unlocked cores..

~~CitySlicker~~ · Sep 15, 2009, 07:43 AM

easier than I thought - my Phenom X2 550 into an X4

Yfrog - 64l.jpg

Takaharu · Sep 15, 2009, 07:59 AM

Impressive. Does this detract from the individual cores' performance?

~~CitySlicker~~ · Sep 15, 2009, 08:49 AM

Takaharu,
not what I see here so far - 3DMark06 score even climbed from 12k to 14k
doing a pcmark05 now and score is 11174 PCMarks

IvanV · Sep 15, 2009, 10:21 AM

Congratulations!

I was thinking about the same CPU a a couple of weeks ago, but it was a lot more expensive than this Athlon II and not being a gambling man I decided against buying it.

mkk · Sep 15, 2009, 10:43 AM

Very nice. I was also considering one for my recent HTPC build but decided in the end that it didn't need nearly that much horsepower. It would have been fun to try a little undervolting and underclocking to get a low power/easily cooled quad core for very little money. Undervolting with unlocked cores might be a stretch but I could easily have dropped down towards 2GHz core clock to compensate if necessary due to sample variance. I missed out on that fun and I suspect having been an Intel owner again for over a year has made me lazy.

~~CitySlicker~~ · Sep 15, 2009, 10:53 AM

Hi all,
The CPU is only $132 in Australia, mobo $125, set ddr3 sticks $112 - so not really a financial issue here.

I am no gamer either but every now and then I like a round Crysis on my 22in monitor and all plays very smooth

mkk · Sep 15, 2009, 11:00 AM

By the way, have you seen if it's also possible to have different clocks on individual cores when unlocking? Just curious, as that would be neat.

~~CitySlicker~~ · Sep 15, 2009, 11:14 AM

mkk,
I am not really in modding, just unlocked the cores out of curiosity, and all else will be untouched. The unlock is just changing two sysbios parameter and all done.

Lowfat · Sep 15, 2009, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkk

By the way, have you seen if it's also possible to have different clocks on individual cores when unlocking? Just curious, as that would be neat.

not possible. Unless you are using an i7/i5 with Turbo Boost.

GigaWatt · Sep 15, 2009, 06:51 PM

i don't get it... this particular CPU has more cores than AMD originally specified it has...?

why would they do that...???

Bolletje · Sep 15, 2009, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GigaWatt

i don't get it... this particular CPU has more cores than AMD originally specified it has...?

why would they do that...???

Because they make quad-cores, however all chips don't have all the 4 cores working. So they put them on the market as a duo or triple-core. Since the demand is high, they also make duo or triple-cores by simply disabling the other cores. Some persons find out that you can reactiviate the cores and so you have the chance to buy a quad-core for the price of a duo-core.

From what I have heard AMD is lasering the paths to the thirth and fourth core. So you won't be able to unlock the cores with new duo or triple cores.

~~CitySlicker~~ · Sep 15, 2009, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bolletje

...

From what I have heard AMD is lasering the paths to the thirth and fourth core. So you won't be able to unlock the cores with new duo or triple cores.

well my X2 is brand new - assembled the box a week ago!

x4 unlocked 3DMark06 and PCMark05 scores:

http://yfrog.com/0b3dmark06zoj

http://yfrog.com/c9pcmark05j

new box
http://yfrog.com/09newbox003j

GigaWatt · Sep 16, 2009, 04:07 AM

so, what you're saying is, it's like in the motherboard market... you make a single board that fits 2, maybe 3 different controllers on the same board in different soldering sockets, and you can see that one or two chips/controllers are missing, and you're wondering "why is that"... the simple answer is that they don't put all the controllers at the same time on one board, different models of the motherboards require different controllers, so if you happen to purchase any of the models, there will probably one or two soldering sockets empty... it's a cheap way to save money... make the same copper board for 3 different models so that you don't have to model the other 2 and save money and time in the process...

... that's b*llshit if you ask me...

i see it all the time... since i fix audio and video equipment from time to time, the same things is happening there too... you see copper boards with all these left out sockets... other parts were meant to be soldered there in another similar model of the same product... again, b*llshit...

except in this case, they don't remove the "chips"... they just deactivate them...

Partizan · Sep 16, 2009, 11:50 AM

Also try 5-10 runs of IntelBurn Test. If it passes, it's rock solid

~~CitySlicker~~ · Sep 16, 2009, 10:26 PM

Done that, Partizan, results here:

Yfrog - intelburnd

A Desire to Game · Sep 17, 2009, 08:42 PM

Careful, had instability issues with a x3 720 BE after unlocking the fourth core. Some get lucky...I didn't.

procupine14 · Sep 18, 2009, 04:54 PM

Yeah I see this all the time in basically every industry I deal with. All companies that manufacture anything that requires a circuit board do a bit of this from time to time. Since making three or four different designs for three different models they just use one. Its ingenious IMO since it costs them less and thus allows them to sell products at a lower cost to comsumers. No complaints here for a company trying to save a bit of money.

GigaWatt · Sep 18, 2009, 05:44 PM

a question: does intel make things like this... i mean, locked cores on processors...?

procupine14 · Sep 21, 2009, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GigaWatt

a question: does intel make things like this... i mean, locked cores on processors...?

No they don't because all of their processor designs are semi-unique. the core 2 duos aren't the same design as the qxxxx series. Nor are the ix series the same either.

GigaWatt · Sep 21, 2009, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by procupine14

No they don't because all of their processor designs are semi-unique. the core 2 duos aren't the same design as the qxxxx series. Nor are the ix series the same either.

man, i knew it... just my luck... to have an Intel CPU... :S

oh well, the next PC would be an AMD one, at least i hope so...

Sep 15, 2009, 07:43 AM	#1
~~CitySlicker~~ Banned Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Brisbane Australia Posts: 183 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	unlocked cores.. easier than I thought - my Phenom X2 550 into an X4 Yfrog - 64l.jpg

Sep 15, 2009, 07:59 AM	#2
Takaharu I can fart in 7 languages Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: England, UK Posts: 1,859 Rep Power: 113 System Specs	Re: unlocked cores.. Impressive. Does this detract from the individual cores' performance? __________________ I don't get paid to know the answer, therefore I'm far more likely to give you a straight and honest answer. Mods Rig, Box Mods Rig, Folding details

Sep 15, 2009, 08:49 AM	Thread Starter #3
~~CitySlicker~~ Banned Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Brisbane Australia Posts: 183 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: unlocked cores.. Takaharu, not what I see here so far - 3DMark06 score even climbed from 12k to 14k doing a pcmark05 now and score is 11174 PCMarks Last edited by CitySlicker; Sep 15, 2009 at 09:03 AM.

Sep 15, 2009, 10:21 AM	#4
IvanV HH Assassin Guild Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 5,919 Rep Power: 336 System Specs	Re: unlocked cores.. Congratulations! I was thinking about the same CPU a a couple of weeks ago, but it was a lot more expensive than this Athlon II and not being a gambling man I decided against buying it. __________________ If anyone has Portal 2 and hasn't played the co-op and wants to do me a favour, let me know (PM me or whatever).

Sep 15, 2009, 10:43 AM	#5
mkk Cthulhu/Dagon 2012 Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Gefle, Sweden Posts: 4,495 Rep Power: 132 System Specs	Re: unlocked cores.. Very nice. I was also considering one for my recent HTPC build but decided in the end that it didn't need nearly that much horsepower. It would have been fun to try a little undervolting and underclocking to get a low power/easily cooled quad core for very little money. Undervolting with unlocked cores might be a stretch but I could easily have dropped down towards 2GHz core clock to compensate if necessary due to sample variance. I missed out on that fun and I suspect having been an Intel owner again for over a year has made me lazy.

Sep 15, 2009, 10:53 AM	Thread Starter #6
~~CitySlicker~~ Banned Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Brisbane Australia Posts: 183 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: unlocked cores.. Hi all, The CPU is only $132 in Australia, mobo $125, set ddr3 sticks $112 - so not really a financial issue here. I am no gamer either but every now and then I like a round Crysis on my 22in monitor and all plays very smooth

Sep 15, 2009, 11:00 AM	#7
mkk Cthulhu/Dagon 2012 Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Gefle, Sweden Posts: 4,495 Rep Power: 132 System Specs	Re: unlocked cores.. By the way, have you seen if it's also possible to have different clocks on individual cores when unlocking? Just curious, as that would be neat.

Sep 15, 2009, 11:14 AM	Thread Starter #8
~~CitySlicker~~ Banned Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Brisbane Australia Posts: 183 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: unlocked cores.. mkk, I am not really in modding, just unlocked the cores out of curiosity, and all else will be untouched. The unlock is just changing two sysbios parameter and all done.

Sep 15, 2009, 06:51 PM	#10
GigaWatt Now In Color :D Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Macedonia, Skopje Posts: 2,116 Rep Power: 81 System Specs	Re: unlocked cores.. i don't get it... this particular CPU has more cores than AMD originally specified it has...? why would they do that...??? __________________ It's not schisophrenia... it's just a voice in my head...

Sep 16, 2009, 04:07 AM	#13
GigaWatt Now In Color :D Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Macedonia, Skopje Posts: 2,116 Rep Power: 81 System Specs	Re: unlocked cores.. so, what you're saying is, it's like in the motherboard market... you make a single board that fits 2, maybe 3 different controllers on the same board in different soldering sockets, and you can see that one or two chips/controllers are missing, and you're wondering "why is that"... the simple answer is that they don't put all the controllers at the same time on one board, different models of the motherboards require different controllers, so if you happen to purchase any of the models, there will probably one or two soldering sockets empty... it's a cheap way to save money... make the same copper board for 3 different models so that you don't have to model the other 2 and save money and time in the process... ... that's bllshit if you ask me... i see it all the time... since i fix audio and video equipment from time to time, the same things is happening there too... you see copper boards with all these left out sockets... other parts were meant to be soldered there in another similar model of the same product... again, bllshit... except in this case, they don't remove the "chips"... they just deactivate them... __________________ It's not schisophrenia... it's just a voice in my head...

Sep 16, 2009, 11:50 AM	#14
Partizan Fun loving criminal Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Slovenia Posts: 1,182 Rep Power: 62 System Specs	Re: unlocked cores.. Also try 5-10 runs of IntelBurn Test. If it passes, it's rock solid __________________ Live and let live!

Sep 16, 2009, 10:26 PM	Thread Starter #15
~~CitySlicker~~ Banned Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Brisbane Australia Posts: 183 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: unlocked cores.. Done that, Partizan, results here: Yfrog - intelburnd

Sep 17, 2009, 08:42 PM	#16
A Desire to Game HardwareHeaven Hoosier Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Indiana Posts: 296 Rep Power: 34 System Specs	Re: unlocked cores.. Careful, had instability issues with a x3 720 BE after unlocking the fourth core. Some get lucky...I didn't. __________________ Three is my new favorite number. (SATA III, USB 3.0, and triple channel memory)

Sep 18, 2009, 04:54 PM	#17
procupine14 Why is it Beeping!?!?! Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: USA, Missouri Posts: 1,400 Rep Power: 58 System Specs	Re: unlocked cores.. Yeah I see this all the time in basically every industry I deal with. All companies that manufacture anything that requires a circuit board do a bit of this from time to time. Since making three or four different designs for three different models they just use one. Its ingenious IMO since it costs them less and thus allows them to sell products at a lower cost to comsumers. No complaints here for a company trying to save a bit of money. __________________ HTPC/file server: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - AMD Phenom x4 9850 - 4GB OCZ DDR2 800 (2x2GB) - 1TB WD Black - 4 x 1TB Hitachi DeskStar in RAID 5 - ATi TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner - HIS Raedon 4850 512MB - ASRock N68C-S UCC mobo - OCZ ModExtreme Pro 500W PSU GF's Gaming PC: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - AMD Phenom 9850 - 4GB OCZ DDR2 1066 - 500GB Western Digital GP - HIS Raedon 5770 1GB - ASUS M3A78-EM - Zalman 650W PSU Media Streamer: Win 7 Pro 64-bit - AMD Athlon x2 3200+ - 4GB SuperTalent DDR2 800 - 250GB SeaGate Barracuda - MSI K9N6PGM2-V2 - ASUS Raedon 5450 SILENT - FSP group 250W PSU

Sep 18, 2009, 05:44 PM	#18
GigaWatt Now In Color :D Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Macedonia, Skopje Posts: 2,116 Rep Power: 81 System Specs	Re: unlocked cores.. a question: does intel make things like this... i mean, locked cores on processors...? __________________ It's not schisophrenia... it's just a voice in my head...