what is unlocking your cpu?

[ArAgOrN]

I have seen some talk of this and didn't know what L1 and L2

where till I got my cpu today. I see where L1 and 2 come from

but what does it do exactly? BTW its an AMD T-bird 1.2 GHz :)

[Valid]

Someone far more qualified will probably post after me, but I didn't see a response yet so... "Unlocking" your CPU is the process of connecting one or more sets of the bridges on the ceramic of the cpu (At least this is what is involved in AMD socket processors). You may use a pencil, a rear window defogger kit (available in most auto stores) or you can even solder it (though I wouldn't recommend it, unless you've got a lot of soldering experience). The L1 bridges control the CPU multiplier. If you connect all the L1's, then you are able to change the multiplier via the motherboard (jumpers, dip switches, or in the BIOS itself). I believe connecting certain patterns of them will allow different multipliers, although I'd just connect them all if you have the ability to control it through the motherboard. Also, the L7 bridges control the voltage of the processor core. Someone else will have to come in after me and go through that, because I'm not sure to the specifics of that, but I hope that little bit of information helps.

[e_storm]

the only thing I know for sure is that unlocking the CPU will allow you to make multiplier adjustments to overclock, instead of solely adjusting the FSB. I think by connecting the L1 bridges, this becomes possible, but definitely wait for another response before trying it, as I still run an Intel cpu and have no direct experience with AMD.

[DeltaSierra]

If you have a newer T-bird 1.2, there's a good chance that the L1 bridges are unlocked already. You'll need a good magnifying glass to look at the little gold bridges to see if any of them are "cut". If you can see a tiny little cut in the gold lines (bridges), then the CPU is locked. Someone has posted a nice picture of a close-up of a T-bird, complete with little arrows pointing to the bridges. I'll look around to find it for you.

The L7 bridge will allow you to go to 1.85 volts for the CPU core voltage.

I couldn't find the pix (but 'kat' used to have a good one). However, during my search, I found dozens of other threads discussing the details of unlocking, as well as references to a couple of other web sites. I searched these forums for "unlock" and "bridges" and found more info than I could take in...give it a try!

[TranceBear]

On the top of you CPU there are little lines labeled L1. these are bridges and you need to look very closely and see if there is a laser cut that seperates them. see pic and next post.

[TranceBear]

If there is a laser cut that has seperated them, you need to connect them, hence un-lock the bridges. To do this you need use a graphite pencil or rear-Window defogger repair paint found at your local auto supply store or www.Napa.com . See the 2 pics on the next few posts to see what I am talking about.

[TranceBear]

And with the paint.