Alereon posted:

A New Kind of Overclocking

A CPU's clock speed is its Front Side Bus (FSB) speed multiplied by a value conveniently called the clock multiplier. On Intel CPUs since the Pentium II, this multiplier has been fixed by Intel at the factory (except on the most expensive Extreme Edition processors). As a result, overclocking has been accomplished by raising the FSB speed, which is generated by a clock generator chip on the motherboard. On the Sandy Bridge processors, this clock generator is now part of the chipset, and its frequency is fixed by Intel and cannot be changed by more than about 5%. This means that overclocking as we know it is now impossible. However, realizing the value of overclocking to enthusiasts, Intel will now be releasing some processor models with an unlocked multiplier. These models will have a letter "K" at the end of the model number, and will come at about a 10% price premium.