AMD Athlon64 4000+ Underclocking

Bios_Hakr writes "PC Stats is running an article on their experiences underclocking an AMD 4000+ processor. Their goal was to try and reduce the voltage requirements and lower the heat output. They benchmark using 3dMark01, 3dMark05, as well as SuperPi. From the article: 'This got us thinking though; what about under-clocking? Most modern processors and motherboards can just as easily run under a rated speed as it can run over... but is there a point to this? Well possibly.'"

Comments

Re:Don't keep us in suspense

[The Original Yama]

I have an Athlon 2100+ which I bought back in 2002 when it was brand new. After installing it, I experienced frequent lockups as the CPU overheated under heavy loads. I bought a new heatsink/fan combo (a Thermaltake Volcano 9, which was pretty good at the time) to replace the standard AMD one, but it sounded like a jet turbine at full speed and it only alleviated the problem a little. After that, I underclocked my FSB by only 3MHz (133MHz to 130MHz) and I haven't had a lockup in over a year. The associated drop in performance is unnoticable.