I was wondering how much success people have had unlocking cores/L3 cache on AMD CPUs? I'm putting together a system with an Athlon II X3 435 and the part code on the chip suggests it should have an extra core and 6Mb L3 cache, but I've got no idea on what chance I have of it being successful. windy
Well, I use a Phenom x2, unlocked to 4 cores. However, it is estimated there is only a 55% success rate.
I'm one of the unlucky one's (or just not lucky, depends which way you look at it ) phenom II 550 couldn't get any of the extra cores unlocked. I'd say try it and if you get lucky, you get lucky. I wouldn't buy it with the expectation of it being able to unlock.
I bought the quad core like a boss I would echo what lava said, dont buy it expecting it to work, as far as I know (which isnt very far) all x3 processors are actually all quad cores with the 4th locked, so you shouldnt have any issues there, but theres no guarante the 4th core will be stable.
This. I bought a Phenom II X2 555, Had the luck to get both extra cores to unlock for a time, but the fourth grew buggy, then the Cache for that core started to fail, leading to a nice, constant stream of Memory-related Blue-screens. Eventually I had to drop it down to a Tri-Core. Tl;DR; See above. It's possible that it'll unlock, but the fully unlocked Quads aren't that much more, and you get working Temperature sensors with a standard version, the unlocked processors don't have functional sensors.
Bought a very late 555BE x2, unlocked to x4 with all cache no issues at stock voltage Stable in blend at 1.325 volts on all 4 cores (stock is 1.375) Stable in blend at 3.6ghz, stock volts Stable in blend at 4ghz, 1.45 volts (would go further, cooler's not up to it) BUT Your results can and will vary. DO NOT buy a dual core expecting an unlock! I only bought this as I needed L3 cache and a higher clock speed, what I got was a bonus. (although if you can find later built ones your chances will be higher due to better yields..no guarantees though!)
Thanks for all of the advice peeps. I picked the CPU up for £40 as it seemed good value considering I want to build a reasonable system for as little as possible. I'd heard about the possibilty of unlocking the cores but that didn't factor in my decision, just that it might be a bonus. I know the L3 cache unlocking is even more of a lottery, as when I bought it I didn't know whether the chip even had the L3 cache on it. I'll just have to take my chances when I get the rest of my components. I'll let you know how I get on.
