UpgradeWare TMC-XP with K7S5A or any other "older" AMD motherboards?

[FirstAllTheWay]

Hi everyone,

Just read UpgradeWare TMC-XP review on Toms Hardware. Very interesting. Just wondering if any one of us here using this adapter? If so please post your experience here. This might help others.

[PDL]

Just a few observations, if I may! ;)

First, the review states that the device "Unlocks the Multiplier"! I beg to differ here. It allows the multiplier to be selected, yes, but it does nothing that I can see to "unlock" the multipliers in the sense that the CPU L1 bridges may be in the "Locked" state.
The review centers on the TBred and Barton cores so there is no issue of locked cpus with them. However, the article does mention the 'Thunderbird' core and there are also all those Palominos out there. I feel it does not go far enough to note that this device will not work as advertised on a "locked" processor. The manufacturer website is slightly misleading in that the "Athlon XP" is mentioned and then the Thorton/Barton/TBred types are specified in the parenthases. I guess they too forgot all about all those Palominos! Also, it can be argued that the ability to control the 8x bit(BP_FID4) is in some sense "unlocking" the upper or lower multipliers, but in essence it is just another type of "adjustment" to the already available multipliers.

Second, I would like to know what the effect of covering the center part of the SocketA will be on the thermal reading on board using a thermistor in that area. Again, I note that the tests were done on a Barton core and that this and the TBred cores use the internal diode. But not all mobos that can use this device have the capability to read that diode.

Third, it is mentioned that the device raises the processor slightly higher when installed. This can cause the clip on some HSFs to be even harder to install than they already are. Some more extensive tests of this situation with various clip designs would be helpful.

Finally, the major drawback of this and a similar device that appeared on the market about 2 years ago is that the cpu must be removed each time a change is made to the multiplier.

"my quarter's worth" :D

[jonels]

what's the dif between a locked xp1600 (L1 bridges cut) and a locked xp1700 (L1 bidges cut) apart from manufacturing quality ?

answer (i think) is the other bridges set for voltage and multiplier ,so therefore if u change the other bridges on the lower cpu to match the higher one ,they become the same cpu (though the original lower cpu might not be of enough quality to run in that state as successfully as the higher cpu)...so it doesn't matter if the L1 bridges are cut or not if u are modding the actual cpu

or is my simpleton thinking flawed ? (as usual)

[PDL]

This is from the manufacturer's webpage!

[jonels]

thanks PDL for clearing that up

[PDL]

Originally posted by jonels:
thanks PDL for clearing that up

No problem!
It is an interesting device though, and would be fun to experimant with.
I attempted to make something similar about 6 months ago that would bring the connections OUTSIDE of the SocketA area. Then the switches would be accessable without removing the processor. I just could not get the connections stable to the cpu pins.

Some time ago this device appeared on the market:

It did basically the same thing EXCEPT that at that time there was no need to control the 5th L3 position like the new unit does.
And, they were very difficult to purchase except in Japan. :D
They kinda didn't catch on because many more mobo makers then started putting multiplier changing facilities on the board, or in the bios.