Athlon 64 X2 - Windows only recognises one core. Help!

deathwalker666 · 1 Jan 2007 at 18:03

Owenb said:
You could run some benchmark that benifits a lot from dual cores and compare it to results from various sites.

Oooh ok cool, Ill give it a try. So theres a chance that both cores are working even though Windows isnt detecting both?

lumpeh · 1 Jan 2007 at 18:05

most strange, i have the same motherboard as you & other than updating the bios to the most current stable beforehand i only had to take out the 3500+ and drop in the X2, and it was insta-dual-core/multiprocessor without any changes done to XP by myself.

deathwalker666 · 1 Jan 2007 at 18:24

lumpeh said:
most strange, i have the same motherboard as you & other than updating the bios to the most current stable beforehand i only had to take out the 3500+ and drop in the X2, and it was insta-dual-core/multiprocessor without any changes done to XP by myself.

D'oh, then I guess its a bodged processor. Are you using the 1016 BIOS? Heh, you even had the same processor I upgraded from.

deathwalker666 · 1 Jan 2007 at 20:36

Ok, I just ran 3D Mark 06 and recieved a CPU score of 799. Im pretty certain that a dual core CPU should be getting a much higher score than that right?

tHe_HyBrId · 1 Jan 2007 at 20:56

Well to put you CPU score bluntly, my Intel P4 550J 3.4GHz 800MHz FSB 1mb Cache gets 941 Marks in the CPU test, so I guess your CPU is definetely being limited to 1 core, it should eat my P4 alive at stock speeds.

Also I am no pc whizz so I cannot help you

but to summarise, your CPU is only running on 1 core.

Owenb · 1 Jan 2007 at 21:45

deathwalker666 said:
Ok, I just ran 3D Mark 06 and recieved a CPU score of 799. Im pretty certain that a dual core CPU should be getting a much higher score than that right?

Toms CPU charts

From that it looks like it is running off 1 core. You will have no problems get it replaced so dont worry too much.Hard luck

ns400r · 1 Jan 2007 at 21:58

What does the latest version of CPU-Z(1.38) say?
But if the bios only sees one core, your fighting a losing battle.
Plan C, what is actually written on the top of the CPU? Full code.

deathwalker666 · 2 Jan 2007 at 00:17

ns400r said:
What does the latest version of CPU-Z(1.38) say?
But if the bios only sees one core, your fighting a losing battle.
Plan C, what is actually written on the top of the CPU? Full code.

Haha mate...The thought struck me yesterday that the damn thing might not even be a dual core, but yeah, I did check the code and it definately matches up to the 4400+ x2 model.

Here is a screenshot from the latest version of CPUZ. Very worrying is the fact that the 'code name', 'package' and 'technology' fields are all blank. CPUZ Results

But yeah, the reason I was worried about getting a refund was because it was purchased from a well known auction site, and Im unsure of their policies if the seller refuses to give a refund.

It does seem to be a losing battle though, Im going to try it on my mates 939 board tommorow and see what happens on that. But yeah, thanks for all the great help, and if anyone has anymore suggestions, Ill give it a try.

squiffy · 2 Jan 2007 at 00:20

Update BIOS
Fresh install of Windows.

That should work. Perhaps if you've installed Windows then flashed BIOS Windows hasen't reset the CPU device and detected the new core.

deathwalker666 · 2 Jan 2007 at 00:34

squiffy said:
Update BIOS
Fresh install of Windows.

That should work. Perhaps if you've installed Windows then flashed BIOS Windows hasen't reset the CPU device and detected the new core.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I was using the latest (Reliable) BIOS for a while even before I got the CPU, and then I did indeed perform a fresh install of Windows, with no luck.

I just recieved an e-mail from the seller saying he will not replace it, so Ive opened a dispute with the afforementioned website.....

deathwalker666 · 2 Jan 2007 at 09:39

Ok, Ive done a bit of research, and it does seem that if one of the cores was dead, the CPU would not boot at all, so all I can think of now is that theres a problem with my motherboard.... Should it display two processors in the BIOS also?

Deception · 2 Jan 2007 at 10:40

Which version of windows are you using, as home doesnt support Dual core processors... Well from what I can remember.

squiffy · 2 Jan 2007 at 10:41

Deception said:
Which version of windows are you using, as home only supports 1 CPU and pro supports 2.

Home supports dual core CPU's.

Jokester · 2 Jan 2007 at 10:41

Dual core works fine in XP Home.

Jokester

Deception · 2 Jan 2007 at 10:43

Jokester said:
Dual core works fine in XP Home.

Jokester

meh, my bad.. Read it on this 70-270 revision guide that it only supports 1 core.. I guess this thing must be more outdated than I guessed lol.

z0mbi3 · 2 Jan 2007 at 10:46

reseat the cpu and reset the bios?

PaulProteus · 2 Jan 2007 at 11:19

I know that you must've thought of that, but can you borrow a dual core from someone who has used it so far or even better, take your CPU to someone with S939 board who has used dual core before?

The Home edition of XP Windows as Deceptiuon pointed out could be the culprit too (any chances for Win XP Pro just to try it out?).

Good luck!

deathwalker666 · 2 Jan 2007 at 11:19

Deception said:
Which version of windows are you using, as home doesnt support Dual core processors... Well from what I can remember.

Thanks for the suggestion. I dont know whether thats correct or not but anyhow, Im using XP pro, so it shouldnt really matter. Also, that still wouldnt explain why my BIOS isnt recognising the two processors either.

Zomb, Ill try reseating the CPU when I get home from work. When you say reset the BIOS, do you mean removing the battery on the mobo? Also, Im going to try it on my mates 939 board tonight, so Ill keep you posted with the results!

z0mbi3 · 2 Jan 2007 at 11:23

deathwalker666 said:
When you say reset the BIOS, do you mean removing the battery on the mobo?

I mean move the jumper to the clear position for a few seconds then move it back again.

deathwalker666 · 2 Jan 2007 at 11:25

z0mbi3 said:
I mean move the jumper to the clear position for a few seconds then move it back again.

Oh ok, thats an interesting point. Ive never performed this before, do I do this while the PC is off? And do I need to turn it on at all once the jumper has been moved to the clear position? Cheers mate