As of mid-2006 I was still using my old K6-2, and had done almost exactly that. I had made the 256kb mod, and soldered the wires for on/off, to a relay with the resistor, and the other end of the relay, went to the turbo button of the case. When the turbo button was pressed (light on) I had L2 cache enabled. It was an amazing pc full of other mods
I wasn't aware that the knowledge of this mod is this old. I thought this just came to light recently. Did you try pressing the turbo button while your PC was on? And if so, what happened?
I thought the pencil trick came with the socket A CPUs. Slot A had something called "Goldfinger". I was made aware for the K6-2+ mod from Twitter and Vogons forum just at the beginning of 2022.
@@bitsundbolts The machine will hang/freeze when pressing the button with it on. The K6+ mod appeared in mid-2003 (at least for me that's when I found it on a website)
@@tinto278 I'm sorry but something had to be wrong/misconfigured. I went from a p200 to a cyrex 300 and yes that was slower, but then to a k6-2 400 (usually ran at 450) with SDR memory and that was a big upgrade. next I had a duron 600 @ 1050mhz. that rig lasted for much longer than it should have.
AMD had a reputation of leaving little things disabled that people could reactivate iirc, even up to early Ryzen CPUs, if you had the right bios or right know-how you could active more cache, overclock higher than thought, even sometimes activate inactive cores
@@Jabe_VeX I activated the 4th core of my triple core Athlon II X3 455 and it's been working fine as a quad core for many years now. I use it in my media pc for youtube and streaming services.
I pin modded Athlon XP's, these were fairly easy by comparison. Incidentally, it was also how I learned you can solder a pin back on, and so long as you don't breath wrong it works.
Neat! You can also disable the L2 cache on-the-fly with the software-based SetMul utility, in addition to changing the CPU's clock multiplier for running older speed-sensitive software.
I have not used SetMul yet. Good to know that this utility can disable the L2 Cache. I wonder if there is a difference in performance between hardware and software.
@@bitsundbolts I would guess that there's not, but you're probably the only person in the world who's done this to a K6-2+ CPU so you'll need to check and find out 🙂
Setmul is I think deprecated. It was replaced by CpuSpd, which consolidates the functions of the following tools: - SETMUL - THROTTLE.EXE - MSR Editor - Cache CTL
@@fattymcboomboom9254 I'll test that out later when I'm home. I notice the "support matrix" sheet for CpuSpd lists a range of 3x-6x for the K6-2+ multiplier but I'm able to set as low as 2x with SetMul. I'll post back on how CpuSpd actually behaves.
@@fattymcboomboom9254 I tested CpuSpd and it CAN handle the same range of multipliers accessible via SetMul (2x-6x on my board) despite the printed documentation. In fact the only functionality I noticed that didn't work right on my Asus P5A board w/ K6-2+ is the CPU temperature reporting function, which reports garbage values.
It's amazing how, as the time goes by, we still find new stuff about the processors we saw (and enjoyed) during our childhood! Great work My friend! Cheers from Argentina!
Here's a tip for fixing bent CPU pins without danger of snapping them off. First look at light reflecting off the ends of the pins. When you see a dark one while most of them are reflecting, the dark ones are bent. Second step, find a syringe needle that will just fit between the rows of pins. Slide it in so bent pin(s) are leaning over the needle then lift the needle up and out of from between the rows. That will gently nudge the pins towards straight. It can take several times to get pins straight enough to go into a socket. For badly bent pins, find a syringe needle that will fit over a pin. Clip the point off and use a sharp knife point to deburr the hole. The needle provides leverage and fine control to carefully straighten the pin right at the point where it's bent. Just straighten enough to be able to slide a needle between the rows. I did this with a lot of socketed CPUs, AMD and Intel. A video on it could get you a lot of views.
Thanks for the suggestion! I use an old syringe needle from ink refill sets that were popular back then. Used to refill my HP cartridges. They came with syringes that weren't sharp. And you're absolutely right, it makes the process of straightening pins a lot easier. Guess I should buy a box of "scrap" CPUs and attempt to fix them 😂
I like the Socket 7 platform a lot and AMD really pushed it further than it should have gone. It it was going according to Intel's plan, the platform would have died with the release of the Pentium MMX 233.
Hi CPU Galaxy, I was the winner of your CPU competition a few years back. I'm not sure if you're getting my emails but if you can please respond to me that'll be great
I miss super socket 7. You could run a 2nd or 3rd gen Pentium all the way to a K6-III+ at 600MHz. I counted it up one time, something like 17 different CPU types fit that socket, I think 14 different architectures. It was crazy, you could literally test *all of the CPUs* on the same motherboard, just power down, swap the chip and give it hell. Fun times.
I still have & use Socket 7 mobos & I think only one SS7, a DFI board. Just like you, I had my SS7 configured to 600mhz III+ with just fan-heatsink. Back around Y2k, I had wanted to cool it down further with a TEC (thermoelectric cooling). I bought the TEC cpu heatsinks & the adhesives & read up on condensation factors. But after thinking it over, it was just too risky. These days, water/liquid block cooling is much safer than TEC.
The universal socket also provided freedom and competition when buying and building single machines . The same MB could be configured with any CPU on the market . Not having to choose from a limited number like when I recently found only one 9th gen Intel CPU on the market and it required hunting down a cheap AMD GPU to boot at all .
Nice job! When I was working at a recycling center I scrapped so much K6 variants that it's weird seeing someone handling one like a precious artifact.
You must have seen a lot of interesting pieces of hardware. Now people - including me - spend good money to get those parts from ebay or local classified sites.
@@bitsundbolts I kept some parts for years but since the retro gaming craze I mostly sold everything "good" I have lots of stuff advertised for free like all flavors of Riva TNT 2's, Soundblaster 48xx and low density RAM from 133mhz to DDR3... I now part time run a little repair shop in my basement, I mostly do data recovery, upgrades and fix diy screw ups I don't have access to all the stuff I used to sadly, nowadays there's fortune to be made recycling. Back in the early 2010's we scavenged components out of some pretty amazing stuff... 😬
K6 was my first build on windows 95, then on 98. From there I went with the K7, no need to remove the lid, the die was already exposed. However, if it wasn't, I sure wouldn't have used a double sided razor blade... Lol. You sure were risking it with that blade, no way would you catch me doing that. Those things are super freakin sharp, one good slip up and it's down to the bone real easy... geez 😭
My first PC was a pre built in 2000 Compaq Presario 5410 it had a AMD K-III 350mhz, 32mb Pc100 RAM onboard graphics 22 years later now I have a Ryzen 3600 16GB RAM, RX580 8GB how far games have come on and hardware has improved through time and tech.
You are more than welcome to copy. The disable cache jumper may not be useful as apparently there is software that can achieve the same. I am planning on creating a complete separate video on the Arduino code, .NET application, and the schematics for the electronic diagram. Maybe .NET 2.0 is compatible with Windows 98 - and the code application could be compiled to run on Windows 98. I may add this in that video as well.
Nice video, Information might be irrelevant these days but, Yeah!!! if you can do this back in the day you are a genius!!! A very great hardware hack!!! thanks for bringing it back. Feels nostalgic.
Not many would have attempted this hack, just what I think. I think risk vs reward back in the day was not worth it. And yes, we're all here because of nostalgia - very little use these days. Welcome to entertainment 😜
@@bitsundbolts yup that's right! The thing is that I live in Argentina, international shipments are always a pita. I'll use a dedicated service, it won't be cheap, but better safe than sorry xD!
True on the nicer retro system. I bought 6 K6-2+ 570 recently on ebay. The seller may still be there having plenty of stock. No doubt at some point they'll run out. The seller sells batches of 3 CPUs.
lol this reminds me of when I cut and modified the top of the pcb on my athlon 1800+ to turn it into a mobile server cpu with a unlimited clock multiplier.
Also did this on two Bartons for use on a Iwill MPX2 SMP @ 2400Mhz went for years until all the power caps exploded with an arc in a very spectacular way Sadly board was unrepairable as it blew a sizable chunk out
Nice. I am using that very same DFI motherboard. I'm running a K6 III+ 450 at 550Mhz stock voltage. It will run at 600 as well at stock voltages. Heatsink is never warm. BUT I want to stay at least relatively safe.
@@bitsundboltsThanks! Yeah its the 1.6V one. The K6 III+ has become pretty tough to find at a reasonable price. Mine was given to me as a complete system. The DFi board, An AGP Voodoo 3 3000, the K6 III+, 384mb of RAM, and a cheap Crystal Labs ISA Sounds card. The case is not in too bad of shape either. Save a booger in the corner of the front plastic.
@@bitsundbolts I can show you a scar or two from that too. But the razorblade....What I am wondering is why you didn't tape off one side so you cant cut yourself.
This is my second delid. During the first (video on my channel), I taped one side of the razorblade. The tape was more of an obstruction because I couldn't bend the blade easily. Anyway, apart from very small surface skin cuts, nothing happened.
Please try overclocking it with cache disabled. I would love to see, what a K6-2 would have been capable of, it AMD had used the same 180nm node for it, just like for the K6-2/3+ CPUs. K6-2 @670-720 maybe?
Good idea! I wonder if the flat cable could be used to bring the connection from under the lid. There is just so little headroom that the thin copper tape and Kapton tape pushed the limits already!
Would be nice to clean-up this prototype with 3D printed parts. But this will probably be the only CPU I am going to mod this way - as long as it works. I have read that direct die cooling doesn't really bring a lot of advantage. The limit of those CPUs is probably around 625-650 MHz.
@@bitsundboltsCooling the die down another 5° C might extend the chips remaining lifetime . As the speed of chemical reactions is exponential in the temperature dimension, dropping 5 K of temperature may gain you a few years .
Im glad that I'm having here some super 7 cpus... (some penitums; i200; some undifined and some mmxs) and for the best; an k6-2 550; dont know where i got that; but in the near future I am going to search for an proper good ss7 board as a benchtable for theese cpus and as a retro gaming machine.
I did place a heavy object on the CPU. In part 2 of modding the AMD K6-2+ 450 (video on my channel), you can see a cardboard roll with stone coasters. I did the same for this CPU.
@@bitsundbolts another way besides what i said would be to use a extra socket or use a garbage mobo and use clamps the amount of force applied is way greater than weights
It definitely could also be a good option. The weights give you the option to re-align the aluminum lid in case it moves. Under a cooler, it may be a bit more difficult.
Great Video! Just found it bc i also built a K6-2 550 rig. Now a question: Did you run any benchmarks to see performance differences between the various cache settings?
There is another video on my channel: Additional L2 Cache Performance and Cache Levels. I don't remember exactly, but it gives you a little bit more information. I haven't done an in-depth comparison of the CPU with the available settings on this CPU. But I may do it some time in the future.
I may put this board in an AT case - I have only one. I don't think I can get a much better board than the DFI K6BV3+/66 anyway. Then the Turbo button may finally get some functionality again 👍
I want to put some light on amd sempron 145 single core cpu which was able to be get converted into an athlon 2 core cpu by just a simple cpu unlock setting in motherboard bios.
Not that I'm suggesting that you actually do it but I wonder what would happen if you change the jumpers on the fly. Btw: Anybody noticed the TÜV logo on the CPU cooler? - Real or fake? 😁😁
I wonder that as well. Not sure if I ever want to try it though. I could imagine that the CPU initializes itself and wouldn't care if I add additional 128KB. But what would happen if L2 is disabled? Probably would just crash. Maybe some day we will try 😂
How did you discover the required information about what the exposed resistors etc do underneath the heatspreader? Was this information already documented by AMD and publically available? Did you have to check voltages and randomly short out pins and test? How was this worked out?
Not to unlock any level 2 cache. The core is of a different architecture and does not have any level 2 cache. Only the "+" versions and the K6-III have level 2 cache on the die.
@@bitsundbolts Gotcha. It's just that they are 100 times more popular where I live. Any other mods would be interesting. Nice channel BTW. Lots of dedication and professionalism!
Yeah, the regular K6-2 is much cheaper and easier to find. Usually I come across mods by accident. If it is feasible, I'll try to make a video out of it. I'll release one of those videos today 😉 Thanks for watching my videos!
Next time bro . Use repair set for rear Window heater for the car . You know that heat lines on the windows what u use in the winter . That repair set is glue with silver or metal parts. Works perfect to make lines . I use that with my amd Duron/Thunderbird cpu. And you can use real silver pen more easy but not that strong.
The motherboard BIOS is patched? Imagine having both 256kB cache on the CPU + 1MB in motherboard, like a modern Lv3 cache 😎 What about some benchs? 128 vs 256 vs 1024 kB caches AMD K6-2 was my first CPU, i think it was 400MHz but i oced at 550MHz (my motherboard don't supported higher freq. and i didn't knew about BIOS updates) I wanna know what is the lastest Linux version which support this CPUs
I think the board has the latest official BIOS Version. There are also 2MB versions for this board. My board could be upgraded with a new Tag ram and an additional SRAM chip - but I don't have the skills for that yet. Benchmarks will for sure follow!
@@bitsundbolts i hope it helps your project 😉 can be great see a patched AMD K6' BIOS and watch the improvements running 🤓 i always knew AMD K6 and 3Dnow! was underrated but never knew about those patches since here internet wasn't a thing until mid 2000s, also people underrated cache sizes on CPU, i always said 256kB cache 500MHz K6 better than 600Mhz Celeron with 64kB lol Also SSE is like a copy/paste from 3Dnow! but since Intel had more influence than AMD it got more support, always seen Nvidia Graphics card mounted on AGP/SSE but never seen an ATi on AGP/SSE or same Nvidia on AMD with AGP/SSE even on supported processors (K7 or K8 for example), and never, never AGP/3Dnow!
Limited with SD-RAM. I have a few others, but I have not paid much attention to them yet as I just acquired this Super Socket 7 board. Once I get into benchmarks, I will definitely make sure I use the best memory I have available.
Maybe someone can explain this weirdness to me: I had a friend who built a K6 2 400 system based on my own. He liked how well my computer performed that he built his with the same processor and motherboard. He made a mistake with the jumpers on the board and when he first powered it up, it blew three pins off one corner of the processor. He brought me over to investigate and I found the incorrect MB jumpers. We set them where they belonged, powered it on and... it booted. We installed windows, installed the bridge drivers, the nvidia drivers and the audigy drivers and all was well. Except - it benchmarked 15% BETTER than mine in Final Reality. HOW?!
But why would you, have the option to change the cache from 256KB to 128KB or even 0KB ? Its funny that mod was found 20 years later due date lol. Played around with this CPU too. AMD has a tendency of rebadging "full" CPU's as lower versions. The Slot A was a perfect example. Most cores where badged or rated for 750Mhz. But the lower end models such as 600Mhz, 550Mhz, 500Mhz, where just downclocked. The chip inside was the same as a 750Mhz Model.
One Jumper disables the level 2 cache entirely. The other jumper enables/disables half of the full 256kb of level 2 cache present on the silicone die. I can't wait to play around with socket A CPUs!
Yeah, I wonder if the configuration bits are latched during reset or trusted to be fixed by their own packaging . Either way, the cache control logic may loose track of the meaning of its own data if the configuration changes on the fly . I also wonder if there's a config using the other 128K out of 256K, to be used on chips where the first 128K contain a bad bit .
Is this CPU galaxy moved on? Channel owner here I think has an Austrian accent. But excellent English, If he was CPU galaxy, his English has gotten better. And I would like to know why the switch.
At this point - no. I used .NET 4.6. But it uses some standard libraries like SerialPort. May just be possible to be compiled in .NET 2.0 that may work on Windows 98SE.
kindly remove the _entire installation package of internet explorer 5.5_ from the repository. StopMonitor returns a value that is never used. (even StartMonitor doesn't need to return anything, either. Whether it succeeded or not is known from _port.IsOpen) Do port enumeration at startup instead of in Start_click. Consider sending a short or an int from the arduino instead of a string. Consider handling SerialPort's ErrorReceived.
I added all dependencies that will be used in an upcoming video. It also contains .NET Framework 2.0, windows 98 Arduino serial drivers and the Microsoft Windows Installer 2.0. They are all dependencies for .NET.
You are right - I changed the code based on some of your suggestions. But most importantly, I got rid of the large binary dependencies and provided source URLs instead.
@@bitsundbolts i wrote it completely backwards D: do port enum when the user asks to start the system. As close (time-wise) to when the port will be actually opened. The reasoning for this, is that there is no guarantee whatsoever that the serial port will continue existing from the moment you enumareted them all to the user clicking start (yes, it does sound crazy)
Under the hood, the AMD K6 looks like a K7 (Athlon) CPU, back in the early 2000s i modded a CPU arleardy.. An Overclocket ist A 500 to 700Mhz (unstable) i had no ideas of Untervolting or even thermal paste at this time, i was Young and Stupid. 🤣😂 Today thisa CPUs are rar to find, and the only one i have K6-2 500 i will never Mod or Overclock.
It may not be worth the risk, you're right! This is my second delid of such a CPU. Both were successful. However, there are pictures of broken silicone dies on the web.
The mission of the K6-III was to beat and harass the Pentium II. I think that the k6-III 600-666 mhz can beat the best pentium II, in all games, all applications. The pentium II had the best support in the motherboards industry, and so for the agp port, and sdram-memory They provide a bigger transfert etc. I think, its true. The worses errors for the socket 7, They had not motherboard who can support a system of dual cpu. its a real scandal into the super socket 7 History.
This was amazing when I first found out about it! I was going to attempt the cache mod myself, but then I saw a listing on eBay of someone that does this mod... They've sold many and have great reviews. SOLID performance. I got mine doing 633mhz @ only 2.2v (115fsb) They still have a listing up. Item # 165591645766 It's basically a K6 II+ 570 turned into a K6 III+ 570. 256k cache! If anyone is interested, I'd probably snag one before this person runs out of em.
@@bitsundbolts Of course but there is no guarantee that those CPUs will accept the mod. Nor is that factoring in the time needed to do the mod. Or the equipment cost to also do the mod. The person selling the CPU premodded is guaranteeing you a 633mhz capable CPU that accepted the mod. I was happy to pay even more to be honest. Silly to try to save a couple bucks and spend enourmous time. If you have the tools sitting around and are savvy and like to tinker... Sure. But that's not everybody.
Yes, I absolutely agree with you. I bought 6 CPUs in total. I modded a K6-2+ 450 (if I am not mistaken) and one of the six 570s. Both work but I haven't done overclocking. There will be a few more videos on those CPUs when I get the time - as you said - it is time consuming. Even if you just move the resistor, it takes about an hour to do if you do it the first time. And no guarantee. Die can crack, die can have faulty L2 Cache, or anything in-between can go wrong.
![[#2024MAMA] ROSÉ (로제), Bruno Mars - APT. | Mnet 241122 방송](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dgGqD28J6aQ/mqdefault.jpg)
As of mid-2006 I was still using my old K6-2, and had done almost exactly that. I had made the 256kb mod, and soldered the wires for on/off, to a relay with the resistor, and the other end of the relay, went to the turbo button of the case. When the turbo button was pressed (light on) I had L2 cache enabled. It was an amazing pc full of other mods
I wasn't aware that the knowledge of this mod is this old. I thought this just came to light recently. Did you try pressing the turbo button while your PC was on? And if so, what happened?
I thought the pencil trick came with the socket A CPUs. Slot A had something called "Goldfinger".
I was made aware for the K6-2+ mod from Twitter and Vogons forum just at the beginning of 2022.
@@bitsundbolts The machine will hang/freeze when pressing the button with it on. The K6+ mod appeared in mid-2003 (at least for me that's when I found it on a website)
I wasted my money upgrading my Pentium 166mmx to a AMD K6-2 400. My frame rates went down in quake and half life. Worst cpu upgrade ever.
@@tinto278 I'm sorry but something had to be wrong/misconfigured. I went from a p200 to a cyrex 300 and yes that was slower, but then to a k6-2 400 (usually ran at 450) with SDR memory and that was a big upgrade.
next I had a duron 600 @ 1050mhz. that rig lasted for much longer than it should have.
Imagine knowing this back when these were first available, who would have the guts to attempt it though?
AMD had a reputation of leaving little things disabled that people could reactivate iirc, even up to early Ryzen CPUs, if you had the right bios or right know-how you could active more cache, overclock higher than thought, even sometimes activate inactive cores
@@Jabe_VeX I activated the 4th core of my triple core Athlon II X3 455 and it's been working fine as a quad core for many years now. I use it in my media pc for youtube and streaming services.
@@sehabel lmao ikr, early AMD was a god if you wanted cheap stuff that you could upgrade later if you were brave
@@sehabel I did the same thing, but the 4th core wasn't stable.
I pin modded Athlon XP's, these were fairly easy by comparison. Incidentally, it was also how I learned you can solder a pin back on, and so long as you don't breath wrong it works.
Neat! You can also disable the L2 cache on-the-fly with the software-based SetMul utility, in addition to changing the CPU's clock multiplier for running older speed-sensitive software.
I have not used SetMul yet. Good to know that this utility can disable the L2 Cache. I wonder if there is a difference in performance between hardware and software.
@@bitsundbolts I would guess that there's not, but you're probably the only person in the world who's done this to a K6-2+ CPU so you'll need to check and find out 🙂
Setmul is I think deprecated. It was replaced by CpuSpd, which consolidates the functions of the following tools:
- SETMUL
- THROTTLE.EXE
- MSR Editor
- Cache CTL
@@fattymcboomboom9254 I'll test that out later when I'm home. I notice the "support matrix" sheet for CpuSpd lists a range of 3x-6x for the K6-2+ multiplier but I'm able to set as low as 2x with SetMul. I'll post back on how CpuSpd actually behaves.
@@fattymcboomboom9254 I tested CpuSpd and it CAN handle the same range of multipliers accessible via SetMul (2x-6x on my board) despite the printed documentation. In fact the only functionality I noticed that didn't work right on my Asus P5A board w/ K6-2+ is the CPU temperature reporting function, which reports garbage values.
A surprisingly clean setup with the jumpers! The on-die thermocouple is a nice touch, too.
Thanks! The jumpers are quite fragile though.
I also like the use of a high grade thermal paste that will last for years so that it doesn't need to be delidded and risk damage to the copper tape.
It's amazing how, as the time goes by, we still find new stuff about the processors we saw (and enjoyed) during our childhood! Great work My friend! Cheers from Argentina!
Absolutely agree! Thanks for watching!
Here's a tip for fixing bent CPU pins without danger of snapping them off. First look at light reflecting off the ends of the pins. When you see a dark one while most of them are reflecting, the dark ones are bent. Second step, find a syringe needle that will just fit between the rows of pins. Slide it in so bent pin(s) are leaning over the needle then lift the needle up and out of from between the rows. That will gently nudge the pins towards straight. It can take several times to get pins straight enough to go into a socket.
For badly bent pins, find a syringe needle that will fit over a pin. Clip the point off and use a sharp knife point to deburr the hole. The needle provides leverage and fine control to carefully straighten the pin right at the point where it's bent. Just straighten enough to be able to slide a needle between the rows.
I did this with a lot of socketed CPUs, AMD and Intel. A video on it could get you a lot of views.
Thanks for the suggestion! I use an old syringe needle from ink refill sets that were popular back then. Used to refill my HP cartridges. They came with syringes that weren't sharp. And you're absolutely right, it makes the process of straightening pins a lot easier.
Guess I should buy a box of "scrap" CPUs and attempt to fix them 😂
I had the K6-3 which was one of my favorite processors of all time.
I like the Socket 7 platform a lot and AMD really pushed it further than it should have gone. It it was going according to Intel's plan, the platform would have died with the release of the Pentium MMX 233.
Love your project and how you solved this with copper tape. Great work and super documented. Definitely worth to subscribe. 😊👍🏻
Hello CPU Galaxy! What an honor to see you around here. Thanks for watching and subscribing!
That’s awesome seeing you both at the same place
Hi CPU Galaxy, I was the winner of your CPU competition a few years back. I'm not sure if you're getting my emails but if you can please respond to me that'll be great
Oh man k6-2. My first home-built pc had a k6-2. What an awesome chip after years of a 486
Wow! The idea with the jumpers is super cool, well done!
Thanks!
I miss super socket 7.
You could run a 2nd or 3rd gen Pentium all the way to a K6-III+ at 600MHz. I counted it up one time, something like 17 different CPU types fit that socket, I think 14 different architectures. It was crazy, you could literally test *all of the CPUs* on the same motherboard, just power down, swap the chip and give it hell.
Fun times.
I still have & use Socket 7 mobos & I think only one SS7, a DFI board. Just like you, I had my SS7 configured to 600mhz III+ with just fan-heatsink. Back around Y2k, I had wanted to cool it down further with a TEC (thermoelectric cooling). I bought the TEC cpu heatsinks & the adhesives & read up on condensation factors. But after thinking it over, it was just too risky. These days, water/liquid block cooling is much safer than TEC.
@@robwebnoid5763Why would liquid cooling be safer than a solid state Peltier element?
The universal socket also provided freedom and competition when buying and building single machines . The same MB could be configured with any CPU on the market . Not having to choose from a limited number like when I recently found only one 9th gen Intel CPU on the market and it required hunting down a cheap AMD GPU to boot at all .
Still have my K6-2 550mhz rig up and running, great machine for dos and early win95/98 direct3d games
Nice job!
When I was working at a recycling center I scrapped so much K6 variants that it's weird seeing someone handling one like a precious artifact.
You must have seen a lot of interesting pieces of hardware. Now people - including me - spend good money to get those parts from ebay or local classified sites.
@@bitsundbolts I kept some parts for years but since the retro gaming craze I mostly sold everything "good" I have lots of stuff advertised for free like all flavors of Riva TNT 2's, Soundblaster 48xx and low density RAM from 133mhz to DDR3... I now part time run a little repair shop in my basement, I mostly do data recovery, upgrades and fix diy screw ups I don't have access to all the stuff I used to sadly, nowadays there's fortune to be made recycling. Back in the early 2010's we scavenged components out of some pretty amazing stuff... 😬
K6 was my first build on windows 95, then on 98. From there I went with the K7, no need to remove the lid, the die was already exposed. However, if it wasn't, I sure wouldn't have used a double sided razor blade... Lol. You sure were risking it with that blade, no way would you catch me doing that. Those things are super freakin sharp, one good slip up and it's down to the bone real easy... geez 😭
he made a k6-2plus that can switch modes like a Pentium mmx CPU😀
I love hacky stuff like this. Physical mods that allow you to do things you never thought possible.
My first PC was a pre built in 2000 Compaq Presario 5410 it had a AMD K-III 350mhz, 32mb Pc100 RAM onboard graphics 22 years later now I have a Ryzen 3600 16GB RAM, RX580 8GB how far games have come on and hardware has improved through time and tech.
брат, рузен 3600 уже вчерашний день как и рыкса 580, за технологиями не угнаться
The CPUs now has more cache than you had ram back in the day, lol
Just popped up on my recommendations. Great video man!
Glad you liked it!
Wow I had this mod already in mind, except for the disable option. And now comes this video.
Are you planning to still go ahead with the mod?
You are more than welcome to copy. The disable cache jumper may not be useful as apparently there is software that can achieve the same. I am planning on creating a complete separate video on the Arduino code, .NET application, and the schematics for the electronic diagram.
Maybe .NET 2.0 is compatible with Windows 98 - and the code application could be compiled to run on Windows 98. I may add this in that video as well.
@@bitsundbolts I will wait then for your next video. Thanks in advance.
Uploaded your video today ;) .Net Application compatible to Windows 98...
@@bitsundbolts Thank you, I will watch it now.
Very nice :-)
Cpu identification utilities need to include that new CPU ID now I have been mentioning it on vogons to a few over the authors
Nice video, Information might be irrelevant these days but, Yeah!!! if you can do this back in the day you are a genius!!! A very great hardware hack!!! thanks for bringing it back. Feels nostalgic.
Not many would have attempted this hack, just what I think. I think risk vs reward back in the day was not worth it. And yes, we're all here because of nostalgia - very little use these days. Welcome to entertainment 😜
really enjoyed the video, interesting topic. Maybe a longer music loop would be nice when played for longer passages through the video :)
That is an awesome mod! Well done!
Thank you!
This is amazing! I will try it for sure if I can grab that sweet pack from eBay!
There seems to be quite a lot of supply left. If I am not mistaken, the seller sells batches of 3.
@@bitsundbolts yup that's right! The thing is that I live in Argentina, international shipments are always a pita. I'll use a dedicated service, it won't be cheap, but better safe than sorry xD!
Good luck! Hope you'll get them safe and sound!
Which sweet pack?
oh ok that one.
I remember frying my first k6-III trying to overclock it. Those were the days.
i had absolutely no clue you could unlock more cache on these, man whatta missed opportunity on my part
I think many people did! At the end of the platform's life, a lot of people might have tried to mod their chips. Now it is just for entertainment...
@@bitsundbolts or a nicer retro system. I wonder if I have any more left
True on the nicer retro system. I bought 6 K6-2+ 570 recently on ebay. The seller may still be there having plenty of stock. No doubt at some point they'll run out. The seller sells batches of 3 CPUs.
Sehr schöner Mod ich hatte mit damals den K6-3+ 550 gekauft
lol this reminds me of when I cut and modified the top of the pcb on my athlon 1800+ to turn it into a mobile server cpu with a unlimited clock multiplier.
Also did this on two Bartons for use on a Iwill MPX2 SMP @ 2400Mhz went for years until all the power caps exploded with an arc in a very spectacular way
Sadly board was unrepairable as it blew a sizable chunk out
Great content, thanks, fantastic mod, really interesting stuff, subbed. Mike from vswitchzero sent me here btw, glad he did.
Awesome, thank you!
Ahhh the good ol days when different brands used the same socket.
Man... i love the internet. I never though id ever see anyone delid a k6 let alone modify it to this level.
Nice. I am using that very same DFI motherboard. I'm running a K6 III+ 450 at 550Mhz stock voltage. It will run at 600 as well at stock voltages. Heatsink is never warm. BUT I want to stay at least relatively safe.
Nice CPU! Is it the one with a stock voltage of 1.6? I don't have a "real" K6-III+, I have to mod a K6-2+ to get real close 😄
@@bitsundboltsThanks! Yeah its the 1.6V one. The K6 III+ has become pretty tough to find at a reasonable price. Mine was given to me as a complete system. The DFi board, An AGP Voodoo 3 3000, the K6 III+, 384mb of RAM, and a cheap Crystal Labs ISA Sounds card. The case is not in too bad of shape either. Save a booger in the corner of the front plastic.
I guess if you want to go an extra step you can design a flex cable to do all the wiring :)
The way you handled that razor blade ...
do you still have all your fingers?
Few minor cuts, otherwise all is fine 😄
Computers require a blood sacrifice for every upgrade.
That is so true! I still have scars from unplugging a power connector of a HDD in an old 486 AT case. Those old cases had sharp edges everywhere!
@@bitsundbolts I can show you a scar or two from that too. But the razorblade....What I am wondering is why you didn't tape off one side so you cant cut yourself.
This is my second delid. During the first (video on my channel), I taped one side of the razorblade. The tape was more of an obstruction because I couldn't bend the blade easily. Anyway, apart from very small surface skin cuts, nothing happened.
Always loved the K6-2 when it came out. Now rocking a Ryzen 5700G , yep AMD fanboy lol.
ну ты и маньяк, монстра Франкенштейна собрал :D
Please try overclocking it with cache disabled. I would love to see, what a K6-2 would have been capable of, it AMD had used the same 180nm node for it, just like for the K6-2/3+ CPUs. K6-2 @670-720 maybe?
Good question. I'll put it on my list of future videos to make.
you can also make a breakout with a fpc cable and have the jumpers at the front of the pc
Good idea! I wonder if the flat cable could be used to bring the connection from under the lid. There is just so little headroom that the thin copper tape and Kapton tape pushed the limits already!
Nice!! How about delidding and then laying the jumper wires on the ceramic and then 3D printing a shim to hold the wires and do direct die cooling? :)
Would be nice to clean-up this prototype with 3D printed parts. But this will probably be the only CPU I am going to mod this way - as long as it works. I have read that direct die cooling doesn't really bring a lot of advantage. The limit of those CPUs is probably around 625-650 MHz.
@@bitsundboltsCooling the die down another 5° C might extend the chips remaining lifetime . As the speed of chemical reactions is exponential in the temperature dimension, dropping 5 K of temperature may gain you a few years .
I don't remember what version of K6 I had as a kid, but it was the 333mhz I believe.
Wow, didn’t know that a delidded k6-2 looked like a socket a athlon
Kinda makes the socket A Athlons a bit less cool - at least this is how I feel. I was surprised as well when I saw pictures before modding the CPU.
awesome job
Thanks!
i remember this. i got 1ghz out of a k6 literally for years. i actually never had any problems.
Are you sure this was a K6 and not a K7? The max multiplier is 6 on those CPUs - which would have brought your FSB to 166 MHz.
Im glad that I'm having here some super 7 cpus... (some penitums; i200; some undifined and some mmxs) and for the best; an k6-2 550; dont know where i got that; but in the near future I am going to search for an proper good ss7 board as a benchtable for theese cpus and as a retro gaming machine.
Next time i would put it in the socket with heatsink on to add pressure while curing
I did place a heavy object on the CPU. In part 2 of modding the AMD K6-2+ 450 (video on my channel), you can see a cardboard roll with stone coasters. I did the same for this CPU.
@@bitsundbolts another way besides what i said would be to use a extra socket or use a garbage mobo and use clamps the amount of force applied is way greater than weights
It definitely could also be a good option. The weights give you the option to re-align the aluminum lid in case it moves. Under a cooler, it may be a bit more difficult.
Very good video. 👍👍👍👍
Thank you!
Congratulations
Thank you
Great Video!
Just found it bc i also built a K6-2 550 rig.
Now a question: Did you run any benchmarks to see performance differences between the various cache settings?
There is another video on my channel: Additional L2 Cache Performance and Cache Levels. I don't remember exactly, but it gives you a little bit more information. I haven't done an in-depth comparison of the CPU with the available settings on this CPU. But I may do it some time in the future.
@@bitsundbolts Oh how cool! That is very interesting and helpful! Thank you!
Nice!
Excellent :)
same with phenom x3, easy bios flash and u have phenom x4 :D
Very nice mod.
Thank you!
Plug the cases Turbo into one of the new jumpers. I would go for the cache jumper myself.
I may put this board in an AT case - I have only one. I don't think I can get a much better board than the DFI K6BV3+/66 anyway. Then the Turbo button may finally get some functionality again 👍
I want to put some light on amd sempron 145 single core cpu which was able to be get converted into an athlon 2 core cpu by just a simple cpu unlock setting in motherboard bios.
Not that I'm suggesting that you actually do it but I wonder what would happen if you change the jumpers on the fly.
Btw: Anybody noticed the TÜV logo on the CPU cooler? - Real or fake? 😁😁
I wonder that as well. Not sure if I ever want to try it though. I could imagine that the CPU initializes itself and wouldn't care if I add additional 128KB. But what would happen if L2 is disabled? Probably would just crash. Maybe some day we will try 😂
@@bitsundbolts please do try I want to see it
amezing !!!!!!
Glad you enjoyed that!
I’m from 2000 with thanks for the mod)))
You're welcome! Enjoy your K6-3+ for a bit longer!
omg i remember that 3d-now
Would uv solder mask and enamel (speaker) wire not be better options than kapton and the copper strips?
Probably, but I am not sure about the thickness of the wire. The copper strips are a little less "permanent".
@@bitsundbolts You can get enamel wire down to 0.118mm.
Ok, that will work. Yeah sure, then o guess it's absolutely an alternative!
miss my k6-3 pc... dfi k6bv3 with 1mb cache ftw
How did you discover the required information about what the exposed resistors etc do underneath the heatspreader? Was this information already documented by AMD and publically available? Did you have to check voltages and randomly short out pins and test? How was this worked out?
Vogons forum. There is plenty of information:
www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=85071
@@bitsundbolts Thanks mate will check it out
@@bitsundboltsIsn't that place only for bad poets driving bulldozers?
WOW!!!!
550 luv bouyyyyyyyyy sgit is still my fav 7 cpu sick yo
is there any way to mod the vanilla K6-2 (CXT)?
Not to unlock any level 2 cache. The core is of a different architecture and does not have any level 2 cache. Only the "+" versions and the K6-III have level 2 cache on the die.
@@bitsundbolts Gotcha. It's just that they are 100 times more popular where I live. Any other mods would be interesting. Nice channel BTW. Lots of dedication and professionalism!
Yeah, the regular K6-2 is much cheaper and easier to find. Usually I come across mods by accident. If it is feasible, I'll try to make a video out of it. I'll release one of those videos today 😉
Thanks for watching my videos!
Next time bro .
Use repair set for rear Window heater for the car .
You know that heat lines on the windows what u use in the winter .
That repair set is glue with silver or metal parts.
Works perfect to make lines .
I use that with my amd Duron/Thunderbird cpu.
And you can use real silver pen more easy but not that strong.
Nice idea! I may get such a kit because I have a feeling that I will be useful for future projects!
I wish you done this video on 1997.. so I have mod my k6-2 to k6-3
Now I feel like I shouldn't be doing the Voodoo 1 mod: 4MB to 8MB...
The motherboard BIOS is patched?
Imagine having both 256kB cache on the CPU + 1MB in motherboard, like a modern Lv3 cache 😎
What about some benchs?
128 vs 256 vs 1024 kB caches
AMD K6-2 was my first CPU, i think it was 400MHz but i oced at 550MHz (my motherboard don't supported higher freq. and i didn't knew about BIOS updates)
I wanna know what is the lastest Linux version which support this CPUs
I think the board has the latest official BIOS Version. There are also 2MB versions for this board. My board could be upgraded with a new Tag ram and an additional SRAM chip - but I don't have the skills for that yet. Benchmarks will for sure follow!
@@bitsundbolts I'm talking about this th-cam.com/video/VwZT40sRMzM/w-d-xo.html
I haven't seen this video. Thanks for sharing!
@@bitsundbolts i hope it helps your project 😉 can be great see a patched AMD K6' BIOS and watch the improvements running 🤓 i always knew AMD K6 and 3Dnow! was underrated but never knew about those patches since here internet wasn't a thing until mid 2000s, also people underrated cache sizes on CPU, i always said 256kB cache 500MHz K6 better than 600Mhz Celeron with 64kB lol
Also SSE is like a copy/paste from 3Dnow! but since Intel had more influence than AMD it got more support, always seen Nvidia Graphics card mounted on AGP/SSE but never seen an ATi on AGP/SSE or same Nvidia on AMD with AGP/SSE even on supported processors (K7 or K8 for example), and never, never AGP/3Dnow!
As I know the latest Slackware still supports it
But I did not try it myself
Loved the chip mod, but why are you running that lousy stick of ram? Swap it out for one that is CAS 2 rated.
Limited with SD-RAM. I have a few others, but I have not paid much attention to them yet as I just acquired this Super Socket 7 board. Once I get into benchmarks, I will definitely make sure I use the best memory I have available.
You gave me anxiety using that razor blade with its sharp edge
You're not the first one pointing this out. Next time, I'll make sure to take better precautions.
dumb question what is the vaule of the Cap that needs to be moved i broke mine while removing it
It is a bridge with 0 Ohms. I am using jumpers in this video which connect the pads directly. You can use a small wire instead of the cap.
@@bitsundbolts Soilder bridge it is then thanks
Is this applicable to all models - i got the 550FX/ K6-2
and does the motherboard play into this - like bus speed, tiny variations in voltage ?
The K6-2 does not have Level 2 cache on the die. Unfortunately, this mod does not apply to your model.
Maybe someone can explain this weirdness to me:
I had a friend who built a K6 2 400 system based on my own. He liked how well my computer performed that he built his with the same processor and motherboard.
He made a mistake with the jumpers on the board and when he first powered it up, it blew three pins off one corner of the processor.
He brought me over to investigate and I found the incorrect MB jumpers. We set them where they belonged, powered it on and... it booted. We installed windows, installed the bridge drivers, the nvidia drivers and the audigy drivers and all was well.
Except - it benchmarked 15% BETTER than mine in Final Reality.
HOW?!
But why would you, have the option to change the cache from 256KB to 128KB or even 0KB ? Its funny that mod was found 20 years later due date lol. Played around with this CPU too. AMD has a tendency of rebadging "full" CPU's as lower versions. The Slot A was a perfect example. Most cores where badged or rated for 750Mhz. But the lower end models such as 600Mhz, 550Mhz, 500Mhz, where just downclocked. The chip inside was the same as a 750Mhz Model.
One Jumper disables the level 2 cache entirely. The other jumper enables/disables half of the full 256kb of level 2 cache present on the silicone die.
I can't wait to play around with socket A CPUs!
I've got a few laying around (3 or so). Maybe I'll get one to work lol
I really need a better motherboard though lol
Also 570s? If you are going to attempt the mod, I wish you good luck!
@@bitsundbolts no 500s, one a 350. Just curious about the extra cache lol.
I suggest doing a bit of research. Your CPUs may be collectibles and it would be a shame to modify them.
Only a few synthetic tests were missing to see the changes
I'll make a separate video testing this CPU.
Are the any mods for nowadays CPU?
hello. i have a k6-2 380mhz. are there any more for these?
Hello. The K6-2 does not have a level 2 cache on the die. I am not aware on any mods that would benefit those CPUs.
Can a regular K6 be modded into the + version by doing this mod?
Unfortunately, no. They were built using a different die. There is no level 2 cache available that can be unlocked.
I wonder how it would cope with the jumps being changed in-flight.
Yeah, I wonder if the configuration bits are latched during reset or trusted to be fixed by their own packaging . Either way, the cache control logic may loose track of the meaning of its own data if the configuration changes on the fly .
I also wonder if there's a config using the other 128K out of 256K, to be used on chips where the first 128K contain a bad bit .
Is this CPU galaxy moved on?
Channel owner here I think has an Austrian accent. But excellent English,
If he was CPU galaxy, his English has gotten better. And I would like to know why the switch.
No relation to CPU Galaxy, although I watch his channel. I am from Germany but live abroad since over 15 years.
Is it okay to short circuit pins and not using resistors?
The resistors I removed were 0 Ohms. So, basically a bridge.
@@bitsundbolts o that's explain it. Thank you for answering
Is the temperature tool Win9x compatible?
At this point - no. I used .NET 4.6. But it uses some standard libraries like SerialPort. May just be possible to be compiled in .NET 2.0 that may work on Windows 98SE.
Back in my day we spread the thermal paste as thin and even as possible with a razor. 🙂 I'm old so what.
I remember that too. Oh well, enough evidence out there that it doesn't matter too much. Just too little paste is an issue. I'm old now too.
А зачем назад поставил крышку?! Если можно было охлаждение поставить напрямую, на сам кристал.
It would be a possibility. I just like to have the lid back on - feels more complete and there is not much to be gained with direct-die cooling.
kindly remove the _entire installation package of internet explorer 5.5_ from the repository.
StopMonitor returns a value that is never used. (even StartMonitor doesn't need to return anything, either. Whether it succeeded or not is known from _port.IsOpen)
Do port enumeration at startup instead of in Start_click.
Consider sending a short or an int from the arduino instead of a string.
Consider handling SerialPort's ErrorReceived.
I added all dependencies that will be used in an upcoming video. It also contains .NET Framework 2.0, windows 98 Arduino serial drivers and the Microsoft Windows Installer 2.0. They are all dependencies for .NET.
@@bitsundbolts jesus christ :D
You are right - I changed the code based on some of your suggestions. But most importantly, I got rid of the large binary dependencies and provided source URLs instead.
@@bitsundbolts what is your target platform? w95? 2k?
@@bitsundbolts i wrote it completely backwards D:
do port enum when the user asks to start the system. As close (time-wise) to when the port will be actually opened. The reasoning for this, is that there is no guarantee whatsoever that the serial port will continue existing from the moment you enumareted them all to the user clicking start (yes, it does sound crazy)
Under the hood, the AMD K6 looks like a K7 (Athlon) CPU, back in the early 2000s i modded a CPU arleardy.. An Overclocket ist A 500 to 700Mhz (unstable) i had no ideas of Untervolting or even thermal paste at this time, i was Young and Stupid. 🤣😂
Today thisa CPUs are rar to find, and the only one i have K6-2 500 i will never Mod or Overclock.
Even though I own this CPU, I'm not stupid enough to break it in such a futile attempt.
It may not be worth the risk, you're right! This is my second delid of such a CPU. Both were successful. However, there are pictures of broken silicone dies on the web.
👍👍👍👍👍
Hur Hur, will it run Crysis now? 🤓
Resolution: 32x18 - on low details though.
The mission of the K6-III was to beat and harass the Pentium II. I think that the k6-III 600-666 mhz can beat the best pentium II, in all games, all applications. The pentium II had the best support in the motherboards industry, and so for the agp port, and sdram-memory They provide a bigger transfert etc. I think, its true. The worses errors for the socket 7, They had not motherboard who can support a system of dual cpu. its a real scandal into the super socket 7 History.
Де ти був 20 років тому...
I wish I knew back then as well!
Please don't use a razor blade like this guy did, it's incredibly stupid and dangerous.
too much paste, far too much. Additional cache not tested. Video Link in 1:52 not working.
useless mods are useless
This was amazing when I first found out about it!
I was going to attempt the cache mod myself, but then I saw a listing on eBay of someone that does this mod...
They've sold many and have great reviews. SOLID performance. I got mine doing 633mhz @ only 2.2v (115fsb)
They still have a listing up. Item # 165591645766
It's basically a K6 II+ 570 turned into a K6 III+ 570. 256k cache!
If anyone is interested, I'd probably snag one before this person runs out of em.
But he aware that you can buy 3 K6-2+ 570 for a little over 80 USD on ebay: Item 274825467551
@@bitsundbolts
Of course but there is no guarantee that those CPUs will accept the mod.
Nor is that factoring in the time needed to do the mod. Or the equipment cost to also do the mod.
The person selling the CPU premodded is guaranteeing you a 633mhz capable CPU that accepted the mod.
I was happy to pay even more to be honest.
Silly to try to save a couple bucks and spend enourmous time.
If you have the tools sitting around and are savvy and like to tinker... Sure. But that's not everybody.
Yes, I absolutely agree with you. I bought 6 CPUs in total.
I modded a K6-2+ 450 (if I am not mistaken) and one of the six 570s.
Both work but I haven't done overclocking.
There will be a few more videos on those CPUs when I get the time - as you said - it is time consuming. Even if you just move the resistor, it takes about an hour to do if you do it the first time. And no guarantee.
Die can crack, die can have faulty L2 Cache, or anything in-between can go wrong.
Deutsche Wertarbeit 😅💯
good example of ripping off people by AMD
Marketing speak: Market segmentation