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Unlocked 555BE causing instability??

H

hondaf17

Senior member
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Ok guys:

I recently got in on the Microcenter $50 off combo and got the following:

Gigabyte MA-785GMT-UDH2 AM3 Mobo
AMD Phenom X2 555 BE processor
4 GB DDR3 RAM

My Phenom is the C3 stepping and same batch as other people who have successfully unlocked all 4 cores. I can also successfully unlock all 4 cores and run at 3.2Ghz. I run Prime95 and am stable with all 4 cores unlocked.

However, with all four cores unlocked I get weird graphical artifacts (see pictures) during things as simple as web browsing or more strenuous things like starting up the game. Also, on 4 cores Bad Company 2 doesn't work (sound goes out, and it crashes to desktop) but with 2 cores it does work.

So, what is the deal? If the 2 extra cores made my PC unstable wouldn't it fail Prime95? Should I try increasing the voltages to my CPU in my mobo, or disabling cool n quiet?

I have screenshots of the graphic artifacts that I get but can't figure out how to post them here.

I'm just confused, b/c I fail to see how the unlocked cores could pass Prime95 but then cause these other problems.

Thoughts??

TYIA!
 
Try upping the voltage and see if it helps. Unlocking the cores is by no means guaranteed but that fact that you can boot windows and use the computer at all is very encouraging and it's probably on the very edge of instability. What are your temps like under load?
 
I upped the cpu vcore to 1.45 and still the same problem. I've updated BIOS to most current version. Installed all updated drivers, chipset, ATI, etc. I've disabled sound card and run on-board sound, still problem. Of my two cores, my CPU temps were 27 degrees C at idle. I bought a cooler master hyper 212. Don't know about temps under load...

Arghhh....what else!!?!

PS - I have a HD4890...but the fact that the game works with 2 cores and doesn't with 4 keeps leading me to CPU...
 
Sometimes cores are disabled for a reason.

I have a 550 BE with all cores unlocked, but if I up the the CPU-NB it won't come out of sleep. /shrug
 
hondaf17 said:
I upped the cpu vcore to 1.45 and still the same problem. I've updated BIOS to most current version. Installed all updated drivers, chipset, ATI, etc. I've disabled sound card and run on-board sound, still problem. Of my two cores, my CPU temps were 27 degrees C at idle. I bought a cooler master hyper 212. Don't know about temps under load...

Arghhh....what else!!?!

PS - I have a HD4890...but the fact that the game works with 2 cores and doesn't with 4 keeps leading me to CPU...
Click to expand...

yeah.
 
Ok guys. I think I just have one crappy core.

Summary:

2 cores - system stable and everything great, temps 27C idle
4 cores - passes Prime95 but get wierd graphical artifacts, games not stable

Tried enabling one core at a time...

Core 3 enabled, core 4 disabled - same as 4 cores above - graphical artifacts and game not stable

Core 4 enabled, core 3 disabled - same as 2 cores above - no graphical artifacts and games are stable

So, this leads me to believe that Core3 on my CPU is causing problems. Is that a logical assumption? How would it pass Prime95 though if that was the case?

And, the $1 million question - should I return the chip to Microcenter to try and get a better one with a stable 4th core??

This is the first time I've messed with unlocking, so appreciate the confirmation!
 
Well it seems like you found them problem... I guess you could return it but in the end the product that you got works fine as it was so I don't think thats ethical(as an accountant I have been drilled all my life about the importance of being ethical in everything you do ever lol)... You did gamble and got something positive out of it. An extra core and a couple hundred extra MHz is over 50% the performance of the stock cpu.
 
You bought a dual core. It works as a dual core, and as a bonus, a tri-core. It is not a defective product. It'd be a dick move to make AMD eat the cost of a perfectly good item scrapped as 'defective'.
 
Ok guys, thanks. I will not return it and am happy with the rig.

Fun to attack the problem and solve it on my own. Weird though, isn't it?

Is it (relatively) common for 1 core of the 4 to be bad, but be able to run 3 perfectly fine? Am I asking for problems down the road, and should I just run it as a dual??
 
hondaf17 said:
Ok guys, thanks. I will not return it and am happy with the rig.

Fun to attack the problem and solve it on my own. Weird though, isn't it?

Is it (relatively) common for 1 core of the 4 to be bad, but be able to run 3 perfectly fine? Am I asking for problems down the road, and should I just run it as a dual??
Click to expand...

no problems, you can run the 3. It's great that you are able to single out cores like that. Dual core is not enough, quad is cliche (everybody has one), but Tri is way cool.

Keep those 3 enabled and now overclock to 3.5+ghz.
 
As an additional positive note: I read somewhere that most of the performance gain comes from adding the 3d core. There is supposedly only a little benefit to four cores over three. ref.
 
If you return a X2 555 BE just because it cannot unlock I sincerely hope karma will take care of you. It's called "X2" when you buy it.

P.S: I have a 555 BE that cannot be unlocked at all.
 
Are you using onboard video? When you overclock the processor you have to be careful because you are also overclocking the onboard video as well. That will cause graphic artifacts for sure.
 
hondaf17 said:
Ok guys, thanks. I will not return it and am happy with the rig.

Fun to attack the problem and solve it on my own. Weird though, isn't it?

Is it (relatively) common for 1 core of the 4 to be bad, but be able to run 3 perfectly fine? Am I asking for problems down the road, and should I just run it as a dual??
Click to expand...

1. Yes, it's quite common. These cores are disabled for a reason. The true merits of your chip will be found in its ability to touch higher overclocks rather than in utilizing extra cores. Really, at least for what I do, which is gaming, word processing, some encoding, and surfing the internet, I find as much or more success in higher clock speeds, excellent cooling, extremely stable RAM, and SSDs. Only a handful of people I know actually need so much CPU power that 4 cores is necessary.

2. If your third core is stable, you should be okay - but as with all chips, messing with the default settings could lead to issues down the road. Who can say?
 
Richierich - I'm using an XFX HD4890 for my video. At one point I did disable onboard video through the BIOS and experienced the same results. Any other ways to disable onboard?

BigPimp - CNQ is disabled.

Axon - Looks like you've got the same chip and board as me. Did you do anything special to unlock? Just go into ACC - Hybrid, Auto....did you experience anything similar to this?

Thanks.
 
What's your NB running at? If you say Core 3 is bum, maybe try boosting it in the ACC options? Try putting your Cores 1, 2, and 4 at -2%, and 3 at 0% or 2%.
 
People have found with ACC that you gain higher clocks with cores set at -2% for some reason. I've set both my 550 and 555 processors at around 0-2% and they seemed to clock higher.
 
RichieRich - I don't know what my NB is running at. Will check when I get home. But it should just be at default speeds - I haven't overclocked anything. Also - I have noticed where the cores are set at -2%...I will try your suggestion and bump it up to 0% for core 3 (the bad core) and see how that helps...I'm guessing it is very close to being stable since I can pass Prime95 but only get graphical problems...
 
hondaf17 said:
Axon - Looks like you've got the same chip and board as me. Did you do anything special to unlock? Just go into ACC - Hybrid, Auto....did you experience anything similar to this?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Nah, same thing you did. Read this thoroughly: http://www.overclock.net/amd-cpus/535501-amd-phenom-ii-core-unlocking-guide.html

Anyway, no artifacts, just unlocked cores. I have gotten the blue screen of death a couple times, but I'm currently running on a trash PSU with terrible OCZ RAM, so I'm almost certain it's that and not the cores. Never BSODed me with the tridents in there....goddamn those sticks are the best RAM ever.
 
Last edited:
ehume said:
As an additional positive note: I read somewhere that most of the performance gain comes from adding the 3d core. There is supposedly only a little benefit to four cores over three. ref.
Click to expand...
I read that. I did not see anywhere that it says 3rd core is the most. At the end, it sais (overall) adding 2 cores got a 49% increase, 3rd was 18% more and 4th was 15% more.

But thats overall. For many of the tasks we all do, 4 cores scaled every nicely.
 
richierich1212 said:
So hondaf17, still have artifacts?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, yes. I enabled Core 3 (the bad one) and set the ACC for that core to 0% (the rest are at -2%) and still the same problem.

Also, everything else is at stock speeds. RAM is set to correct speed (1600Mhz), and onboard video is disabled...

I don't know how to post a picture, but if you PM me your e-mail address I could e-mail one to you.

Any other thoughts/suggestions, or should I just give it up and run as a tri?

TYIA!
 
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