Overclocking a 486 DX2 66MHz processor (Non gaming post)

MM007 · Post by **MM007** » Wed May 11, 2005 12:33 pm

Okay, I recently got my hands on two 486 boards that suppot high speed front side buses. Most 486 boards support 25/33MHz FSB, but these support 25/33/40/50MHz speeds. One of them has PCI even.

I don't have any high speed 4th generation processors, and my fastest 80486 processor is 66 MHZ. It then hit me that most 486 chips do not need a fan or even a heatsink. My question is this:

If I add a heatsink and fan, and maybe even sand the top of the chip for better heat transfer, could I over clock from 66MHz (33x2) to 80MHz (40x2) or even 100MHz (50x2)?

I'd likely try it on the older VL-Bus board to see if it works (and doesn't hurt the board), then try it on the PCI board. (That PCI 486 board is nice, and I've been wanting one for a while.)

opadave2000 · Post by **opadave2000** » Wed May 11, 2005 12:58 pm

At one time Tom'sHardware had guides for older boards/processors - you might try there. I've done AMD KIII processors. They're great for it but no 486's. Good luck.

daguuy · Post by **daguuy** » Wed May 11, 2005 3:30 pm

i don't think sanding the top of the processor is neccesary because it conducts heat, not insulate. sanding could possibly damage it

MM007 · Post by **MM007** » Wed May 11, 2005 6:16 pm

Actually, it is a common practice in older processors. It's called "lapping". If I remember right, it eliminates miniscule cracks in the top of the processor where heat can have trouble transferring out through a heat sink.

In newer processors it isn't as much of a big deal, since cores have a flat metal cover. But back in the pre Pentium MMX days, processors often had a sort of ceramic-type covering (save for the Socket 4 pentiums, which were metal covered cores).