Unlocking a AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black. Which MOBOs work?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Edgerunner

Edgerunner

Honorable
Oct 2, 2013
109
0
10,680
I am upgrading an old EMachine with a ASRock A785GM-LE AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard. It's really the only choice I have with this old POS.

I'm looking at using a AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black which I know can be overclocked to the 3.5-3.7 range fairly easily.

My question is... Can the extra Cores be unlocked with this mobo?
 
Solution
lazyboy947
The cores for one may not even work as in they dont unlock or are not stable or they may not even show as unlockable, i have a BE x2 555 and with a crosshair V and IV, and a msi 890fxa-gd65 all of them dont even give the option to attempt to unlock to a quad(Option for the extra cores dont show in acc). But most am3 and some am2+ and more am3+ boards have acc or ucc or ncc.

Also AM3+ boards are compatible for am3 cpus, for u can get a decent am3+ board for ur phenom and if u want to OC with a matx board assuming the emachines is matx only as u comment, then id go for the $60 gigabyte board with heatsinks on the vrms if u have not purchased the asrock board already and was assuming to match the socket to ur am3 cpu
Sort by date Sort by votes
Supernova1138

Supernova1138

Illustrious
Mar 22, 2011
5,340
54
37,690
Do keep in mind that there is no guarantee that the locked cores will work properly, usually the cores are locked because they failed quality control testing, and AMD chose to sell the chip as a dual core rather than throw it out. If your motherboard supports a Phenom II X4, and you can find one, I would recommend getting the actual quad core chip rather than gambling on getting a dual core that has both locked cores fully functional.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
lazyboy947

lazyboy947

Splendid
Jun 11, 2012
2,749
0
21,460
The cores for one may not even work as in they dont unlock or are not stable or they may not even show as unlockable, i have a BE x2 555 and with a crosshair V and IV, and a msi 890fxa-gd65 all of them dont even give the option to attempt to unlock to a quad(Option for the extra cores dont show in acc). But most am3 and some am2+ and more am3+ boards have acc or ucc or ncc.

Also AM3+ boards are compatible for am3 cpus, for u can get a decent am3+ board for ur phenom and if u want to OC with a matx board assuming the emachines is matx only as u comment, then id go for the $60 gigabyte board with heatsinks on the vrms if u have not purchased the asrock board already and was assuming to match the socket to ur am3 cpu
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
m32

m32

Honorable
Apr 15, 2012
387
0
10,810
I guess you have DDR2 memory. What is your budget? I ask because we probably can find you a better board. Even though that board can support 125 watts, I wouldn't trust it for your use. Unlocking possible unstable cores (more energy consumption to get them stable if they allow) and overclocking them on a budget board doesn't sound smart. You better at least put an fan over the VRMs if everything goes to plan.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
simon12

simon12

Splendid
May 18, 2010
5,784
0
26,460
That reminds me the 550BE is c2 not the newer C3 which ,makes it a 140W CPU with 4 cores, I have one myself unlocked to 4 cores and running at 3.7GHz. The 555BE and the 550 not BE are both C3 which makes a 125W CPU unlocked to 4 cores and are more overclockable.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom