Unlocking the Duron and Athlon Using the Pencil

Unlocking the Duron and Athlon Using the Pencil

Introduction

The best and most stable way to overclock your Athlon and Duron CPU is through changing the CPU clock multiplier. Overclocking can be done by changing the FSB (front side bus) of the motherboard, but the Athlon doesn't respond well to overclocking that particular way. To get your Athlon CPU ready to be overclocked requires a slight modification of the CPU called "The Pencil Trick".
The Pencil Trick unlocks the full potential of your CPU. Overclocking the Intel series of CPUs is different than that of an Athlon, and was done mainly by tweaking the FSB of the CPU on the motherboard. FSB overclocking methods, such as running your 300A Celeron set to run at 450MHz by setting the FSB to 100MHz x 4.5 instead of the factory setting of 4.5 x 66MHz, were done very easily. This resulted in a stable overclocked CPU at 450MHz. If you tried overclocking your Athlon in such a way, your system would never POST because the Athlon is not designed like the Intel chip to be compatible at the higher frequencies of an increased FSB. The only drawback to this is that the potential for customers to be ripped of by untrustworthy dealers selling overclocked CPUs to the public at the price of the actual CPU speed is increased by a large margin. Intel long ago locked the multiplier of their CPUs to keep such things from happening with their processors. So with the Intel, chip adjustment of the FSB was the only available option for overclocking.
The Athlon CPU is not designed to handle a high frequency FSB, but will allow you to reconnect the L1 bridges, allowing the processor to be set at any clock frequency, making overclocking an easy task. In the first releases of the Athlon/Duron motherboards you had to not only modify the processor, but you had to modify the motherboard to be able to adjust the Vcore and voltage settings to get a stable overclocked system. But manufacturers soon got the point and started to include those features on their motherboards, making the CPU the only modification you need to make. This works, and is very risk free. The room for error is not great, so even the not-so-mechanically-inclined can take on this task and be successful. I have always been against too much modification, because it can result in the loss of equipment. I wholeheartedly believe in this procedure, as the modification is very minimal and the chance of ruining your equipment is almost zero.

Contents
1. Introduction
2. Setup
3. Step 1
4. Step 2
5. Step 3
6. Conclusion
Setup
You will need a very small-tip pencil, preferably a 0.5mm-type mechanical pencil such as the one made by Ritter, as the tool for this procedure. People think this is absolutely a crazy idea, but it actually works great, and is very easy to do. Lead will not burn at the frequencies running along it, so there is no fear of that happening, as is suggested by some. The L1 Bridges on The Athlon/Duron CPUs are the bridges that lock the multiplier. These bridges are cut off by laser at the factory to lock the CPU at a certain clock frequency, but can be reconnected by using the graphite of the pencil lead to conduct electricity across the bridge, effectively unlocking a locked processor. This is safe and relatively simple to do. Just take your time and follow a few simple procedures

Step 1

Remove your processor from your system and find a well-lit and flat working area. Set your CPU on something that won't damage the pins of the processor. Locate the L1 bridges on the CPU and get your mechanical pencil ready for action. Both the Athlon and Duron processors have the same L1 connecting bridges and are done in the same way.

Step 2

Hold your CPU in your left hand and look very closely at the CPU, so as to clearly see the L1 bridges. Use a business card to separate the bridges so that you do not connect the L1 bridges to each other. Work your way across the bridges from left to right (using a business card as a separation tool) and connect the bridges by rubbing the pencil back and forth over the bridges about twenty times until it is dark black, not the normal gold color. Make sure that all the bridges are reconnected, but not touching each other, and you are on your way. I know it sounds incredible, but that is actually all there is to it. Your processor, if done correctly, is ready to be overclocked. It can now be set to run at different clock frequencies, eliminating the need to increase the FSB.

Step 3
Reinstall your processor back into your system. Make sure you use a good cooling solution, such as the Silver Orb by Thermaltake or an equivalent, as the CPU will need to have better cooling in an overclocked state. Use thermal grease if you have it, preferably a silver-based compound. You can see some good stuff at www.arcticsilver.com. It is messy, but it is very necessary when you are overclocking your CPU, as it makes a seal with the cooling solution for better heat dissipation. You may need to adjust the voltage in order to obtain a stable overclocked CPU. I had to increase the voltage by .05 percent, but then everything ran stable. I was able to run a 650MHz Duron at 800MHz and a 700MHz Athlon at 900MHz just by using a pencil and a few BIOS adjustments. This is a very easy task and can be done by just about anyone who has access to a pencil. I like the mechanical pencil, but a sharp There are many motherboards out currently on the market that support overclocking and have good features to insure you have a properly running, stable system.

Conclusion
This is the simplest and easiest way to modify a CPU that I have ever seen. You can gain a significant amount of increased processor power for the cost of about five cents of pencil lead. Those who are still reluctant, let me tell you I was too, until one day I just gave it a shot, and it was so simple I had to laugh at myself for waiting so long to try it. The Athlon and Duron Processors respond very well to this, and can be set to run at many different speeds with the right combination of settings. All I have to say in closure is take a chance. Grab your Athlon/Duron processor, get a pencil, and unlock that CPU of yours. Then you can get the most performance out of it.

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Hard Drive

Hard Drive

Description
What To Look For
Recommendations

Already know what a Hard Drive is and what to look for? Then skip to the Recommendations.

Description:

• As the primary communication device to the rest of the computer, the hard drive is very important. The hard drive stores most of a computer's information including the operating system and all of your programs. Having a fast CPU is not of much use if you have a slow hard drive. The reason for this is because the CPU will just spend time waiting for information from the hard drive. During this time, the CPU is just twiddling it's thumbs...
• The hard drive stores all the data on your computer - your text documents, pictures, programs, etc. If something goes wrong with your hard drive, it is possible that all your data could be lost forever. Today's hard drives have become much more reliable, but hard drives are still one of the components most likely to fail because they are one of the few components with moving parts. The hard drive has round discs that store information as 1s and 0s very densely packed around the disc.

What To Look For:

• First, look at the technology. Do you want IDE or SCSI (see Glossary for definitions)? SCSI is the faster interface which also takes a load off of your CPU and allows for better multitasking. It also requires the use of a SCSI Card. SCSI is rarely used in home desktop systems, but for the user that wants the best possible performance, SCSI is the way to go. IDE is the more common hard drive interface, and it's what I recommend to most users. It is also a lot less expensive. Over the years, IDE has gotten a lot closer to SCSI in terms of speed too. But, if you are one of those users that wants the fastest possible computer, SCSI is one of the reasons you may want to Build Your Own Computer. If you can afford to go SCSI, you may want to consider a SCSI CD-ROM drive and burner.
  Other reasons to go SCSI are if you want a lot of devices (you can easily have 15 devices, IDE used to only allow for 4, but newer motherboards come with extra connectors, but still only allow for 2 devices per cable) or you really need the high speed 10,000 - 15,000 RPM drives.
• Have you decided on IDE? Okay, now do you want traditional IDE (parallel ATA) or the newer Serial ATA? Serial ATA is only possible with newer motherboards that support this connection type. It allows for easier drive connection, theoretically higher speeds, and has much thinner cables. Also the first 10k rpm ATA drives are available only as Serial ATA. Another thing to consider is FireWire (IEEE-1394) hard drives. These are mostly external though. It's a good option for transporting very large amounts of data back and forth between multiple computers.
• The most important numbers to look at in terms of speed are the rpms of the hard drive (revolutions per minute). The faster rpms are going to be much faster hard drives because they spin the discs faster providing faster access to a particular area of the disc. The most common rpm speeds for IDE drives are 5400 rpm, 7200 rpm, and now some at 10,000 rpm. I highly recommend 7200 rpm drives over 5400 rpm drives as they provide a big difference in speed. If you can afford it, get the Serial ATA drives that run at 10,000 rpm. For SCSI, the rpms are usually at 7200 or 10,000, with some newer drives as high as 15,000 rpm. If you're going SCSI, you've got money to burn, so you might as well get a 15,000 rpm drive.
• You should also pay attention to the access times. Lower numbers are better here. This is how fast the hard drive can access a particular area of the disc.
• Next, if you decide to use IDE, look for the Ultra DMA or Ultra ATA rating (both of which mean the same thing and mean that the bus is capable of transferring data at up to a specific rate). What this means is that if you have say 4 IDE hard drives and you only have ATA 33, then the drives would only be able to transfer 33 MB/second altogether. ATA/33 is really all that's necessary because most users only have one or two drives, and the chances of those drives ever being able to transfer more than 33 MB per second is very slim anyway. Having said that, there are currently ATA/100 and ATA/133 standards. Most newer hard drives are ATA/100 or 133, and I would suggest buying an ATA/100 drive at least, not because the drive would ever be capable of transferring data that fast but because it is a "newer" drive and thus is more likely faster than the ATA/66 drives, in general.
• If you decide to use SCSI, you need to consider the type of SCSI (yes, it gets more complicated). These are hard to define since different companies represent them differently. They consist of a mix of SCSI-1, SCSI-2, and SCSI-3 as well as Narrow-SCSI, Ultra-SCSI, Ultra2-SCSI, Wide-SCSI, Ultra-Wide-SCSI, Ultra160-SCSI, and now Ultra320-SCSI. The simplest way to decide is to look at the number of pins your controller has. If it has a 68-pin connector, then it has Wide capability. Find a hard drive that has a 68-pin connector and then look for the highest SCSI rating and/or the highest in the list above, with "Ultra320-SCSI" being the highest. Most CD-ROM drives and burners will be "Narrow-SCSI (50 pins), and most current SCSI hard drives are Ultra2Wide, Ultra160, or Ultra320.
• Next, look at the amount of cache on the drive. Many have only 128kb, 256kb, or 512kb of cache memory. Some SCSI drives have 16 MB of cache or more. I would advise trying to find an IDE drive with at least 2 MB of cache (most now do), and 8 MB cache is getting to be common (and makes a big speed difference). SCSI drives should generally have at least 2 or 4 MB of cache.
• The previous tips have all focused on speed. Of course, you also want to get a hard drive that will hold enough data. For this, you need to consider the GB size of the drive. Most of today's hard drives start at 40 GBs or larger. 40 GBs is going to be more than plenty for the vast majority of computer users. Power users may want anywhere from 120 to 250 GBs of space depending on their needs (i.e. if you want to store hundreds of CDs in MP3 format, you will want a very large hard drive). Consider 40 GB as a bare minimum size. You won't find many new hard drives smaller than that anyway.
• Warranty is also important since hard drives are prone to failure. Most IDE hard drives have a 1-3 year warranty, and most SCSI drives have a 5 year warranty.
• Also consider that the higher rpm drives usually run hotter than the slower ones. You may want to consider hard drive cooling fans for some of these faster drives.

Recommendations:

• IDE Hard Drives
• SCSI Hard Drives

IDE Hard Drives:
There are quite a few good hard drive options depending on your budget. IDE hard drives are usually fairly comparable in price for the same size, same rpm, so I generally suggest just going for the best performing drive with a good reliability record. Since the 7200 rpm drives aren't much more expensive than their slower 5400 rpm brothers, I suggest getting at least a 7200 rpm drive. I also suggest going for an 8 MB cache hard drive. They also aren't much more expensive anymore, and if you can be satisfied with a smaller amount of disk space (i.e. 80 GB), you can get an 8 MB cache drive for pretty cheap. Here are my specific recommendations:

• #1: Western Digital Raptor series (model WD740GD or WD360GD) - These drives are currently the fastest drives available unless you look at SCSI drives (and it even rivals some of the fastest SCSI drives). Unfortunately, they're fairly expensive and small. The largest one only holds 74 GB, and the smaller one only 36 GB. Nevertheless, this is sufficient for the typical home user. If you play a lot of games or have large MP3 or video collections, you'll need a different drive or a secondary drive for the large amount of data. These drives are Serial ATA only, spin at a fast 10,000 rpm, and have the large 8 MB cache buffer.
• #2: Hitachi (formerly IBM) Deskstar HDS7225*: The * represents the rest of the model number, which usually determines the size and whether it's parallel or serial ATA. Either one makes a good choice, but if you have serial ATA available on your motherboard, you might as well take advantage of it. Aside from the 10,000 rpm Raptors, these 7200 rpm drives are the fastest IDE drives available, plus they're quiet and inexpensive. They are available with a 2 or 8 MB cache, but make sure you get the 8 MB cache version (which also has a 3 year warranty instead of a 1 year warranty on the 2 MB version). The 160 GB version is a good choice since it's still relatively inexpensive.
• #3: Western Digital JB series drives - They range from 40 GB to 200 GB (and from less than $70 to about $400). Get whichever one fits your budget. I suggest the 120 GB version - model # WD1200JB. These all spin at 7200 rpms. The larger drives tend to be a little faster than the smaller ones. The only negative is that it's an ATA-100 drive (the Maxtor drives are ATA-133), but that's not a big deal at all. If you want a Serial ATA drive, the WD2500JD is as good as it gets (also with 8 MB cache). The Western Digital drives are actually faster and in many cases cheaper than the Maxtors and IBMs.
• #4: Maxtor 8MB cache drives: These are a little slower than the Western Digital and IBM drives, but a good choice if that's all that's available. Model numbers are written like this: 6Y120P0 or 6Y120M0 where 120 is the size in gigabytes and PO means IDE and MO means Serial ATA.
• #5: Western Digital Caviar BB series - These are about the same as the ones listed above, but without the 8 MB cache memory (instead it has 2 MB). Good choice for those on a budget.

SCSI Hard Drives:
SCSI hard drives are going to cost you a lot more, but the performance difference can be significant. IDE has really caught up in speed lately though, so it may be a better choice nowadays. Here are my recommendations for SCSI drives. All of the drives below are Ultra320 rated:

• Fujitsu MAS3735: This is currently the fastest hard drive available for server use, period. It's a 15,000 rpm drive with a seek time of only 3.6 ms and 8 MB cache.
• Maxtor's Atlas 15k is another great choice for a 15,000 rpm drive. It's a little slower in server applications, but for general desktop use, it is about as good as the Fujitsu. It has seek times of around 3.4 ms for the 73 GB version and 3.2 ms for the smaller drives.
• Maxtor Atlas 10k IV - This drive is a great option because it is the fastest 10,000 rpm drive and it is also reasonably priced (relatively). It has a very large 8 MB cache buffer and seek time of only 4.4 ms.

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SCSI Card

SCSI Card

Description
Notes on SCSI and IDE RAID
What To Look For
Recommendations

Already know what a SCSI Card is and what to look for? Then skip to the Recommendations.

Description:

A SCSI card is a card that will control the interface between SCSI versions of hard drives, CD-ROM drives, CD-ROM burners, removable drives, external devices such as scanners, and any other SCSI components. Most fit in a PCI slot and there is a wide range of types. The three main types of connectors on these cards are 25-pin for SCSI-1, 50-pin for Narrow SCSI, and 68-pin for Wide SCSI (and Ultra-Wide SCSI, Ultra2-SCSI, Ultra160 SCSI, and Ultra 320 SCSI - all of which use a 68 pin connector).

SCSI controllers provide fast access to very fast SCSI hard drives. They can be much faster than the IDE controllers that are already integrated your computer's motherboard. SCSI controllers have their own advanced processing chips, which allows them to rely less on the CPU for handling instructions than IDE controllers do.

For the common user, SCSI controllers are overkill, but for high end servers and/or the performance freaks of the world, SCSI is the way to go. SCSI controllers are also much more expensive than the free IDE controller already included on your motherboard. There is also a large premium in price for the SCSI hard drives themselves. Unless you have deep pockets, there isn't much of a point in going with a SCSI controller.

Many people buy SCSI controllers just for use with their CD-ROM burners and CD-ROM drives (these drives must be SCSI drives of course).

SCSI cards also have the ability to have up 15 devices or more per card, while a single IDE controller is limited to only 4 devices (some motherboards now come with more than one IDE controller though). SCSI cards allow these drives to be in a chain along the cable. Each drive on the cable has to have a separate SCSI ID (this can be set by jumpers on the drive). The last drive on the end of the cable (or the cable itself) has to "terminate" the chain (you turn termination on by setting a termination jumper on the drive - or use a cable that has a terminator at the end of it).

Notes on SCSI and IDE RAID:

RAID stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks. RAID arrays combine multiple hard drives to act as one. You have to have at least two drives for a RAID array, and in some cases you need more. RAID is generally considered overkill for home users, although it is very important in the server market. For those really interested in high peformance, a RAID array may be worth setting up. The primary benefits of RAID include Redundancy and Performance, although not always both together. There are several different levels, or types, of RAID arrays. I'll discuss the four primary forms, their benefits, and their disadvantages:

1. RAID 0 is first, and it is also known as a Striped Array. In this level with 2 drives, part of the data is stored on one drive, and part of the data is stored on the other. This way, the RAID card can write a small amount of data to both drives at the same time about twice as fast as a single drive could write the same amount of data. The RAID card can also read data from the two drives at once, making read speeds twice as fast. This RAID setup is all about performance and does not provide any redundancy. If one drive dies, all data is lost. RAID 0 is good for desktop situations where data is not mission critical, but it is a good idea to make backups often. Since data is not reproduced, two 36 GB drives would be seen as one 72 GB drive.
2. RAID 1, which is also called Mirroring, uses 2 drives and has the exact same data on each drive. The major advantage of RAID 1 is redundancy. If one drive dies, the computer can keep going normally. Read speeds are also sped up because the drive can read different parts of the data from each of the two drives at the same time. Write speeds are slower than a single drive though because the RAID card has to write the same data to both drives instead of just writing once to one drive (or across multiple drives like in RAID 0). RAID 1 can be good for keeping backups of your important data, while also increasing read speeds. It can also be helpful in web servers, since reading is what is done most often. Since data is reproduced, two 9 GB drives would be seen as one 9 GB drive, so you don't get the full benefit of all drives.
3. RAID 5 is Striping with Distributed Parity. This configuration requires at least 3 drives. It provides the same performance as RAID 0, and also adds the redundancy of parity. A "parity bit" of the data is distributed across all the drives so that if one drives dies, the array can continue working okay, but you would need to replace the third drive. The calculations can slow write speeds though. This also gets expensive since 3 drives are required. RAID 5 is most commonly used in big enterprise servers. Most IDE RAID controllers do not support RAID 5.
4. RAID 0,1 is also worth mentioning. It combines RAID 0 and 1 to stripe two drives, and then mirror those two drives on another two drives. Thus, a minimum of 4 drives is required. You get speed improvements, but also keep redundancy. The server you're viewing this web page on actually runs a RAID 01 array!
5. RAID 1.5 is a new RAID format that combines mirroring and striping with just two drives (which should provide good reliability and speed). The jury's still out on how well this works. I don't know much about this new format yet.

What To Look For:

• The type of controller is the most important thing to consider. If you want a controller for hard drives, you might as well get the Ultra320 controller since there isn't much of a price difference (if you find one significantly cheaper that's Ultra160, it should be sufficient). If you want to get a controller only for CD-ROM / CD-RW drives, then narrow SCSI (50 pin internal connector) is all that is needed.
• Transfer rate is another thing to consider. These are usually determined by the type of SCSI card, which can be SCSI-1 (10 MB/sec Max), Narrow SCSI (20 MB/sec Max), Wide SCSI (40 MB/sec Max), Ultra2Wide SCSI (80 MB/sec Max), Ultra160 SCSI (up to 160 MB/sec Max), and now Ultra320 SCSI (up to 320 MB/sec Max). Before you jump to conclusions and determine that Ultra320 is a must have since it is "twice as fast" as Ultra160, be warned that the two controllers will yield no speed difference when only 1 hard drive is connected. You might not even notice the difference with 4 hard drives connected. 320 MB/sec Max simply means that all drives on the card can transfer a total of up to 320 MB per second. Since 1 drive will not currently transfer data nearly that fast, it's pointless for a single drive. However, if you have 10 drives in a heavily accessed server, the 40 MB/sec limit of Wide SCSI may actually slow things down.
• Number and type of connectors are obviously important. If you get a 68-pin Ultra320 drive, you want to have a 68-pin Ultra320 connector on the SCSI Card (although a 68-pin Ultra160 connector would be sufficient - even a 68-pin Ultra2Wide or Ultra2 connector would work if you have something to terminate the chain). If you've got an external Narrow device, then you need a 50-pin connector on the external portion of the card (this may be used for scanners or external CD burners). However, there are adapters to get around these problems, but they are not always 100% effective (not to mention that you lose out if the device is (for example) a 50-pin device and you try to connect it to a 25-pin port).
  If you are looking for a SCSI controller that will do it all, you want to have an internal 68 pin connector (preferably Ultra320) for hard drives, an internal 50 pin connector for CD drives, and an external 50 pin connector for scanners and other devices (or external 68 pin connector for additional hard drives).
• The Chipset on the SCSI card is also important, but I don't know a lot about the chipsets. I DO know enough to say that the Tekram and Symbios Logic chipsets are good (and can be found quite cheap) and Adaptec's chipsets are considered to be the best.
• Some motherboards have SCSI controllers on them. If you're getting a whole new machine, this may be the way to go if you want SCSI. The motherboards are more expensive, but it is less expensive than buying a SCSI card. The only problem is that if you decide to get a new motherboard later on, you can't take your SCSI controller with you, but you could if it were a separate controller... Thus, you will spend more in the long run if you plan to upgrade your computer like that.
• If the SCSI controller is going to be used for a large number of hard drives, getting a dual channel card may be helpful. This can provide a speed increase in addition to supporting more devices. Have a dual channel SCSI card is kind of like having 2 SCSI controllers in one computer (2 of each connector usually).
• If you're getting a RAID controller, be sure it supports the RAID levels you need. RAID 0, 1, 5, and 0/1 are the most commone levels that you would want supported on your RAID card.

Recommendations:

SCSI Controllers

SCSI RAID Controllers

IDE RAID Controllers

• SCSI Controllers:
• Before I get to my recommendations, I want to note that they are mainly for using SCSI hard drives or a combination of hard drives and CD drives. If you *only* want a SCSI card for use with CD drives and other 50 pin internal devices, or for external 25 pin devices, then I would suggest Adaptec's 2906 which has a 50 pin internal connector and a 25 pin external. Although it's no longer being made, the Adaptec 2903 or 2903B is about the same controller, and you may be able to find it for a lot less!
• My number one pick in all around SCSI controllers is the Adaptec 29160N. Combining the speed and reliability of Adaptec leaves you with an exceptional SCSI controller. All of the Ultra160 controllers from Adaptec are excellent, but this one is the best card to get for general use because of the connector options it has. Of course, this mostly depends on your situation. The 29160N has an internal 68 pin Ultra160 connector as well as a 50 pin internal connector for CD drives. The 50 pin external connector is handy for connecting SCSI scanners and other external devices. This card is also very cheap now.
  The cheaper 19160 has most of the features of the 29160N, but it is only supported under the Windows operating systems.
  Adaptec's other Ultra160 controllers all have 68 pin Ultra160 as their external connections, so they aren't good to have unless you wish to connect external hard drives.
• The Adaptec 29320-R is a good choice for an Ultra320 SCSI card. It has one internal and one external 68 pin connector as well as a 50 pin connector for legacy devices. If you don't need the 50 pin connector, the 39320-R may be a better choice.
• Adaptec's older model, the 2940U2W is also a great controller, but since the 29160N is about the same price, I'd advise getting it instead.
• Tekram also makes some good controllers. If price is a concern, go with a Tekram card.

• SCSI RAID Controllers:
• I don't have much current experience in this area anymore, although I would expect Adaptec's products to be a good option.

• IDE RAID Controllers:
• I don't have much current experience in this area either, but I would suggest looking at Promise and Abit controllers as they have been good brands in the past.

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Modem

Modem

Description:

If you are at home, then you are most likely using a modem to view this page right now (dial-up modem, cable modem, or DSL modem). The modem is what hosts the communication between your computer and the computers you are connecting to over the Internet. If you're on a network, then you're using a network card (ethernet card most likely - and that may connect to your cable or DSL modem). A modem uses your phone line to transfer data to and from the other computers. Newer cable modems and DSL modems provide about 10 times the speed of a regular phone modem. These are usually external and plug into a network card in your computer.

Modem stands for "modulator / demodulator" and it encodes and decodes signals sent to and from the network servers. Good modems should be able to do all the encoding / decoding work on their own without having to rely on your computer's CPU to do the work.

What To Look For:

• First of all, you need to consider what type of modem you would like, partially dictated by what is available in your area. For most rural areas, cable and DSL modems are not available. Since most cable and DSL services include a modem in the package, I am not going to focus on cable and DSL modems here; only dial up modems. However, I strongly suggest you go with cable or DSL service if it is available in your area and you can afford the expense. If you do a lot of Internet surfing, play online games, or do a lot of uploading / dowloading of files, then either of these services are appropriate for you. The reason I'm not discussing the modems here is that they are generally provided by your cable or DSL provider.
• For dial up modems, look for modems that support either the K56 Flex protocol OR the 56K protocol AND fit the V.90 standard. I'll quickly define all these terms. K56Flex and 56K are two different formats for transferring data over a modem at high speeds. They were competing, but now the two companies have come to an agreement on a standard format, called V.90.
  In general, you may want to get a modem that supports K56 Flex as it will work better if you don't have clear phone lines. My 56K modem won't connect at high speeds because my phone line is not very good. Of course, make sure it supports V.90 on top of that.
• Internal modems are usually a little harder to configure than external modems, so you may want to consider that. Of course, external modems take up more space, cost more, etc. USB external modems are usually a good choice, particularly if you are low on PCI or ISA modem slots.
• If you want it to be able to carry voice or speakerphone, look for one with those capabilities as well.
• Make sure you do not get a "WinModem" as they are only compatible with Windows and they rely on the CPU for much of the work. If you plan to play Internet games, then the WinModem will slow down your Internet gaming. Non WinModems do the processing on their own. If a modem says that it is only for Windows operating systems, then it is probably a WinModem.
• I would also advise avoiding most small name companies, since many of them will be low quality and unreliable (I know from experience).

Recommendations:

• With all the movement towards Cable and ADSL, dial up modems have all but become a thing of the past. Thus, don't expect to see too many new products. Recommendations below still apply for those unable to get a faster connection type. Most Cable / DSL providors supply their own modems, so there is no reason for me to make recommendations...
• In my opinion, the best modems are 3Com/US Robotics' Sportster modems, but they are somewhat expensive. Make sure the one you are getting is a V.90 capable modem and not a "WinModem."
  The 3Com/USR FaxModem Pro External remains my best pick for modems. This one has always had good connection speeds for me and can be used as serial or USB. USB actually works faster for me too.
• You could also consider some of the cheaper K56 Flex modems, but I don't have any recommendations, except one called ThunderLink that worked fine for me, but they're hard to find.
• Most generic 56k modems will also get the job done!

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Memory

Memory

Description:

• All programs, instructions, and data must be stored in system memory before the computer can use it. It will hold recently used programs, instructions, and data in memory if there is room. This provides quick access (much faster than hard drives) to information. The more memory you have, the more information you will have fast access to and the better your computer will perform.
• Memory is much like the short term memory in your brain. It holds your most recent information for quick access. Just as you want to accurately remember this information in your head, you want your computer's memory to have the correct information as well, or problems will obviously occur. Bad memory is one of the more common causes of computer crashes, and also the most difficult problem to diagnose. Because of this, making sure you get good RAM the first time around is very important. My Recommendations will help you get the fastest, highest quality RAM you can.
• There are many, many different types of memory for different tasks. The main ones today are DDR PCxx00 SDRAM DIMMs (this includes PC2700, PC3200, etc.) and Direct RDRAM RIMMs.

What To Look For:

• In the following discussion I will focus on memory for motherboards (main system memory).
• First you need to know the type of memory you need. RDRAM RIMMs are only used in some Pentium IV motherboards. They have a higher bandwidth than other types of memory, but surprisingly enough they don't usually perform much better than regular DDR SDRAM (it also costs a lot more). DDR SDRAM is what's used in AMD Athlon XP motherboards (and many Pentium IV motherboards now too).
• The type of RAM can usually be determined just by the motherboard's chipset. Below is a simple table of what RAM type (max speed RAM) should be used for each motherboard chipset (only recent chipsets are listed and I have bolded the chipsets I recommend):

Intel i875 (P4) PC3200 (DDR 400) Intel i865 (P4) PC3200 (DDR 400) Intel i850 (P4) PC1066 RDRAM Intel i848 (P4) PC3200 (DDR 400) Intel i845 (P4) PC2100 (DDR 333) Via KT600 (AMD Athlon XP) PC3200 (DDR 400) Via KT400A (AMD Athlon XP) PC3200 (DDR 400) Via KT400, KT333 (AMD Athlon XP) PC2700 (DDR 333) Via KT266A (AMD Athlon Thunderbird) PC2100 (DDR 266) Via P4X400 (Intel P4) PC3200 (DDR 400) Via P4X266 (Intel P4) PC2100 (DDR 266) NVIDIA nForce 2 Ultra 400 (AMD Athlon XP) PC3200 (DDR 400) SiS 748 (AMD Athlon XP) PC3200 (DDR 400)

• RAM speeds are also something to consider. Here's a table of the actual speeds of common types of DDR memory (with my recommendation in bold):

Memory type: Actual Speed: DDR Speed: PC3200 (DDR400) 200 MHz 400 MHz PC2700 (DDR333) 166 MHz 333 MHz PC2100 (DDR266) 133 MHz 266 MHz

• CAS 2 or CAS 3 is a very important consideration with SDRAM for speed reasons. Getting CAS 2 can speed up your computer and also allow for higher overclocking speeds.
• Many other timing numbers are important, but they are often misrepresented and confusing so I won't get into them too much.
• Unbuffered and Non-Parity are words you generally want to hear. Don't worry if your memory says this.
• The brand of the RAM chips as well as the brand of the PCB (the memory board) are both very important. Low quality chips or low quality PCBs can both cause problems. Good chips on bad PCBs is just the same as getting bad chips. It would be a good idea to buy memory from the manufacturer so you can be sure the chips and PCB are by the same manufacturer.

Recommendations:

• Today's motherboards use DDR SDRAM or RDRAM (on some Intel motherboards only). RDRAM is expensive and the performance isn't much better in general use. Please note, for dual channel DDR RAM, you need two sticks of memory.
• Corsair XMS memory is my number one pick. However, it's expensive compared to other brands. This memory is great for overclocking and getting low latency speeds, helping your computer to run faster. I would suggest PC3200 CAS 2 memory (C2). The specific model number is CMX512-3200C2 which has timings of 2-3-2-5-T1. Corsair's regular memory (not the XMS line) is also good and cheaper.
• I recently started using Kingston's Hyper-X memory, which is a high performance memory at a reasonable price. I've been very happy with it and think it would be a great choice.
• Crucial makes high quality, reliable memory, but it isn't always the fastest. At the time of this writing, they don't even have PC3200 memory available that runs at CAS2. It can be a little pricey, but their support, return policies, and free shipping make them a good choice.
• A couple of newer companies to consider are OCZ Technology and Geil. These are both manufacturers of high performance memory, but I haven't used it much myself. Many users have been very happy with these manufacturers, although some have had problems with Geil (while others have been very happy with it).

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Tweaking

Tweaking Tips Page...

Description:

Tweaking is using any means available to optimize your computer to make it the fastest possible machine you can. There are several different ways you can "tweak" your computer which I will discuss briefly below.

Types:

Software:

Drivers: These are most useful if for your video card. Keeping your video card using the most up-to-date drivers will ensure that it can handle all the newest software and games, while at the same time making it the fastest possible. Go to the website of your video card manufacturer for the latest drivers. Companies like Matrox are famous for putting out great driver enhancements.
Bus Mastering Drivers are drivers made by chipset manufacturers like Intel. They optimize control of your hard drives and other components to speed them up and lower CPU usage. If you can get them to work properly, they can make a big difference. You can get them from Intel's website if you look around hard enough.

Windows Enhancements: Things you can do to enhance your Windows^TM experience and speed are adjusting your swap file settings (virtual memory), virtual cache settings, defragmenting your hard drive, and checking the settings on the "Performance" tab of the "System" control panel. Also, make sure there are no device conflicts in your "Device Manager" portion of the "System" control panel. Check this by going to Start, Settings, Control Panel, System, Device Manager. If you see any yellow exclamation points or red Xs in front of the devices, there may be a conflict. Use the Windows hardware troubleshooter or contact the manufacturer of the part that is conflicting.

*NEW*: Most modern hard drives have great cache-management, and it is better than what Windows '98 will do. If you have a recent computer, go to Start, Settings, Control Panel, System, Performance, File System, and change the Read Ahead Optimization from Full to None! Restart and see what kind of difference it makes!

You can change your Virtual Memory settings by clicking Start, Settings, Control Panel, System, Performance, and Virtual Memory. Click "Let me specify my own settings" and change the minimum and maximum to the same setting (usually twice your available RAM is a good setting).

Using a good defragmenting program periodically (like Norton Utilities' Speed Disk) will also help speed up your computer.

The setting below applies mostly to Windows 95 computers and may not help much in Windows 98:
To change Virtual Cache settings, click Start, Run, and type in "sysedit" and enter. Then click on the system.ini file in the window. Search for "vcache," then make the lines after it look like they do below. If it isn't found, on any line, type all of the following values as well.
[vcache]
MinFileCache=4096
MaxFileCache=16355
chunksize=512
AllocPageFixed=Off
Make the max size about 1/4 of your total RAM and the min size about 1/4 of that (the above is good for 64 MB of RAM).

Hardware:

Configuration Enhancements: Some programs (like Dr. SCSI) help to enhance transfer rates on hard drives or optimize other settings to enhance performance. Be careful as a lot of these don't make much of a difference but charge you a lot of money. Dr. SCSI has helped many people, but it doesn't make a large difference on many (if not most) of the drives. I don't believe in most memory managers anymore as they also create an overhead that makes it not worth it (in my opinion).

BIOS Settings: Changing the settings in your BIOS (Basic Input and Output System) can have some effect on your computer's performance. Be careful when changing these settings though. A few things that can enhance performance are enabling CPU internal and external cache, enabling video BIOS caching and system BIOS caching, increasing the hard drive PIO mode to 4 if possible, and lowering all your memory settings as low as you can (test these one at a time and see if they work before trying to do them all at once).

BIOS Updates: Making sure your video card, motherboard, and SCSI card have the most up to date BIOS can also be helpful. This is similar to having the most current drivers. It can enable support for newer hardware or software and fix problems with earlier versions of the BIOS.

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