PHENOM II X3(tri-core) CAN BE MADE an X4(quad-core)

[infra_red_dude]

Apparently some Koren guys managed to unlock the 4th core in a certain batch of Phenom II X3 (tri-core) processors. The news is all over the net.

According to those guys, one needs a Phenom II X3 with 0904xxxxxx stepping (indicating that it was manufactured in the 4th week of 2009) alongwith one of the following mobos: Biostar, Asrock, Gigabyte 790xx chipset mobo.

The trick to breathing life into the hibernating core is to set the Advanced Clock Calibration feature to "Auto" in BIOS. While in reality it has nothing to do with enabling the 4th core (ACC helps smooth out clocks to certain parts and hence aids in OC), this setting is somehow unlocking the "gagged" core.

Can anybody here at TDF test if it really works with other batches too? Are they available in India? If so then whats the cost of P2 X3 there? Here in the US the lowest end is about $126. For a quad-core with 6MB L3 this processor would make an excellent buy!

References:

Guru3d
XtremeSystems
Anandtech forums

[comp@ddict]

AMD's Phenon II X3's fourth core is unlocked

According to the post at Korean website Playwares.com, the fourth core which is disabled isn't locked and can be enabled in BIOS, thus making it a quad-core CPU.

Screenshots look quite real, and we can't think of any reason why they shouldn't be, but you still might want to take this one with a grain of salt as this might be an isolated case, or some weird kind of Photoshop prank.

Guys tried this with Biostar's TA790GX motherboard, but according to the post, the same thing can be done with any other 790GX + SB700 motherboard. According to the screenshots, all you have to do is to modify "Advanced Clock Calibration" to Auto and your tri-core should become a quad-core. Guys at Playwares.com tried it with AMD's Phenom II X3 710 processors, that has for some weird reason became the AMD Phenom II X4 10 processor, at least according to BIOS post screen.

CPU-Z and Windows both recognized the fourth core, and these guys even managed to do a Prime95 and 3DMark06 CPU tests. The fourth core brings additional 1000 points in 3DMark06 CPU test which is a really nice score considering that you only payed for a tri-core CPU.

The only problem is that this might not be possible on all AMD's X3 processors as in some cases it might not be so stable. After all, AMD does make these X3's by disabling one core that is unstable.

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?op...12194&Itemid=1

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Phenom II X3 to X4 hack works

Yesterday's big news was that the disabled fourth core on AMD's X3 processor can be easily enabled in BIOS. The hack has been tried out by many users around the net and they managed to confirm it works, at least in some cases.

As previously noted, all you have to do is set the ACC (Advanced Clock Calibration) in BIOS to Auto and if you are one of the lucky ones, the X3 could become a X4 CPU. According to some info around the net, some of the X3's aren't stable when working with all four cores, but apparently AMD did deliberately cut some good X4's into X3's so it's a lottery.

One of our readers, Steve, has sent us an email claiming that it worked for him, and he was using Biostar's TA790GX A2+ motherboard and AMD's X3 720 BE CPU. We can wish him good luck with his new, budget quad-core CPU, and we will surely keep an eye out for additional details on this situation.

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?op...12214&Itemid=1

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Motherboard Vendors Confirm Phenom II X3 Core Unlock

The ability to unlock the disabled core on Phenom II X3 processor draws parallels with the days when one could soft-mod a NV40-based GeForce 6800 XT to higher models. An article by Korean website Playwares made waves on the internet yesterday, which suggested a very easy method to unlock the disabled core on Phenom II X3. Several users have been able to verify and confirm the method works. While Playwares used a Biostar-made motherboard, people with ACC-supportive motherboards from several makes have been able to get the mod to work. Motherboard vendors performed their own testing to confirm this method, and have had some success so far.

The success of this mod however, depends on a few factors:

• The disabled core AMD notes to be "unstable", should be fit-enough to be at least enabled and working
• The motherboard should support the Advanced Clock Calibration feature, which currently only motherboards with AMD's SB750 southbridge chip support
• The Phenom II X3 processor should belong to the 0904 manufacturing batch, these should be some of the initial batches of the processor, and may still be found with retailers

Considering AMD doesn't have an AM3-socket CPU featuring 6 MB of L3 cache out in the market yet, this opens up a good opportunity to get a taste of Phenom II X4 AM3 chips at a lesser price, but then again, you might need some luck to get the chip belonging to the right batch.

http://www.techpowerup.com/86200/Mot...ck_Needed.html




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To add to all the good news:-

Phenom II X3 720 now available for just $144

It's top three-core CPU, the multiplier-unlocked Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition, clocked at 2.8GHz, now costs just $144, and this is a pretty good deal. Mind you, unlike the old 65nm parts, the new 45nm Hekas are very overclockable, and even a good motherboard which will let you play around with it comes quite cheap. Phenom II X3 720 can overclock to over 4GHz and you can even enable the forth core with a touch of a bios.

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?op...12210&Itemid=1

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Here's the korean site from where it all started -

http://www.playwares.com/xe/?document_srl=2233323

A hearty thanks to them!!!

[Liverpool_fan]

Wow...That's uber cool...But I wonder would it really be stable enough...

[comp@ddict]

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?op...12194&Itemid=1

Go to this site, and see the overclock to 3.2GHz (approx) stable.

[comp@ddict]

I think this should be in the technology news forum. I had posted this post here -

PHENOM II X3(tri-core) CAN BE MADE an X4(quad-core)

I've posted with more details with a screenie there.

[topgear]

Thanks infra for sharing the info buddy & thanks comp@ddict for the pics & detailed news.

[mavihs]

OMG!!!!
thanx 4 sharing this awsome news!!!!

[infra_red_dude]

Oh thats cool. I've reported this thread to be either closed or merged with that.

[MetalheadGautham]

ULTIMATE!

But isn't the 4th core normally supposed to be not-so-good and thats why AMD disables them ?

[comp@ddict]

^^yeah, that's y the word "lucky"

Apparently, the one with the Koreans was a good one becuz they even OCed to 3.2GHz stable.

[infra_red_dude]

Well, thats quite possible. However its also possible that AMD does not want to spend thousands of dollars again for creating a Tri-Core mask for this processor and haf gone ahead with just disabling the 4th core. If thats the case then AMD either is very foolish or very intelligent (in the sense that it will give them the publicity and people will rush to buy these procs).

[j1n M@tt]

shame on AMD faking products!!...btw gud news for people with low budget!!

[mavihs]

Check this out: http://blogs.amd.com/play/archive/20...atosphere.aspx AMD FTW!!!!!

What ever maybe AMD's plan, but ultimately we consumers are the one that gonna get all the benefits !!!

[x3060]

this might be a smart move by amd , but what ever the case may be its a really good move , q4 for $144 is just amazing .

[comp@ddict]

^^^
Yes, look at this, and you'll see what has just happened, for AMD's good.

Demand for three-core Phenoms II on the rise

Following fourth core unlock reports



Demand for AMD three-core Phenom II chips is on the rise, following reports that the fourth core on many units can be activated after fiddling with some bios settings.

Of course, the hack doesn't work on all CPUs, but only certain batches, so consumers can't really expect a 100 percent success rate, but nevertheless, the prospect of a free fourth core seems quite appealing to some.

Of course, AMD refuses to officially comment the three-core to quad-core five-finger discount hack.

Several readers have already contacted us to confirm they managed to succesfully enable the fourth core, and in case you have a three-core Phenom II, and you've tried enabling the disabled core, we would like to hear from you.

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?op...12271&Itemid=1

[IronManForever]

What a strategy!

[Faun]

Kamsa hamnida

[comp@ddict]

^^^what??