Dell 570, sempron 2nd core

LTVETTE2

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Apr 16, 2010
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Just got a Dell 570 and thought I may be able to activate 2nd core. BIOS setup does not appear to have a way in for this... The chipset is the 785. Does anyone have any other way to try this? Or should I just pony up for a 2 or 3 core chip, and will they work on this inexpensive system???
Thanks
 
Solution
You are correct. Dell as well as all OEM manufacturers write their own version of the bios, which is limited and has no features. You can't do anything with an OEM bios.

So you have a couple options. It appears to me that the 570 will support CPUs up to the Phenom II and Athlon II. I suggest looking on the dell site under support for your computer in order to make sure whatever CPU you decide to get is compatible.

Another option is to purchase a motherboard to replace the limited dell one. Although more expensive than a new CPU, it will open up all bios options.

Also a note about unlocking cores: Unlocking cores means that you would be operating outside of what AMD intended. AMDs semprons are made from dual core athlon IIs that had a...
Double post. Details from second post:
Just got a cheap dell 570 w/sempron 140. Thought I would be able to access BIOS to activate 2nd core. There does not appear to be a simple way in. It does have the 785 chipset, but Dell writes the parameters of the BIOS I guess. Anyone know of another way in to BIOS ? Or shoild I just shell out for a 3 or 4 core chip, or will they work on these scaled down computer?
 
You are correct. Dell as well as all OEM manufacturers write their own version of the bios, which is limited and has no features. You can't do anything with an OEM bios.

So you have a couple options. It appears to me that the 570 will support CPUs up to the Phenom II and Athlon II. I suggest looking on the dell site under support for your computer in order to make sure whatever CPU you decide to get is compatible.

Another option is to purchase a motherboard to replace the limited dell one. Although more expensive than a new CPU, it will open up all bios options.

Also a note about unlocking cores: Unlocking cores means that you would be operating outside of what AMD intended. AMDs semprons are made from dual core athlon IIs that had a bad core. If you unlock one of those cores, it will be unstable and lead to system crashes. The reason you can sometimes unlock cores is this: If amd does not have enough bad athlon chips to disable the bad core in, they will disable a good core in a good chip to keep up with demand. There is no way to know which one you got.
 
Solution