Processor Pick.

[fool]

If I recall correctly, in order to unlock some Athlons you need to short two of the pins on their underside.
So I’m wondering,
Does/did anyone make an athlon unlocking adapter?
What I’m thinking of is a socket A sized piece of plastic with holes in one side and pins sticking out the other, lining up with the pins/holes on the CPU/socket respectively.
The pins that need connecting to unlock the processor would be wired together in the adapter, all others would be straight through.

And, If no one makes one, anyone got any ideas about how to go about doing it myself?

 

[honold]

i'll give you two hints:

pencil

google

 

[fool]

Obviously I’ve not explained myself clearly.
I’m aware, if not of the details then certainly the existence, of the pencil trick.
I would however prefer the doohicky I described above as it would, in addition to being fully and easily reversible, be a far less nerve wracking operation for someone with fingers as unsteady as mine. Even if I made it myself I would, if I messed up only have wasted a little time, some plastic and some metal, rather than having trashed a previously perfectly serviceable cpu.
Plus it just seems more elegant a solution to me.

 

[honold]

perhaps you could search google for KIT UNLOCK ATHLON

 

[Pradeep]

The pencil is elegant, if you f### it up, use an eraser and start again. Though a conductive pen would be perhaps a better choice for permanent results.

 

[fool]

Oh, I really have lived up to my alias this time.

Note to self: remember the difference between top and bottom.

 

[Tea]

Fool wants a doohicky because it would be "a far less nerve wracking operation for someone with fingers as unsteady as mine".

Well, your mileage may differ, but I usually find that a little less gin helps. Of course, that doesn't always work. Sometimes it seems more effective to take a little more gin instead. Essentially, you have to play it by ear.

(So are you saying that one or other method always works, Tea? As long as you choose the right one, I mean?)

(Not quite, Tannin. Nearly always though.)

(So what about the times when it doesn't work? What do you do then?)

(Take a whole lot more gin.)

(And that works? You've tried it?)

(Sure I've tried it. But I'm not sure how well it works. I tried it two times lazt week but I can't remember exactly what happened after that.)

 

[Mercutio]

Perhaps DB has finally corrupted poor sweet little Tea.
Oh. Yup. I guess she was like that to start out with.

 

[blakerwry]

You could take some small guage non-insulated wire and a wire-wrap tool (used in electronics) to do this.. the wire-wrap tool is the "correct" tool for this kind of job, so it should work without too much hassle, although it may take a few tries to get proficient at using the tool...


And it's more of a temp fix unless you also use solder to hold the wire in place. Not sure if you want to invest the money in a proper wire-wrap tool and an electronic soldering iron with a thin precision tip. (I assume you could get both of these items at radio shack)

 

[Howell]

I recall some people were using rear-window-defrost repair kits.

IIRC, Some of the newer motherboards do not require any chip modifications at all. You can override the settings manually in the bios.