Socket 5: Tuning Old PC Systems

Technology: Processor Bus Clock, Multiplier And CPU Core Voltage, Continued

The table below compares the different CPU platforms. The AMD K6-2 can also be used in some Socket 7 boards without an upgrade socket. The only prerequisite is split voltage.

Once ago 200 MHz (66 MHz x 3 = 200 MHz) used to be the limit! However, by using the upgrade socket from PowerLeap, multipliers between x1.5 and x6 are freely available in half steps, thanks to the integrated engineering logic. All processors from the K6-2 series upwards interpret a clock multiplier of x1.5 as x6.

It is possible to insert the processor in boards with dual voltage (CPU Core and I/O voltage) without the need for an upgrade socket, but most of the old boards restrict the selection range of the clock multiplier. Therefore it is always wise to use the upgrade socket. It enables you to adjust the clock multiplier as well as the core voltage via special dipswitches. The voltage is adjustable in small increments within the range of 1.8 volts to 3.5 volts. Between 1.8 volts and 2.1 volts, it is even variable in 0.05-volt steps.