Phenom II 550 (non-BE) vs Phenom II 555BE

[Minot]

I haven't built a new system in about a year and I'm looking to have some fun building a moderate system to mess around with. It will not replace my primary Q6600 system at this moment. After reading up and checking prices, I'm thinking I will purchase a Phenom II X2 processor to unlock the cores to a quad. Newegg is selling a non-BE version of the Phenom II X2 550 for $89 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103847. I like the price for this processor and there is a combo deal with a GIGABYTE GA-770TA-UD3. Being that this is a fairly new processor (the non-BE version of the 550 that is), I'm wondering if anyone has tried this and found it to be less likely to have a workable 3rd and 4th core than the old 550BE? I could go with the new Phenom II 555BE but it costs about $15 more. If unlocking both of these is very much unlikely with the latest releases from AMD, I will just grab a Phenom II X4 925, but I'd prefer to go the X2 550 (non-BE) route if you all think it will likely unlock. I don't intend to overclock... just unlock the cores and run it at stock frequency. Thanks for your input!

-MINOT-

 

[soccerballtux]

that combo deal is only average, I would try to go for an x4 if you can. There are $180 combos with mobos and the 965, if you wait a little bit. Although these might only be at Fry's. Do you have any around you?

 

[Minot]

I don't have any Fry's nearby and I have a $100 newegg gift card I got for Christmas that is collecting dust... That's why I was looking there.

I'm just a little worried that I might get a dud. If I knew more folks that bought these new non-BE Phenom X2 550s then I'd feel comfortable. I also considered a Core i3 530 just to get into the new architecture, but I'd prefer a true quad.

-MINOT-

 

[formulav8]

If you really want quad core then get a Athlon II x4 cpu and you may unlock the L3 Cache. Just read some of the newer newegg.com reviews to see if the ones newegg is selling has the Deneb core (L3 Cache). Really the L3 cache is not needed unless your gaming or certain encoding situations.



Jason

 

[soccerballtux]

If you really want quad core then get a Athlon II x4 cpu and you may unlock the L3 Cache. Just read some of the newer newegg.com reviews to see if the ones newegg is selling has the Deneb core (L3 Cache). Really the L3 cache is not needed unless your gaming or certain encoding situations.



Jason

Hm it's a touch choice. We hear of lots of unlock successes, but Markfw and a few others didn't get their unlocked...
You could go for the x3 720BE. Then you'd have the L3 cache guaranteed (which is important for games and other unpredictable-branch-heavy code), could overclock, and have a chance at unlocking.
Whatever you do, make sure you overclock the uncore/L3 cache/CPU-NB frequency (all synonymous for the same portion of the chip occupied by the L3).

 

[vanica28]

Hm it's a touch choice. We hear of lots of unlock successes, but Markfw and a few others didn't get their unlocked...
You could go for the x3 720BE. Then you'd have the L3 cache guaranteed (which is important for games and other unpredictable-branch-heavy code), could overclock, and have a chance at unlocking.
Whatever you do, make sure you overclock the uncore/L3 cache/CPU-NB frequency (all synonymous for the same portion of the chip occupied by the L3).

Look great!!

 

[Minot]

That is true... I could just go for an Athlon II X4 620. Then I pay a decent price and there is no question on the number of cores. Hmmmm... decisions decision. I just wish the lowest Core i5 would come down in price or that the Core i3 had a true quad available. I'm going to keep looking at deals and see if I find one appealing enough to strike.

-MINOT-

 

[heyheybooboo]

There are some great combos with that Gigabyte motherboard including the AII 435 Rana triple - which has the potential for unlocking.

Please note that the Phenom II X2 550 Callisto combo with the Gigabyte 770 AM3 does not include a HSF but it is a C3 stepping --- HDX550WFGMBOX. I'd say your chances for unlocking are better than even but there are no guarantees.

There is a Propus 620 Quad combo with a Biostar 785g mATX for around $160 if you have to go with 4 cores on the cheap.

btw - The Phenom 925 is a C2 stepping. Not quite as efficient as a C3 (with a little less OC headroom). Since you are investing in AM3 if you were going with 2x2Gb you could drop a stick to save some cash and snag the C3 Phenom 955BE with the Gigabyte mobo for $228 after rebate --- --- that looks like the deal of the week.

If you really want quad core then get a Athlon II x4 cpu and you may unlock the L3 Cache. Just read some of the newer newegg.com reviews to see if the ones newegg is selling has the Deneb core (L3 Cache). Really the L3 cache is not needed unless your gaming or certain encoding situations.

The Quad Athlons do not have L3 cache on 'die'.





--

 

[konakona]

The Quad Athlons do not have L3 cache on 'die'.

I heard some (obviously not all) athlons were actually cutdown phIIs with L3 cache disabled. Not sure how true that is though, only heard of it very recently.

 

[Jovec]

Not my 620 (which didn't unlock). Note the L3: http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=29428490&postcount=5

Current logic is that initial 620 demand led to the use of Deneb cores. Or perhaps an excess of Deneb cores. It is possible that with the 8xx 4MB L3 Phenom II CPUs no longer available that the Athlon II x4s could have been Deneb cores with faulty L3. I suspect that one will have better luck core unlocking than cache unlocking. I don't know if core defects would be any easier to detect than cache defects. Either way, I wouldn't run unlocked cores or cache on any system I required absolutely accurate results on.

 

[Minot]

Please note that the Phenom II X2 550 Callisto combo with the Gigabyte 770 AM3 does not include a HSF but it is a C3 stepping --- HDX550WFGMBOX. I'd say your chances for unlocking are better than even but there are no guarantees.

Yes, I noticed the "no fan" specification. There are only a few reviews, but the one guy that bought the item from Newegg said he got a retail box with a fan. So I tend to wonder if Newegg has the specs wrong on the website.

Thank you for confirming the C3 stepping on the non-BE Phenom II 550. That's what I needed to know!

-MINOT-

 

[formulav8]

There were absolutely some Athlon x3's/x4's with L3 Cache on-die. The cache was simply disabled. Do a google search and you will find quite a few successfull L3 Cache unlocks on the Athlon x3's/x4's.

For the most part today the deneb based Athlon 3's/4's are about dry. So you will need to do some research to find the best chance at a possible deneb core for a L3 cache unlock attempt....



Jason