> From: Andrew Fildes <afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> He even discovered that he could
> force one machine to run much faster by fiddling with some micro-
> resistors - Apple produced a fast board and then disabled it to get a
> range of speeds so the cheap machine was the premium machine with two
> different resistor positions bridged! That's very naughty indeed.
I wouldn't attribute it to "naughtiness." Rather, Apple builds a
board capable of supporting a number of processor speeds, as
determined by the chip manufacturer's guidelines. If IBM tells Apple,
"This chip is rated for 1GHz," Apple sets the clock speed via jumpers
or resistor packs to 1GHz. It may well be that the processor that is
rated 1GHz may be capable of running at 1.25GHz or even 1.5GHz, but
Apple nor IBM can support it at speeds it was not intended to run at
-- you have to pay more for the chip that is rated for the higher
speed if you want support at that speed.
So it isn't nearly as diabolical as it seems. Apple's support costs
would go through the roof if they ran processors faster than they
were spec'd.
BTW: Windows folks play the same games. They call it "clock
chipping." Be aware that it may cause intermittent problems, and
possibly shortened lifetime of the microprocessor, due to excessive
heat -- running them faster dissipates more power!
:::: The Earth isn't a pizza. You can't dial up and have one
delivered! -- Alf ::::
:::: Jan Steinman <http://www.EcoReality.org> ::::
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