Asus M4A78LT-M LE and AMD CPU Phenom II x2 555 - Unlocking Cores Success

[Homeking]

Has anyone on here got any experience with using the Asus M4A78LT-M LE to unlock the extra 2 cores in the AMD CPU Phenom II x2 555 Black Edition?

Trying to decide whether to risk having a go and save the extra money the Phenom II x4 955 will cost.

Is it false economy to try as I'm hoping the Phenom II x4 955 will come down in price slightly soon and would really prefer this.

If I go for the x4 what are your opinions on the using the Asus M4A78LT-M LE with this?

[Max Tractor]

There is no guarantee the 555 will unlock, and if it does it might have a defective core, then again it might fine as a quad. The are other option for a quad AMD Athlon II X4 635 £76. My BE 550 would only unlock to tri core, but I could unlock it to quad in xp sp1 only any other operating system was a no no, pain in the butt knowing I should have had a quad

[Homeking]

Thanks Max Tractor.

I had thought about the Athlon II x 4 but was put off by the lack of L3 cache.

Not heard of unlocking being affected by the OS before - I thought it was motherboard dependent so that's definitely worth knowing.

I know there's no guarantee with core unlocking - just trying to assess the chances and risks!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

You could get an Athlon II X3 445 for around £58. Many seem to be able to unlock to an Athlon II X4 or a Phenom II X4 from what I have read although it is not guaranteed.

If you really want the Phenom II X4 955BE I would wait until the Core i5 2400 is released.

[Max Tractor]

Not heard of unlocking being affected by the OS before - I thought it was motherboard dependent so that's definitely worth knowing.

I think it was quite unique for this to happen, the only os it worked on was a slipstreamed xpsp1a, nothing else worked and when it was unlocked it clocked up to 3.7 on all 4 cores stable crunching. It is currently running as a tri in one of the families rigs

[Homeking]

If you really want the Phenom II X4 955BE I would wait until the Core i5 2400 is released.

That sounds good. I'm in no real rush at the moment, just thinking through options.

Looking at getting the best system I can for approx £350 so if the Phenom II X4 955BE does drop in price soon then I'll be well pleased.

[Homeking]

I think it was quite unique for this to happen, the only os it worked on was a slipstreamed xpsp1a, nothing else worked and when it was unlocked it clocked up to 3.7 on all 4 cores stable crunching. It is currently running as a tri in one of the families rigs

Which motherboard were you using?

[Max Tractor]

It was tried on a Biostar TA790GX A2+/Asus M4A785D-M PRO/ASrock 890GX Extreme3