AMD hits out at remarks, overclocking

Leak 3 Resellers of AMD's brand of microprocessors have been told by the firm of the three classifications it has for people who remark and/or overclock their chips, according to documents shown to Australian resellers.

The first, overclocking by individuals, are by people who want to push the envelope. These people want to demonstrate the power of the technology, and AMD neither recommends nor encourages this activity. Overclocking, the firm says, can drastically shorten processor life and such parts are not under guarantee from the firm.

But AMD gets tough on businesses that overclock for sale, describing it as a grey area, and bringing into question system reliability, data integrity, and guarantees.

Overclocking and remarking is regarded with the dimmest view, according to the slides the reseller was show. He said they described it as "criminal, fraudulent activity" with AMD tracking down and prosecuting offenders.

The reseller told us that AMD has already launched major investigations to attempt to find the source of re-marked products, and he cited facts and figures supporting this view.

Apparently, the company seized over 700 Athlon covers, with an estimated value of over $360,000, and there were 20 re-mark cases last year which included one factory being searched.

This year, it has got worse, with over 50 cases, and six search warrants issued. The reseller said that AMD was issuing extensive literature showing discrepancies between remarked chips and the Real Thing. So now you've been told. ®