The Multiplier - Worse than the Terminator?

[GIJersey]

I have a quickie question? Can you damage a processor by not having the multiplier set right? For instance say you had a PIII 550 set at "3" instead of having the multiplier set to the correct setting of 5.5? I know if you push your FSB too much it can result in damamge but I am really curious if the mulitplier can be as bad as Arnold "The Terminator" and damage your processor?


Thanks!

Mark

 

[aka1nas]

well, regardless of whether you use the miltiplier or FSB to increase the CPU's frequency, you are still running it at a faster speed. This can kill the proc either way potentially.

 

[GIJersey]

Yes, but what if your running the multiplier at a slower speed? again, say a PIII 550 at a multilier setting of x3?

 

[Colt45]

PIII's are multiplier locked, so its a non-issue.

 

[AndyHui]

Pentium IIIs are multiplier locked.

They use their own multiplier setting and ignore whatever the setting is on the motherboard.

 

[GIJersey]

Thanks for the feedback. It is interesting though, I have a PIII 550 that was running with the multilier set at x3 and I was having alot of problems with the rig on the network. As soon as I changed it to the proper setting of 5.5, the networking problems went away. I was having problems copying files from this rig to another. It would timeout and say Netowrk not available. That;s the only thing I changed in the sysytem and it seems to have had an impact.

Wadaya Think?

Mark

 

[aka1nas]

umm, I don't think you are getting it. You can't change the CPU mulitplier on the P3. It is factory locked and cannot be changed. You must be changing some other setting.

 

[lastig21]

I know on some of the older boards, if you overshot the multiplier the computer wouldn't boot. Setting the multiplier too low was not a big deal. The computer would use the correct multiplier anyway. I don't see how that could effect network performance though. If you had raised your fsb to compensate for the "lower" multiplier, your pci slots might have been out of spec causint your nic to be unstable.

 

[HouRman]

I remember a few articles and attempts to unlock a PIII. It involved shorting 2 wires with something like a pencil tip that pokes through a hole in a Secc2 processor.

 

[Colt45]

<< I remember a few articles and attempts to unlock a PIII. It involved shorting 2 wires with something like a pencil tip that pokes through a hole in a Secc2 processor. >>



From what I've heard is that Intel locks their processors at the die level. Someone explained how how it was done, actually IIRC there is an AT FAQ on it, explaining how intel locks the cpus.

I'll find a link.

<edit> Here it is

You might be thinking of the mod done to the slot 1 celerons to make them SMP capable, it required connecting a pin from the cpu, to a slot contact, and also to 2v pull up voltage.