What motherboard to buy if i want to unlock 4th core of Athlon x3 435

darksmart

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I am planning to buy a AthlonII x3 435\425.So which budget motherboard will allow me to unlock 4th core if i ever wanted to.
Also will it be possible to disable that core again if anything wrong happens to system due to that 4th core?
 

hasappra

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If you don't need the onboard VGA just use chipsets from AMD 790X (for CrossFire half bandwidth configuration) or 790FX (CrossFire full bandwidth) or 770 (single VGA) with southbridge SB710 or SB750. Those are the basic rules and remember that some MB manufacturers don't support core unlocking (e.g. ECS).
Right now I'm using MSI 770T-C45 (DDR2 version) to unlock mine, or you can look at here (http://uk.msi.com/news.php?news_no=7) for more info on MSI MB which support core unlocking.
 

hasappra

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Not with the new 890GX chipsets and SB850 combination, AMD decide to remove the ACC function (needed to unlock the disabled core) except some MB manufacturers they still include the ACC of their own version (e.g. Asus), but you will get SATA3 (6Gbps) and USB 3.0 (although both of features not as fast as X58 from intel).
 

darksmart

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But MSI 770T C-45 model does not offers unlock CPU core function like MSI 785GM-E51 as per their website.Will it still be possible to unlock 4th core using the 770T??
 

hasappra

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You can definitely unlock the 4th core using 770T, I'm using it now. Please update your bios to the newest version. Then enter the Cell Menu in the bios, there will be an option called "core unlock", and set the ACC to auto.
I will provide the screenshot later.

[updated]
According to the website that I gave you before, it is stated that 770T-C45 does support core unlocking http://uk.msi.com/news.php?news_no=7
Here is my CPUID screenshot:
2_113475885l.jpg

2_351811557l.jpg
 

darksmart

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Thats really awesome.unlocking on a nice and cheaper motherboard with ddr2.means lots of savings with performance.thanks a lot.
 

hasappra

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You're welcome. Hope you're lucky enough with your x3 435, since some of them are not stable enough after it is unlocked. But I told you, all of my friends who bought the same proc are able to unlock it without any problem.
Mine is very stable. I overclock it to 3.2 GHz, and lower the core voltage from 1.408 to 1.312, and put all the other voltages to minimum in my BIOS. It means more power savings (again save more money hehehehe).
 

darksmart

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Ya thanks.money is very important for students like me.lets see if i am lucky enough to unlock 4th core.i will tell you if get succeed.