AMD Phenom II X3 710 - 4th Core Unlock!

[hassy786]

Hi there,

I have an AMD Phenom II X3 710 2.60 GHz and want to unlock the 4th core on it however I have no idea how using my motherboard, which is a Gigabyte 78LMT USB 3. Any help on how to unlock the 4th core on it? I heard it is possible as the Phenom II X3 is known to be stable at 4 cores but I just do not know how to do it. Someone with the brains shed some light on this question?

My rig:

Motherboard: Gigabyte - 78LMT USB 3.0
CPU: AMD Phenom II X3 710
GPU: EVGA GTX 660
RAM: 4GB Corsair Vengeance
PSU: Corsair CX750M

Thank You.

 

[damric]

Your motherboard has a 710 southbridge so technically it is capable as far as it does have the right hardware to unlock disabled cores.

I would suggest reading your motherboard's manual. See if there is something called ACC or UCC. Enable that and play around with those settings. If the feature isn't there, there might be BIOS versions that do have it.

Be aware that if the hidden core is a bad core, it may prevent you from booting, which will require a CMOS CLEAR.

 

[ish416]

According to the manual for your motherboard, you need to go into the bios.

Then, select advanced bios features, in that menu, you should have the option for CPU Unlock.

Enable that and maybe you might have a 4th core. It doesn't always work. If it does, you will need to test for stability.


Here is the manual for your motherboard - http/download.gigabyte.us/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_ga-78lmt-usb3_v.4.1_e.pdf

 

[das_stig]

Page 31 of the manual explains enabling the core unlocking capabilities via BIOS.

 

[hassy786]

Your motherboard has a 710 southbridge so technically it is capable as far as it does have the right hardware to unlock disabled cores.

I would suggest reading your motherboard's manual. See if there is something called ACC or UCC. Enable that and play around with those settings. If the feature isn't there, there might be BIOS versions that do have it.

Be aware that if the hidden core is a bad core, it may prevent you from booting, which will require a CMOS CLEAR.

I tried going into the BIOS and I found "CPU UNLOCK" there however, when I Enabled it and saved the settings and restarted the computer, the computer would not start up? I then had to take the BIOS battery out to reset it and tried again however the same thing happened? Am I doing something wrong?

 

[hassy786]

Page 31 of the manual explains enabling the core unlocking capabilities via BIOS.

I tried going into the BIOS and I found "CPU UNLOCK" there however, when I Enabled it and saved the settings and restarted the computer, the computer would not start up? I then had to take the BIOS battery out to reset it and tried again however the same thing happened? Am I doing something wrong?

 

[hassy786]

According to the manual for your motherboard, you need to go into the bios.

Then, select advanced bios features, in that menu, you should have the option for CPU Unlock.

Enable that and maybe you might have a 4th core. It doesn't always work. If it does, you will need to test for stability.


Here is the manual for your motherboard - http/download.gigabyte.us/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_ga-78lmt-usb3_v.4.1_e.pdf

I tried going into the BIOS and I found "CPU UNLOCK" there however, when I Enabled it and saved the settings and restarted the computer, the computer would not start up? I then had to take the BIOS battery out to reset it and tried again however the same thing happened? Am I doing something wrong?

 

[ish416]

If the system does not start up, you do not have a CPU that can unlock the 4th core.

You are stuck with it being a triple core.

 

[hassy786]

If the system does not start up, you do not have a CPU that can unlock the 4th core.

You are stuck with it being a triple core.

but wasnt the AMD Phenom II X3 710 able to unlock its 4th core? Also if I cannot unlock the 4th core is it worth over clocking the CPU from 2.60GHz to something around 3.20GHz? and how would I do this?

 

[Rationale]

If the system does not start up, you do not have a CPU that can unlock the 4th core.

You are stuck with it being a triple core.

but wasnt the AMD Phenom II X3 710 able to unlock its 4th core? Also if I cannot unlock the 4th core is it worth over clocking the CPU from 2.60GHz to something around 3.20GHz? and how would I do this?

Only some Phenom II X3 CPUs can unlock a 4th core. Sometimes they disable a core specifically because it wasn't stable, to sell it as a lower tier of CPU. You have to be relatively lucky to enable extra cores and have it be completely stable, because usually the company would have enabled it from the start and sold it as a better CPU.

Not sure about overclocking that CPU. Hopefully your motherboard is good enough to OC.

 

[ish416]

Like Rationale said, you aren't guaranteed to unlock that 4th core. It's all a roll of the dice.


You should be able to mildly overclock that CPU. Try bumping up the multiplier a few numbers and run some benchmarks and stress tests to check for stability issues.

Since you do not have a Black Edition CPU, you will have to overclock by bumping up the FSB. This is heavily dependent on your memory.

On page 25 of the user manual, it shows CPU Frequency = 200. This is your Front Side Bus or FSB.

To find the speed of your CPU, you take the Multiplier x the FSB = CPU speed. In your case, 13 is the multiplier. So 13 x 200 = 2600. So 13 x 210 = 2730, 13 x 220 = 2860, 13 x 230 = 2990.

Odds are, around 210 - 220 will be the limit for your system. You may also need to bump up your CPU voltages a little.

That said, even with that CPU at 3.5 Ghz, it will still be significantly slower than a Phenom II X4 965 or an FX4300/6300 which that motherboard will support with the newest bios.

My recommendation would be to save up $110 - $130 and get a good CPU.

 

[hassy786]

If the system does not start up, you do not have a CPU that can unlock the 4th core.

You are stuck with it being a triple core.

but wasnt the AMD Phenom II X3 710 able to unlock its 4th core? Also if I cannot unlock the 4th core is it worth over clocking the CPU from 2.60GHz to something around 3.20GHz? and how would I do this?

Only some Phenom II X3 CPUs can unlock a 4th core. Sometimes they disable a core specifically because it wasn't stable, to sell it as a lower tier of CPU. You have to be relatively lucky to enable extra cores and have it be completely stable, because usually the company would have enabled it from the start and sold it as a better CPU.

Not sure about overclocking that CPU. Hopefully your motherboard is good enough to OC.

Ahhh I see, Just everyone online made it out as if it was easy to unlock the 4th core so I thought well why not but if not then im not too worried about unlocking it. As for my motherboard being able to OC the CPU, I have no idea which is why I am asking.. My motherboard is a Gigabyte 78LMT USB3.

Thank You!