old school, K6-2+ cache unlock?

[Niku-Sama]

i just watched this:

and had my mind blown, i had no idea there was a way to unlock extra cache on some K6-2+ chips.

did any one else know about this?

also i dont know about you guys but after getting the heat spreader off i'da probably just done with direct die cooling in the video...

 

[Mr.Scott]

I knew. Also done direct die on the chiller. Old school is best school.

 

[ssjwizard]

Cool mod.
Reminded me about the old Athlon thunderbird pencil mods and then the Athlon XP various pinmods

 

[repo man11]

As far as I know it was discovered on Vogons in this thread: https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=85071

Sphere is also an old member here, though I don't think he's posted here in many years.

If you like to play with old hardware, this is really something. I have wanted a K6-3+ 550 for many years now, but they have become so expensive that I couldn't do it (spend that much on such an old CPU). I now have a couple of K6-2+ 570 CPUs that will do 550 MHz at default voltage, and will do 616 (5.5x112) at 2.1 volts.

I contributed a photo of a decapped K6-2+ to the thread but I really didn't think anything would come of it; I was sure that if there were a way to mod the CPU to gain the full 256k L2 cache it would have been discovered many years ago, but I was happy to find that I was wrong.

 

[xrror]

I'll say that pretty much any K6-2+ or III+ will do at least 616 (5.5x112) around 2.3v in my obsolete experience. The volgons unlock with being able to try the extra L2 cache with K6-2+ is really awesome since it gives you some more options - since any "+" chip these days deserves a chance in the sun for a super 7 enthusiast to fully shine =D

That said, even in the "bad case" if it turns out a K6-2+ the extra cache doesn't work out... just revert it cause a K6-2+ overclocked is still a really bad @SS chip lol.

lastly, it's ironic that the 2+ and III+ are mobile chips... in todays's retro crazy market or collect-ability index - personally I don't think i've ever seen a proper K6-2+ (or III+) laptop! I only know these chips as being bad@ss with beta bios for desktops, but for their intended use I've never actually seen an example.

 

[Niku-Sama]

holy crap you arent kidding, ebay prices on these things are pretty nutty

 

[repo man11]

holy crap you arent kidding, ebay prices on these things are pretty nutty

The prices for older hardware have skyrocketed in the past few years, and the K6-3+ 550 is both the very best CPU for the Super 7 platform and was very rare.

 

[Niku-Sama]

oh i knew prices for old computer stuff has gone crazy but it surprises me what commands value over other parts

 

[repo man11]

I'll say that pretty much any K6-2+ or III+ will do at least 616 (5.5x112) around 2.3v in my obsolete experience. The volgons unlock with being able to try the extra L2 cache with K6-2+ is really awesome since it gives you some more options - since any "+" chip these days deserves a chance in the sun for a super 7 enthusiast to fully shine =D

That said, even in the "bad case" if it turns out a K6-2+ the extra cache doesn't work out... just revert it cause a K6-2+ overclocked is still a really bad @SS chip lol.

lastly, it's ironic that the 2+ and III+ are mobile chips... in todays's retro crazy market or collect-ability index - personally I don't think i've ever seen a proper K6-2+ (or III+) laptop! I only know these chips as being bad@ss with beta bios for desktops, but for their intended use I've never actually seen an example.

Prior to this mod being discovered, I had bought a 1.6 volt 400 MHz K6-3+. Those are known for being good overclockers, and the price wasn't insane, but even at 2.4 volts it wasn't stable at 616 MHz.

 

[Niku-Sama]

dang it appears my K6-2's are gone. my pentium pros and and ceramic duron are still intact as well as a boxed zalman flower cooler.
moving sucks...

the only other cpu of note i found was a K6 233 so kinda meh

 

[Celeron_Phreak]

Very interesting! I might have to pull out my socket 7 system to play around with this concept. I have a k6-2 400mhz in it right now, I can't recall if it is a plus or not though.

 

[repo man11]

dang it appears my K6-2's are gone. my pentium pros and and ceramic duron are still intact as well as a boxed zalman flower cooler.
moving sucks...

the only other cpu of note i found was a K6 233 so kinda meh

I lost everything but the clothes I was wearing in the 2018 Camp Fire. A friend gave me a PC not long after, and I was content with that and had no intention of accumulating old PC parts since I wanted to make it easier to move, but then I found an old AT tower in a dumpster, and my obsession with playing with vintage PC parts was back on.

My current favorite is an Epox 8KRA2+ with an X800 Pro, a Thermalright AX7, and an XP2500+ that's overclocked to 2.3 GHz. I've been playing the original Halo for PC (1280x1024!) and enjoying it very much.

 

[Niku-Sama]

i remember that, i lived in southern oregon at the time and we got a lot of transplants after that fire. then neighboring towns of Phoenix and Talent burnt down as well as some one running around starting fires all around the town i lived in. the camp fire prompted the former wife and i to cut way back on the bushes and shrubs around our property too... so many 10 and 20 foot tall photinia came down... and man that stuff burns hot when its green. that prompted a move that i wasnt getting support on, as well as other things i wasnt getting support on and well here i am

thats a bummer though, at least your able to continue on though.