Unlocking Phenom II X3 Triple to X4 Quad-Core (NCIX Tech Tips #35)

[Scottcreek942]

Is AMD Phenom X3 8400 one of the unlockable processors? It's mine, so I'm curious

[andy919896]

I want to buy those, but they dont sell it anymore in ncix :[

[maryuk07]

Wow this video is old now.

[hy2roz]

Hey , I have an Asus M4A77T , and an AMD Athlon II x3 455 . The problem is : When I start the pc the MOBO have option "press 4 for core unlocker" , I'm pressing it , computer is shuting down , and when it's opening my screen remains black....and it says "No signal"...I was wating like...20 minutes and nothing happened.... Can someone help me?

[Appl3ProdHD]

amd = bad boys? :D

[carcrasher65]

so i have a AMD Athlon II X3 455 3.3GHz and want to unlock the fouth core (if their is one) would i have to get a new cooler for it or can i just use the stock fan? if i need a new fan i'll just stick with my 3 cores (cause i'm cheap :D)

[Gangstangst]

@carcrasher65 you dont need new fan if your degrees are not very high on 3 cores, 4th core will increase about 10 celsius

[RxpGaming]

@carcrasher65 no you dont. Just watch your temps

[jusdub100]

linus u gotta change that start up music

[Smecherul89]

how stabil it is when you unlocking.10x

[TechTowers]

LOL the geek police are probably gonna take me away at any moment! :D

[samuelu21352135]

what about the AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition can than be unlocked I have a ASUS M5A88-V EVO motherboard

[stormpegasisfan]

can i unlock my amd duron 800mhz to a phenom ii x6?

[specialforcification]

@stormpegasisfan yes

[smartmarlino]

What is "core value" for, and how does it affect my CPU performance?

I searched the internet but couldn't find anything helpful; people just saying " pay with it". I am using the phenom 555 with a stock cooler, so i don't want to risk it.

[HEROSOLDER1]

what is the def about the AMD Phenom ii X3 720 and the X4 720 ?! plz tell me

[TechTowers]

Hi thanks for this video it really helped me out however I had to do a few steps slightly different and didn't need to do the first part as my mobo has a core unlocker feature already. I have uploaded / created a video response to help people that shows a slightly different bios menu to what you have shown here.

Keep up with the good videos! :)

[chillmetal]

fuck this buy intel.

[PeikkoKuningas95]

@chillmetal cpu racist<3

[specialforcification]

@chillmetal i am going back to intel since my amd x4 cpu locked its self into a tri core cpu also thats the reason im watching this lol.

[chillmetal]

@specialforcification The best AMD out right now is like 1% more efficient than my 3.4 Ghz i5

[TheVanGastel]

thanks work for me :) afther 2 weeks playing and no restart the system can i call satble

[stroe14]

Worked for me in 2010. Asus m4a88tdv evo/usb3 + phenom 555be= unlocked x4, stable, no vdc increase with x4 3,8Ghz. nice piece of hardware. Recently bought mugen 3 cooler. Temps in x4 mode are like 25C in idle, 45 in load.

Because i unlocked it, i get a lot of warnings in Event Viewer saying something about Cache memory, but it works.

After 1,5 years still rolling.

[lifemetall]

didn't work for my m3a770de and phenom 555 BE

[GamingatWoW]

i did it like he showed but nothing happend ;) i don't mind

[superhuman501]

@GamingatWoW Do u have a motherboard that support all the 4 cores like he said on the video?

[GamingatWoW]

@superhuman501 yerp

[superhuman501]

@GamingatWoW Try tedo everything. Compare the tutorial with what u have done and se if u have changed something without need.

[fightnight14]

I got mine unlocked. I didn't expect much before but it's really pleasing now

[dchao22]

wow, you guys are amazing! thanks

[maheshtanay]

hi, i have amd phenom ii X2 550 3.1Ghz processor i jst had unlock my cores x2 to x4 but its not working properly after updating the x4 entirely system was hanging like idol within few minutes. That's why i could tried to make it 3 cores using with msconfig-advanced option-number of processors=3. working awesome, but i want x4 processor instead of 3cores..

My Motherboard is Gigabyte GA-MA74GMT-S2.

And how much voltage need to change while doing unlock....?????? Can u Pls explain me briefly.....

[Girsheliz]

will it unlock amd althlon II x2 240?

[Dankarlpang]

can i unlock a Phenom X3 8750B ? to 4 cores?

[BurritoBazooka]

I heard somewhere that I could unlock my Phemon II X2 555. I couldn't, I followed the instructions, and CPU-Z reports no changes, but thanks for the video.

[GOUSN1776]

@BurritoBazooka Phenom II X2 555s are just a quad that has 2 defective cores thus the name of a dual core. On the same note AMD, to do some marketing stuff, through in some 4 cores in with the batch but you have to unlcok them. It's all luck as to whether you can unlcok it or not, so I've heard. It may even unlcok to a tri core but have 1 defective core.

[shamnadplr]

can i unlock an asus m2n68 am plus pls rply dude

[Bamshelzrecords]

Hay people i need help with something i just bought the AMD Phenom ii X2 560 BE and unlocked all fore cores, with a MSI 880gme-41 motherboard but there is no temperature reading-when i unlock all fore cores, how can i fix this problem?

[matt0218]

I get audio issues when i unlock the 4th core on my gigabyte board. But when i just unlock the l3 by itself, all is fine. Anyone else have that issue?

[ninehoursful]

hey do we have to do core unlocking of AMD PHENOM X4 955 BE..

[JJROADSTA]

@ninehoursful I have that and I had to when I first got it , it was a true quad core ( I stress tested it) and it said one core? so i pressed 4 when I booted my system and it was Quad core

[findlandezul]

can i unlock on an asus m2n32 sli deluxe?

[DeMitrix9435]

@findlandezul it it can hace the x4 it can i think.

[y0cata]

i have AMD Phenom II x2 555BE and i m unlocked it in to AMD Phenom II x4 b55 BE :)

[30phayte]

Is there any way to tell which ones will be able to unlock the fourth core or is it just luck.

[rjc34]

@30phayte Luck. Although if you're buying one now I would think that with the manufacturing process becoming better and more efficient that nearly all of them are simply quad-cores with one disabled.

[danerdsskaters]

wtf dude i just did it randomly by accident and it turned my athlon x3 into a phenom x4

i dont see much change in temperatures either

[playstationRLZ]

i really hope my 720 unlocks

[LoftyProduction]

I really don't get this, surely then you would just buy a triple core and save yourself a load of money, but get the same performance once you unlock 4th core???

[Eyeball1975]

@LoftyProduction It is not guaranteed, the fourth core might be faulty. He did explain this. There are some dual cores that will unlock to quads too.

[AV8RTX41]

Red eyes. Are you high, Linus?

[urban8fxs]

cpu usage is at 100% @2:19 while pc is doing nothing?

[Cirofost]

@urban8fxs It's running Prime95

[Ucsemis]

@urban8fxs its a screen shot, or they freezed the screen from the TV remote because the usage won't fall

[TheCJGCJG]

@urban8fxs Its running prime95

[DragonL33t]

Want some Computer with your your RAM lol

[nikkolei]

my board has ACC sadly it doesnt support the unlocking settings i have to wait for the updates of BIOS.....

[hakera19973]

i've got ASUS M4A77T DELUXE and im able to unlock ahlon x3 CPU to x4

[PhilK116]

I enjoy this lads YouTube stuff. Clear, easy to follow, and quick - although not rushed.

[BUMBA98]

Why I can not unlock 4th core and there perhaps some sort of other solution motherboard is Asus M2N68-AM PLUS processor is AMD Athlon (tm) II X3 440

Check my video on my yt channel

[blueovalfan23]

@BUMBA98 as mentioned, x3 are disable quads. they don't take good quads and disable them all the time. sometimes they disable x4s that are bad. maybe that's the case with you, you have a defective quad that amd disable making it a tri. i'm in the same boat. my 450 wouldn't unlock either. idk about you but mine runs fast enough for me. i do gaming and video recoding as well as everything else you can list as general use. honestly i don't see the need for an extra core let alone 6mb cache.

[wowaccpass]

i'm trying to unlock my x2 555 BE, My mobo allows me to, but nothing happends when i unlocks them "All cores" in BIOS.

[jajsemcech]

@wowaccpass thats because x2 only has two cores while the x3 has four with one locked

[wowaccpass]

@jajsemcech uhm, the 555 BE do have unlockable cores since i've got 'em all unlocked now.

[TF2Pyrosux]

CAMERAMAN!!

[TheDjhydra]

i'll have an acer aspire 5552g with "!/=!/(="=%+=(% specs ( doesnt matter . ) and an amd phenom II x3 N850. should i unlock the fourth core ? help plz :)

[TheDjhydra]

@TheDjhydra or leave it with 3 active cpus due to the temps ?

[kryosan]

x58 forever!

[nikkolei]

Crap my board doesnt support unlock only overclocking but the box include ACC and it has ACC options too all cores or with cores only 3 cores showing up :(

[nikkolei]

@nikkolei per cores only show 3 cores........

[g2host47]

@nikkolei

try update ur mb bios,anyway wat board ur using?

[nikkolei]

@g2host47 i dont think my mobo bios are having any updates my mobo is EMX-AMD785HD3-PRO

[g2host47]

@nikkolei

then im sorry i don think ur mobo support unlock 

[nikkolei]

@g2host47 sucks...

[g2host47]

here a dumb thing happen to me,first i try to unlock my x3 720 exactly like linus showed but when i boot to windows it just freeze then i disabled the amd(cool n quiet) it worked perfectly fine.

thanx linus.

[fabiojaum]

tanks man.

[ChasingFlies]

What if i have the athlon one? can i still unlock it??

[macman2256]

I got my Phenom II X3 720 unlocked and overclocked to 3.5ghz, ran over 12hrs stable with Prime 95 :)

[TOXICPR0DUCTIONZ]

what about 6 cores? and my processor has asus core unlock but is this against warrante? ive had my pc for about 2 months.

[mitko1251]

Is this the CPU with the broken pin stuffed into the socket? ROFL!

[thedeather5]

can u unlock quad core to six cores

[deathbox731]

@thedeather5 nope

[vasko9999]

i like your video tips you are so smart keep upload i study many tips

[gameswindows]

$am$ung 42' :)

[XxMasterMexX]

Do you have to use an Asus Motherboard? are there other mother boards that you could do this with?

[KingOfCool12]

Could you put a link to the website you got the BIOS from

[KingOfCool12]

Where did you get the bios update from ?

[Akira1422]

Going to try this with an Athlon II X3 445 when I get it, wish me luck!

[SileDevil]

@Akira1422

it works but when in unlocked mode the temp sensor doesnt work

[bromixPC]

U CAN UNLOCK A ATHLON II X3 445 TOO AND HAVE A PHENOM II X4 WITH 6MB CACHE L3!! IT'S SOO AMAZING.

[SileDevil]

@bromixPC

hi how do you unlock the L3· cache?

i unlocked my x3 445 @ x4 b45 but l3 cache is not unlocked

[bromixPC]

@SileDevil .... sincer nu stiu dc, oricum sa stii cv, amd-urile aproape toate au cache lvl 3,numa ca nu intotdeauna il arata(cel putin stiu ca phenom are asa cv). oricum si daca ar fii fara lvl 3 cache ofera un randament mai bun decat orice intel la 6 sau 7 mil.

[Ziah691]

@SileDevil If you take a look at the Athlon-II X3 chip, under the model number there will be a series of numbers starting with AA. If the number is AAD** AD, it means it is a Propus die. You might be able to unlock the 4th core, but definitely not the L3 cache, as there never was one. If the number is AAC** AC, it means you have a Deneb die. If this is the case, you can potentially unlock the 4th core AND the L3 cache.

[SileDevil]

@Ziah691

ok thnx, i unlocked it and runs good but locked it back because my motherboard only supports 95w cpus...the core unlock increase the tdp to 125w...fuck

[jeroenknex80]

@dxproductions100

Yeah but if you can simply unlock a tri core to a quad core for free.

Why not?

[discobubbles]

@jeroenknex80 hey dude can u tell . is this mobo msi 740gm-p25 able to unclock other 2 cores of amd phenom ii x2 560 be cpu and make it into a full fledged quad core. i the board is cheap . its priced at 52$ i think. i has ddr3 ram support. i wanna ask do u think msi boards have quality to last long and they really unlock cores? though msi says that this particular mobo has core unlocking technology. plz help

[PijaniKlosar]

can u explain how to unlock L3 cache on Athlon II X4 640 pls

[Pollione88]

@dxproductions100 I'm so relieved, installed the new mobo and everything works fine. The processor is alive! hehe will be fun gaming with a Radeon 6950!

[Pollione88]

@dxproductions100 I guess they're ok. I bought lots of ASUS in the past years, a RIVA TNT2 and now the motherboard and a ASUS Xonar DG sound card. Maybe the problem has got nothing to do with ASUS so I just won't try to unlock the 4th core anymore and hope it will work! :)

[Pollione88]

@dxproductions100 For some reason, I don't trust ASUS anymore so I ordered a Gigabyte for replacement. But the one I used to unlock is an ASUS M4A78LT-M LE.

[Pollione88]

@dxproductions100 I don't think activating a 4th core can kill your processor. Either the 4th core is working or not, it's not like I overclocked anything or played with the voltage settings...hopefully ;)

[Pollione88]

@dxproductions100 I don't think (or hope :) so, because I will receive a new motherboard tomorrow. I can still enter the bios and change all settings, and that's only possible with a working processor. I just hangs after booting. But maybe you're right....I'll find out tomorrow!

[Pollione88]

@dxproductions100 No, the PC gets stuck during the boot process before Windows can even be started. It just hangs and I get a blank screen.

[Pollione88]

This feature screwed up my PC. I activated core unlocking of my Athlon II X3 450 and now I get a blank screen. I updated the bios, cleared the CMOS, reset all BIOS parameters, and still, a blank screen after booting. Any ideas how to fix it?

[yuna1987]

just bought a 555BE for my budget build, no luck so far on unlocking extra core :(

[ROpaulinu]

i think core unlock is bullshit. how can amd put on market a 4core with 1 core lock??? i dont understant ....

[InfernoFlameZERO]

@ROpaulinu That why they market it as a triple core with a lower price.

[RandomMalcolm]

@ROpaulinu The locked core is sometimes defective and instead of throwing it away they sell it as a 3 core.

And othertimes they just lock the last core to sell it for less.

[Japsenliebhaber]

@bb120797 msconfig ->start->more options->decide how many cores

if that doesnt work check your bios

[frostr1]

man you can really build a value PC if you know all the tricks, ie AMD 6950

[neonzion7]

i have the ASUS m4a78t-e and it has a similar bios to this one. But my X3 740 does not unlock for sum reason... The x3 740 has a 100% unlock rate... please help me!

[ghenmokai]

i have a x3 450 @3.2ghz . is it unlockable ?

[neonzion7]

@ghenmokai is, as long as you rmotherboard can unlock. If you are lucky, you can EVEN unlock cache and end up with an X4 9XX cpu... :D

[LordNikonPL]

i unlocked x3 440 to phenom 2 x4 b40 and OC'ed it to 3.4

cant get any further ;( no matter what voltage

[Dankarlpang]

wat about a x3 phenom 8750 ?

[Fr0ntl1nez]

my x3 processor shows as a quad core while I didn't even unlock anything. whats that all about?

[hateWinVista]

"unlocking" processors to dual cores or quad cores isn't safe

Because AMD actually "hide" the fourth core due to some processors are unstable to be in quad core.

But you can actually unlock dual core for Sempron.(To Athlon x2)

[ivansegos]

@hateWinVista did you watch the whole video, I've read this before..

AMD DO NOT make triple core proccessors, If a core is defective, instead of throwing it away, they rename it lock the defective core and sell it as a triple core. and if AMD are in demand for triple core proccessors, they often take a perfectly good legit quad core and lock one of the cores to brand it as a triple core.

[sitemaster16]

Can you do a tutorial for the Phenom II X2 unlock to X4?

[nikkolei]

can you ulock athlon x3 440?

[Poseidon500]

@nikkolei Maybe. You may even end up with an equivelant to a Phenom II x4 945.

[un3fista]

@nikkolei of course all depends if your motherboard can unlock the cores, i have an athlon ii x3 440 and a motherboard MSI and with just two steps i have an AMD Phenom Ii x4 B 40 with L3 cache 6MB and oc @ 3.41 GHZ sorry about my english i`m just trying to help you i`m from Venezuela

[nikkolei]

@un3fista Well my motherboard has an ACC on it so does it means i can unlock cores?

[bromixPC]

@nikkolei I DON'T KNOW PROBABLY YES, WATCH SOME OPTIONS IN BIOS.

[deathbox731]

@nikkolei yes you can

[coparomania]

@nikkolei yes

[USMCbCROW]

@nikkolei technically you can unlock any tri core processor as long as you have a mobo to support it... its a hit or miss..some unlock some dont..and even the ones that do unlock might not run stable. If you want a quad...buy a quad.

[Byrtus21]

@nikkolei yes you can..i unlocked my athlon ii x3 445 @ 3.1ghz to phenom ii x4 B45

[CaseyTheDrummerBoy]

@nikkolei I have the same CPU and I've unlocked the fourth core many times. Watch out, though, with temps. With the stock CPU cooler, my computer has just completely shut off. This happened only once, most likely due to an old cooler or something dealing with the CPU cooler, but if your triple-core processor is able to become a quad-core, then you should be fine. Just keep an eye on your temps and you should be good. Oh and you can lock up the 4th core at any time in the BIOS. Hope this helped.

[wowaccpass]

@nikkolei No, sorry, but what i've heard it support some kind of L3 cache. Not sure so i can't promise anything.

[TuncayBaran40]

@nikkolei with my mainboard yes :D

[hakera19973]

@nikkolei no but he can locked it to a AMD Sempron 140 lol yes it can my CPU is the same and with ASUS m4a77t i unlock it

[then00best]

Linus can probably turn a lowly dual core AMD into a full blown i7

[dimos47ki7]

and that explains why AMD can achieve so good prices compared to intel...

1 core doesnt work, no dont throw it away, just sell it with a different wraping...

smart financial managers there :)

[Schmidteren]

so it is a gamble!... xD

[allvids4life]

To all who's asking 'is it possible....' yes it is possible on every x3 processor and some x2 processors, but still you won't know if the core is defect or if it's perfectly fine. It's just based on your luck! Exactly for core unlocking i stick to AMD, and intel is quite overpriced imo. I don't need an i7 anyway.

[Revanchist8525]

@Uddel2HD i couldnt really see a window with prime running

[alankayman]

can i unlock AMD Phenom II X3 Mobile Processor N830 to quad core?

[FourSidedPiston]

@alankayman

Probably not. I have an N830 on my laptop and accessing these sorts of things are really hard through BIOS. Almost, or probably impossible. I'm about to unlock the 555 on my desktop

[rommeleverstonmiller]

@alankayman i was about to say the same thing

[soupkin]

nice tie, oh wait

[WPGsk8Dillon]

is this possible on phenom 8450 x3?

[STEPHENOHYEA]

Pronounced FI-NOM

[dkizzy84]

@BLOODxFIGHTER Blood, get the latest bios and there should be a button about core unlocking (I think F4) that you will see on the LOGO screen upon startup. If not just modify the ACC like he showed in the video. If you're too lazy then try ctrl 1 or whatever the command is to show the ACC option. I recommend just getting the latest bios (uncheck the box to clear bios to default).

[Satanickus]

Just interested to know: what happens if the new core fails (e.g. in the stability tests) and what's the usual way to fix this?

I'm working on an AMD Phenom II X3 710 Heka Socket AM2+ (940) 45 nm

[dkizzy84]

@Satanickus simple you add volts in increments to see if that stables it out (esp when oc'd). If you reach a certain voltage and the core has not stabled out then its not a stable core. It happens. Try stock clock unlock then bump the voltage a little and see if it passes stability tests then go from there.

[MykelHorvat]

Is it possible to unlock Phenom X3 8450 Triple Core to X4 Quad core ???

[quangluu96]

@MykelHorvat i think only Phenom II x3

[JingleBerries11]

Just got back From a 20Hr nightmare with an unstable CPU. I formatted my hdd with 2 OS's like 4 times and its all good till i turned off the unlocked core in ma AMD ATHLON II x3 440 Rana ... =[

[JingleBerries11]

now taht i unlocked a core should i get the phenom drivers or still with the amd athlon ii x3 ???

[nahuel2222]

@JingleBerries11

phenom and athlon can unlock cores, both x2 and x3 can unlock to x3 or x4, depending the case... if u succesfully unlock a core, u need to check with prime if its STABLE...

some athlon can unlock L3 cache, and make them a phenom, others unlock to phenom but without L3 cache, ( google CACYC and CADAC )...

what ncixcom said, its to upgrade bios, when i upgrade my bios, i could beat my oc with my motherboard ... thats only an example

hope i help

[JingleBerries11]

@nahuel2222 ook i just saw the post now. if it helps it still saids itsa phenom is taht aa sign of stabilitty? lol cus i dont like to get messsy with cpus and especially this one since i just bought it like a few weeks back

[nahuel2222]

@JingleBerries11

first what's ur cpu ? athlon or phenom ? sometimes if ur lucky having an athlon, when u unlock it, on cpuz shows as a phenom

[JingleBerries11]

cooool now i went from an amd athlon ii x3 to An AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 3.0Ghz B40 :D

[KHONObakayaro]

if the core is unlocked..will this reduce the processor lifespan?

[upplsuckimcool16]

so your telling mne I'm spending 200 dollars for something that broke!!!???

[M473]

there is a reason those cores are deactivated... if they are fully working stable, you are really lucky

[jacobmcr858]

@M473 I thought it was because they just didn't meet thermal specs or something like that.

[MidnightOrganFight]

What about an Athlon? Same thing?

[cheeches]

@MidnightOrganFight the athlons are nothing else than phenoms with less cache so u can try it for sure yes

[lin545]

Linux ftw!

[av3nger3]

You realize the phenom 2 X3 720 CAN unlock to a quad, I have one. Most people who receive one of them can unlock it.

[wasssabio]

how do u unloack the 7th core on a x6?lol

[MetalZamp]

WoOoW mierda como kisiera tener eso en mi csa :D

[keigan74]

i think it is pronouced phee-nom like the undertaker the pheom

[THCCryjack]

I have unlocked my Phenom II X2 550 BE at X4 B50 3,2 Ghz with 1,32V ^^

[jacobmcr858]

@THCCryjack Will it work for every X2, or does it just depend on the model you get?

[Aristowi]

So how can i unlock the 5th core in my x4 965 BE? hehe

[johnnyrainbow123]

@Aristowi Lol

[55SynTax55]

@Aristowi rofl. man there is no such thing. there are :

Single Core, Dual Core, Tri Core, Quad Cores, and Six Cores.

[Aristowi]

@55SynTax55 It was a joke :), but thanks for worrying

[55SynTax55]

@Aristowi Yeah i know xD i was just messing with ya xD

[2point6x4]

I have a Gigabyte MA790XT-UD4P motherboard can I try to unlock my Phenom II X2 550 CPU with this board?