Which AM3 board do I need for attempted AMD core unlock?

jmp_78 · 23 Mar 2010 at 15:42

I have decided that I am going to go for a Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition, and whilst realising that there is no guarantee of an extra core(s) unlock, would like to at least give it a go.

Can I buy any AM3 motherboard and have the option of trying this, or do I need to be looking out for one with a specific BIOS feature, or hardware switch?

I'd really like to go for either Asus or Gigabyte, and would rather not spend more than about £80ish.

Thanks

-VK- · 23 Mar 2010 at 15:45

Check out my post here: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18128068

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 23 Mar 2010 at 15:49

This motherboard has an 8+2 phase VRM,USB 3.0,SATA 3.0 and all solid capacitors:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-242-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1481

I would probably add some cooling to the VRMs if you are doing a large overclock on a Phenom II X4 though.

jmp_78 · 23 Mar 2010 at 22:52

I am thinking of getting the M4A79XTD EVO.

Please can someone confirm for me that I will be able to at least ATTEMPT to unlock extra cores and cache with this motherboard?

Thanks again

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 24 Mar 2010 at 01:41

The M4A79XTD EVO should be able to unlock cores AFAIK and also can do symmetrical Crossfire at PCI-E 2.0 8X/8X.

famas · 25 Mar 2010 at 15:42

How about the Asus M4A785TD-V Evo?
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-355-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1481

Would you be able to attempt to unlock extra cores with this board?

geoirv23 · 25 Mar 2010 at 15:54

famas said:
How about the Asus M4A785TD-V Evo?
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-355-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1481

Would you be able to attempt to unlock extra cores with this board?

I've got this board and it unlocked my 550BE to quad core with ease.

Cookeh · 25 Mar 2010 at 17:00

Hehe, someone asked this a while back and I gave him a list off all the chipsets that support unlocking (with some motherboard examples - all ASUS for some reason although if the board has the chipset it will be able to unlock).

The board you choose depends on budget

thingemajib · 4 Apr 2010 at 18:38

if its got a sb750 or a sb710, then it has the potential to unlock.
depending on the manufacturer of the board, you may have to downgrade the bios, as some have disabled this feature in recent updates (foxconn being one of them ...

)