Phenom II X2 555 - Which stepping (unlocking/overclocking)?

[Brother Ali]

Hi, I am buying this chip pretty soon (in town). Could anyone tell me which stepping is preferred/more likely to unlock/overclock well? Thank You

 

[busydude]

Phenom II X2 555 is available in only c3 stepping. There is not other stepping for said processor.

 

[jvroig]

Phenom II X2 555 BE's only come in C3 steppings.

That said, unlocking is just luck. Don't count on it. If you want a quad-core, buy a real quad-core. Of course, if you just really need a dual-core and for the heck of it also try to get a free extra core or two, buying a Phenom II X2 555 will be worth it.

POINT: Contrary to what forum citizens all around the net may impress upon you, it is never a good idea to bet on things such as an unlock or an overlock target (like 4GHz or whatever target). These things are never guaranteed or even promised to be likely.

 

[Brother Ali]

Phenom II X2 555 is available in only c3 stepping. There is not other stepping for said processor.

Phenom II X2 555 BE's only come in C3 steppings.

That said, unlocking is just luck. Don't count on it. If you want a quad-core, buy a real quad-core. Of course, if you just really need a dual-core and for the heck of it also try to get a free extra core or two, buying a Phenom II X2 555 will be worth it.

POINT: Contrary to what forum citizens all around the net may impress upon you, it is never a good idea to bet on things such as an unlock or an overlock target (like 4GHz or whatever target). These things are never guaranteed or even promised to be likely.

I see, im new to the whole overclocking/stepping thing. So when I buy it instore there really is nothing to look for on the box? Stepping usually dictates the batch? Is that correct?

 

[jvroig]

Stepping usually dictates the batch? Is that correct?

No, they mean different things. There are other markings that indicate the batch, but I can't help you in determining which batches are supposedly more unlocking friendly. For that matter, I don't even believe there is such a thing anyway.

Other members here may be able to point you to these batches you are looking for.

 

[xd_1771]

What you mean by C3 is actually supposedly called the "CPU revision". C3 revision processors have an improved memory controller and often lower voltage requirements. The stepping and the batch number are basically the same thing; the number printed on the CPU and states what batch the CPU came from, which can sometimes state overclocking performance of said CPU.

 

[jvroig]

What you mean by C3 is actually supposedly called the "CPU revision".

That is exactly what a stepping is, so this statement from you is false:

The stepping and the batch number are basically the same thing;

They are most certainly not the same thing.

 

[jaydee]

I've been looking into this a bit the last few days.

Looking at this forum, [H]ard forums and newegg reviews, it seems that a higher percentage of people who bought from Microcenter have unlocked as opposed to newegg, but there are so many variables at play here, it's hard to put much stock into it.

Really you'd have to buy about 500 chips or more from each batch and test them all on a same setup to determine what's better or worse. Even then it'd have to be a big descrepancy to matter. You can search fs/ft forums around for a chip that unlocks, but there are really no guarantees there either.

At the end of the day, what jvroig said:

That said, unlocking is just luck. Don't count on it. If you want a quad-core, buy a real quad-core. Of course, if you just really need a dual-core and for the heck of it also try to get a free extra core or two, buying a Phenom II X2 555 will be worth it.