you down, but I didn't think that that would properly convey my reaction to this statement, which is : fuck you.

      How in the hell do you conclude that anyone that wants to overclock is likely to be a liar as well?

      I'm typing this on an overclocked system I built years ago -- why did I overclock? Becau
      • "How in the hell do you conclude that anyone that wants to overclock is likely to be a liar as well?"

        That is not my conclusion. My conclusion is that someone is going to notice the selling point for this particular adaptor, namely what I quoted with a stress on "The warranty of your processor can be kept alive." And will think they now have a risk-free overclocking experience.

        I have NO problems with people that want to overclock and risk burning out their system, as long as they don't ask for a refund

      • I would have modded you down, but I didn't think that that would properly convey my reaction to this statement, which is : fuck you.

        Good answer. Aside from overclocking, this device (much like similar ones available from Evergreen Technologies [evertech.com] and Powerleap [powerleap.com]) will allow people to continue upgrading a PC that had previously maxxed-out its CPU upgrade options, thus reducing waste and generally being a good thing. And you want to label these people as liars and thieves. You just gained another foe.

      • Re:I'm sure retailers will love this. (Score:5, Funny)

        by Grishnakh ( 216268 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @08:14PM (#6387371)
        Even if you're accepting the risk of ruining your processor by overclocking it, and are willingly releasing the vendor from warranty obligations, you _are_ morally bankrupt, and are swindling all involved companies by not buying a higher-speed processor to begin with. This is because you're violating the implied contract you made with them to run the CPU at the advertised speed.

        I'll bet you're also the type who goes to the bathroom during TV commercials, which violates your contract to watch advertising which pays for TV programming. Hell, you're probably one of those scumbag Tivo users who fast-forwards through the commercials...

        Do you have multiple computers at home? You're probably connecting them all to one of those damned routers, instead of paying the ISP more for each computer!

        How are companies supposed to survive with people like this around? We need more laws and enforcement to make sure people are using things they purchase only in ways that the manufacturers permit!!
        • How the fuck did this get "insightful?" I mean, it's funny as hell, but....
        • Dang, that first paragraph is good. I almost hit the reply button without reading the rest. :)

        • Does this pass the "hammer" test?

          Even if you're accepting the risk of ruining your hammer by overpounding it, and are willingly releasing the vendor from warranty obligations, you _are_ morally bankrupt, and are swindling all involved companies by not buying a heavier hammer to begin with. This is because you're violating the implied contract you made with them to run the hammer at the advertised pound rate.

          I'll bet you're also the type who goes to the bathroom during TV commercials, which violates you

      • Your Pending Lawsuit (Score:5, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 07, 2003 @08:28PM (#6387472)

        Greetings,

        I represent the CIAA (CPU Industry Association of America) and wish to inform you that you are to cease all overclocking immediately. As you may be aware, under the DMCA (Digital Millennium Clockcycles Act) when you purchase a CPU, you are merely purchasing silicon with a license to use it for X number of MHz. Exceeding this number is STEALING MHz from poor engineers.

        Furthermore, multi-tasking OSes have been determined to be 'CPU piracy' becuase it allows multiple programs to share the CPU. As 'sharing' has been determined to mean 'stealing' you will have to have a seperate CPU for each process you wish to run concurrently.

        Thank you, and please continue to buy our products or we will be forced to sue again.

    • Re:I'm sure retailers will love this. (Score:5, Funny)

      by Dark Lord Seth ( 584963 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @07:54PM (#6387239) Journal
      1) The people working the front counters of the computer store hating their jobs due to arguing with customers about whether or not they tried overclocking their CPUs.

      Speaking as someone who works in a computer store, it always goes like this when dealing with modded hardware:

      1 : Did you ever or has anyone ever physically modified, altered or enhanced the hardware of your system?

      Yes. --> You were or should have been aware of the risks. You don't go about messing with valve settings, piston settings or the fuel-mixture of your car, do you? Get lost, warrenty voided.
      No. --> Continue to next question.

      2 : Did you ever or has anyone ever changed any settings in the BIOS, other then IDE or ACPI settings?

      Yes. --> You ought to be aware of the risks of messing with voltages, multipliers and what have ye. Go to hell, warrenty voided.
      No. --> Blame Intel or AMD, try to sell an expensive, new CPU.
      What the hell is a BIOS? --> Compare BIOS with an STD so people fear it. Then try to sell an expensive, new CPU.
      Yes, but I am an overclocker and modder. --> Violently remove customer from store. We don't sell 300 Euro brand-name cases, 500 Euro brand-name PSUs or 750 Euro brand-name water-cooling rigs. Hence why we don't make money on them anyways. (That, and those "Look at my prefab case window mod and 750 Euro water cooling rig that uses an aluminium radiator, copper heatsink and common tapwater!" annoy me.)
      • Yes. --> You ought to be aware of the risks of messing with voltages, multipliers and what have ye. Go to hell, warrenty voided.
        You'd void my warranty for setting a BIOS password, eh?

        I'm glad you post in Euros, that way I know I don't have to worry about ever buying from your craptastic service storefront.

        • Prices in the US* are cheaper anyways. My goverment bends me over backwards financially so they can afford their crappy socialist/hippy economic model of wasting money on hopeless people by making hard-working people pay more.

          * = Assuming you are from the US.

    • The results of that? 1) The people working the front counters of the computer store hating their jobs due to arguing with customers about whether or not they tried overclocking their CPUs.

      People argue about returning equipment that they fsck up all of the time. When I used to work at Computer City (6 yrs ago), there was a guy who came in just about every month after boogering up his system and argue that he shouldn't have to pay for service, even though he was out of warranty.

      2) The prices for these CP
    • So now stores that sell these CPUs now have even less to work with when determining whether John Smith walking into the store asking for a CPU exchange actually had a faulty CPU to begin with or was doing mad l33t overclocking in his basement last night.

      As someone that's worked for a computer store, who gives a shit? If there's nothing on the CPU indicating it's been tampered with or abused, then the retailer can make a warranty/DOA claim with their distributor/supplier and won't be left out of pocket, si

    • Oh no! (Score:3, Funny)

      by autopr0n ( 534291 )
      Not only that, but I've heard that deviant overclockers may have access to patented ERASER(TM) technology. This technology allows pencil marks to be erased from various surfaces. With ERASER(TM) speed-freak hooligans can remove any evidence of tampering with the electrical contacts on their AMD(TM) Athlon(TM) Processors(TM).

      Clearly these things should be illegal under the DMCA. Claims that Erasers have significant other functions are all lies.

    • I had to underclock my 1400 MHz Tbird to 1302 MHz (124MHz FSB on a KT7A-RAID) to get it to run without segfaults. So now I feel justified and morally superior to people who don't overclock, and doubly so to overclockers.

  • I get a Chinese (or maybe Korean) 404 page. In an Asian character set.

  • Will heatsinks work? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by klui ( 457783 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @07:11PM (#6386978)
    Because the chip rests on top of an adaptor, it would make the CPU sit higher. Wouldn't this present a problem with heatsinks? i.e. clamps that may use more force, or not able to reach the attachments.

    • Re:Will heatsinks work? (Score:5, Funny)

      by rice_web ( 604109 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @07:14PM (#6387000)
      Aarrgh.... just beat me with the same information. Now I'll get redundant and you'll get +5 informative! Damn the Karma Whore system!

      Someday I'll exact my revenge.

    • Re:Will heatsinks work? (Score:3, Informative)

      by Kris_J ( 10111 )
      It probably comes with a longer clip. My Spectra 333 kit did, though a motherboard heatsink thing meant that it didn't get clipped on exactly as recommended.

    • Re:Will heatsinks work? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by ic3p1ck ( 597610 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @09:32PM (#6387853)
      Not just that, but the temperature sensor is typically located under the chip, with this adaptor it probably wont make contact with the CPU anymore.

  • Heatsinks & Fans (Score:3, Interesting)

    by rice_web ( 604109 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @07:12PM (#6386985)
    So what kind of fans and heatsinks are compatible with this? Tom's made the point that the processor sits up higher, and that Upgradeware's heatsinks and fans must be used.

    How reliable/good are these heatsinks and fans? And what other companies manufacture compatible heatsinks and fans?

  • Joyful 403.9 error message (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 07, 2003 @07:14PM (#6386999)
    The error page is not in English, but Babelfish can help us out with that.

    Law? Shows? Identical? Has the too many people deposits and withdraws the Web railroad platform. Line following? Does: * Presses re- trims presses? Or shortly after again? *? www.upgradeware.com head? Then examines you think? Looks for it? HTTP 403.9 - prohibitions deposits and withdrawals: Too many users? Receives? Stands Internet Information Services Technique? (Supplies the technique? Supports the person? Use) * Background: If the Web servo bustles about, also because? Many? Road traffic? Sends? Law? Manages your request? Fresh? * Other? Microsoft Support

    sounds like most error messages... confusing in every way...

  • XP-TMC: Solution to the /. effect? (Score:3, Funny)

    by GillBates0 ( 664202 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @07:14PM (#6387001) Homepage Journal
    Solving an Old Problem Elegantly: Using the XP-TMC to Deal with the Multiplier Lock

    Solving an Old Problem Elegantly: Using the XP-TMC to Deal with the Slashdot Effect.

    Apparently the guys at Upgradeware could use one of these

  • I just built a dual Athlon MP 2400+ system. Too bad these CPU's don't have a barton core ;-( *sigh* Oh well. It's still fast and I love it ;-)

  • Troll (Score:4, Funny)

    by tarquin_fim_bim ( 649994 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @07:19PM (#6387049)
    Microsoft Support

    That's the only bit I could read. Informative though.

  • Why bother? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by WIAKywbfatw ( 307557 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @07:29PM (#6387112) Journal
    If you've got the money to go out and buy a new 2500+ or faster Athlon then you won't be breaking the bank if you spend a little bit extra and get a new, more suitable motherboard to go with it?

    Sure, there are a very few number of people out there (and I mean maybe a handful) who have systems that for whatever reason can't handle a motherboard swapout but, apart for that tiny subset, this isn't worth the effort.

    Why go to this much trouble and risk - possibly ruining a brand new CPU in the process - for a small bump in performance when you could swap both parts at once with less hassle and for greater gain?

    That old CPU and motherboard doesn't have to go to waste either - find a cheap case for it, put in a minimal amount of memory (assuming you didn't buy some new RAM as part of your upgrade), a cheap NIC and an old hard drive (even a 250MB drive!) and you've got a nice little runner that'll act as a nice firewall/server/whatever. Let's face it, if you're the kind of guy that would upgrade a PC's CPU to squeeze out a few more clock cycles then you're the kind of guy who'll have those kinds of parts lying around doing nothing.

    This may seem like a cheap upgrade option but if you fry that new CPU then it'll turn out to be a very expensive one.

    • Re:Why bother? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by afidel ( 530433 )
      Because I can get an Athlon XP 2600+ for $91, but to get a new mobo, 1.5GB of DDR ram, and an AGP 8X video card would be over $400?? My current rig is an Athlon 1.2Ghz with 1.5GB of PC-133 and a Geforce3 Ti, but the ram and video card would not work on most modern motherboards so this would be a cost effective way for me to more than double my cpu power.

      • 2600+ isn't a Barton chip... (Score:5, Informative)

        by WIAKywbfatw ( 307557 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @08:46PM (#6387594) Journal
        An Athlon XP 2600+ isn't a Barton core chip, it's a Thoroughbred "B" chip.

        The Barton core chips are:

        Barton 3200+ (2.250GHz, 512KB cache);
        Barton 3000+ (2.167GHz, 512KB L2 cache);
        Barton 2800+ (2.083GHz, 512KB L2 cache);
        Barton 2500+ (1.833GHz, 512KB L2 cache).

        The top Thorougbred core chips are:

        Thoroughbred 2800+ (2.250GHz, 256KB L2 cache);
        Thoroughbred 2700+ (2.167GHz, 256KB L2 cache);
        Thoroughbred 2600+ (2.083GHz, 256KB L2 cache);
        Thoroughbred 2400+ (2.000GHz, 256KB L2 cache).

        Note the increased L2 cache size on the Barton, which AMD cite as the reason for the 200-300 point rise in their performance rating for those chips (eg, Barton 2.167 GHz = Thoroughbred 2.167GHz + 300). Obviously, the latest FSB bump introduced with the Barton family helps too.

        In some situations a Thoroughbred 2800+ will outpace a Barton 3000+ because of it's greater clock speed but, in most cases, the Barton with its greater L2 cache will win out.

        Anyhow, given this story is about "overclockers looking to upgrade their age old Athlon mobo (KT133, KT266 etc.) with a spanking new AMD Barton CPU", I thought it prudent to point out your incorrect assumption about the XP 2600+ chip.

        In all likelyhood, you probably wouldn't need any sort of adapter to fit a Thoroughbred chip to most older Athlon motherboards - I know that I could swap the 1.2GHz CPU in my machine for a 2800+ with no hassle but wouldn't be able to do the same with a 3200+, or even a 2500+.

        But if you're really going to skip the 2800+ for the 3000+ or 3200+, then you're paying 50 percent or 110 percent more for your CPU in the first place. And if you're doing that, then you might as well be buying a new motherboard.
        • Actually, I think you CAN put a barton into an older system, it will just underclock it based on tyou'r board's FSB. I could slap a barton 3200+ in my KT266A machine but it will only get to 1.8Ghz, but you still geet the advantage of the bigger cache (and it will run cooler and with less juice)
    • yea but... how many firewalls do i need? been doing that with my 486, old p1's etc, etc

  • Why get this? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by BaD_HeX ( 687625 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @07:47PM (#6387197)
    Most of my overclocking experience has shown me that it costs just about the same to go out and buy new parts. So then why in god's name would you bother buying something like this?

    For one I attend lots of various LAN parties. I'm sure others who go will catch a similar situation if they have not.

    Bob: "Hey Tom, Nice Box..."
    Tom: "Thanks Bob... it's a stock AMD"
    Bob: "Yeah, but did you see Vince's Water-cooled rig? I can't believe he got that 2100+ so high"
    *Tom walks away in shame*
    • I had a chat like that once, only it went something more like this:

      Me: "Hey Cindy, nice box!"
      Cindy: *smack*

      mm, the smell of burning karma

  • Wrong.. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Stir ( 446728 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @07:50PM (#6387213) Homepage
    Haven't you heard? The latest craze is UNDER clocking. People with older Athlons are ahead of the curve.

    Underclocking Becomes Latest Computer Craze [bbspot.com]

    • Re:Wrong.. (Score:5, Informative)

      by Blaskowicz ( 634489 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @08:11PM (#6387354)
      Some people indeed underclock their CPU and lower the voltage, in order to cool it with a 5V fan, or get an fanless PC.
      Here's the rigs [hardware.fr] of the creator and webmaster of the most visited french hardware site [hardware.fr] :P
    • Why should I go out, buy some horribly expensive rig with an Athlon 3200+, 7200RPM harddrives, 2GB of ram, 20 fans, etc. and then underclock the thing to 486 speeds? I mean, c'mon - I can get 486's for free. Besides it's great fun and satisfying to do useful things with ancient hardware that I would otherwise have to pay to get rid of, and everyone else thinks is useless.

      • Re:Wrong.. (Score:2, Informative)

        by Blaskowicz ( 634489 )
        LOL.. no one has realized that parent attempted to get +5 funny :D. the site he linked to published "articles" about Microsoft patenting 0 and 1, and other funny crap.

    • Re:Wrong.. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by ejaw5 ( 570071 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @09:48PM (#6387940)
      Mobo manufacturers: please bring back the 'TURBO' button from the good old 386 days.

      Imagine, having a quiet computer idling away at say 500Mhz..more than enough to use email, write up documents, read slashdot. (all while the CPU remains relatively cool) Then, when you want to play Quake III or compile a Linux kernel, hit the TURBO on for 2000Mhz.
    • I've got an 1100 Athlon underclocked to 500 so that I can run it with a dinky heat sink and 40mm fan as a server. Since it just serves my home network, I didn't need the speed, and as it was not being used then why not? The only time it shows a bit of slowness is during boot-up, but as it's a Linux server then that's not much of an issue.

  • I was just about to go out and buy a new [livejournal.com] 'stop-gap' motherboard so I could upgrade to the new Athlon CPUs. I paid about $140 for this mobo (Abit KT7-Raid it has built in raid) and I was expecting to last the whole Athlon cycle.

    I read about the adaptor on toms hardware, but I didn't know it also let you use slower FSB settings. This kicks ass!

    Sorry for the sincerity, as opposed to the cynical vindictive that so characterizes discussion between intelligent people these days, it's just that I'm just ver
  • Is that what passes for an old system these days? Damn, when I saw this at first I was hoping to squeeze a few more years out of my Slot-A Athlon-500.
  • It's kinda kewl that this adapter might squeak out some more life for a kt133 system (since millions of computer bits are winding up in landfills or 'recycled' often dangerously in the 3rd world or whatnot. but otoh a new nf2 mb can be had for $100, how much does this thing cost? cause if it is $40 or so plus, I'd be temped to just get a new board and add the old board to my 'bone pile' or ebay it. granted I might have to buy new ram to ... but a new nf2 board would crush one of these adapters running o

  • This article is, like, so 90's (Score:3)

    by UnknowingFool ( 672806 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @09:18PM (#6387783)
    Although some may find the need to overclock their processors like they did back in the 90's, I don't see much need for it these days. Sure, you can get an extra 10% more speed or so, but most applications don't really need the speed boost that they once did. Plus you risk damaging your computer. Remember those Athlons have the heat potential of nuclear reactors. Fooling around with their seating and heat sinks may cost you. While you can still find older motherboards and processors to replace your system, it isn't worth the trouble of scouring your city or ebay for them. In the end, it's far easier to replace your chip and board than try to overclock.
    • My Athlon 1.4 has been running at 1.6 since the day I got it (Sept 2001). Heat dissipation is in excess of 100W with this overclock - the 1.4 is hotter than any of today's chips even at its rated speed - but with a big copper heatsink and case fans it stays below 45 deg C. That's cooler than most people's processors.

      I also have a 1.13 Athlon which has been run at 1.26 for the same length of time. That one doesn't even need any extra cooling. Sweat your assets!

  • Go to babelfish [altavista.com], and paste in the URL where you get the error message (its here) [upgradeware.com] . Choose Japanese to English and hit translate. Presto, you get the article (complete with pics even). Is this some kind of sinister tie up between upgradeware and altavista to draw traffic to them? Food for thought. And as an aside, I would like to know why that is happening, because I am unable to figure it out.
  • Am I the only one who considers the "old" Athlon to be the "Athlon" (i.e. not the Athlon XP/MP)? Geez - I was all excited to maybe boost my 700Mhz proc a bit, but alas, no.
    ...still thinking about making a mini (albeit mostly useless) beowulf out of the four SPARCstations I have sitting on my shelf...
    :)

    Using Old Hardware and Loving It
  • This thing's being advertized as a solution to not void the warranty... Now, how many kt133 boards are still in warranty in the first place, and with a non-ZIF socket, you're likely to bend the hell out of the pins, so that'd void the warranty more than a pencil to L1 bridges ever would

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