Here are some of the more common questions we are being asked.

Q: How do I identify my Athlon CPU ?

A: Here is a typical Athlon serial number from the top right of its plastic casing -

K7550MTR51B C

219952603752

Here we see we have a Athlon 550 ......the "C" at the end of the first row indicates the core is 0.25 micron. If it was a 0.18 micron core the letter would be "A"

The next line contains more details about the CPU. The "21" is the FAB number (the plant is was manufactured at). The "99" is the year the CPU was manufactured (this can also of course be a "00"). The "52" is the week of the year the CPU was manufactured (generally the later the better)

It is also possible that some later Athlon CPUs may be marked with a "C" for 0.25 micron but in fact have a 0.18u core inside. There is however a easy way to check without taking the Athlon to pieces. Simply look up under the Athlon between the heatsink plate and the PCB inside........you will be able to see the size of the core. The two pictures below show the difference between the two cores. (thanks to Magnus Rasmussen for the pictures)

The core on the left is 0.18u ....on the right is a older 0.25u core

Q: How fast will my Athlon reach when overclocked  ?

A: This is the most common question we receive...and can never be answered 100% accurately. At the end of the day ALL Athlon CPUs will overclock enough to make it very worthwhile. The following is only a rough summary (we could write pages on this subject ......but most of it would be pure speculation not fact :)

The most common speed most Athlons reach is around the 750-850Mhz mark...of course faster Athlons can hit up to 150Mhz above this.

0.25 micron Athlons - 

Early 500s (sub week 42), generally hit around 650Mhz Upwards

Later 500s (week 42 plus) generally reach 750Mhz Upwards (with week 42 actually being the best due to it's high speed 3.1nS cache)

Just about all week 42 plus Athlon 500s have 650Mhz cores......and as such clock very well.

550 and 650 Athlons vary depending on there age.......and much the same speeds apply.

The 700Mhz Athlon was the last 0.25 core that AMD officially released. This core usually hits between 800 - 850Mhz on standard cache divider and 900Mhz with some adjustment.

There are a few 750Mhz 0.25 cores around, these were maybe left over from before AMD decided to switch to the 0.18u process

and have been known to reach up to 1Ghz :)

0.18 micron Athlons -

These newer AMD cores have currently been seen in 550, 650, and 750 cores......The 550 and 650 core generally clock much the same as the older 0.25 cores......but usually run cooler and require less Core Voltage.

The 750 core is a real gem and can hit 950Mhz+, if you have one of these you are indeed very lucky :)  

For more help on identifying the internals of your Athlon, please check our this site.

Q: Why should I buy a FreeSpeed Card rather than another make ?
A: We feel FreeSpeed is by far the best card on the market for the following reasons:

1. It's a full production unit made with Surface Mounted components for ultra reliability.
2. It's not a prototype and hand built like others.
3. It's reliable, with a lifetime guarantee against mechanical failure
4. It's the cheapest card on the market
5. It's the smallest card on the market (less than half the size of a credit card)
6. Shipment is free, others charge up to $30!
7. No soldering is needed
8. There is not a single wire on the unit (unlike others), adds to reliability

9. We deal with every one of our customers on a 1 to 1 basis, personally answering every enquiry.

10. ISO Accredited Quality Control used during manufacture.

Q: Does the FreeSpeed Card allow adjustment of the Athlon's L2 cache divider ?

A: FreeSpeed only allows the adjustment of the Multiplier and Core Voltage of your Athlon CPU. It is not possible to adjust the cache via the Athlons edge connecter, but can be adjusted with some tricky soldering. We have found in our tests that adjusting the cache divider is not always that helpful, and feel that this feature is not worth the extra time the user would have to spend fitting the card and the risks involved in soldering.

Q: How will I fit my heat sink to my Athlon if the casing has to be removed ?

A: The only part of the casing that has to be removed is the plastic section on the back. The heat sink plate remains untouched. The FreeSpeed Card itself sits vertically on top of the Athlon, so as to keep out of the way of Cooling fans / Sub Zero cooling systems etc..

Q: Can my FreeSpeed card set the Athlons core voltage above 1.9V ?

A: The reason we have never made available this information is that it is very rarely needed.....and in fact, without some pretty extreme cooling methods it could be very dangerous for the life of your Athlon. There are also some lower than 1.45V settings but it's not worth mentioning these unless you are heavily into underclocking ;)

Here is the unpublished core voltage settings .....please only use these if you have extremely good cooling and are prepared for a possible CPU meltdown :)

Q: How do I adjust my Cache Divider ?
A: Please note that adjusting your cache is a very tricky operation, and unless you feel you have good soldering skills, it should not be attempted. The gains you may get are also not always worth the slow down your CPU gets from having slower cache and the extra heat you will need to get rid of from having a higher core speed.

Also always double check your existing cache arrangement to see which you have. Our Athlon 700 was using the same as a 500.

This table is also slightly misleading as it is arranged to show operational high / low, rather than showing resistor in / out. This means that a "0" denotes a resistor in place and "1" denotes resistor absent.