nick_woods
01-14-02, 07:53 AM
This is how I unlocked my Athlon XP1600+ and nearly wrecked it in the process.
Apologies if this is a long post but if anyone is thinking of unlocking theirs they may be able to learn from my mistakes and have an easier time than I did.
Those of you who've managed to unlock yours can either move swiftly on or have a quick s****** at my mistakes :)
I initially tried to use nail varnish to fill the pits as I thought it would be easier to remove than superglue.
:eek: The main mistakes I made were :-
--- Putting the tape right up to the edge of the L1 pins and not sticking tape down properly so that the nail varnish ran underneath the tape and covered the pins.
--- Using a sharp blade to scrape away the excess nail varnish instead of acetone - more on this in a minute
--- Masking the connection between each pin with tape before applying the conductive paint, which pulled it off when I moved on to the next strip. I think it might stay put if left to dry thoroughly for 30-40 minutes between each strip but this then turns it into a 3 hour job.
--- Using a 3/O artists paintbrush to apply the conductive paint which was too wide for the job.
--- Scraping off excess varnish and paint with the knife again and again which eventually cut through the chip carrier and exposed copper underneath it. (see my post about this if you are interested at http://forums.overclockers.ws/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=448391&t=3139#post448391 )
After this mess I gave up for a couple of days but after seeing a comment to my original posting (thanks Dabljuh !!) I decided to try again, but practice first.
;) Along the way I learnt a few things :-
--- practice on a ceramic tile (or a plate or piece of glass etc) because you can see what you are doing and theres no risk of causing any damage
--- get a decent magnifying class
--- acetone gets superglue off but more slowly than nail varnish and it also gets conductive paint off very quickly as well. This means its possible to remove excess glue gently from the contacts whilst still leaving some in the pits. It also means excess paint can be cleaned off without emptying the glue from the pits
--- by putting a drop of superglue on a tile and picking it up with a cocktail stick, very small amounts can be used at a time and theres less chance of 'flooding' the whole area with glue
--- 5/O brushes are available at model or artists shops - I bought one with a sable head and its capable of doing very thin lines indeed
--- by sticking sellotape to the tile its possible to cut very thin strips (0.5 mm wide) using a knife and then stick them between the pins
:cool: this is how i did it
--- mask off the L1 pins as per the various guides available here and elsewhere
--- use a magnifying glass to check the tape and a cocktail stick to gently but firmly press down the tape as close to the edge of the pits (not the pins) as possible. A small overlap over the edge of the pit isnt a big problem because the glue will find its way under the overhang.
--- apply tiny drops of glue with cocktail stick, put the glue on a tile first and pick it up from there.
--- leave to set for 5 mins then peel off tape then leave for another 15 minutes to harden properly
--- use a small amount of acetone on a cloth and gently rub until the glue is smoothed down, this is important for the next step because if you dont the paint will creep under the mask. Use a decent quality maginfying glass to check your work.
--- If you have an undamaged CPU you should be able to apply the conductive paint using just the 5/O brush and a steady hand without any masking - just make sure you put some paint on a tile and pick it up from there so you dont get too much.
--- I had to cut 0.5 mm wide strips of tape and put between the pins ( O=L1 pin |||=tape, []=pit ) :-
||| O ||| O |||
||| [] ||| [] |||
||| [] ||| [] |||
||| O ||| O |||
(my diagram doesnt quite line up but you should get the idea)
Needless to say this was a bit fiddly and took several attempts to get right but I did get there eventually.
--- I then put drop of paint on a tile and used 5/O brush to join the pins using a very small amount, then left the tape for 2-3 mins before pulling it off
If I hadnt scratched the CPU I reckon I could have connected the pins freehand with the brush because my first attempts connected the pins without and cross-contacts, but I just couldnt keep it away from the scratches as they were too close.
--- any minor overspills can be removed by using a tiny drop of acetone on the 5/O brush to soften the paint and then wiping gently away with a clean cloth
:D And after about the 10th attempt i was happy with the results and put the CPU back in the PC. Its currently running stably as an 1800+ and I'm going to start tweaking with voltages to see how much higher i can get it to run.
Regards
Nick
Apologies if this is a long post but if anyone is thinking of unlocking theirs they may be able to learn from my mistakes and have an easier time than I did.
Those of you who've managed to unlock yours can either move swiftly on or have a quick s****** at my mistakes :)
I initially tried to use nail varnish to fill the pits as I thought it would be easier to remove than superglue.
:eek: The main mistakes I made were :-
--- Putting the tape right up to the edge of the L1 pins and not sticking tape down properly so that the nail varnish ran underneath the tape and covered the pins.
--- Using a sharp blade to scrape away the excess nail varnish instead of acetone - more on this in a minute
--- Masking the connection between each pin with tape before applying the conductive paint, which pulled it off when I moved on to the next strip. I think it might stay put if left to dry thoroughly for 30-40 minutes between each strip but this then turns it into a 3 hour job.
--- Using a 3/O artists paintbrush to apply the conductive paint which was too wide for the job.
--- Scraping off excess varnish and paint with the knife again and again which eventually cut through the chip carrier and exposed copper underneath it. (see my post about this if you are interested at http://forums.overclockers.ws/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=448391&t=3139#post448391 )
After this mess I gave up for a couple of days but after seeing a comment to my original posting (thanks Dabljuh !!) I decided to try again, but practice first.
;) Along the way I learnt a few things :-
--- practice on a ceramic tile (or a plate or piece of glass etc) because you can see what you are doing and theres no risk of causing any damage
--- get a decent magnifying class
--- acetone gets superglue off but more slowly than nail varnish and it also gets conductive paint off very quickly as well. This means its possible to remove excess glue gently from the contacts whilst still leaving some in the pits. It also means excess paint can be cleaned off without emptying the glue from the pits
--- by putting a drop of superglue on a tile and picking it up with a cocktail stick, very small amounts can be used at a time and theres less chance of 'flooding' the whole area with glue
--- 5/O brushes are available at model or artists shops - I bought one with a sable head and its capable of doing very thin lines indeed
--- by sticking sellotape to the tile its possible to cut very thin strips (0.5 mm wide) using a knife and then stick them between the pins
:cool: this is how i did it
--- mask off the L1 pins as per the various guides available here and elsewhere
--- use a magnifying glass to check the tape and a cocktail stick to gently but firmly press down the tape as close to the edge of the pits (not the pins) as possible. A small overlap over the edge of the pit isnt a big problem because the glue will find its way under the overhang.
--- apply tiny drops of glue with cocktail stick, put the glue on a tile first and pick it up from there.
--- leave to set for 5 mins then peel off tape then leave for another 15 minutes to harden properly
--- use a small amount of acetone on a cloth and gently rub until the glue is smoothed down, this is important for the next step because if you dont the paint will creep under the mask. Use a decent quality maginfying glass to check your work.
--- If you have an undamaged CPU you should be able to apply the conductive paint using just the 5/O brush and a steady hand without any masking - just make sure you put some paint on a tile and pick it up from there so you dont get too much.
--- I had to cut 0.5 mm wide strips of tape and put between the pins ( O=L1 pin |||=tape, []=pit ) :-
||| O ||| O |||
||| [] ||| [] |||
||| [] ||| [] |||
||| O ||| O |||
(my diagram doesnt quite line up but you should get the idea)
Needless to say this was a bit fiddly and took several attempts to get right but I did get there eventually.
--- I then put drop of paint on a tile and used 5/O brush to join the pins using a very small amount, then left the tape for 2-3 mins before pulling it off
If I hadnt scratched the CPU I reckon I could have connected the pins freehand with the brush because my first attempts connected the pins without and cross-contacts, but I just couldnt keep it away from the scratches as they were too close.
--- any minor overspills can be removed by using a tiny drop of acetone on the 5/O brush to soften the paint and then wiping gently away with a clean cloth
:D And after about the 10th attempt i was happy with the results and put the CPU back in the PC. Its currently running stably as an 1800+ and I'm going to start tweaking with voltages to see how much higher i can get it to run.
Regards
Nick