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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.
Agree? Disagree? Discuss it in our forums
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HighSpeed PC Athlon XP Unlocking Kit: Overclocking Athlons is an effective, and free way to get more out of your rig. FSB is one part of the equation, and unlocking the multiplier is another part. It isn't that easy to unlock an Athlon XP, but we look at a kit that makes unlocking a snap to do.
