Tom's Hardware > Forum > Overclocking > AMD > [Solved] Amd Athlon II X2 or X3 (unlocking, overclocking)

[Solved] Amd Athlon II X2 or X3 (unlocking, overclocking)

Forum Overclocking : AMD - [Solved] Amd Athlon II X2 or X3 (unlocking, overclocking)

Tom's Hardware: Over 1.4 million members in 6 different countries available to answer all your high-tech questions. Sign up now! Its free!
Ask the community Add a reply

Best answer from JofaMang.

Word :    Username :           
 
roadrunner75   11-11-2009 at 03:34:19 PM

I am biulding an HTPC. So I am not sure I want to overclock my cpu as that might produce too much heat in the small case that I have. Though I have stumbled upon some articles that talk about unlocking an AMD cpu.

Is it very likely that I could get a cpu that could be unlocked?
Is there a cerntain point I could overclock to and not produce more heat?
Are there CPUs that are better (cooler overclock, more unlockable) for this task?

I am looking at a
AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz Socket AM3 65W
or
AMD Athlon II X3 425 2.7GHz Socket AM3 95W

I am open to others but want to stay around this price point.

Add a reply
Best answer from JofaMang
The likelihood of unlocking your CPU is not a known factor. Buy a CPU that you would be happy with, even if it doesn't unlock, and consider a successful unlock as pure bonus.

Most overclocking will produce more heat than stock clocks. How much is entirely dependent on how high you overclock it to, and how much volts are needed to keep it stable.

As an exception that proves the rule, My CPU can be OCed to 3.0ghz (from stock 2.6) with an undervolt of -.050v. With this setup, I was actually running cooler than the stock 2.6ghz and normal voltages. To be fair, my motherboard only allows an Auto type settings when volts are on normal, can't lock them in a 1.325, but nonetheless, this is an OC that is cooler than stock.

If you are not going to use the machine for gaming, than either CPU in stock form will probably perform very well in an HTPC setting, and an OC probably wouldn't realize any difference in an HTPC environment.
Sponsored Links
Register or log in to remove.
JofaMang   11-12-2009 at 08:01:01 AM
Best answer

The likelihood of unlocking your CPU is not a known factor. Buy a CPU that you would be happy with, even if it doesn't unlock, and consider a successful unlock as pure bonus.

Most overclocking will produce more heat than stock clocks. How much is entirely dependent on how high you overclock it to, and how much volts are needed to keep it stable.

As an exception that proves the rule, My CPU can be OCed to 3.0ghz (from stock 2.6) with an undervolt of -.050v. With this setup, I was actually running cooler than the stock 2.6ghz and normal voltages. To be fair, my motherboard only allows an Auto type settings when volts are on normal, can't lock them in a 1.325, but nonetheless, this is an OC that is cooler than stock.

If you are not going to use the machine for gaming, than either CPU in stock form will probably perform very well in an HTPC setting, and an OC probably wouldn't realize any difference in an HTPC environment.

Reply to JofaMang
Ask the community Add a reply
Tom's Hardware > Forum > Overclocking > AMD > [Solved] Amd Athlon II X2 or X3 (unlocking, overclocking)
Go to:

There are 933 identified and unidentified users. To see the list of identified users, Click here.

Forum map
Bestofmedia Forum ©
2000-2009 Bestofmedia Group
Page generated in 0.289 seconds
Sponsored links
  • Ask the community now
  • Publish
Ad
Related Topics
See all relatives topics
They won a badge
Join us in greeting them