Backyard expert breaks computer speed barrier

By MICHAEL FOREMAN

Aucklander Ramil Tranquilino has gained international recognition for his record-breaking experiments in "overclocking," the art of getting computer processors to run faster than their rated speed.

Overclocking has become a popular activity among computer enthusiasts worldwide, but most "overclockers" would regard gaining one or two hundred extra megahertz of performance as a worthy achievement.

So when Henderson-based Mr Tranquilino, an operating theatre nurse at Waitakere Hospital, got a 566 MHz Intel Celeron to run at 1.057 GHz - nearly double its normal speed - he became a minor celebrity overnight.

According to Mr Tranquilino, the low-cost Celeron 566 processor is particularly difficult to overclock, and in previous attempts 850 MHz was the highest speed he had reached.

Until now, the limiting factor has been heat, because the faster a processor runs the more heat it generates, until it ceases to function properly.

Mr Tranquilino overcame this by using a combination of dry ice, liquid nitrogen and an electrically inert fluid called fluorinert to supercool the processor to minus 45 degrees.

He posted a full account of his experiment on his specialist OC Tools website which he maintains in association with a partner in California.

Within four days OC Tools, which usually receives 200 to 300 visitors a day, had registered a million hits after news of his feat was flashed around the internet on influential technical websites such as slashdot and The Register


Mr Tranquilino has also received hundreds of e-mails, including inquiries from engineers in nuclear plants in Russia, France and Germany.

"Apparently this was the first time it had been done," he says. "Seymour Cray [the former head of supercomputer manufacturer Cray Research, since acquired by SGI] had used liquid nitrogen in experiments before, but that was in two special-purpose buildings. This is the first time anyone has done it in the backyard."

Mr Tranquilino became interested in overclocking two years ago after he had assembled his own computer at home.

Since then, he has supplemented his income by building overclocked PCs to order and he shares in advertising revenue from OCTools. (He will not disclose the amount but describes it as "quite good.")

But he warns people attempting to follow in his footsteps that they do so at their own risk.

"Playing with liquid nitrogen and dry ice is extremely dangerous. Proper protective gear should be worn at all times. Kids, do not try this at home."

Overclocking is frowned upon by chip manufacturers such as Intel and Advanced Micro Devices, and Mr Tranquilino says design alterations introduced by both manufacturers have made the process more difficult.

Overclocking will also invalidate the processor manufacturer's warranty.

Intel Australia and New Zealand's national marketing manager, Phillip Dows, said: "We do some pretty extensive testing on our processors to rate them at a particular MHz. If someone runs it at another speed it voids the warranty."

None of this will deter Mr Tranquilino, who has now set his sights on reaching 1.5GHz by cooling the entire circuit board of a PC to minus 150 degrees by immersing it in liquid nitrogen.

He admits that he could easily have bought a 1GHz processor for the money that he has already spent on the experiment.

"Yes. I could have done that, but where would be the fun and challenge in it?"