Sorry for the confusion.  I do realize that those that truly are over
clocking their CPUs are doing so risking premature failure and unstable
systems.  I have seen time and time again 'if when over clocking your system
becomes unstable then back off...'.  What my intend was to point out that
Intel and AMD are both into shipping CPUs with various speed ratings that are
the same design.  The CPU has been internally locked down to a stated speed
and then priced accordingly.   I have read that this is done to use CPUs that
fail testing at higher speeds, but work OK at slower speeds.  Maybe that is
true.  Or maybe by slowing down some of the CPUs from a given design enough
total CPUs per design can be sold to keep the price per unit down.  Only Intel
and AMD know for sure.
------------------( Forwarded letter 1 follows )---------------------
Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2002 17:14:22 EDT
To: JIM.BRUST, [log in to unmask]
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: CPU Crippling

Jim writes:

> True Dell,Gateway, and others do not cripple the AMD or Intel CPU'
> s they put
>  into their PCs.  They do not have to.  AMD and Intel do that to start with.
>  Look at all those people who go in and over clock their CPU's via bus
> settings
>  on the mother board. In fact there is a going black market of CPU's that
> have
>  been hacked to run at higher speeds then AMD or Intel intended for them to
> be
>  run at.
>          HP is a late comer to the cripple the product in hopes of selling
> upgrades
>  party.

I don't presume any sort of malfeasance to Intel's or AMD's motives in this
instance. In fact, what they're doing is what every engineering organization
does: providing a guaranteed working system by building and delivering a
better system than the one that they're promising you, one with a safety
factor built in. Every bridge, every building, and ideally every tire from
Firestone will operate and survive at much higher conditions than that at
which it is rated.

The World Trade Center buildings almost survived the impact of much larger
aircraft than they were designed to survive. If a slightly larger safety
factor had been put into their design, they would be with us now. There's
fundamental no reason they had to fall down. Intel and AMD are "giving" you
much better machines than they promised only to insure that they will meet or
exceed their marked specifications under all conditions. It's standard
engineering practice. Those people who push the chips and busses beyond their
rated values are working in that "safety factor" zone, but they're also doing
it at their own risk.

Wirt Atmar

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