Can you unlock a phenom2 965 to 6 core?

[diablo34life]

can the 965 unlock any extra cores? or do i need the 960 only

 

[WR2]

Hello diablo34life;

Only four cores in the X4 965. The 960T has 4 (+2).
Going gaming? You want the X4 965 and not 960T.

 

[FALC0N]

can the 965 unlock any extra cores? or do i need the 960 only

Let me explain that with a little more detail.

All of the X4 965 chips are native 4 core parts. There are no additional cores to unlock.

Thuban 6 core parts that have disabled cores all became the phenom 960T. So that chip can be unlocked, but not the conventional phenoms. This was done because the X6 had a turbocore function that the deneb cores lacked. So if you want to unlock a quad, you will need to get a hold of a 960T

 

[FALC0N]

Hello diablo34life;

Only four cores in the X4 965. The 960T has 4 (+2).
Going gaming? You want the X4 965 and not 960T.

Depends. At stock, your right. But the retail 960T is unlocked. You can overclock it and potentially unlock cores.

 

[WR2]

But the retail 960T is unlocked.

The X4 965 is unlocked as well.
For the 960T to unlock and overclock stable - you need to get lucky 3 times. 1 for each core to unlock and run stable, and a 1 for the six cores to run stable when OC'd. There's usually a reason they lock up those cores.
Otherwise, they'd sell it as a Phenom X6 1075T.

 

[FALC0N]

The X4 965 is unlocked as well.
For the 960T to unlock and overclock stable - you need to get lucky 3 times. 1 for each core to unlock and run stable, and a 1 for the six cores to run stable when OC'd. There's usually a reason they lock up those cores.
Otherwise, they'd sell it as a Phenom X6 1075T.

Your looking at it from the wrong perspective. If your overclocking, you can just leave the two cores locked and you should get the same performance as the 965. And, if your lucky, you might get a 5th or 6th core. The 965 doesn't offer that bonus option.

Yes, there is a reason they locked those cores. But many have reported unlocking one or both deactivated cores in the 960, so they are not all bad.

 

[diablo34life]

ok so thats out of the way looks like im not picking a 960 lol now out of the phenem 2 family which is the best to pick? im looking for the best performance for gaming and from what ive experienced the fx series looks like a bad pick. is the 980 the same as the 965 but with a higher clock rate? or is there more cache or any kind of tweaks? if the phenom 2 family is the same other then the 960t i might just get the 965 and overclock it. but thats the question im not sure about so what IS the fastest cpu from amd for gaming? no intel

 

[diablo34life]

Hello diablo34life;

Only four cores in the X4 965. The 960T has 4 (+2).
Going gaming? You want the X4 965 and not 960T.

ok so thats out of the way looks like im not picking a 960 lol now out of the phenem 2 family which is the best to pick? im looking for the best performance for gaming and from what ive experienced the fx series looks like a bad pick. is the 980 the same as the 965 but with a higher clock rate? or is there more cache or any kind of tweaks? if the phenom 2 family is the same other then the 960t i might just get the 965 and overclock it. but thats the question im not sure about so what IS the fastest cpu from amd for gaming? no intel

 

[WR2]

AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Review @ 3.7Ghz. Current price ~$140
At stock speeds the Phenom II X4 980 BE is, overall, the fastest of the Phenoms. There is some wiggle room depending on specific games and situations, how high any overclocking might go, etc.
The chart shows the Phenom II X4 and X6T (Thuban) CPUs

 

[wr6133]

965 and other Denebs will hit 4GHZ with a couple multi bumps.

960T will hit 4GHZ on 4 cores with a little more fiddling (still easy though). It MAY unlock to a 6 core and then hit 4GHZ. It may not unlock. You have to get lucky some were locked down to 4 cores to make up demand on SKU's not because there's issues, others because 1 or more of the 2 dormant cores are faulty.

Really it boils down to your choice. The Deneb is a sure shot to get a hefty OC hassle free out the box. The Thuban is if you feel lucky (and many have) you may get more than you bought, if you dont you can still get a good OC off it.

 

[cmi86]

The X4 965 is unlocked as well.
For the 960T to unlock and overclock stable - you need to get lucky 3 times. 1 for each core to unlock and run stable, and a 1 for the six cores to run stable when OC'd. There's usually a reason they lock up those cores.
Otherwise, they'd sell it as a Phenom X6 1075T.

According to a source I have with AMD the stable unlock rate on 960T's is about 80%. This is due to the fact AMD realized BD was a flop and still wanted to maintain a viable quad core offering in their product line up with the well known Phenom II name (in hopes to make up some of their losses from BD) So in a nut shell 80% of 960T's locked cores are perfectly functional in every way.

All the same I do not advise counting on unlocking cores as it is always a gamble. However one thing I do advise is never to pay for clocks on black edition chips. Most any Phenom II BE can meet the clocks of any other Phenom II with nothing more than a couple multiplier adjustments (and MAYBE a drop of voltage in a very small amount of cases) Honestly the only difference between Phenom II's is Deneb or Thuban. Anything Thuban based is either a 6X or has a very good chance of unlocking to a 6X and also is equipped with a much better/faster IMC.

 

[WR2]

This is due to the fact AMD realized BD was a flop and still wanted to maintain a viable quad core offering in their product line up with the well known Phenom II name (in hopes to make up some of their losses from BD)

I don't have your sources @ AMD but this smacks of 'marketing spin'.
They [strike]did have[/strike] still have the Deneb Phenom II X4s.

With Thuban's release the 1090T 3.2Ghz model joined the X4 965 3.4Ghz as top dogs in Thuban and Deneb lines, plus the Zosma 960 3.0Ghz .
Since them only the 1100T refresh has rolled out.
In the meantime Deneb's line got refreshed with 970 3.5ghz / 975 3.6Ghz / 980 3.7Ghz.

And we're not seeing any more Zosma besides the 960 3.0Ghz. Where are the Zosma 3.1/3.2/3.3Ghz parts? If the 'maintain a viable quad core offering' theory holds up - you'd expect Zosma to carry that role forward, wouldn't you?

 

[Brett928S2]

ok so thats out of the way looks like im not picking a 960 lol now out of the phenem 2 family which is the best to pick? im looking for the best performance for gaming and from what ive experienced the fx series looks like a bad pick. is the 980 the same as the 965 but with a higher clock rate? or is there more cache or any kind of tweaks? if the phenom 2 family is the same other then the 960t i might just get the 965 and overclock it. but thats the question im not sure about so what IS the fastest cpu from amd for gaming? no intel

Hi

No question... AMD 1100T 6 core...I run them in my gaming machines... hard to find though...

All the best Brett

 

[cmi86]

I don't have your sources @ AMD but this smacks of 'marketing spin'.
They [strike]did have[/strike] still have the Deneb Phenom II X4s.

With Thuban's release the 1090T 3.2Ghz model joined the X4 965 3.4Ghz as top dogs in Thuban and Deneb lines, plus the Zosma 960 3.0Ghz .
Since them only the 1100T refresh has rolled out.
In the meantime Deneb's line got refreshed with 970 3.5ghz / 975 3.6Ghz / 980 3.7Ghz.

And we're not seeing any more Zosma besides the 960 3.0Ghz. Where are the Zosma 3.1/3.2/3.3Ghz parts? If the 'maintain a viable quad core offering' theory holds up - you'd expect Zosma to carry that role forward, wouldn't you?

I couldn't really tell ya man, that was all the information provided to me on the matter. If I had to guess I would say no on zosma carrying that role due to the fact I'm sure AMD has contracts with GloFo that limit and restrict the amount of Deneb parts being made while in the MFG transition to BD (and the production contracts that come with it) so it probably made better financial sense to just disable 2 cores on the thubans until they reached the end of their production. Just a guess.

 

[WR2]

You may have access to better data (or your AMD sources is giving you a AMD-centric spin on that 80% success rate, since we don't actually know what constitutes 'success').

When THG first reviewed the 960T they mentioned a 37% success rate as reported by Asrock. Those were early days but THG reviewed a 960T not supplied by AMD.
THG: Turning Zosma Into Thuban

I might be overly cynical but it's hard for me to imagine AMD turning a perfectly good Thuban into a Zosma and lowering the price 30% just to meet demand for a X4 part that a X4 965 could fill. The 960T would have been the lowest binned Thubans in any case. Missing TDP / VID targets, or defective/problematic CPU cores, all the usual things Zosma owners might have to deal with. Those with a 'golden' 960T are going to be sure to mention it. Those that didn't get one? They tend to be less forthcoming.

 

[cmi86]

You may have access to better data (or your AMD sources is giving you a AMD-centric spin on that 80% success rate, since we don't actually know what constitutes 'success').

When THG first reviewed the 960T they mentioned a 37% success rate as reported by Asrock. Those were early days but THG reviewed a 960T not supplied by AMD.
THG: Turning Zosma Into Thuban

I might be overly cynical but it's hard for me to imagine AMD turning a perfectly good Thuban into a Zosma and lowering the price 30% just to meet demand for a X4 part that a X4 965 could fill. The 960T would have been the lowest binned Thubans in any case. Missing TDP / VID targets, or defective/problematic CPU cores, all the usual things Zosma owners might have to deal with. Those with a 'golden' 960T are going to be sure to mention it. Those that didn't get one? They tend to be less forthcoming.

I don't know if there is any "spin" on the matter, I have known they guy since 9th grade and honestly don't think he would lie to me on behalf of selling me on last generations hardware. I would be more inclined to expect a schelp on BD if making AMD look good was his game lol (which he openly admits BD is crap) Idk man, mine un-locked stable, most people I know or have met online with one have unlocked successfully but all the same unlocking is something that can never be 100% counted on.

 

[HEXiT]

an unlocked 965 is a different meaning to an unlocked 960t
the 960t is based on a 6 core cpu with 2 cores dissabled to increase yeild from a wafer. you need a motherboard with an ability to unlock the extra 2 cres if you want to try and do so...

an unlocked 965 on the other hand is a 4 core cpu with no extra hidden cores. when they say this model is unlocked they mean its core clock multiplyer. not the ability to unlock extra cpu's...

 

[diablo34life]

an unlocked 965 is a different meaning to an unlocked 960t
the 960t is based on a 6 core cpu with 2 cores dissabled to increase yeild from a wafer. you need a motherboard with an ability to unlock the extra 2 cres if you want to try and do so...

an unlocked 965 on the other hand is a 4 core cpu with no extra hidden cores. when they say this model is unlocked they mean its core clock multiplyer. not the ability to unlock extra cpu's...

i know the 965 has an unlocked multiplyer. the 960t doesnt say anywhere in its specs if it can unlock to a 6 core but yet it can

 

[HEXiT]

you misunderstand m8... when they say a cpu is unlocked they only mean the core multi. you will never see then advertise the fact that 2 cores can be unlocked because they want to sell there 6 cores that cost more. and no 1 would buy them if they knew they had an 80+% chance of unlocking a 4 core to a 6 for way less money...
so if you see it advertised as unlock-able they only mean the core multi as i said...

 

[diablo34life]

you misunderstand m8... when they say a cpu is unlocked they only mean the core multi. you will never see then advertise the fact that 2 cores can be unlocked because they want to sell there 6 cores that cost more. and no 1 would buy them if they knew they had an 80+% chance of unlocking a 4 core to a 6 for way less money...
so if you see it advertised as unlock-able they only mean the core multi as i said...

sorry guy but your missing the point. we know about unlocked and unlocked versions. im not saying that they will tell you if u can unlock extra cores on the box