Nothwind GFD Rev. 2 With Cache Kit

Supplied by Northwind $70

Specifications

The Northwind GFD is unique in quite a few ways. It is tiny, has few resistors to crowd the board, has NO power connector, and allows you to ADJUST the cache speed. The card arrived via mail and came preset to 700mhz at 1.6V. I tested it on my .25mu Athlon 650. The cache control comes in very handy in order to reach the higher clock speeds.

Installation

The card installs with the dipswitches facing the heatsink. Unfortunately, you would not know this from the instructions enclosed. The GFD only fits completely in that position. However, it is very easy to face it in the other direction and make contact. Northwind could have included a picture which showed the card fully installed. Here is what the finished product should look like.

Problems

The first problem I ran into was that the instructions included didn't list the settings for the cache divider. If you go to Northwind's webpage, you will notice that there are settings for the Rev. 1.0 card but not the 2.0. Also, where exactly to put the cache wires remained a mystery. Again, there were no instuctions included and the settings on the homepage are for the Rev. 1 card. The wires are numbered 1-6 and the picture indicates w2-w8. I emailed Northwind for the correct settings and they immediately responded with proper pictures and diagrams. The following picture is from the email. (blured for emphasis). Notice resitors R104 and R106.

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