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UNLOCKING YOUR T-bird ( permanently )
Circuit Works Conductive Pen from Chemtronics
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After trying the pencil trick to unlock my cpu , I was slightly shocked to find that after two weeks it stopped working, It would seem that the pencil trick has a short life indeed. Well , this was just not good enough for me , so a short search through a electronics parts store , gave me what I had been looking for , a pen dispenser for drawing highly conductive silver trace .
The Cpu.
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Pic 2 is the cpu type , an ARGA ?? , never heard of it , and its certainly not a particularly good overclocker either. But it was cheap , and Im very happy running the cpu at 1ghz for now , esp since there is no point in pushing it harder at the moment due to the fact that the graphics card is more or less maxed out as it is . Putting the Delta fan on the Volcano 6Cu allows the cpu to run at 1.2ghz @ 1.85v reasonably stable. It will do 1150 @ 1.75v stable with the standard Volcano 6Cu , and as you can see this cpu is in no way a AXIA .
Unlocking the MULTIPLIER.
Since most of us will never see a Factory unlocked T-bird , unlocking the cpu our selves is the only option , and the pencil trick , is only a short term solution. This is where the conductive pen comes in , using the pen to cross the L1 bridges lays down a silver trace that should last for ever . The space that you have to lay down the trace is small indeed . I strongly suggest a good table lamp , and take your time to do it right . You want to avoid shorting the bridges , and just put on small dabs that cover the L1 bridges , hehehe sounds easy right , it took me a good hour to get it right and maybe as many as 30 tries.
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Here you can see the size of my finger compared to the L1 bridges which have been joined , for what I hope is a permanent unlocking of the cpu.
Here you can see a close up of the L1 bridges and the small dabs of silver trace that I laid down. As you can see the first and second bridge are very close , but not close enough to short. The last 2 bridges are more like it , this is what you are aiming to do , just a very nice little spot of silver trace over the bridges. When you get it wrong , use Alcohol based cleaner to clean the trace of and try again. Do it until you get it right .
Conclusion
The pen works , and works well . It took some time for me to get the dabs just right , and good lighting is a must . The pen is not cheap, Twenty something dollars here in Australia , but if you are sick and tired of taking out your not so cheap and some what fragile T-bird , to redo the bridges with a pencil , then this pen is a must , esp if you get together with some friends to share the costs . This pen will do many a AMD cpu , so sharing should not be a problem. How long will the trace last ? , thats hard to say , if you are constantly taking coolers on and off etc you may damage the trace , but from what Ive seen , the trace would seem to be very durable , and I can see no reason for it not lasting as long as the cpu . This is as close as we mere mortals will ever come to a factory unlocked cpu , so enjoy. I have been playing with the multiplier the last few days and have experience no problems what so ever in setting any multiplier I want , so if you are a hard-core overclocker , or just like playing around with your computer settings , this pen is a must ,( no more pencils , no more books , no more teachers ugly looks ) . hehehehe.