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Remarked Processors

Intel Pentium II

Unfortunately, with the enormous amount of money to be made these days in the sale of processors, some unscrupulous individuals have taken to remarking processors at higher than their rated speeds and selling them as faster chips. The largest current target for remarkers is Intel's Pentium II processors. With such a large difference in price between the lower-end 266MHz Pentium II and higher-end 400 and 450MHz chips, there is a great incentive to try to push the processors beyond their rated speeds and sell them off as higher-end chips to unsuspecting customers as well as computer parts vendors.

Remarking is usually done by changing the exterior writing on the black SEC cartridge. This is sometimes done by replacing the case entirely with a bogus one. The end user then unknowingly sets the chip to run at a speed higher than what it is rated for. Most remarking is a fairly well organized operation. The person you bought the chip from is very possibly as much in the dark about it as you. Though that doesn't mean there aren't unscrupulous vendors out there willing to try their hand at remarking in order to make a quick buck.

There are some ways of telling whether your processor is remarked or not, though there's really no way to prove conclusively that the chip you have is genuine. Unfortunately none of the x86 chip makers (including the market leader Intel) provide any kind of digital identification within their processors. The stepping (family, model, and stepping revision) found through using a CPU ID program only gives the general chip revision, and cannot pinpoint what speed your processor is intended to run at. Intel has come up with a PIROM (Processor Information ROM) identification chip that is mounted onto the processor substrate, but this feature is currently found only on Intel's Pentium III and Pentium III Xeon. You can download the Processor Frequency ID Utility that can read the PIROM chip. The desktop Pentium II and Celeron chips do not have this feature. This feature is very new, and so should be a fairly reliable method of determining which processor you have. Although remarkers are rather clever and only time will tell whether this preventative measure is tamper-proof or not.

The best method of determining whether your chip is suspicious is to look for traits your processor is supposed to possess. Running ctcm17a or ctP2Info (ftp) or Intel's CPUID program can provide you with some of the chip's intrinsic traits (stepping, cache size, etc.). Though be aware that the windows version of ctP2Info does not work with Windows 98; you'll have to use the DOS version instead. The information returned by these programs is always correct. So if you have a 400MHz Pentium II that has an S-Spec number of SL2U5, but CPUID reports a 6-5-1 stepping, you can be assured your chip has been remarked. It isn't the CPUID program mis-reporting. Intel has a listing of S-Specs and their steppings in the Master sSpec Table.

That's the easy way. But even if your chip has the proper stepping and cache info, that still doesn't mean you're out of the woods yet. You also need to check the writing on the processor. You can compare the writing on the edge of the Pentium II SEC cartridge to what it's supposed to look like on my CPU ID page and Intel's Pentium II Identification page. There is also a large table below listing traits of various Pentium II, Celeron, and Xeon chips. Though the information contained there may only be somewhat useful. If you have suspicions about your processor, then write down all the info contained on the top of the cartridge and use ctP2Info to gather as much information about your chip as possible and post a query on Intel's Pentium II message board. They may be able to give you an idea of whether your chip is remarked. Though in the end, even Intel can't tell you with 100% certainty that your chip has not been remarked. It's simply impossible to prove that your chip is legitimate. You can only prove that it's fake.

If your motherboard reports your Pentium II processor is running at 2.5 volts, this is a strong indicator that you have a remarked chip. Please see Red Planet's remarking story for more info.

Pentium II/III Traits

• The italicized Product Codes are inferred from real codes of like chips.
• The SL2PV and SL2QD are no longer listed on Intel's charts. I don't know why.
• All of the Mendocino Celeron chips with a 6-6-5 stepping come in the 370-pin PPGA package.
• Some SL2QA and SL2QB processors may be incorrectly marked (by Intel) as having an ECC L2 cache (i.e. there may be an 'E' at the end of the product code). These chips are fine, they're just marked incorrectly.
• The Celeron SL2WM and SL2WN, Pentium II SL2U5, SL356, SL3EE, and SL3J2, and the Pentium III Xeon SL2XU and SL2XV now come as either OEM or retail boxed chips.
• The 600MHz Pentium-III chips initially were incorrectly marked as 2.0V. They should have been marked 2.05V. This has been corrected. All 600MHz P-III Katmai chips (6-7-3 stepping) should be run at 2.05V regardless of the marking.
• The SL3FK and SL3FR Xeon chips can only be used in a dual configuration; quad isn't possible with these chips.
• The 370-pin FC-PGA Pentium-III Coppermine chips with a 6-8-1 stepping are not dual capable.
• The 1GHz Pentium-III Coppermine chips are not currently dual capable.
• Coppermine chips whose Product Code begins with 'RB' are socketed. With the new 6-8-3 stepping, Intel has changed the codes on the boxed FC-PGA Coppermines to one similar to the Slot-1 chips. So not all socketed chips will necessarily come with the 'RB' product code.
• The SL52Y 733MHz and SL52X and SL5EA 766MHz Celeron chips in 6-8-A stepping were not released.
• The Cascades Xeon SL4GD, SL4GE, SL4GF, and SL4GG chips (marked as 6-A-0' (that's prime)) have a slightly different AGTL+ bus voltage than other Cascades large cache chips.
• 80526 are Coppermine chips; 80530 are Coppermine-T; and 80533 are Tualatin chips (both Pentium III and Celeron varieties).
• 80528 are Pentium 4 Willamette chips; 80529 are Timna (unreleased low-end CPU); and 80531 and 80532 are Northwood chips.
• The 6-B-4 step SL6C4, SL6C3, SL6BZ, and SL6C2 Pentium III Tualatin chips were not released. The A-1 stepping was continued instead.

Below are some suggestions for which Pentium II chips to look for in order to avoid getting a remarked processor.

Safe Pentium II Chips:

• 233MHz Pentium II - This is the slowest Pentium II that Intel manufactures, and so it can't be a remarked CPU.
  
  
• 266MHz Pentium II (6-5-2 stepping) - This is the slowest Deschutes (2.0V core) with a 6-5-2 stepping that Intel makes, so it won't be remarked.
  
  
• 333MHz Pentium II (6-5-0 or 6-5-1 stepping) - This is the slowest Deschutes processor with a 6-5-0 or 6-5-1 core that Intel makes. The only other chip that shares either stepping and could be confused with the 333MHz chip is the cacheless Celeron (Covington). You would simply need to check to see if the chip actually has 512KB of L2 cache using ctcm17a or ctP2Info (ftp). If it does, then you have the real McCoy.
  
  
• 350MHz Pentium II (6-5-3 stepping) - This is the slowest Pentium II Deschutes processor with a 6-5-3 core that Intel makes, and so it won't be remarked.
  
  
• 450MHz Pentium III (6-7-2 stepping) - This is the slowest Pentium III Katmai chip, and so it won't be remarked.
  
  
• Pentium III - This CPU comes with a PIROM chip mounted on the processor substrate (Katmai) or in the CPU package (Coppermine). An Intel utility can be used to read the proper processor speed off of the chip, so you can determine if you got what you paid for. The Pentium III Xeon also has the PIROM chip. So long as the PIROM can't be altered or by-passed, these chips should be safe.
  
  

Somewhat Safe Pentium II Chips:

• Boxed Pentium II Chips - Boxed chips usually travel through Intel's authorized network of distributors and generally don't reach the hands of middle men who may want to alter them. But there have been at least some cases of remarked boxed chips. See c't magazine for their article on the subject. Boxed Pentium II chips come wrapped in cellophane that has 'Intel Corporation' written on it in white lettering.
  
  
• Pentium II (6-5-2 or 6-5-3 stepping) - Since these chips have set (unalterable) multipliers, they are generally harder to remark since they aren't supposed to have any multiplier other than their appropriate setting. Note that a fixed multiplier still doesn't help the 400MHz and 450MHz chips with a 6-5-2 core since only the bus speed needs to be changed in order to turn a 266MHz 6-5-2 chip into a 400MHz one or a 300MHz chip into a 450MHz one.
  
  
• Celeron - I've never heard of anyone getting a remarked Celeron. Since the only way to remark chips now is to change the bus speed, Celerons are safe since they (currently) only run on a 66MHz bus. And at their price point, remarking doesn't make much sense.
  
  

Easily Remarked Pentium II Chips:

• 266 and 300MHz Pentium II Klamath (6-3-3 and 6-3-4 stepping) - Turning a 233MHz Klamath (6-3-3 or 6-3-4) into a 266MHz or even 300MHz Pentium II is a snap. Just remark the outer SEC casing, and the end user will automatically set the chip to run at an incorrect speed. Though one giveaway is to look for an ECC L2 cache on the 300MHz version. This chip always has an ECC capable L2 cache. But only some of the 233 and 266MHz chips have this feature. Check it with ctP2Info.
  
  
• 350 and 400MHz Pentium II (6-5-1 stepping) - By using the 333MHz chip with a 6-5-1 core, a remarker can easily turn this into a 350MHz or 400MHz processor.
  
  
• 400MHz Pentium II (6-5-2 stepping) - The mother of all remarks. This chip can be changed simply by remarking (or replacing) the black SEC case the processor comes in. It is absolutely indistinguishable from its 266MHz 6-5-2 step counterpart. They share the same voltage, multiplier, and core stepping. If the case is remarked well, you won't catch it.
  
  
• 450MHz Pentium II (6-5-2 stepping) - Like the 400MHz 6-5-2 step chip, this one can easily be a remarked Pentium II 300 since it only requires changing the bus speed to 100MHz and replacing the cartridge cover. However, AFAIK, a genuine P-II 450 should always have its L2 cache chips mounted on one side of the PCB substrate. If you look at Tom's Hardware Guide, you can see the cache chips located on one side of the processor. The indentations on the thermal plate show where the L2 cache chips reside. As far as I am aware, all P-II 450 chips have this cache configuration. If your P-II 450 has its cache chips mounted one on each side of the CPU core, then it's likely a remarked chip. But please be aware that Intel does not consider this to be a legitimate means of identifying a remarked processor. And please don't remove the heatsink on your processor to look for this (that will ruin the warranty on your boxed processor). Instead, shine a flashlight up into the case to look for the cache chips. And while you're looking, see if you can spot any strange wires up in there. There shouldn't be any.

For more on remarking, see Dean Kent's article on chip remarking. Also see Red Planet's Remarked Pentium II page and Tweakit's Remarked P-II page.

Various documentation:

• Intel Pentium chip markings.
• Intel Master S-Spec Table.
• Intel Pentium II S-Spec Table.
• Intel Literature Center
  • Intel Pentium and Pentium w/ MMX Quick Reference Guide
    • Pentium Specification Update (PDF file)
  • Intel Pentium Pro Quick Reference Guide
    • Pentium Pro Specification Update (PDF file)
  • Intel Pentium II Quick Reference Guide
    • Pentium II Specification Update (PDF file)
  • Intel Pentium III Quick Reference Guide
    • Pentium III Specification Update (PDF file)
  • Intel Celeron Quick Reference Guide
    • Celeron Specification Update (PDF file)
  • Intel Xeon Quick Reference Guide
    • Xeon Specification Update (PDF file)
  • Intel Pentium III Xeon Quick Reference Guide
    • Pentium III Xeon Specification Update (PDF file)
  
  
• Sandpile.org's Processor Museum

Intel Pentium and Pentium w/ MMX

1. The 233MHz version of the Pentium w/ MMX processor only comes in the black Plastic Pin Grid Array package (the ones with the metal heat slug on top and where the tops of the pins are visible). The 166MHz and 200MHz versions come in both the PPGA and Ceramic Pin Grid Array (gray/brown ceramic). If you have a 233MHz gray ceramic MMX chip, it is definitely a remarked chip. A list of the various Pentium and Pentium MMX chips can be found in Intel's Quick Reference Table.
   
   
2. Some remarkers may actually take older Pentium Classic chips and try to pass them off as MMX chips. This is easy to spot by using the ctcm17a utility. Look at the size of the L1 cache. An MMX chip should report 16KB, while the Pentium Classic will show only 8KB.
   
   
3. The number 80502 indicates a Pentium Classic while 80503 indicates the Pentium w/ MMX.
   
   
4. On the bottom of the chip there should not be the letters SSS or VMU or any combination of these letters. On the Classic, this sequence will usually come after the sSpec number. These marking indicate the voltage on the chip. The first 'S' is for standard 3.3 volts. Pentium MMX (P55C) chips are split voltage chips. They always have a core voltage of 2.8v and an I/O voltage of 3.3v. There is simply no reason for the 'standard' voltage settings to be printed on a P55C. The SL23T is the one exception to this rule. Some (but not all) of these chips were incorrectly marked with the SSS lettering in place of the expected 2.8v. This mark does not affect the performance of the chip nor does it change the fact that this chip should receive a 2.8v/3.3v voltage.
   
   
5. Each chip has an sSpec number which indicates its stepping. Look at the top (if possible) and bottom of the chip for a number like this: SY060. You can then look up this number on Intel's online stepping chart at: Pentium Quick Reference Guide. If your chip isn't listed, one last place you can check is the Pentium Spec Update. Unfortunately, it is a 500KB PDF file and will require the Adobe Acrobat reader to view the file.
   
   The top and bottom sSpec numbers on the 166MHz ceramic chip will match (the PPGA version only has them on the bottom). But please don't remove the heatsink on a Boxed Pentium processor to check. This will void that nice three year warranty you have with Intel. Boxed processors identification numbers (not the sSpec) begin with the letters BP such as BP80503200.
   
   
6. There should be no covering on the bottom of the chip whatsoever. You should easily be able to read the laser marks on the bottom. They should look something like: P55C CPGA or P55C PPGA. If there is some sort of covering, it can safely be removed with alcohol (isopropol, not whiskey).
   
   
7. You can use ctcm17a or Intel's CPUID program to read the stepping of the processor. These programs will provide the Family, Model, and Stepping of the processor. These readings are always correct, and can't be tampered with. You can then take the numbers and look up what chip you have on Intel's Spec Update. Unfortunately, 'working backwards' isn't always easy. A chip that has a 5-4-4 stepping includes many chips. Other indicators like Boxed Pentium or Ceramic Pin Grid Array can further narrow it down.
   
   
8. Remarking of ceramic chips is often done by scraping down the top layer. Look to see if there is a perfectly even 45° bevel all the way around the top edge of the chip. The ceramic package itself should be a total of 2.8mm thick (not including the pins). Also, the 'dot' on the top of a ceramic chip that indicates where pin One is should be a slightly different color than the rest of the writing on the surface. Remarkers will usually use the same pigment on both.
   
   
   • Side note: This one really applies to the Pentium Classic, and not the Pentium with MMX since only the 166MHz version of the Pentium w/ MMX is ceramic, so you automatically know it couldn't be a 200 or 233 (with the exception of the 200MHz SL2S9 and SL2RY).
   
   
9. When purchasing a chip, ask if the dealer is an authorized Intel reseller. Buying through an authorized source will greatly decrease the chances of getting a remarked or 'grey market' chip. And be sure to ask about the warranty. The vendor should offer a ONE YEAR WARRANTY on the chip. If they offer only 30 days, beware. Note that the warranty that you get when buying a 'tray' processor (as opposed to Boxed) comes from the vendor, and not from Intel, and is usually a year. The Boxed Pentium processor, on the other hand, has a three year warranty directly from Intel. More info on the Boxed processors can be found on the General Info page.
   
   
10. Be wary of cash-only policies. A credit card offers you a level of protection if the chip is bad or remarked. If you pay with cash, you're at their mercy.
    
    
11. Some of these techniques can be used for other chips as well. Check my Processor Identification page for common traits on chips. Good luck. Happy hunting.

Non-Intel Processors

Remarking of non-Intel CPUs is much less prevalent since the price differential between the lower and higher end chips is much smaller than that of Intel. Also, non-Intel chips (especially Cyrix/IBM and IDT) aren't particularly overclockable. AMD chips can be more easily pushed than the Cyrix chips, but they still can't be pushed as far as the Intel ones.

AMD has the markings for their K5 and K6 chips available. Sandpile.org has photos of both K5 and K6 processors in its CPU Museum. Though be aware that the newer K6-2 chips are completely laser etched; there is no black ink on them at all. For what the writing on the top of the chips mean, see my CPU ID page. If you're unsure about the authenticity of your CPU, write down all the markings on the chip and contact AMD Tech Support.

See Computer Nerd for the first reports of remarked Athlons.

For Cyrix chips, see Alternative CPU's FAQ.