View Full Version : Unlock AMD W/Gold Leaf
Hi all! This is my first post! I am also new to O/Clocking. Just did the "pencil" trick and am running my 950 @ 1050! Question. I don't feel secure in the fact that the pencil could wayne. Has anyone tried Gold Leaf paint since gold is supposed to be such a good contact? Or, I heard mention of having the L1's soldered. How can I do that? Can I? I want a more permanent solution hee hee...
TechnoFile
04-18-01, 04:21 PM
You could solder them, but that is a really difficult task, since the bridges are so small. I personally used a conductive pen, available through most electronics parts stores/suppliers. Another fairly popular option is to run down to Autozone and buy a rear-window defroster repair pen. Basically it's a conductive pen. Both options last much longer than pencil.
Reilly (Apr 18, 2001 04:21 p.m.):
You could solder them, but that is a really difficult task, since the bridges are so small. I personally used a conductive pen, available through most electronics parts stores/suppliers. Another fairly popular option is to run down to Autozone and buy a rear-window defroster repair pen. Basically it's a conductive pen. Both options last much longer than pencil.
Sure THEORETICALLY pencil won't last as long, but if you don't touch the pencil markings they'll be fine. I have unlocked about 12 Durons/Thunderbirds with the pencil trick and have never had any problems. Besides, if the lead comes off, all that happens is your CPU is locked again, or it won't boot. If it doesn't boot or gets locked, then just erase the pencil marks and redraw them.
Aaron
Well I guess I can't say i've never had ANY problems, there was one instance where the CPU became locked, but that was becuase i was constantly switching the CPU in and out of the motherboard and handling it very often. It just became locked, so i took it out and redrew the markings, and its been fixed ever since.
Aaron
Ridenow
04-18-01, 06:22 PM
Sure, the pencil works, but sometimes there are problems. You also have to worry about the high resistance of the graphite. I do not know if there are any negative long term or thermal effects of this. If you are going to do it right, get a conductive pen. I can not say I have one because my processor came unlocked, but I have one picked out. I would pay $10 to be sure.
http://www.hosfelt.com/Chemtronics Folder/Chemtronic 4.htm
Hey! But still, how about a drop of Gold Leaf? Think it might work? I love the idea of "GOLD" but how to apply it...paint...some other way????
FWIW, I solder mine, but then I have been soldering for 30 years. Believe me, there are different degrees of skill involved in soldering. I've done surface mount soldering for 20 years, back to the early days of flat-pack ICs in the defense industry and I can assure you, soldering L1 traces is the trickiest soldering I've ever done. Even with a stereo microscope, 12W micro pen and indium/silver solder (low temp), it was a challenge. If you are going to go through the cost and effort of purchasing gold leaf paint, you might as well go the easier and cheaper route of buying a rear window defogger repair kit. At least it is confirmed to work, whereas gold leaf paint may turn out to not be conductive. Just because the paint has metal in it, does not mean it is reliably conductive. As far as pencil lead being a form of carbon and hence resistive, the conductivity is still more than adequate to solve the current demands of a cmos gate input. You're not jump-starting a car with it. As the previous posters pointed out, the issue with graphite is the fact that it is not very indelible. If you do your CPU with pencil, put it in and don't remove the HSF after that, chances are the pencil solution will last longer than your love of that particular CPU. I experiment a lot and my HSF is on and off 10s of times a week. I needed a more reliable method. I also clean my CPU fastidiously every time I remove and remount my HSF to prep it for a fresh coat of AS. That causes painted traces to denude prematurely. that is why soldering was my solution, but, about the only good reason for soldering when easier solutions are out there.
Hoot
Thanx!
It's in my nature to "tweak" out new civilizations. 12W iron you say??? Do you have any pictures of your soldering work? Would love to see!
Da Whip
04-19-01, 11:04 AM
Gold leaf??? As if we don't spend enough on our PC's. What would you want next? Zircon - encrusted Tweezers???
Gold because isn't it suppposed to be great for electrical contacts. Stereo rca jacks etc. Think I may try soldering eventually. Oh terrible tempation! If I make a mask, though, it should make it easier not to mess up I think...ooh..uh...scalppel please...we're go'in in!
Hi !
I thought about Gold too. I did some searching and found out that Silver has no equal for conducting heat or electricity. The Conductive Pen is some 95% silver. I put in on and then wipe it carefully from inside to outside with a 'Q' tip dipped in fingernail polish, and squeezed out a bit with paper towl. Result is taking off almost all the silver tracing, meaning no contacts between bridges you don't want to cross connect. But, if you look very close under high magnification, you see that the silver ink has stayed behind in the laser slot and connects the brige. *S*
My next project is to mold a solid silver heat sink, have it machined and sloted to my current heat sink's dimensions and mount a fan on it. Since Silver has no equal for heat transfer, and the price of Silver is LOTS cheaper than gold, it should make an excellent heat sink. Another important consideration is the surface of the heat sink that meets your CPU core. It must be very smoothe and free of ridges, oils, etc. Polish it with emory cloth and clean it good before you apply the Artic Silver II Heat Sink compound.
I have an Abit KT7A with an Athlon 850MHz oc'd to 1000. How did the guy that had the Duron get his to OC to that much?? My CMOS only goes up to 1.85 v. for core, maximum. 133/33 @ 1.85 multiplier of 7.5
I have been using a defroster kit to unlock amd's for over 8 months now. I have unlocked maybe 10 cpu's so far and not 1 has had a problem to date. First I apply the conductive paint then after is dries I mix silicone and mineral spirits to make a nice runny mixture then I cover the whole cpu (not the core). I use chilled water on my cpu's and this has been really good at waterproofing the chips and it also serves to protect the paint job on the bridges.
How are you using chilled water? Did you mount a cup on the cpu with leads going into a tank with ice water/fridge? My neighbor has a 5 wtt soldering gun with a tip like a sharpened pencil. I may get up the nerve to solder my cpu. Sometimes the easy route...pencil/paint...just doesn't satisfy the gambler in me. Not to mention "DIVIDE AND CONQUER"!!!
Take some advise from Hoot and don't solder the bridges! I have also been soldering for a long time about 20 years and I am not going to attempt to do it, the paint works great. Have you done a V mod on a mobo yet? If you thought that soldering that up was hard don't try it on a cpu.
For my cooling system I mounter a eater block on the cpu and I have a top loading freezer that I use for a chiller. A Eheim 1048 pump to circulate the water/antifreeze.
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