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From: minar@reed.bitnet (Nelson Minar,L08,x640,7776519)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: 16mhz 386sx running at 20mhz
Message-ID: <15324@reed.UUCP>
Date: 9 Aug 90 20:12:53 GMT
References: <1990Aug7.230306.16069@agate.berkeley.edu> <1990Aug9.144532.677@athena.mit.edu> <12743@june.cs.washington.edu>
Sender: news@reed.UUCP
Reply-To: minar@reed.bitnet (Nelson Minar)
Organization: Reed College, Portland, OR
Lines: 30

In article <12743@june.cs.washington.edu> robertb@june.cs.washington.edu (Robert Bedichek) writes:
>In article <1990Aug9.144532.677@athena.mit.edu> mlbarrow@athena.mit.edu (Michael L Barrow) writes:
>>In article <1990Aug7.230306.16069@agate.berkeley.edu> 
>>magid@sandstorm.Berkeley.EDU (Paul Magid) writes:
>>
>>If the CPU is rated for 16MHz, then do _not_ let the machine run at 20MHz! 
>>Take it back & yell at them for doing something that silly. You will wear 
>>down your CPU if you run it faster than its rated.
>
>Can you cite any reference to support this claim?  If not, can you give
>any explanation for why a CPU chip, or any other chip, should "wear
>out" if run at a higher-than-rated clock?

Well, you see there are these little gerbils in the chip.  They run on this
little wheel called the Arithmetic Logic Unit, and they do all the addition.
Chips that run faster have happier gerbils.  But, if you try to push the
gerbils too hard, they get tired.

No, you probably cannot hurt a chip by running it faster than it is rated for.
What you will do is experience all sorts of nasty failures.

Back in the days of the first IBM AT, IBM released 2 versions - a 6MHz version
and an 8MHz version. No difference, other than a new crystal. So, smart people
bought the 6MHz AT, popped in a new crystal, and poof! A cheaper 8MHz AT. Some
people even put in adjustable crystals, and could run their machines up at
9 or 10 MHz.  This led to the fabled speed trap in the BIOS, but thats a nasty
story.

Disclaimer: I know nothing. Do not make hardware modifications to your computer
on the basis of this article.