AMD Phenom X3 710 --> X4

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: richierich1212
so much for those "bum core" excuses

Some of them do have bum cores... they've been unlocked, but won't function w/o errors even at 1 Ghz.

 

[jmanny]

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle

Originally posted by: jmanny
Some new discoveries.

I am running occt at 3.5ghz as I type. Here's what I did:

I disabled ACC in the bios and lost the fourth core. OC to 3.00 was stable. Then I enabled acc to the ALL Cores setting. Sure enough my fourth core came back, and it has given me the ability to OC through the bios. I tried at 3.6 (figured why not go all the way to start) Windows booted up no problem, but occt crashed after maybe 10 seconds. I dropped down to 17.5 multi 3.5ghz. OCCT has been running for 15 minutes now.

I think there is more than one way to enable the fourth core on these chips.

Me thinks AMD is selling quads as triple cores.

Great news!

What voltage are you using?

I wonder if AMD is deliberately not selling premium AM3 quads in order to not undercut AM2+ 920/940 sales.

On a side note, I've noticed that my system with the unlocked X3 710 @ 3.3 Ghz is drawing at least 50w less from the wall than my 9850 @ 3.0 Ghz did.

I have run 2 hours of occt at 3.5 with all four cores running. My voltage is 1.43, while testing I had speed fan running and it showed 51c at load, it is a little hot for my liking, so I may back it down some. I believe speed fan and cpuz are not listing correct voltages. It is set at 1.4375 in the bios. That is the correct voltage, speed fan and cpuz show the voltages at 1.46. Which number should I trust?

 

[richierich1212]

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle

Originally posted by: richierich1212
so much for those "bum core" excuses

Some of them do have bum cores... they've been unlocked, but won't function w/o errors even at 1 Ghz.

Yeah I know, but some fanboys are arguing that all X3s have bad 4th cores which gives them a reason to recommend the Core 2 platform

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: jmanny

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle

Originally posted by: jmanny
Some new discoveries.

I am running occt at 3.5ghz as I type. Here's what I did:

I disabled ACC in the bios and lost the fourth core. OC to 3.00 was stable. Then I enabled acc to the ALL Cores setting. Sure enough my fourth core came back, and it has given me the ability to OC through the bios. I tried at 3.6 (figured why not go all the way to start) Windows booted up no problem, but occt crashed after maybe 10 seconds. I dropped down to 17.5 multi 3.5ghz. OCCT has been running for 15 minutes now.

I think there is more than one way to enable the fourth core on these chips.

Me thinks AMD is selling quads as triple cores.

Great news!

What voltage are you using?

I wonder if AMD is deliberately not selling premium AM3 quads in order to not undercut AM2+ 920/940 sales.

On a side note, I've noticed that my system with the unlocked X3 710 @ 3.3 Ghz is drawing at least 50w less from the wall than my 9850 @ 3.0 Ghz did.

I have run 2 hours of occt at 3.5 with all four cores running. My voltage is 1.43, while testing I had speed fan running and it showed 51c at load, it is a little hot for my liking, so I may back it down some. I believe speed fan and cpuz are not listing correct voltages. It is set at 1.4375 in the bios. That is the correct voltage, speed fan and cpuz show the voltages at 1.46. Which number should I trust?

It is possible for the mobo to overvolt the CPU, but 1.46 is certainly no problem.

I wouldn't trust any of the readings on CPU temp. I get suspect readings from various utilities with my X3 710/Biostar 790GX combo. I'm of the opinion that the reported temps are too low. With a Phenom 9850 plugged into my Biostar, Everest would show a CPU temp of say, 46C and core temps of 55C. With the 710 plugged in there, Everest reports CPU temp of around 60C (under load), with no core temps, so that could mean that the cores are at 70C (!) or higher. Other utilities - including AMD Overdrive - report the same CPU temp as Everest.

 

[nerp]

Crap. I want to try this now.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: nerp
Crap. I want to try this now.

I'll sell you mine for $300.

/ebay

Barely used!
MINT condition!
4th core unlocks! 5th core too with proper motherboard! YMMV
Never overclocked!
This is a CLASSIC COLLECTIBLE CPU, you will never see this again! Did I mention it is in MINT condition and comes complete with STOCK cooler - that means it came straight from AMD!
HALF the price of a SLOWER Intel Core i7 940!

/ebay

 

[blackpanther26]

If you are at 60c Tcase then you are at 65Tjunction. Have you picked out a good CPU cooler?

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: blackpanther26
If you are at 60c Tcase then you are at 65Tjunction. Have you picked out a good CPU cooler?

Considering the Sigmatek S1283. I'm more interested in quiet than absolute OC potential. Do you have a recommendation?

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle

Originally posted by: blackpanther26
If you are at 60c Tcase then you are at 65Tjunction. Have you picked out a good CPU cooler?

Considering the Sigmatek S1283. I'm more interested in quiet than absolute OC potential. Do you have a recommendation?

I still say.... Thermalright 120 extreme....And you can pick your fan.

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle
4th core unlocks! 5th core too with proper motherboard! YMMV

LOL :laugh:

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: Markfw900

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle

Originally posted by: blackpanther26
If you are at 60c Tcase then you are at 65Tjunction. Have you picked out a good CPU cooler?

Considering the Sigmatek S1283. I'm more interested in quiet than absolute OC potential. Do you have a recommendation?

I still say.... Thermalright 120 extreme....And you can pick your fan.

Too 'spensive for my taste. Heck, I'm trying to get an acquaintance of mine who works with AMD to get me a PhII X4 HSF, if he can.

 

[blackpanther26]

What are you looking for at Price point? here is mine for $61. It keeps my Q9650 cool at 4GHz. http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835702007

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: blackpanther26
What are you looking for at Price point? here is mine for $61. It keeps my Q9650 cool at 4GHz. http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835702007

I'd like to keep the cost $30 or lower. Buying a HSF for ~ 50% the cost of my CPU doesn't do it for me from a value standpoint.

 

[OfficeLinebacker]

Originally posted by: blackpanther26
What are you looking for at Price point? here is mine for $61. It keeps my Q9650 cool at 4GHz. http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835702007

$61? What, is the whole thing made of silver or something? LOL

 

[blackpanther26]

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle

Originally posted by: blackpanther26
What are you looking for at Price point? here is mine for $61. It keeps my Q9650 cool at 4GHz. http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835702007

I'd like to keep the cost $30 or lower. Buying a HSF for ~ 50% the cost of my CPU doesn't do it for me from a value standpoint.

how about this one fpr $29.99. http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835887016

 

[qliveur]

Or this one? Or this one? All three are hovering around the same price of $30 AR. Anyone have any ideas as to which one is the best?

 

[speedfreak]

Originally posted by: qliveur
Or this one? Or this one? All three are hovering around the same price of $30 AR. Anyone have any ideas as to which one is the best?

those two are good performers but i'll go for the xigmatek one.

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: qliveur
Or this one? Or this one? All three are hovering around the same price of $30 AR. Anyone have any ideas as to which one is the best?

http://www.frostytech.com/arti...?articleid=2363&page=5

Frostytech shows the Core Contact Freezer as performing just ever slightly better than the HDT-S1283, both appear to be good quality coolers.

The ZEROtherm FZ120 is markedly lower performing compared to these other two in the frostytech testing (2°C warmer on the 150W test) but it is also markedly quieter when achieving those results (47.6 dBA versus ~51 dBA for the other two).

 

[geokilla]

OCZ Vendetta 2. Nuff said. It's one of the best bang for buck HSF out there.

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: geokilla
OCZ Vendetta 2. Nuff said. It's one of the best bang for buck HSF out there.

The OCZ Vendetta 2 costs $50, $20 more than the other top two heatpipe direct contact contenders discussed above.

And the OCZ Vendetta 2 is ranked lower in cooling performance than the cheaper HSF's discussed above as well. (20.5°C for the 150W test versus ~16.5°C for the much cheaper alternatives)

It is quieter though, at 42 dBA to reach that cooling performance versus the others which come in about 10 dBA higher.

 

[qliveur]

Originally posted by: Idontcare

Originally posted by: qliveur
Or this one? Or this one? All three are hovering around the same price of $30 AR. Anyone have any ideas as to which one is the best?

http://www.frostytech.com/arti...?articleid=2363&page=5

Frostytech shows the Core Contact Freezer as performing just ever slightly better than the HDT-S1283, both appear to be good quality coolers.

The ZEROtherm FZ120 is markedly lower performing compared to these other two in the frostytech testing (2°C warmer on the 150W test) but it is also markedly quieter when achieving those results (47.6 dBA versus ~51 dBA for the other two).

Hey, thanks for that.

 

[TekDemon]

OCCT aside, try running IntelBurnTest and see how long your system lasts running that...it can bring unstable systems to their knees in a matter of minutes. I know my system was stable for an entire day and a half with prime at 3.8Ghz, but IntelBurnTest killed it in like 8 minutes.
Very helpful for testing for stability without waiting a day between each test. After it tests stable with intelburntest I'd do an occt/prime run.

Edit: Apparently OCCT 3 has a Linpack mode so you can just run that instead if you have OCCT 3. Post your results!

 

[geokilla]

Did anyone have any trouble getting the 4th core to work? There's this guy over at another site where he has a Phenom II 720 and the BIOS and AMD's Overdrive can see the 4th core. However, Windows Vista sees only 3 cores.

 

[Keysplayr]

I have this stuff coming from the egg. Should get here by this Friday.


Thermaltake V9 Black Edition ATX Computer Gaming Chassis with Dual Oversized 230mm Ultra-Silent Cooling Fans VJ400G1N2Z Mid Tower - Retail
Item #: N82E16811133074


GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-UD4H AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813128384


AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor Model HDZ720WFGIBOX - Retail
Item #: N82E16819103649


G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL6D-4GBNQ - Retail
Item #: N82E16820231226

I'll see if I can unlock the 4th core and report back. I won't get dissappointed if I can't, though I'm sure others will be. Nice CPU and mobo combo from the egg. Knocked off about 65.00 total going with this combo. Basically got the PII 720 for about 100.00 bucks.

I'll report back probably by Friday night. Wish me (us) luck!!

 

[tshen83]

Seriously, guys, it only works for one week worth of CPUs. AMD intentionally did this to lore the gamblers into buying X3s. There is no reason to risk one core to save the 30 dollar difference AMD is asking for the X4s. You are making a huge mistake to pick the Phenom II architecture over the i7 920. To each his own I guess.