ASUS Core Unlocker

[jaywald]

Motherboard: ASUS M5A78L-MLX V2
CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 965 BE

So my motherboard apparently has this feature called "ASUS Core Unlocker" which allows you to unlock 2 extra cores on your CPU. I watched a video of a guy this a Athlon x2 us it to get 4 cores. On his screen when the computer loads up where you can access the BIOS at the bottom it said unlock 4 cores by pressing 4. This worked for him but when I go on it says the same but I have a x4 so shouldn't is say unlock 6 cores?

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

You could only unlock two more cores if it was a 960T. The 965 BE only has 4 cores period, so there aren't even two more there to "unlock".

 

[jaywald]

You could only unlock two more cores if it was a 960T. The 965 BE only has 4 cores period, so there aren't even two more there to "unlock".

Ohhh ok, I just assumed that all CPU s compatible with the mobo had these extra cores as it did not specify if it only worked with certain CPU s.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Nope, if you download Cpu-z, it will show your cjhip as Deneb, thats the codename of the die its based on, google deneb and you will find its only a four core chip,
some were locked down to triplecores or dualcores because they failed stress testing as quads,
so you can potentially unlock those cores to regain it as a quad, no guarantees of success though, but the 965/975/980's are great overclockers and soughtafter chips now,
so grab a decent cooler and see how far yours will go
Moto

 

[jaywald]

Nope, if you download Cpu-z, it will show your cjhip as Deneb, thats the codename of the die its based on, google deneb and you will find its only a four core chip,
some were locked down to triplecores or dualcores because they failed stress testing as quads,
so you can potentially unlock those cores to regain it as a quad, no guarantees of success though, but the 965/975/980's are great overclockers and soughtafter chips now,
so grab a decent cooler and see how far yours will go
Moto

I will, thanks!

 

[Motopsychojdn]

No probs man, don't forget to check out the Overclocking black edition sticky up top for some guidelines and tips
Moto

 

[cReed_eRos]

Hi sir! thanks for the advice regarding that aftermarket cooler. i got the hyper 212 evo, installed it, had a hard installing it though from a stock cooler, my temp read 58-61C then after installing evo, ran prime95, max temp is 46C. is this the result that i should be getting? by the way, would you still recommend undervolting the VID which is currently @ 1.475v or i'll leave it as it is.

By the way, i left the side panel open since as i've mentioned, i only got a generic casing, hopefully the rats won't pee on my mobo

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Will the 212 not fit with the sidepanel closed? maybe cut a suitable sized hole into the panel to allow it to shut,
Are you still running at stock speeds or are you overclocked yet?
your temps look great from here though, a good drop there and yes, if you can get the chip to run on lower voltage, it will lower temps a touch more,
start it at 1.325v, and work up from there in small steps, obviously testing P95 for stability to find the lowest voltage you can,
don't forget theres the black edition overclocking guide up top to help guide you as well
good result so far though well done man
Moto

 

[cReed_eRos]

oh sir, thanks for the quick response. appreciate it! my side panel doesn't fit because of the copper tube on top of the evo...may be i can slice it to have it removed...lol i'm just worried about those rats making my workstation a playground of their own. i'm afraid that they might pee on the mobo. by the way, i only got a generic casing and i'm on a tight budget but instead of getting a full/branded atx casing, i opted to go first with hyper 212 evo. regarding undervolting, i tried doing it before however, when i started @ 1.35v (CPU Offset Voltage, not the actual Vcore), i got an error on the 2nd core so i ran prime96 again with 1.40v, 1.38 and 1.375v for more than an hour and didn't receive an error though what i noticed was all cores had different # of tests. is that normal? i was a bit scared that time so i set the BIOS to "default" with Vcore: 1.464v and CPU Offset Voltage of 1.475v.

i read some posts online especially in this forum how to OC my system but afraid to do the first step since i don't know where to start...lol i mean seriously, will it shorten my systems lifespan?

sorry my english isn't that good.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Its different for each core because each core is a seperate entity and reacts differently, some variation is to be expected yes,
1.375v seems to be a good spot for you then, and as I said, the Black edition guide will help you tweak things as needed, just read through slowly and google anything you aren't sure on, but as long as you keep your voltage below 1.55v you really aren't going to damage anything, as long as you keep the temps under control of course
Moto

 

[cReed_eRos]

wow! very quick to respond, this is what i like about this forum i just saw your name in "offline status" a couple of minutes back then all of a sudden i got surprised with the quick reply.

so it's normal to have different test results on 3 cores, i haven't tried undervolting it to 1.36v since my limit is 1.35v from i can recall but basing it on the temp drop, when i tried testing it 1.375, i had a 4-5C drop on my temp using my stock cooler, haven't tried undervolting it yet using an aftermarket cooler. As of now, 46C is my max temp with prime95 running @ 1.475 CPU offset voltage and Vcore: 1.464 per BIOS page. can you help me how to OC my system? i mean, i'm new to OCing and this could be the first time so i have a lot of questions and also, i'm not a techie person so kinda hard to grasp all the info that i'm learning right now from you guys nevertheless, i'm thankful that i have you guys on this forum. i'm beginning to learn new stuff.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

The sticky I mentioned will take you throught it all, the easiest option with Be processors is a multiplier change, you just move the multiplier up and it will increase the clockspeed accordingly, but it does take a little more than that to get the most out of your chip
As long as you keep the voltage as low as you can stabley boot/run prime with, you should be fine
Moto

 

[cReed_eRos]

i'm not using a Black Edition CPU from what i'm aware off. i'm using athlon II X3 455 @ 3.3GHZ. i believe for "BE" you do that but for non-BE, i think, i have to adjust the FSB manually. is this a good guide? http/forums.overclockersclub.com/index.php?showtopic=188454

 

[Motopsychojdn]

You can still use the multiplier clocking method if your mobo allows changing the multi, if not then yes, you will need to adjust the reference clock, but you will also need to set ram timings and voltages to compensate for the imbalances that method creates, I can't check that link on my phone but I know Overclockers to be a reputable site so yes, read, learn and then when you are sure, apply
Moto

 

[cReed_eRos]

i says on this link that i have to manually increase the FSB then find a stable one then the problem is what's next? i don't know how to do the voltage and RAM (as far as timing is concern) mine is set to 9-9-9-24 and 1T

 

[Motopsychojdn]

I'll respond in the morning, can't type essays on mobile phone
Moto

 

[cReed_eRos]

lol sorry my bad i'm just eager to learn it so i want to learn it under your tutelage...lol thanks for your help buddy. i'm currently at work right now and my work starts 3pm EST - 12pm EST. will be waiting for your essay...lol

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Changing the ref clock (Fsb is Intels equivalent) from 200 is going to lead to instability much sooner than a simple multiplier Oc,
set your Cpu voltage to 1.4v and alter your multiplier to x19, this x by 200 is 3800MHz, or 3.8GHz, see if the system will boot on that, if it does then run Prime95 for ten minutes to test stability, if all goes well there will be no errors,
if you can't boot then you can up the voltage slightly, do not exceed 1.55v!
remember most Phenoms won't do more than 4.2/4.3GHz and refer to the sticky for more detailed info, the guys who wrote that know much more than I do and can explain things better
always mind your temperatures as well, any higher than 60'c and stop the test, Amd's safe limit is 62'c so best not to push your luck,
best of luck mate and have fun
Moto