Phenom II x3 710 run with 4 core! [Archive]

vietthanhpro

02-22-2009, 11:17 PM

Mobo: Biostar TA790GX (they said you can use any 790GX + SB700 mobo to unlock)
Go to BIOS, modify Advance Clock Calibration to Auto
that's all
now save the BIOS, restart and wait to see the magic...
http://www.playwares.com/xe/files/attach/images/52737/323/233/002/284ffc1f79252b46dfe357c2a3d87857.jpg
http://image.playwares.com/bbs/data/mutiupload/image/669a4594d8b93b3475660285dfda062b.jpg
http://image.playwares.com/bbs/data/mutiupload/image/a43883be88e7e38544703d9300bd6d4f.jpg
http://image.playwares.com/bbs/data/mutiupload/image/4df8f7f7b12fd586137060af9d37f289.jpg
http://image.playwares.com/bbs/data/mutiupload/image/a253984f05b810b8fce5848311f1d93f.jpg
http://image.playwares.com/bbs/data/mutiupload/image/20fe3d7d190559b0033405c0113c8275.jpg
http://image.playwares.com/bbs/data/mutiupload/image/38dea6854309259f19b7c7ed3e55253f.jpg
Source:http://vozforums.com/showpost.php?p=2501119&postcount=1
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

003

02-22-2009, 11:20 PM

Awful CPU score there...

Bobsama

02-23-2009, 12:00 AM

Looks interesting. My budget asks if I have $220-230 to spare. :p:

saaya

02-23-2009, 12:51 AM

acc unlocks extra cores?
not bad... but... doesnt really boost performance, does it? :D

Shintai

02-23-2009, 01:13 AM

Unlocking cores that have been disabled sound like a very risky thing. I dont think AMD disabled them for fun...

Abit odd they aint lasercut or something tho.

Newblar

02-23-2009, 01:14 AM

how is this remotely possible??
i thought the disabled core was defective?

Macadamia

02-23-2009, 01:15 AM

FFS this is a 125USD chip.

I'm probably gonna get one and a 790GX board to play with such fun stuff. Aww.

Shintai

02-23-2009, 01:22 AM

how is this remotely possible??
i thought the disabled core was defective?

It might be or not be. if it is you gonna end up with alot of garbage data over time or just BSOD etc.

Macadamia

02-23-2009, 01:24 AM

It might be or not be. if it is you gonna end up with alot of garbage data over time or just BSOD etc.

Err... these cores are not laser cut/fuseblown.

They are probably worse binned proper Deneb X4s that did not meet the 125W certification, and hence programmed soft to work as 3. Hence the almost similar power usage (the X3s with 4 cores would use extra power on top on that).

Keep it cool and nothing major should happen.

FlanK3r

02-23-2009, 01:28 AM

WTF? Its really possible :)?never seen it before.

Katanai

02-23-2009, 01:54 AM

I dunno. It all depends on how well the x3's are selling. If there is high demand for them there could be ones with perfectly good 4th core out there but usually the 4th core should be defective or at least unstable.

Humminn55

02-23-2009, 02:21 AM

WTF? Its really possible :)?never seen it before.

Why not? I don't imagine AMD is having that many quad-core Phenom II's crap out on one core to be able to supply the volume of tri-core cpus that are being sold.....they are quite inexpensive compared to the full quad-core cpus and appear to be selling pretty well.

So, AMD is probably pulling weaker PII's out, ones that would "just pass" qualification, and labeling them tri-core, in addition to using the "failed core" chips that started the whole tri-core thing.

mAJORD

02-23-2009, 02:48 AM

lol. wow

can't wait to try this one ;D

Slovnaft

02-23-2009, 03:01 AM

howabout comparing wprimes.

Mul

02-23-2009, 03:13 AM

Very interesting.

Is it Prime stable at 2.6GHz with all four cores?

Frananta

02-23-2009, 03:20 AM

Now that's magic :D

Bo_Fox

02-23-2009, 03:41 AM

Wow.. unlocking CPU cores--now that's new for me! I remember when the 6800 could be unlocked into a 6800GT with full 16 pipelines (now called TMU's). That was pretty much the last popular "unlockable", right? Oh yeah, and unlocking SLI on DFI NF4 Ultra-D motherboards...

MAS

02-23-2009, 03:53 AM

where did owner buy the cpu?

ToTTenTranz

02-23-2009, 04:16 AM

Any first-hand witness besides the original news poster?

CraptacularOne

02-23-2009, 05:24 AM

how is this remotely possible??
i thought the disabled core was defective?

This sounds similar to when the 6800 series Nvicia cards were around. When Nvidia disabled 4 pixel pipes on the core to arrive at 12 on the vanilla version while the GT and Ultra had 16 pipes. Remember all the hoopla that surrounded the vanilla when it was discovered you can re-enable the other 4 pipes for more performance?

Now of course there was a chance that if you enabled the other 4 pipes it would cause the card to artifact or behave abnormally, but there were a lot of them that operated just fine after the 4 pipes were unlocked.

cliffy

02-23-2009, 05:26 AM

A user over at OCUK has done this although even at 1Ghz couldn't get all 4 cores prime stable

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17977875

G0ldBr1ck

02-23-2009, 05:26 AM

Any first-hand witness besides the original news poster?

Its real, there have been many others to do this allready. It seems some of them wont pass Prime95 at default speeds tho.

Shintai

02-23-2009, 05:33 AM

A user over at OCUK has done this although even at 1Ghz couldn't get all 4 cores prime stable

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17977875

This is the biggest concern. Since the unlocked core is really defect instead of just failing some power profile.

Also the BIOS unlock seems to be a bug rather than feature. So I would expect it to be closed in future revisions.

Lightman

02-23-2009, 06:29 AM

This is the biggest concern. Since the unlocked core is really defect instead of just failing some power profile.

Also the BIOS unlock seems to be a bug rather than feature. So I would expect it to be closed in future revisions.

Still you have the chance to stay on older BIOS and be lucky to find stable enough X3 4core CPU. It will be a game like in good old times with R300 chips. Some of them were really defective, most of them were simply downgraded to Radeon 9500!

Now if they decide to fix that BIOS bug we need a good hacker to unlock this feature in newer BIOSes ;).

Frank M

02-23-2009, 06:37 AM

:ROTF: this is great :D
Brings back memories of gfx card soft pipe-unlocking :cool:

JumpingJack

02-23-2009, 06:44 AM

how is this remotely possible??
i thought the disabled core was defective?

If a statement from an AMD marketing agent can be taken as real:

"...The vast majority of the products we sell as triple-core are fused from the factory as triple-core from inception."
http://www.betanews.com/article/AMDs_45_nm_midrange_Phenom_IIs_aim_to_regain_the_p erformance_lead/1234220042

If I make the following assumption -- AMD began tri-cores as a yield recovery mechanism, but are now intentionally disabling functioning cores. An assumption I do not know is valid, but assume it is...

This is the danger of bringing in the original tri-core concept, they are now disabling otherwise functional silicon as yields have improved. This makes for an expensive way to service a new market.

flippin_waffles

02-23-2009, 06:47 AM

Good stuff. I've been running my x800 pro with all 16 pipes unlocked since day 1 and no problems with this card whatsoever. :D I wonder if I could get as lucky with this cpu!

Mad1723

02-23-2009, 06:49 AM

I remember when I started to hear about more overclocking computer stuff, I heard about X800 being transformed into X850XT PE by a simple bios mod IIRC. Great times ^^

vietthanhpro

02-23-2009, 06:53 AM

THis is a Valid
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt123/lamdaihai/leonarderman/x3unlock.jpg

[XC] gomeler

02-23-2009, 06:57 AM

Most interesting. Wonder if you can buy the X3 black edition and unlock to a 940 black edition.

Awful CPU score there...

Phenom II typically scores around 4k CPU score in 3D06 at 3GHz. My latest testing for a review was 4191, 4388, 4372, all done at 3GHz and 4GB of DDR2 @ 800C5.

G0ldBr1ck

02-23-2009, 07:36 AM

gomeler;3673010']Most interesting. Wonder if you can buy the X3 black edition and unlock to a 940 black edition.

That is basicaly what is being done. It has all the L3 and all 4 cores if the 4th core is good, actualy would be a 945be tho. I bet AMD is kicking there selfs over this.

DFI pit bull

02-23-2009, 07:56 AM

Mobo: Biostar TA790GX (they said you can use any 790GX + SB700 mobo to unlock)

THis is a Valid
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt123/lamdaihai/leonarderman/x3unlock.jpg

According to that validation a 790FX can also be used to unlock, thats great:)

vietthanhpro

02-23-2009, 08:02 AM

According to that validation a 790FX can also be used to unlock, thats great:)
Yes !:up:

Lightman

02-23-2009, 08:13 AM

I have a feeling this whole core unlocking story is quietly approved by AMD.
It triggers much higher product demand from budget limited enthusiasts and this has domino effect on whole DIY market.

I'm tempted now to get X3 sooner than planned :p:

v_rr

02-23-2009, 08:17 AM

Well at least it confirms high yields.
This Mod is just awesome, put everyone tempted to just get one of these + 790GX/FX :D

sargatanas

02-23-2009, 08:19 AM

well seems like it is possible with a x3 produced during the 4th calendar week 2009

Flambo

02-23-2009, 08:26 AM

Brings back memories of pencil modding 8500LE ... except you don't need a pencil! Also brings back memories of unlocking 4 extra pipes in a 6200 with riva tuner. This could be very interesting... at least fun to give it a try.

[XC] gomeler

02-23-2009, 08:39 AM

That is basicaly what is being done. It has all the L3 and all 4 cores if the 4th core is good, actualy would be a 945be tho. I bet AMD is kicking there selfs over this.

Good point on the 945BE versus 940BE. I doubt AMD would be kicking themselves over this, should result in a lot of positive press and secretly lets them release a chip that isn't truly ready for the market.

Lightman

02-23-2009, 08:48 AM

gomeler;3673208']Good point on the 945BE versus 940BE. I doubt AMD would be kicking themselves over this, should result in a lot of positive press and secretly lets them release a chip that isn't truly ready for the market.

I have a feeling 945BE will be a new stepping. Of course press should now better :)

DoubleZero

02-23-2009, 09:08 AM

This is the danger of bringing in the original tri-core concept, they are now disabling otherwise functional silicon as yields have improved. This makes for an expensive way to service a new market.
There no way that's happening, they are just 945 that didn't met the specs, either by a lot, no functional core, or by just a detail, hence the 4 cores 3.8ghz overclock with one cpu, and 4 cores at 1ghz that fail prime with another one.

MAS

02-23-2009, 09:28 AM

I have a feeling this whole core unlocking story is quietly approved by AMD.

+1

amd just prepared wolfdale's death :)

STaRGaZeR

02-23-2009, 09:35 AM

+1

amd just prepared wolfdale's death :)

LOL :ROTF:

>HyperlogiK<

02-23-2009, 10:04 AM

vietthanhpro, any luck running any benches with that OC?

I'm curious as to whether it can run prime95 for 1000000 hours, is just about game stable, or if it gets into windows wthout BSOD once every 10 boots.

amd just prepared wolfdale's death :)

If some of these are cut down Denebs that were fully functional, it's an expensive way to compete with a dual core.

Jaco

02-23-2009, 10:18 AM

That is basicaly what is being done. It has all the L3 and all 4 cores if the 4th core is good, actualy would be a 945be tho. I bet AMD is kicking there selfs over this.

Or a smart marketing trick to win back some overclockers :up:

drizzt5

02-23-2009, 10:29 AM

This is some cool stuff! :D

Why couldn't you do this with the old phenom tri cores?

SamHughe

02-23-2009, 11:13 AM

Himm great idea! I'll try the same trick to turn my E6700 into a q6700 :)

Bobsama

02-23-2009, 11:22 AM

Or a smart marketing trick to win back some overclockers :up:

Well AMD ought to be making some profit on each of these chips sold, so the worst they're doing is driving up the sales of their chipsets and processors. Imagine if every Tom, *Richard*, and Harry went out and bought a 790GX board and an X3 710 or X3 720! They'd be "rolling" in new profits, and so long as one of these ordinary Joes can unlock his X3, they'll only sell more. And for those that can't unlock it? They'll still get what they paid for. For the cost of a 790GX and X3 710 ($200-230 in USA), you get a pretty good processor, a good board, and a lot of features that you can't find on similar $100 Intel boards (like CrossFire support, RAID, &c).

V2-V3

02-23-2009, 11:27 AM

ROFL, very nice discovery :)

Maybe AMD left this Easter Egg for us?

Discrete Product Marketing any one?

any way, lets hope they leave all their X3's like this.

give us overclocks something to do :)

vinister

02-23-2009, 11:46 AM

How have the overclocks and heat been on the regular 3 cores? If if failed QC to become an X4, then how do you know the 3 good cores you are spending money on are any good?

Dami3n

02-23-2009, 12:19 PM

I didn´t see yet a proof that fourth core works stable. Any prime/occt/orthos screens? :stick:

Newblar

02-23-2009, 12:24 PM

I didn´t see yet a proof that fourth core works stable. Any prime/occt/orthos screens? :stick:

this is exactly what im wanting
good solid proof..

junkmonk

02-23-2009, 12:24 PM

How have the overclocks and heat been on the regular 3 cores? If if failed QC to become an X4, then how do you know the 3 good cores you are spending money on are any good?

http://kimandjason.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/debbie_downer.jpg

Bobsama

02-23-2009, 12:48 PM

How have the overclocks and heat been on the regular 3 cores? If if failed QC to become an X4, then how do you know the 3 good cores you are spending money on are any good?

Because it's being sold. Very, very few Intel or AMD chips are ever DOA. The chips are binned so incredibly well that even degraded they can still exceed the needs of the consumer.

mAJORD

02-23-2009, 12:57 PM

There no way that's happening, they are just 945 that didn't met the specs, either by a lot, no functional core, or by just a detail, hence the 4 cores 3.8ghz overclock with one cpu, and 4 cores at 1ghz that fail prime with another one.

why is everyone assuming its a 945 that got cut? Why not a 925? They don't "make" 945s with an unlocked multi, its an afterthought.

For that matter, even as a 925 it may still have not made the cut, as the cpu may well have a higher TDP than required.

You simply can't tell for certain any of these cpu's we've seen are perfectly good quads.. yet. need more solid stability testing. not to mention power consumption

junkmonk

02-23-2009, 01:07 PM

yeah these unlocked pitted against x4 940, x4 920, x4 810 etc on power consumption, stability and overall performance would be great.. also, people please save the current versions of bios on your motherboards!

Shintai

02-23-2009, 01:15 PM

Because it's being sold. Very, very few Intel or AMD chips are ever DOA. The chips are binned so incredibly well that even degraded they can still exceed the needs of the consumer.

You assume those disabled cores are 100% errorfree. I dont think thats how alot of them got made...

fng77

02-23-2009, 01:21 PM

Very cool news! If this works I´m gonna try one of them x3:s out myself.

Bobsama

02-23-2009, 01:32 PM

You assume those disabled cores are 100% errorfree. I dont think thats how alot of them got made...

True, which is why binning such as this exists. Some will be 100% error free, and just crippled to meet demand. Others will have severe issues, which will lead the end-user to just disable it again. It's still just a $120 chip and a $100-110 motherboard, and will provide a significant upgrade for a lot of people. And the enthusiast knows this and decides whether or not to try this. If it succeeds, free extra core. If it fails, you still got something fast.

Lightman

02-23-2009, 01:50 PM

True, which is why binning such as this exists. Some will be 100% error free, and just crippled to meet demand. Others will have severe issues, which will lead the end-user to just disable it again. It's still just a $120 chip and a $100-110 motherboard, and will provide a significant upgrade for a lot of people. And the enthusiast knows this and decides whether or not to try this. If it succeeds, free extra core. If it fails, you still got something fast.

Not to mention you still got craving for 4 cores, so sooner or later you will buy bigger brother X4 chip.
This is great marketing move, costly but great :up:

Power5

02-23-2009, 01:52 PM

Does this work on the 720BE? That would be best, then you dont have to worry about the CPU bus speed as much. Better chance of getting a disabled core to run at proper speeds. Could down speed the bus and up the multi.

Jakalwarrior

02-23-2009, 02:03 PM

Should just go ahead and nickname this the gamblers chip lol. Very sweet though. I LOVE stuff like this.

roofsniper

02-23-2009, 02:14 PM

as JJ has already said some amd tri cores are quad cores with one core disabled. if they didn't have enough cpus with one bad core they got fully functional quad cores and disabled a core to make a tri core. im not sure if you can actually enable them again but if you could some tri cores might actual be able to become quads since some of them have no problems.

fng77

02-23-2009, 02:15 PM

Does this bios mod just work with phenom II and not phenom (1) X3?

And in that case, why?

Bobsama

02-23-2009, 02:40 PM

Not to mention you still got craving for 4 cores, so sooner or later you will buy bigger brother X4 chip.
This is great marketing move, costly but great :up:

True dat. And even if you get a quad-core without overclocking headroom, the people most inclined to do this (well, us!) would have the craving not just for a quad-core, but a fast quad-core. And thus the X4 925/945/&c will be coming in. So you have a 4-core X3 710, what's the point if it maxes out at 2._ GHz?

Homeless2

02-23-2009, 02:53 PM

Does this bios mod just work with phenom II and not phenom (1) X3?

And in that case, why?

This does NOT work with phenom I AFAIK.

roofsniper

02-23-2009, 02:58 PM

Bobsama

02-23-2009, 03:00 PM

it shouldn't work with phenom II either and if it truly does i can gaurantee you that they would release a fix. either that or just stop making tri cores because all they are are a cheap way to get a quad.

Yes, they'll make a fix, but word's still out. Odds are Biostar will release a BIOS update, so don't update and should keep a quad-core on the cheap. If not, they'll keep it as it is, as a bonus for the DIY channel.

xBanzai89

02-23-2009, 03:31 PM

Is there any reports of this working on boards besides a biostar? I have a DFI JR 790GX sitting near me I was going to sell it, but if I can get a 720 and unlock it I'll have second thoughts.

AgentGOD

02-23-2009, 04:41 PM

Is there any reports of this working on boards besides a biostar? I have a DFI JR 790GX sitting near me I was going to sell it, but if I can get a 720 and unlock it I'll have second thoughts.
Someone on OCUK was able to do it with an ASUS with 790FX and SB750.

You should get it anyway :) As long as your board has "Advanced Clock Calibration", it should work.

xBanzai89

02-23-2009, 05:00 PM

Someone on OCUK was able to do it with an ASUS with 790FX and SB750.

You should get it anyway :) As long as your board has "Advanced Clock Calibration", it should work.

To the owners manual :up:

Well manual did not have it. Found out it was in there though. This is so tempting Newegg dropped their price down to 145 for the X3 -.-.

drizzt5

02-23-2009, 07:14 PM

Not to mention you still got craving for 4 cores, so sooner or later you will buy bigger brother X4 chip.
This is great marketing move, costly but great :up:

AMD:
":confused:Ya..... we ment to do this.......:yepp:;)"

Donnie27

02-23-2009, 07:48 PM

To the owners manual :up:

Well manual did not have it. Found out it was in there though. This is so tempting Newegg dropped their price down to 145 for the X3 -.-.

Still a crap shoot, why not just buy a real X4?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103650
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103472

Seems pretty silly when the prices aren't much different than the real thing:shrug:

roofsniper

02-23-2009, 07:52 PM

the 710 is $57 cheaper than the 810 and the 720 is $85 cheaper than the 940. plus the 720 is am3.

Donnie27

02-23-2009, 08:20 PM

the 710 is $57 cheaper than the 810 and the is $85 cheaper than the 940. plus the 720 is am3.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103648

$119 and $144 as compared to $175 and $184 is hardly anything to get worked up over. BTW, do you get a cut on sales at AMD? I couldn't help but notice how you compared for better impact LOL! So we compare $119 to $175 = $56 then $144 to $184 = $40 Doesn't make much sense to compare the 2.6GHz to 2.8GHz since yes we know it costs more. 4 FULLY working cores should cost more as well.

In between getting flamed, I posted in the other thread that AMD would have some of the X3's that had all four cores working but one might have been slower, needed more power and etc... than the other three. Some of those X3s will have defective cores so folks buying them and thinking otherwise is kind of lame.

roofsniper

02-23-2009, 09:01 PM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103648

$119 and $144 as compared to $175 and $184 is hardly anything to get worked up over. BTW, do you get a cut on sales at AMD? I couldn't help but notice how you compared for better impact LOL! So we compare $119 to $175 = $56 then $144 to $184 = $40 Doesn't make much sense to compare the 2.6GHz to 2.8GHz since yes we know it costs more. 4 FULLY working cores should cost more as well.

In between getting flamed, I posted in the other thread that AMD would have some of the X3's that had all four cores working but one might have been slower, needed more power and etc... than the other three. Some of those X3s will have defective cores so folks buying them and thinking otherwise is kind of lame.

idk i was just looking at the fact that locked 710 is 56.99(have to get down to the pennies now because you can't tell a difference between 99 cents and 0 cents) cheaper than the locked 810 and both the chips run at 2.6ghz. close of a comparison as you can get for triple vs quad phenoms besides the fact that the 810 has a 4mb l3. and i compared the 720 to the 940 because they both happen to be unlocked although the 720 is only 2.8ghz. yes the 720 and the 920 both run at 2.8ghz but the 720 is unlocked and is am3. and where are you getting this 144 to 184 thing from? last time i checked the 720 is 145 and the 920 is 190. :confused: so i really don't know where you are getting your facts from but w/e. so if you think im trying to do some kind of trick to make the difference look much bigger you are wrong. don't know how you think you are getting flamed but w/e, and yes if this trick does work and you can turn on another core it isn't guaranteed to get you one because some cores work and were just downcored and some are bad cores and i would not recommend someone to get a 720 if they wanted to get a quad just because they could turn another one on. so just chill out when im trying to point of obvious facts, its not like im playing mind tricks.

TiTON

02-23-2009, 10:33 PM

Hmm.. very interesting.. I have an AMD 720 right here.. and a few 790GX mobo.

So what are the exact steps I need to do to see if this works?

Bobsama

02-23-2009, 10:44 PM

Hmm.. very interesting.. I have an AMD 720 right here.. and a few 790GX mobo.

So what are the exact steps I need to do to see if this works?

Drop one in and see if you have the Advanced Clock Calibration, set to auto, and reboot? That's it, I'm assuming. Then just test it--see if it's a reporting error or if there's actual functioning cores.

kromosto

02-23-2009, 11:28 PM

this is what people want. unlocking disabled cores, activating shaders etc. etc. good marketing from amd with taking no responsibilty

purecain

02-24-2009, 12:01 AM

brilliant move by amd.... if a large percentage run error free this could be very profitable for them....

Pt1t

02-24-2009, 12:49 AM

Hmm.. very interesting.. I have an AMD 720 right here.. and a few 790GX mobo.

So what are the exact steps I need to do to see if this works?

modify Advance Clock Calibration to Auto :rolleyes:

m0da

02-24-2009, 01:37 AM

This is cool...
Let's get real though. How many people will actually learn about this? Then, of those, how many will splurge on hoping everything works out fine?

You'll see a very small percentage, but nothing significant.

If I was looking to make a new build, I would see how much success everyone else is having, and possibly make a go at this myself though! Like I said, this IS cool :)

geo

02-24-2009, 02:38 AM

If TDP is the reason they are converting those quads to triple cores why cant AMD sell those as Quads with a bigger TDP for the same price ?

Shintai

02-24-2009, 02:51 AM

If TDP is the reason they are converting those quads to triple cores why cant AMD sell those as Quads with a bigger TDP for the same price ?

No. Its mainly due to physical defects in the logic.

geo

02-24-2009, 02:58 AM

No. Its mainly due to physical defects in the logic.
ok. so the extra core might cause more harm than good huh

LowRun

02-24-2009, 03:56 AM

No. Its mainly due to physical defects in the logic.

Could you show us the official AMD doc that says so or are you just making this one up like you often do?

Nedjo

02-24-2009, 04:01 AM

Could you show us the official AMD doc that says so or are you just making this one up like you often do?
of course he does!! It's called FUD!

Nedjo

02-24-2009, 04:12 AM

This is the danger of bringing in the original tri-core concept, they are now disabling otherwise functional silicon as yields have improved. This makes for an expensive way to service a new market.

don't agree... this'll make X3 extremely popular against competitors Duals, it'll help mobo partners sell more SB750 mainboards, it'll create differentiation in AMDs portfolio, artificial yes, but still economical reasonable... if equation don't bring profit they can always swap those X3s with upcoming Propus, that will obviously meet well developed manufacturing process and high yields

Shintai

02-24-2009, 04:34 AM

Could you show us the official AMD doc that says so or are you just making this one up like you often do?

Unless they make a massive TDP failure they would be sold as X4. Or the other option is that AMD canibalizes itself and sells X4 as X3. But thats pretty much suicide tactics. It would be cheaper just to sell X4s discounted to an OEM instead.

If things are too good to be true. Then they usually are. The person that couldnt get it prime stable at any speed is a good example.

Sure you can find some that will work. But you also find alot that doesnt. And what error you might get from these refurbed cores is pretty much up in the air.

onethreehill

02-24-2009, 04:35 AM

Board Makers Confirmed Phenom II X3 Unlocking

http://resources.vr-zone.com//uploads/6629/Phenom_X3_720_to_X4_1.jpg

Yesterday, a user posted an interesting piece of discovery in our forums and that had prompted enthusiasts to try for themselves. Till now, several users have reported success with the unlocking of the Phenom II X3 processors. To verify those claims, board makers too had done some internal testings and so far achieve some success as well. Above is test done on the DFI 790FX board and similar success stories are reported from the labs from Biostar, Gigabyte and others as well.

From what we know, only 0904 batches of Phenom II X3 can be unlocked. Basically, it just uses ACC core to trick the CPU to enable 4th core that has been classed unstable by AMD. However, not all unlocked Phenom II X3 will be stable so you will need some luck here.

Phenom II X3 processors are selling in the States for US$150 and if you wish to get locally in Singapore, the only place you can find them are in Cybermind, retailing for S$246. Last checked their batch is 0904BPMW.........
http://vr-zone.com/articles/board-makers-confirmed-phenom-ii-x3-unlocking/6629.html?doc=6629

LowRun

02-24-2009, 04:47 AM

Unless they make a massive TDP failure they would be sold as X4. Or the other option is that AMD canibalizes itself and sells X4 as X3. But thats pretty much suicide tactics. It would be cheaper just to sell X4s discounted to an OEM instead.

If things are too good to be true. Then they usually are. The person that couldnt get it prime stable at any speed is a good example.

Sure you can find some that will work. But you also find alot that doesnt. And what error you might get from these refurbed cores is pretty much up in the air.

Now this is a much better way of saying what the different possibilities could be ;)

Macadamia

02-24-2009, 05:04 AM

OKAY IMMA CHARGIN SINGAPORE

"Chopper"mind still overcharges as usual, ugh.

Spectrobozo

02-24-2009, 05:07 AM

very interesting, I love these things that can be unlocked,
I had a 9500np running with 8 pipelines, and 6800le with 12 or 16 :)

Rammsteiner

02-24-2009, 06:02 AM

If TDP is the reason they are converting those quads to triple cores why cant AMD sell those as Quads with a bigger TDP for the same price ?
Because motherboards weren't build for that, now they un-officially let you run 4 cores but if the disabled one was defective or needed more power they wont get hurt by this. Also if it needed more TDP and the motherboard cant handle that and blows up, the only guilty one is the user;)

Im sure there's quite some good working disabled cores, however it ain't guaranteed.

Although somehow I think there might be just a BIOS bug, this certainly might boost sales if the majority of the triple cores works flawless with 4 cores. If the bug would be removed (aka, it was unwanted), pretty sure there will be some modded BIOS's.

jlacy76

02-24-2009, 06:26 AM

I'm in for more info. I have the right stepping in my 720 (0904cpmw) but no 790 board yet but could see myself buying a new board today if the numbers are true and it's stable.

STEvil

02-24-2009, 05:36 PM

Because motherboards weren't build for that, now they un-officially let you run 4 cores but if the disabled one was defective or needed more power they wont get hurt by this. Also if it needed more TDP and the motherboard cant handle that and blows up, the only guilty one is the user;)

Im sure there's quite some good working disabled cores, however it ain't guaranteed.

Although somehow I think there might be just a BIOS bug, this certainly might boost sales if the majority of the triple cores works flawless with 4 cores. If the bug would be removed (aka, it was unwanted), pretty sure there will be some modded BIOS's.

If the motherboard manufacturer did not build their board with appropriate headroom there is no way it would live for very long without failure anyways.

Sparky

02-24-2009, 05:41 PM

MAS

02-24-2009, 08:24 PM

where to find AMD Phenom MSR registers Prorgammers Guide? Setting up definite bit(bits) in definite MSR register will give us a key to how to unlock fourth core

The Coolest

02-25-2009, 02:58 AM

where to find AMD Phenom MSR registers Prorgammers Guide? Setting up definite bit(bits) in definite MSR register will give us a key to how to unlock fourth core
If I remember correctly, it's somewhere in the BIOS developer's guide.
The problem is that you need to reset the processor after writing the registers to enable or disable a core. And that means you would have to reboot the system, so the defaults of the BIOS will be overwritten into the CPU itself anyway.
I'm not sure about this, but I think it's worth a shot. We need to look into this.

Donnie27

02-27-2009, 03:18 PM

idk i was just looking at the fact that locked 710 is 56.99(have to get down to the pennies now because you can't tell a difference between 99 cents and 0 cents) cheaper than the locked 810 and both the chips run at 2.6ghz. close of a comparison as you can get for triple vs quad phenoms besides the fact that the 810 has a 4mb l3. and i compared the 720 to the 940 because they both happen to be unlocked although the 720 is only 2.8ghz. yes the 720 and the 920 both run at 2.8ghz but the 720 is unlocked and is am3. and where are you getting this 144 to 184 thing from? last time i checked the 720 is 145 and the 920 is 190. :confused: so i really don't know where you are getting your facts from but w/e. so if you think im trying to do some kind of trick to make the difference look much bigger you are wrong. don't know how you think you are getting flamed but w/e, and yes if this trick does work and you can turn on another core it isn't guaranteed to get you one because some cores work and were just downcored and some are bad cores and i would not recommend someone to get a 720 if they wanted to get a quad just because they could turn another one on. so just chill out when im trying to point of obvious facts, its not like im playing mind tricks.

Very nice side step. But had you paid close attention, you'd see I was speaking UP for AMD, not trashing them. You wouldn't know a fact if it bit you on the @$S:rofl: Again, I'd said I mentioned this on another thread. Still got jumped by AMD Fans. Here's that post I was talking about and look at the thread's Date?

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2438136&postcount=106

Sure but what if that 4th core isn't broke but just real slow? What if they binned it and figured out that 3 Cores are good running at 2.2GHz and 4th can only reach 1.8GHz? Failed doesn't mean just broke. So, do they slow all the cores to 1.8 or sell 3 cores as 2.2GHz? This IMHO is what's *also going on as well. The mix and matching of 4 cores is almost endless. For instance a Dual Core@2.8 Costs more than a Quad Core at 2.2GHz. After binning the Quad Core AMD finds that 2 cores will only do 2.2GHz and the other 2 does 2.8 or better, sure AMD will kill the two slower cores and sell it as a 2.8GHz Dual Core. Wouldn't you?

I think folks want to be able to overclock each core independently because they know one or two of those cores might just be screamers. I agree with them.

Now please show what's wrong with that post?

Macadamia

02-27-2009, 03:40 PM

Not sure about Core i7 (never heard of it mentioned alongside with this feature), but K10 is probably the first desktop CPU to have full multiplier control over cores.

So it doesn't matter that much if your X4 has a lame core. Clock the rest up, let that one stay at 3.3Ghz etc.

roofsniper

02-27-2009, 03:49 PM

Very nice side step. But had you paid close attention, you'd see I was speaking UP for AMD, not trashing them. You wouldn't know a fact if it bit you on the @$S:rofl: Again, I'd said I mentioned this on another thread. Still got jumped by AMD Fans. Here's that post I was talking about and look at the thread's Date?

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2438136&postcount=106

Now please show what's wrong with that post?

i never said anything about you attacking amd all i am saying is how it is actually priced and how you have to look at some facts instead of the others you are looking at. no one is flaming you just it may seem like it to you whenever someone doesn't agree with you.

Chad Boga

02-27-2009, 04:46 PM

This seems like a good win for the consumer, but I wonder if it is economically sustainable for AMD.

Unless their Quads weren't selling very well anyway, this will surely hurt demand for their Quads and lower their ASP's.

ILikeCosmosS

02-27-2009, 08:13 PM

it wont the quads can clock better then a unlocked core on the x3 proccesors
this is differnce between the quads and the x3+1core
the quads=can reach 3.8mhz on air
the x3+1= i have seen only reach 3.5 and then start get unstable.
the phenom II 940 sells a lot just look amd thread
its affordable gives relatively close performance to i7 and is hell alot cheaper

Tonucci

02-27-2009, 08:41 PM

If i knew this I think Id wait for it to build my M-ATX box....now i already got an e7300 :/

razr7 GS400

07-11-2009, 05:04 PM

is this possible on a gigabyte 790x motherboard?

haylui

07-11-2009, 06:33 PM

Could Asus M4A78-EM do that ??
780G + SB700 chipset?

JkS

07-12-2009, 03:32 AM

You need a SB750 or a SB710 southbridge to unlock the extra cores.

ajaidev

07-12-2009, 06:03 AM

Could Asus M4A78-EM do that ??
780G + SB700 chipset?

Yes it can if ACC is present in the BIOS.

You need a SB750 or a SB710 southbridge to unlock the extra cores.

Wrong one can use SB700 also..

mAJORD

07-12-2009, 06:48 AM

ajaidev

07-12-2009, 07:11 AM

SB700 doesn't suppot ACC, do no you can't.

Something that's been missed though is the nvidia 720D - 930A (assume the later) chipsets support a version of ACC that does unlock also.. SOmeone in AMD subforum unlocked on a 720D m/b for example

lol, actrallly i have unlocked cores on mobo's with SB700 and latest firmware.

the Biostar TA790GX and also on a Gigabyte mobo with SB700

Donnie27

07-12-2009, 08:57 AM

i never said anything about you attacking amd all i am saying is how it is actually priced and how you have to look at some facts instead of the others you are looking at. no one is flaming you just it may seem like it to you whenever someone doesn't agree with you.

I didn't say I was flamed, I have a Mod step in and ban me for 3 days for what I thought was BS! I was saying I wasn't attacking any forum member and this is the 3rd time on a 3rd forum an AMD leaning Mod had jumped me for Slamming AMD. Did I jump you, was I abrasive?

One person's facts are another's BS! Certain things we call can prove and others are to easy to manipulate. Yet, when all is said and done, we're ALL just nit picking. We're called Geeks, Nerds and Fanboys because of this Nit Picking. Most of the time I don't understand why folks act like Intel or AMD is their Mom or Dad or other family members.

I defended AMD on this one and said I don't know how or why one core was disabled. It makes sense even if one core was slower than the other 3. Inoperative isn't the only reason one would be disabled. Intel can BS as much as possible but sooner or later they'll do the same, I'm surprised they haven't already.;) I don't believe AMD disabled a perfectly good faster core and then ship 4 slower ones for lower price when they need money.

informal

07-12-2009, 03:32 PM

Intel can BS as much as possible but sooner or later they'll do the same, I'm surprised they haven't already.;) I don't believe AMD disabled a perfectly good faster core and then ship 4 slower ones for lower price when they need money.

With Nehalem based Xeons they already do this ;).Not only core disabling( quad ->dual),but lower L3 amounts,lower QPI/IMC speeds etc. It's perfectly logical thing to do.Now they have a monolithic x86 quad core so they can do it too :).