Even since the days of the Pentium, people have always been on the lookout for ways to get that one small extra Mhz out of their processor - that one 3d Mark out of their computer. With the original Pentiums, one could simply flip a dipswitch or two on the motherboard to change the multiplier. The celerons could also be overclocked with a simple setting in the BIOS. Yet, CPU makers advanced to fixed multiplier clocks, and overclocking became a little more difficult than just flipping a switch or two. With the slotted AMD CPUs, one only had to slip a small device onto the CPU, and then dipswitches could change the multiplier. With the Athlon Thunderbird, the "pencil trick" became notorious - by connecting metal leads on the top of the CPU (known as bridges) one could unlock the clock multiplier. During the production and testing of a CPU, the clock has to be manipulated to see its stress points and how stable it is - to make this a simple process for AMD, there are bridges on top of the CPU that unlock the multiplier. After the CPU is tested, a laser cuts the electrical connection between the leads, thereby locking in the multiplier. The pencil trick reconnects those leads, thereby once again unlocking the CPU multiplier.

With the Athlon XP, the overclocking game changed quite a bit. No longer could one simply use a pencil to connect leads - AMD changed the housing of the CPU to a nonconductive organic material. In the production of the XPs, the leads that unlock the clock are cut, but because the housing for the CPU is organic material, a small "valley" is now created in the processor by AMD, stopping anyone from using the "pencil trick" again.

I have seen many people recently using super glue, crayon, really anything nonconductive to fill in the valleys, and then using a rear window defroster repair kit to link the bridges. I have also heard some bad stories about this - if the paint dries and two sets of bridges are touching each other, the unlocking won't work and might have to take turpentine to your processor.

Enter HighSpeed PC. They sell an for $12 USD. In the kit comes a Cleaning Agent, Gap Filler, Conductive Grease, a pin with a round head, and a magnifying glass, as well as instructions.

The contents of the kit

First and foremost let me warn you not to use an anti-static bag in the unlocking process, unless it is used to transfer the CPU from one location to another. Anti-static bags are coated with a metallic film on the outside that conducts electricity; thereby preventing static electricity from contaminating whatever is inside the bag. So, by placing anything on an anti-static bag, you risk the possibility of leads being connected, and increase the possibility of damaging the CPU due to static electricity.

The L1 valleys have not been filled in, the leads have not been connected yet

That being said, all that's left to do is follow the instructions. Please mind the pictures, as I didn't have a chance to clean the CPU from the arctic silver that slipped and got on the organic housing of the CPU. After setting up the magnifying glass and masking off the other bridges, dip the pin into the GF (Gap Filler.) I found that it was not a problem to place an almost excessive amount of GF in the valleys to fill them up properly. After smearing the GF away with my finger, I let it sit for about ten minutes.

The L1 valleys are filled, the leads have not been connected yet

Now that the gaps have been filled, we need to connect the L1 bridges. By taking the pin, dipping it into the CG (Conductive Grease) and dabbing dots between the bridges. Sounds pretty easy - unfortunately it's not. It took me many tries to get the grease to seemingly connect the bridges without touching the other connections.

Unfortunately, the continuity tester on my multimeter proved me wrong. Most of my problem was that my hands were shaky - but the other issue is that the bridges really are quite small. One thing I will say is that I'm thankful for is the fact that HighSpeed PC included more than enough GF and CG. In fact, I'm sure that you could unlock dozens of computers with the kit. If for some reason you need to unlock your CPU repeatedly, this kit will suffice for many years.

The conductive grease will create an electrical bridge between the leads

There's only one way to tell that your CPU clock multiplier is actually unlocked - in your BIOS (I have an Award BIOS) you can change the multiplier even if your CPU is not unlocked. The way you can tell if the multiplier is actually unlocked is that after the POST (Power On Self Test,) when the CPU speed is read, the actual Mhz/Ghz reading will be higher. I've had my clock set to 12x (I have an XP 1700+: 133 Mhz FSB x 11 [multiplier clock] = 1463 Mhz,) which will boost the speed up to 1596 Mhz, and will be displayed.

Final Words

I was able to boot Windows 2000 Professional and run everything safely at a FSB of 133 Mhz and a multiplier of 12, but this didn't really suffice for me. Although this would increase the CPU speed, it wouldn't increase the speed for reading RAM or throughput. So instead, I have set my multiplier at 11.5 and my FSB at 139 Mhz - almost 1.6 Ghz. In effect I'm getting more throughput and a higher CPU clock speed. Please also note that the voltages were regulated based on the speed which I was trying to attain as more voltage will aide in the stability of the CPU.

Pros
Cheap
Works as advertised

Cons
Can be difficult to apply if you aren't careful

Bottom Line: I would like to thank for sending the XP Unlocking kit. For its price and what it allows you to do, I would recommend this for anyone with a locked Athlon XP.

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