My thoughts on the Phenom II x3 740

[BD231]

Simply put, the 740 kinna sucks from an overclocking perspective.

A friend needed a quick build this week so I just made him something similar to mine with the X3 740. Excited to see if the 740 could possibly do more than my 720 I slapped it into my MSI C45 770 and well ...., I was sorely disappointed!!

I got no more than 3600mhz (@ 3720 stable with my year old pii x3 720) and the memory controller gave me problems at anything over 230mhz north bridge. The chip was far more sensitive to higher voltages and I also had to raise my mem timingings from 7-8-7-21 to 9-9-9-24 just to stay stable.

Kind of unbelievable a chip a year older can do better, I was at least expecting to reach my same overclock with lower voltage's but didn't even come close. Why are there no C3 stepping x3s? And, why is the C2 stepping still around if the C3 is better??

UPDATE: Final clock settings for the x3 740 ~> 3.6ghz @ 1.358v, 212mhz Northbridge @ DDR 3 1600.

The new 740's while sensitive to higher voltage's, can run at far lower voltage while overclocked compared to last years 720's.

 

[Kantastic]

I would've assumed that the 740 would be a quicker chip, guess not.

 

[richierich1212]

740s are probably what barely made it out of the C2 stepping. I also think the 740s are only OEM and were probably binned for voltage only.

 

[LoneNinja]

To my knowledge the 740 is OEM only, and is probably lowly binned compared to other Phenom II products.

Reason there are few X3 models anymore, is simply due to fewer defective chips and an overly crowded product lineup from AMD. They seem to have a different processor for every $5-10 increase, and at some price points multiple options. At least that would be my explanation for so few of them, could be completely wrong but I doubt it.

 

[BD231]

I think the oem vs. retail thought has some validity, my x3 720 was a retail boxed chip. Definitely something to watch out for with these new x3's, though I'd still take a 740 over the c3 550 though.

 

[DrMrLordX]

There are C3-stepping X3s, but they are all being released under the Athlon II line with disabled L3 cache (x3 435, 440, and 445 all have C3 versions, with the 445 being exclusively C3). More than a few of the Athlon II x3s have been Deneb cores with the L3 and one core disabled, though rumor has it that some of them are simply Propus cores with one core disabled.

Otherwise, AMD is dumping failed/problematic C3 Deneb cores in some odd places, like in the Athlon II x2 220 (look for the GM product code, not GQ, GQ = C2) which is 100% failed Deneb to my knowledge. In fact, that seems to be the #1 place to go for the unlock roulette right now, if you're budget-conscious (otherwise, C3 x3 550/555 BE).

 

[Caribbean Geek]

There are C3-stepping X3s, but they are all being released under the Athlon II line with disabled L3 cache (x3 435, 440, and 445 all have C3 versions, with the 445 being exclusively C3). More than a few of the Athlon II x3s have been Deneb cores with the L3 and one core disabled, though rumor has it that some of them are simply Propus cores with one core disabled.

The best way to check that out is measuring the die size or using CPU-Z, Propus die is considerably smaller than Deneb due to the lack of L3 cache.

 

[DrMrLordX]

It's pretty hard to measure the die size or use CPU-Z when you're ordering the chip online though. Newegg had a lot of x3 445s that were Denebs when they first started carrying the chips. I've heard some noise to the effect that Propus-based chips are now showing up in Newegg's inventories, but I have no way of confirming this.

 

[soccerballtux]

Simply put, the 740 kinna sucks from an overclocking perspective.

A friend needed a quick build this week so I just made him something similar to mine with the X3 740. Excited to see if the 740 could possibly do more than my 720 I slapped it into my MSI C45 770 and well ...., I was sorely disappointed!!

I got no more than 3600mhz (@ 3720 stable with my year old pii x3 720) and the memory controller gave me problems at anything over 230mhz north bridge. The chip was far more sensitive to higher voltages and I also had to raise my mem timingings from 7-8-7-21 to 9-9-9-24 just to stay stable.

Kind of unbelievable a chip a year older can do better, I was at least expecting to reach my same overclock with lower voltage's but didn't even come close. Why are there no C3 stepping x3s? And, why is the C2 stepping still around if the C3 is better??

if it's a c2 stepping that completely explains why you can't hit any higher than 3.6ghz.

 

[Caribbean Geek]

It's pretty hard to measure the die size or use CPU-Z when you're ordering the chip online though. Newegg had a lot of x3 445s that were Denebs when they first started carrying the chips. I've heard some noise to the effect that Propus-based chips are now showing up in Newegg's inventories, but I have no way of confirming this.

Then google is your friend.

 

[superccs]

So you were running the 740 on a AM2/AM2+ board right? Wonder if it runs better on a AM3 board?

Wait so if you go to Newegg and order a 740, what do you get? Is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...enom%20740 a lump of coal or a diamond?

Very interested because it looked like a decent value if you have a AM2/AM2+ board with a x2 5000+ or similar and want to upgrade.

 

[BD231]

UPDATE: Final clock settings for the x3 740 ~> 3.6ghz @ 1.358v, 212mhz Northbridge @ DDR 3 1600.

The new 740's while sensitive to voltage, can run at far lower voltage's while overclocked compared to last years 720's.