AMD Phenom II X2 Dual Core 550 3.10GHz Black Edition

raptormonkey · 20 Jun 2009 at 21:50

Its_Me said:
This a no-brainer surely.
Its worth £15 as lukext has already explained.
Even if you just leave everythign Auto including the cool & quiet on, you can just dial in and extra full multiplier or two for >£15 performance.

You are right.

Its_Me · 24 Jun 2009 at 15:50

UPDATE:
Its looking likely that if you buy a 550, the ideal stepping date is After '0921' for a chance at unlocking the quad.

chippy08 · 24 Jun 2009 at 17:57

Its_Me said:
UPDATE:
Its looking likely that if you buy a 550, the ideal stepping date is After '0921' for a chance at unlocking the quad.

I take its still pot luck when you buy one what stepping date you get ?

Its_Me · 24 Jun 2009 at 20:09

chippy08 said:
I take its still pot luck when you buy one what stepping date you get ?

Yes but the 0922's seem to be very conistant in unlocking.

luismenendez · 7 Jul 2009 at 00:56

bodybag said:
yeah I noticed that too.....I have had mine at 1.5, although I can get 3.9 on 1.485!

just looked into amd overdrive, and that has the option for unlocking cores aswell, but it didnt work...I reakon its something to do with the bios asus are using.

what overclock have you had outta yours?

I don't know anybody with that stepping able to unlock. I got the same stepping but didn't try it yet

'Wes · 7 Jul 2009 at 12:50

I'm tempted to buy one of these for a new system, until dual cores begin to show noticeable signs of struggle in quad core recommended games (which is very few). GTA 4 (poorly done apparently) uses quad core yet a dual core is slick as hell in that game, same goes for Fallout 3, Crysis, and Far Cry 2.

The future upgradability is indeed a factor to take into account, but how long will it take for games to properly utilize the use of quad cores in gaming so that dual cores eventually phase out? My guess, quite a while, which is why i'm contemplating whether to get this and not the 955, especially since there's potential to unlock the other 2 cores.

Its_Me · 7 Jul 2009 at 21:57

For those with asus boards, it does seem the BIOS is buggy & tech is working on it.

LINK

Cooper · 9 Jul 2009 at 22:00

Deleted

Widge · 31 Jul 2009 at 12:11

Tempted by the OC bundle that is on sale here. I take it this is the unlockable CPU? And the mobo will play ball?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-007-OB&groupid=43&catid=339&subcat=

mollymoo · 31 Jul 2009 at 13:07

Yeah looks like it says it is the black edition

gaz_0001 · 1 Aug 2009 at 23:46

Phenom II X2 550 Unlock failed.

Using TA790GX 128.

2009-06-03 - 78DBA525.BST
2009-01-13 - 78DBA113.BST
2009-06-03 - Modded

No luck at all, poor OC aswell. Got it to 3.7 Ghz. 205mhz x 18.

Was 0921 FPMW.

Gutted, but still the best CPU for the money, which was the aim.

raptormonkey · 1 Aug 2009 at 23:53

Poor overclock!!! 3.7 is great!! Be happy.

Cooper · 2 Aug 2009 at 11:42

gaz_0001 said:
Phenom II X2 550 Unlock failed.

Using TA790GX 128.

2009-06-03 - 78DBA525.BST
2009-01-13 - 78DBA113.BST
2009-06-03 - Modded

No luck at all, poor OC aswell. Got it to 3.7 Ghz. 205mhz x 18.

Was 0921 FPMW.

Gutted, but still the best CPU for the money, which was the aim.

You think thats annoying......i can unlock all 4 cores no problem, but one of them is borked and unstable which means i have to go back to 2.... :mad:

Its frustrating that you cant isolate the bad core and run it as a 3 core......

11 is louder than 10.......3 is better than 2 right.....

raptormonkey · 2 Aug 2009 at 14:34

If you want a 4 core then get a 'proper' 4 core. No need to complain when the other 2 cores won't work!

Cooper · 2 Aug 2009 at 15:34

raptormonkey said:
If you want a 4 core then get a 'proper' 4 core. No need to complain when the other 2 cores won't work!

If you want to lecture people....become a politician, no need to complain if your not.

raptormonkey · 2 Aug 2009 at 15:55

I am happy with my 550.

rojones · 3 Aug 2009 at 00:07

Anyone using a GM-MA770-UD3 Board Revision 2.0 and fugured out where this bios option is. I cant see any option thats been quoted to attempted a core unlock.

Im running Bios F5 Version (came with mobo) According to the info ive read its "Advanced Clock Calibration" & "EC Firmware Selection" that im looking for under MIT option from main Bios page. But i cant see those two options under MIT ?

Cheers.

Cooper · 3 Aug 2009 at 12:33

rojones said:
Anyone using a GM-MA770-UD3 Board Revision 2.0 and fugured out where this bios option is. I cant see any option thats been quoted to attempted a core unlock.

Im running Bios F5 Version (came with mobo) According to the info ive read its "Advanced Clock Calibration" & "EC Firmware Selection" that im looking for under MIT option from main Bios page. But i cant see those two options under MIT ?

Cheers.

You probably need an earlier version of the BIOS, F2c i think, Gigabyte removed the option in later revisions on some of their boards....

Its detailed in this video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huKVYW4duiU

luismenendez · 5 Aug 2009 at 17:09

Cooper said:
You think thats annoying......i can unlock all 4 cores no problem, but one of them is borked and unstable which means i have to go back to 2....

Its frustrating that you cant isolate the bad core and run it as a 3 core......

11 is louder than 10.......3 is better than 2 right.....

Not sure about that, I have seen people running the chip with 3 cores, just do some research

BTW you were very unlucky with your stepping, most of the 0921 unlocks ok, including mine (APMW)

chippy08 · 5 Aug 2009 at 17:18

luismenendez said:
Not sure about that, I have seen people running the chip with 3 cores, just do some research

BTW you were very unlucky with your stepping, most of the 0921 unlocks ok, including mine (APMW)

I unlocked mine to 4 cores with this board GA-MA790XT-UD4P and F4 bios 3.6stable but im not keeping the chip as its not as fast as my e8400