Breaking the Bridges

[Guest]

Here we go. I just purchased an AIXA Thunderbird 1GHz that I want to overclock to 1.2GHz. Here is the problem, I want to do this using the bridges. From looking at Tom's article, there are only a couple of differences between the 1 and 1.2GHz chips (regarding the bridges), of which only two on my chip need to be broken. Those are the problem, since I ordered my conductive pen from Radio shack and I don't anticpate closing bridges to be a problem. Have you guys figured out the easiest way to open the bridges? I am aware of all of the options in Tom's articles. I have a soldering iron, but not that small of one. I don't have an etching system either. No dentist drills either. What do you think? Thanks for any help.

 

[kurokaze]

eh? Isn't closing the bridges what you want to do?

I've got a 1 Ghz AVIA Tbird and it clocks to 1200 with no problems by just raising the CPU freq to 120Mhz and use the default 10x multiplier. I haven't even touched my bridges yet. No appreciable heat issues because of the overclock either (at most it was 0.5C)

 

[Crashman]

People have used etching tools also, heck, you could do it with a sharp knife and a little care!

Suicide is painless...........

 

[Ncogneto]

http://www.ocinside.de/index_e.html?/html/workshop/socketa/socketa_resistors.html


This site will show you the bridges you need to change, I have done 5 so far myself. I have found the best tool is a dremel with a power take of tool, takes me about 2 minutes to do one this way.

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing!

 

[Ncogneto]

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000302Y3.01.LZZZZZZZ.gif

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing!

 

[kurokaze]

whoa, opening bridges for overclocking?

are we talking about the same L1 bridges?

 

[Ncogneto]

They are talking about doing a hard mod of the chip itself utilizing all the bridges not just closing the l1 bridges and using clock multipliers.

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing!

 

[Ncogneto]

Btw if you do have an AXIA it should be capable of more.

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing!

 

[kurokaze]

OIC!.. amm.. why would you want to do that though?
Why not just overclock?

 

[Ncogneto]

Not all motherboards support overclocking using the L1 trick,ie. multiplier and or dipswitches. Furthermore some people do not like to overclock with the fsb do to the fact the rest of the system runs out of spec this way. Some people also claim that a hard mod is the stabilist method of oc'ing the cpu.

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing!

 

[kurokaze]

hmm, interesting.. so where can I get a key to all the combinations of the bridges?
i.e. if I want to turn my 1Ghz Tbird into 1.2Ghz (the "hard way" where can I get this info?

thanks

 

[Ncogneto]

here look at the paint by numbers article here this is a great site for what you are looking for.


http://www.ocinside.de/index_e.html?/html/workshop/socketa/socketa_resistors.html


A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing!

 

[kurokaze]

wow!!.. great thanks!

 

[Guest]

One problem, the site you just gave doesn't match the bridge layout that Tom first published in the article Overclocking AMD's Socket A. Who do we trust?

 

[Guest]

Forget it, I was wrong. Tom's site is for 'B' Athlons, 100MHz FSB. I was using the oc site for 133MHz bridge layouts and that is why they don't match up. If you switch to 100MHz FSB on the OC site, they match up perfectly. I have to cut like 10 bridges, this should be fun. I will let you guys know what happens, and how I decide the cut the bridges. I am going to shoot for 1330, starting with an AXIA 1000. Wish me luck!! And thanks to everybody for the help.

 

[Ncogneto]

bear in mind if using a exacto type knife this process can be quite time consuming. You have to go a little deeper then you might originally think. Good luck and remember there is always a risk invovled here.

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing!

 

[Guest]

Ncogneto, I got your post a little too late. Using an xacto knife, or straight edge like I tried, takes VERY long, so long that I gave up after not even completing 1 bridge. A drill is definitely something you need to use here. I also think I screwed something up, because now every once and a while when I boot I need to hit reset. Oh well, the consequences of ocing. Hopefully somebody will hack an A7M bios that unlocks multiplier adjustment. Until then, I will have to be happy with my "slow" 1gig AXIA.

 

[Ncogneto]

You could always take it to a jewelry shop and have them do it.

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing!

 

[Guest]

How do they do it? They have a little drill? Would this be "easy" for them? If not, I don't think it is worth it. If it is a breeze for them, then I might do it. In fact, I know a jeweler, but he only sets diamonds, I don't know if he could do something like this. Thanks for the help.

 

[kurokaze]

I think they would have stuff to do it.. after all, they make all those intricate designs and stuff.

actually, considering the size of the bridges I would be wary about sending it to a jeweller, they look even smaller than what a jeweller would be used to working with...

 

[Ncogneto]

No, I think a jeweller would be the perfect match, remember I used a dremel without any problems and I am sure they have even finer tools to work with, not to mention those glasses they have. I guess the cost would all depend on the jeweller himself, but hey it never hurts to ask!

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing!