Closing Bridges & CPU Markings

[andygold]

Is there a better (no guessing if you used enough pencil)way of closing the bridges on a T-bird? I'm looking for something better than a pencil (a little more permanent, and less guess work) but not as permanent as a conductive epoxy.

Also, I just received my T-bird 900 in the mail, and I'm curious as to the markings on the core....i cannot read them when looking at them from directly above (they fade out). But if I look at them from say a 45 degree angle, they fade back into view. I'm asking this as my first thought was that the vendor remarked this chip. Will CPU-ID work on T-birds? If the chip is in fact remarked 800 for example, and I set it up as a 900, will CPU-ID tell me the actual MHZ, or will it tell me what I have the Mobo set at?

 

[fast0]

What you have the entire setup set as.
(Motherboard + CPU)

Did you order it from a reliable source? If the bridges on the CPU are NOT closed then most likely it is not remarked. (THey cant remark it if they dont close the bridges).

People have been using defogger kits from car parts stores, but that is pretty permanent. I've been using the pencil setup for some time now, and it appears to be working fine... it's always okay to try it cos' it erases

 

[blurredvisionx]

I've been using the #2 pencil trick as well, and it works fine. It doesn't seem to wanna overclock too much though. Could this because there isn't enough marking there to make a better connection?? Or does that have anything to do with how high I can set the multiplier??

 

[andygold]

fast0....I have a Abit KT7-RAID, with the above mentioned CPU (all of the L1 bridges were cut, as well as some of the bridges on all the other L#s.
As to the remarking/closed bridges....DUH, why didn't I think of that? That's right...If they're open, it cannot have been remarked, waiting for me to tell the BIOS what it is supposed to be. There would have been no way for me to unknowingly overclock it. Wow, I desrve a lashing for that one. But let me ask you this...have you ever seen the markings fade out when looking at it from directly above (90 degree/perpendicular), only to have them become legible as you move the chip towards a 45 degree angle? It just looks very strange to me. This is the first time I have eyeballed a T-bird, so I do not know if this is the norm or not.

Also, I've seen people claim that they used #2pencils, HB lead, and a few other lead/graphites. This seems to me that these products would all have different amounts of conductivity/resistance, some better than others. I'm looking for something designed for bridging the gaps, that would have a known conductivity. But typically this type of item would be a very permanent fix. The rear window defogger idea sounds great, because that is the purpose it was designed for, but I was hoping for something that would be a little less permanent (in case the CPU self destructs shortly after I try to OC it). Yes, I realize you can't always "have your cake and eat it", but maybe someone else has found something in between the two extremes.

 

[fast0]

Yeah. : )
I'm not sure what is with the "holographic" effect, but if I recall correctly mine pretty much did the same thing (tbird 850). It's just the way the top of it is manufactured and it is "shiny" like a mirror. It's just the way it was designed. Heheh.

The specific pencil I have been using for a few weeks now is the following (and I haven't had to repencil yet, and I did a pretty quick job (10 minutes total between staring at it through a magnifying glass (after pencilling) and doing the actual pencil job.

Found it in my old school supplies for graphics.

"Staedtler MARS LUMOGRAPH 100 2H"
The size on the pencil is, as above, 2H.
Worked well so far. Good luck.

 

[Saturn124]

Let me get this strait you can close the Bridges with a Regular Pencil ????????
and how long does it last ?

 

[paulip88]

Chip markings:
The first line on the chip should read xMHZxxxxx
The first x is the type of chip. D for Duron. A for TBird.
This is followed by three(Duron) or four(TBird) numbers signifying the clock speed. The rest of the stuff. I don't know.

To close the bridges:
Pencil works, but I have noticed a degradation in stability after a day. Right now I am using the stuff for the window defog kit. However, since it came in an epoxy form, I didn't bother to mix it since I didn't want to kill my cheap CPU by doing something stupid and permamanent. Works fine with only the silver syringe.

 

[fast0]

Yeah, you can simply close them with a regular pencil.
as paulip88 sais - it may become unstable.. other people have reported some system degradation after a while.. but I've been fine for a couple of weeks Maybe I'm just lucky, who knows.

The secret is, to unlocking the chip:

Look at all the tiny little L1 bridges.
Put some kind of conductive material between them to allow low current/low voltage through them.

Tada!