Hmm, well 300MHz is also an option. Would seem a better one too; comparing the K6 range with Intel's Covington, Mendocino, Klamath and Deschutes

I ran it at 600 MHz only once, for that Quake timedemo video 😀

That CPU runs well at 66 MHz and then changing the multiplier from 2x to 6x via software is pretty handy.

The performance difference between 400 and 600 is not THAT great. If that performance matters: Get a PIII 😀

It's not about getting the best performance. It's about comparing the performance of different architectures at the same frequency.

NitroX infinity wrote:

It's not about getting the best performance. It's about comparing the performance of different architectures at the same frequency.

Does the VGA Benchmark database not help here?

I'd like to do my own benchmarking and find out for myself.

5u3 wrote:

idspispopd wrote:

On the K6-2+/3+ the multiplier is also settable by software, a 2x multiplier is accessible that way.

It is also accessible by jumpering 2.5x, which is remapped to 2x on K6-2+/3+. 😉

Wasn't aware of that, but that has been indeed mentioned before on Vogons.

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

These Socket 7 chips don't produce that much heat. 20W maybe?

Depends about which CPU you are talking. I usually refer to http://pclinks.xtreemhost.com/elec_pentium.htm
which says a K6-2+ at 550MHz 2.0V has 14.2W TDP, 18W max.
The K6-III at 450MHz 2.6V has 17.7W TDP, 29.5W max.

The K6-III+/400ATZ at 1.6V is not mentioned on that page. According to cpu-world.com it has 7.1W TDP / 9.5W max. (max value is less than a P100) which might allow for passive cooling.

2.6V is very high! For that one a better cooler should be used.

But then all my fast chips are the mobile versions...

Been running my K6-III+ 400 ATZ at 500Mhz (100x5) @ 1.6V without issue. I'm using a Gigabyte GA-5AX Rev 5.2 and a cheapo eBay heatsink & fan. I too could not get it to boot at 600Mhz - just a bunch of beeps. Tried increasing the multiplier, increasing the FSB while lowering the multiplier - all with a range of voltages but simply was a 'no go.' I'm happily humming along playing Glide games without issue at this speed so I'm happy.

The 180nm process happened very smoothly for AMD. High yields from the start, and it went for a long time with great success. The K6 design benefited greatly from it and allowed for low leakage, which helped greatly reducing operating voltage to also allow for a lower power consumption. I think these chips can actually run passively with little problems.