Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2000/01/27/amd_clarifies_overclocking_position/

AMD clarifies overclocking position

Breaking the casing is a problem

By Mike Magee

Posted in On-Prem, 27th January 2000 20:49 GMT

AMD today issued a clear statement on where it stood on companies which resell, and overclock its Athlon microprocessors, and on those who take advantage of the so-called "golden fingers" on the chip. That follows reports earlier in the week that alleged AMD was taking actions against people who overclocked its products. A representative said that AMD had no interest in what individual users did with the product, meaning that they were at liberty to overclock to their heart's content. However, he added: "We are concerned about people that resell our product when it's overclocked". One reason was that AMD is concerned that users who buy such products would blame the company if the technology failed after overclocking techniques were applied. The reason, he said, was because the overclocking technology meant that the Slot A casing of the Athlon was broken, and this implied regulatory and warranty breaches which AMD did not like. He said that while AMD USA had sent out letters to companies re-selling overclocked Athlons, the legal department at the company had confirmed that it had not issued cease and desist notices, nor had it threatened them with litigation. AMD, he added, has a marketing and engineering agreement with Kryotech, which offers Athlon processors that use overclocking technology. A heated debate has already started on various overclocking sites about the issue. One of the first to speak out on the issue is Hard OCP, which also reproduces some information from AMD's Investor Group. There is another piece on Marketing Director, which also discusses the issues. ®