heya... i was about to upgrade my current computer with some crucial parts and stuffs pretty soon....
would appreciate if some advices could ease my overclocking difficulties and doubts...

Firstly i am wondering if what i am getting (althlon xp 2200+)
is the Thoroughbred version. And how do i identify and differentiate the difference between the TBed version and another without...

Secondly i heard about unlocking the athlon xp cpu in order to get past the capped settings or something like that....
Or is the newer shipment doesn't require us to do that anymore ?
Seen some pictures of athlon cpus being magnify and soldered to connect bridges to bridges... are those really necessary ? would be cool if someone could clear my doubts...

Lastly... what are some useful programs that helps in analysing and test my computer's performance for comparison purposes ? such as 3dmark and wcpuid....

Thats all i need to know i guess...
Would be glad if someone could direct me to some useful and excellent o/cing sites...

First of all, most of the 2200+ are Tbred A's. You'll want the tbred B for overclocking.

You also have to determine if your motherboard will even handle a tbred.

You can unlock your multiplier by connecting all of the L1 bridges using a pencil (it worked for my duron...)

==> http://www.tweakhardware.com/guide/duron-pencil/

and here you can find a complete manual to overclock your amd

==> http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/19970102/index.html

To test your cpu performance you should download Prime95 and run the torture test.


Greetz

Depending on your motherboard most Tbreds are unlocked.

The "A" cores that I have come across are not unlocked...the B's are (@ least on kt333 boards & NF2's). And I would recommend a 2100 AIUHB or one of the low volt 1700's (JIUHB) over the 2200, you'll get a lot better oc. If those aren't available, see if you can find an AIUHB 2400 or a Barton 2500...either would be better than the 2200.

Ah... i see....
thanks alot for the enlightenment...
probably i would grab the 2400 then if thats the case.
Just wondering if the EPOX 8RDA+ (NVIDIA nForce2) or the SOLTEK SL-75FRN -L (NVIDIA nForce2) would be much of a better choice ? and does both of them unlock the cpu ?
heard alot about epox's board but personally prefer soltek because of the high ratings...

hm....

They're both good & will unlock the mults of "B" Cores I know. The Soltek has the advantage of not having to do the VDD mod (it's adjustable in Bios). Note this won't apply to the new 8RDA3+. The downside for the Soltek (& the 8RDA3+) is that you don't get the MCP/MCP2-T southbridge---thus no firewire or, more importantly, SoundStorm. The 8RDA+ offers SoundStorm (which utilizes the NVidia APU) & is, @ least, the equal of my Herc. Game Theater XP. The 8RDA+ does not meet the SoundStorm criteria b/c they don't offer the SPDif bracket w/ the board (it comes as an option for $18 direct from ePox or you can make your own). Another option to consider which offers the MCP/MCP2-T is the ABit NF7/s. One other factor to consider is that the NVidia APU uses a lot less of the CPU. It doesn't steal nearly the cycles of the standard AC97 codec. As a matter of fact, it is about the same as a dedicated sound card.