PC Hacks

Hack #21. Which CPUs Are Hackable?

Know which CPUs can be hacked or overclocked.

With this brief look at the evolution of CPUs, you'll quickly see who makes the most hackable CPU. Armed with positive CPU identification and knowing what you want to accomplish in terms of performance, you'll be able to determine if your present CPU can be hacked or if you need a new CPU to gain better performance.

AMD CPUs are typically deemed more hackable than Intel CPUs as there are usually more system boards for AMD CPUs that provide the option to adjust the base clock speed [Hack#25] and clock multiplier [Hack 27] and [Hack 28] ] Intel has typically locked down their CPUs to function at only one or a few clock multiplier settings, and they have usually rated and sold most of their CPUs at the highest speed they can be reliably be run. Table 3-1 provides a quick overview of the most hackable CPU types and methods. Most CPUs can be overclocked by changing the base clock frequency, while some allow multiplier changes. In the case of a number of AMD and a few Intel CPUs, the chip can be modified to support overclocking.

Table 3-1. Overclocking methods by CPU type

CPU	Overclocking options	Overclocking method
AMD Athlon	FSB clock, multiplier	Jumpers, BIOS, chip mod
AMD Duron	FSB clock, multiplier	Jumpers, BIOS, chip mod
Intel Celeron	FSB clock, multiplier	Jumpers, BIOS, chip mod
Intel Pentium I	FSB clock, multiplier	Jumpers, BIOS
Intel Pentium II (pre-8/98)	FSB clock, multiplier	Jumpers, BIOS, chip mod
Intel Pentium ...