Letters written by an Intel microprocessor designer to an Internet overclocking site have revealed that the practice is set to become a thing of the past. Chip engineer Karl Andrews wrote to the Overclockers Comparison Page earlier this month and said that newer chips will have a "more effective speed control method" built into them. That means, said Andrews, that overclocking "will soon become a dead subject". He said Intel’s reasons for doing so was not just to prevent hobbyists experimenting with their personal property but to prevent counterfeiting. The information is in the public domain, claimed Andrews. He says that on its Web site there is a statement that Pentium IIs optimised for the 100MHz front side bus have circuitry built in to prevent overclocking. Intel warns that if the speed is set too fast on such processors, a system will attempt to boot and then reset itself. When it restarts, the chip will be reset to its default value. This information does not just apply to the T440BX motherboard but to other chipsets, Andrew said. Future chips will be hard coded to prevent over-clocking, he added. ®