Unlocking Quad Core? Phenom II x2 550 3.1GHz

I think any motherboard with a SB750 or SB710 southbridge chipset has access to ACC (Advanced Clock Calibration) in the bios which can unlock the cores. Prob best to confirm with someone else though.
 
/\/\/\/\/\ is correct. You need a mobo thats got at least an SB710 or SB750 southbridge. You also need to have "ACC" option in the bios. Don't assume that you'll automatically be able to enable the remaining cores though, a lot of cpus won't boot when this is attempted, one or more of the cores could still be defective and cause system instability or general "flakiness" and you'll probably find that your overclock will be limited to a lower speed. It all depends on the cpu from what I've seen and read.
Worth having a go though, getting a quad for the price of a X2 is deffo worth a punt:)
 
Here is a guide which states the motherboards the unlock works with and what you need to do.

I have the same CPU as you and I only managed to unlock the 3rd core my 4th core is defective.
 
Just tried this on a Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P, and I think its worked?

Heres a pic;

kar9ms.jpg
 
yep its worked, now you just need to do some stress testing to see if those cores are okay.

get prime95 running and see what it does.
 
if they run through on stock and dont fail then you got a nice chip and can look at overclocking it aswell if you interested in that :)
 
Everest ultimate will give you temp readings on the CPU :) 62 is the max you want this chip near :)

Enjoy!

Cheers mate, downloaded Everest ultimate. Just ran prime95 for an hour.

nbu9nb.jpg


But don't want to leave it on all night because the cpu temp in Everest was around the 59-60 mark, and occasionally hit 61. Bit worried what might happen if it goes over 62?
 
Fair play, didn't know you could do this, I have a 550 in one of my folding rigs but not on a mobo with that chipset so wonder whether its worth trying to change, hmmm....
 
Cheers mate, downloaded Everest ultimate. Just ran prime95 for an hour.

But don't want to leave it on all night because the cpu temp in Everest was around the 59-60 mark, and occasionally hit 61. Bit worried what might happen if it goes over 62?

Nothing if it's only a few degrees for a short duration. Your temps suggest you've reached your max on your current cooling.
 
Yeah I thought as much. Would you say that the four cores seem stable? Or would I need to run prime95 for quite a few hours longer? I don't mind doing this, just worried that the temps might spike to something really high after a good few hours or so??

I suppose, using the stock heatsink & fan it boils down to whether I want a dual core running at about 3.6gh(ish) or a quad core running at 3.1ghz, yeah?
 
If you check the cpu's spec on the amd site the max temp of that chip is actually 72c. So i wouldnt worry that much about leaving prime run at night. Also if you are worried set the fan speed to full.
 
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