I tested the semi unlocked ones on a P2L97 rev 1.05. and at 5.5x it would boot (the monitor LED would turn green) and then nothing.
It worked fine at 5x so it might be something with the BIOS.
I had to test the undocumented jumpers first to find the jumpers over 5x so I might have gotten it wrong.
I did find the 50 fsb jumper so got my P2 running at a smooth 100Mhz 😀
I think it still had 512kb but until I see the pics I won't be sure. Will post pics tomorrow.

Then I tried my new Klamath 300, just for kicks. Seems to be unlocked also.
It behaved normally at 100Mhz, displaying 0kb cache.
Then I went straight for 5x. It booted at 100Mhz with 512kb!
Then I went 5.5x, booted at 100 but without L2 cache.
Then went back at 5x, 512kb again.
Strange...

Perhaps the CPU ignores the cache when it doesn't respond properly during boot?

I'm not sure how it works but apparently the BIOS might have something to do with it. It may be that I got the jumpers for 5.5x wrong though, I had to guess them. The system turned on and the lights on the keyboard lit up like they were supposed to and the monitor led went green...and then nothing.

I will test a couple more boards later and see what happens. Seems to be pretty erratic so far, especially when I was using the Klamath.

Is it the CPU disabling the L2 or the BIOS?
Aren't there utilities to switch on the L2 at runtime?

I dunno. Interesting is that the Klamath was either with or without 512kb while still running at 100Mhz.
That, or the BIOS was lying.

I know theres a util that can test it for real, but haven't gotten around to create such a bootdisk yet.

Feel free to post such a bootdisk image so I can download it! ;D

Hello again,

Does anyone know if this SL2KA is unlocked/limited? Its stepping is dA0, like the SL2QF. I asked the seller but they said they didn't know.

My SL2HE works fine, but I'd rather have an underclocked Deschutes for lower power consumption and heat generation.

Thanks

They might be but it depends on the manufacturing date also, as it seems that after a certain date they were all locked.
The stepping, I don't know but I suppose if it's one of the earlier steppings (or the earliest) then the chance of it being unlocked will be higher

I just found this this, which implies that the SL2QF, SL2KA, SL2QH and the SL2S5 are all completely unlocked. I thought they were just limited? (except for my SL2S5, which is locked).

However, it does make it seem more likely that the SL2KA isn't completely locked.

if they accept multipliers over their default of 5 then they would be completely unlocked. Yet I don't think they do. There is not much benefit in that anyways.

AdamP wrote:

I just found this this, which implies that the SL2QF, SL2KA, SL2QH and the SL2S5 are all completely unlocked. I thought they were just limited? (except for my SL2S5, which is locked).

However, it does make it seem more likely that the SL2KA isn't completely locked.

How does that imply it? It doesn't mention unlocked multi's or anything, only that those are the best for overclocking by upping the fsb (I presume because they aren't Klamaths).

otoh, if those 4 are the 1st batch of Deschutes, those may be the ones with the best chance of being unlocked 😀

It just said overclocking. Because there's no mention of fsbs, I assumed it meant increasing the multiplier. But looking at the figures, I guess it does mean overclocking the fsb as the results are not multiples of 66.

Does the country it's produced in make a difference? I asked them and some are from Philippines.

I don't know. So far we have indications that all unlocked ones are made in Malay, but theres just nothing certain right now. Might as well have been a coincidence.
All I know for now is that we're looking for earlier steppings from before a certain date.

Tetrium wrote:

So far we have indications that all unlocked ones are made in Malay

Does that only apply to Deschutes? I think my SL2HE is from Ireland.

I think I might chance the SL2KA, as it's less likely to be locked than the SL2S5.

AdamP wrote:

Tetrium wrote:

So far we have indications that all unlocked ones are made in Malay

Does that only apply to Deschutes? I think my SL2HE is from Ireland.

I think I might chance the SL2KA, as it's less likely to be locked than the SL2S5.

SL2HE is a Klamath 😉
And like I mentioned, I simply don't know if all unlocked Deschutes are from Malay. It's just that, so far, all of the unlocked ones were made there.

Edit:I reread what you wrote and yes, I was talking about Deschutes only. Almost all Klamaths are unlocked, very easy to find and run very hot so I'm not gonna bother with them. Just Deschutes for me as theres still some mysteries to be unraveled there 😉

Well, I can't try the SL2KA because I think the heatsink's on the wrong way around so I can't plug the CPU in and I can't remove it.

It also came with a wire (5 pin connector with 1 pin blocked) attached with a screw onto the heatsink. Does anyone here know what it is? None of my other PIIs have it.

As I can't find an SL2QF, it looks like I'll have to stick with the Klamath for the time being unless there's some way I can rip the heatsink off.

I have an SL2SF 98140197-0688 MALAY, 350MHz P2 😀

Havent' gotten around to trying it tho

AdamP wrote:

Well, I can't try the SL2KA because I think the heatsink's on the wrong way around so I can't plug the CPU in and I can't remove it..

Sounds strange...
Could you take a pic please?

And about the 350, I would be very interested to know wether it's unlocked or not

archsan wrote:

I have an SL2SF 98140197-0688 MALAY, 350MHz P2 😀

Havent' gotten around to trying it tho

My crystal ball says: It is unlocked or limited. Week 14

Tetrium wrote:

AdamP wrote:

Well, I can't try the SL2KA because I think the heatsink's on the wrong way around so I can't plug the CPU in and I can't remove it..

Sounds strange...
Could you take a pic please?

Definitely looks like it's on the wrong way around to me.

The wire that came attached to it:

The cable looks like a temperature sensor