Unlocking AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition cores - what are the risks?

Posted by Vilx- on Super User See other posts from Super User or by Vilx-
Published on 2010-03-30T09:45:07Z Indexed on 2010/03/30 9:53 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 488

Filed under:

overclocking

|

amd

|

phenom

|

core-unlock

I've got the above mentioned CPU and a GigaByte GA-MA790XT-UD4P motherboard, which should be capable of unlocking the extra two cores - if I'm lucky and they're not faulty. The Internet is full of instructions on how to do that.

What I don't have is spare money to buy new hardware if I brick something. What are the risks when attempting to do this? Is it completely safe, or can I be left with an expensive pile of junk? What should I keep in mind when doing so? Bigger cooler maybe (I'm running with the default box cooler)? Should I lower the frequencies too? I've never done any OC before.

© Super User or respective owner

Related posts about overclocking

How does one calculate voltages for overclocking?

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
So, all I know is voltage and clock have something to do with each other. Unstable if too low voltage Too high voltage, and too much heat. or higher voltage + lower clock may heat less than that voltage at higher clock. The reason why im asking is because if I can learn how the power vs speed works… >>> More
Core i7 & x58 overclocking?

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
Is there any problem overclocking the Core i7 chip on an x58 mb with you have all 6 memory slots filled? I just heard somewhere that if you want to overclock you should stick to 3 modules? Is there any truth to this? thanks, Ncage >>> More
i7 overclocking problem

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
Hi everyone, I've got an overclocked system that seems to be misbehaving. When trying to boot up from cold the system just hangs and nothing is output to the screen. Fans are on as they should but nothing happens to finish the boot. From here I have to switch it off then on again and the boot completes… >>> More
Live overclocking on Windows

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I saw this question and just had to ask. How can I do this on my own PC, where do I find this software if it exists for your computer and what can I do? I never considered overclocking before because I know myself and I know I'd mess up my hardware in some stupid accident or mistake, but if I can… >>> More
Overclocking a nVIDIA GTX 660M GPU?

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I have a MSI GE60 0ND laptop with a GTX 660M GPU. When I play games like Minecraft or Portal 2, the core clock is stable at 835 MHz. Recently I tried to overclock it using MSI Afterburner but it wouldn't let me change the voltages or the clock speed no matter what I tried. Various Google searches… >>> More

Related posts about amd

AMD-V is not enable in virtualbox in amd APU

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
I am running Dual core AMD E450 APU. When i tried to run a 64-bit OS that requires hardware virtualization using virtual-box it showed me an error "AMD-V is not enable". My AMD processor should provide AMD-V support. And i can find no option for AMD-V in BIOS. How can i solve this problem? How… >>> More
AMD/AMD GPU Switching

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
I have two GPU's in my laptop, both of which are AMD. Whenever I use the Catalyst Control Centre to change the GPU, nothing changes after reboot. In fact, when I do the fglrxinfo command the terminal only reports seeing one GPU, the integrated one (HD 4250). The dedicated one (Mobility HD5470)… >>> More
Broadcom Corporation NetLink BCM57785 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe driver tg3 will not install?

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
aries@aries-laptop:~$ sudo ifconfig eth0 up eth0: ERROR while getting interface flags: No such device aries@aries-laptop:~$ lspci -nn 00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Device [1022:1705] 00:01.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: ATI Technologies Inc Device [1002:9641] 00:01… >>> More
wireless LAN soft blocked on Ubuntu 13.10

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
I've troubles with bluetooth and with lan. When I digit: rfkill list all 0: hci0: Bluetooth Soft blocked: no Hard blocked: no 1: phy0: Wireless LAN Soft blocked: yes Hard blocked: no When I digit: lspci -v 00:00.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD] Family 15h (Models… >>> More
Compile error with acml.h

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
I'm having some problem compiling a Visual Studio 2008 project in which I use acml.h. I correctly installed amcl package on my computer, version 5.1.0-ifort64. I added the reference to the acml.h directory in Visual Studio Compiler Properties, but when i try to compile i get these errors: 1>C:\AMD\acml5… >>> More