Motherboard to unlock Phenom II 555BE?

ShahJahan

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Feb 18, 2010
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Hello.
I am planning to buy a PC with this configuration, though I'm not quite sure which Motherboard to choose. The mobo should be able to unlock the 4 cores and also Overclock to 3.6 - 3.8GHz. Perhaps it might require a BIOS update for that? I've read some unlocking/overclocking/stability change with a BIOS update? So it should be able to update the BIOS too? If the Mobo has USB 3.0 and SATA 3 6Gbps, then how much more will it cost? If the difference is a little, then I'll go for it. If its too costly, then I'll do without it.

Also, I'm confused about the RAM. There are different RAMs with 1333/1600MHz etc. Since I plan to Overclock to 3.6/3.8GHz which RAM should I get?

Also, if you think that something can be added/removed/changed from the configuration, then I'll appreciate your inputs :)

AMD Phenom II 555BE
4GB DDR3 (1333/1600?) RAM
1GB 5770 Graphics
500GB Samsung SpinPoint F3
24x SATA DVD Writer
How many Watts PSU will be required for OC?

Thanks for your replies :)
 

Onus

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Unlocking two stable cores is not a done deal. If you need four cores, buy four cores. That said, I unlocked a 4th core on a 720BE using an ASRock mobo. I thought I read somewhere that they (ASRock) had resisted AMD's desire for a BIOS fix to prevent unlocking; unsure if that is still of any significance.
For a single HD5770, even with a high OC, you won't need anything more than 500W-550W. Choose a PSU with a modern design featuring full range active PFC (no little voltage switch) and 80+ certification. Antec, Corsair, PC Power & Cooling, Seasonic, and Enermax are among the better brands. If I were buying, I'd choose a 500W Earthwatts on a tight budget, or a 550W Truepower New (both from Antec) if I could spend a little more. Either are 80+ bronze.
If, however, you might Crossfire with a second HD5770 in the future, you'll want 650W-750W. Truepower New is available in that size. If you go for highest possible efficiency, check out Seasonic X-650, which is 80+ gold certified.
 

JDFan

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As jtt said don't get the 555 wxpecting to be able to unlock the extra cores as there are many of the chips that do actually have defective cores and will not be unlockable so buying it with that expectation is setting yourself up for a let down. - THat siad I've got a X3 720 with an unlocked 4th core that runs fine on a Gigiabyte MOBO (just need to make a couple BIOS changes to enable the core unlock -- First change the EC Firmware Selection to HYBRID and then enable ACC ) and if the cores are good the system will still post and run windows - if not then you just go back into the BIOS after it resets itself when the boot doesn't work and disable them again - so doesn't hurt to try - just remember it is not a sure thing and also you will want an aftermarket cooler as if it does work the chip will be running alot more power through it than the stock heatsink was designed to handle so will run much hotter if you use the stock heatsink.
 

ShahJahan

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Thank you everyone for your replies.

So I guess I'm done with the PSU problem. 450W.
And almost coming to a conclusion with the RAM, that 1333 should suffice. Someone disagrees?

Am still learning about the Mobo. This link helped a lot, though could use some more help! I'd appreciate if people can please name specific board models, so that I can see what are people recommending the most. That would definitely help me with my decision. It must not have many bells and whistles, as long as it can unlock and OC to a little 3.6GHz, I'm fine with it. The lesser the cost, the better!

Thank you again everyone for your replies :)

Some of the quotes below are taken from different forums!

Most importantly, please remember there is no guarantee the chip you receive will have 4 functioning cores or will overclock to your expectations.
Thank You, I understand that. Though I'm willing to gamble!

the PSU requirement you can find out using this
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
Thanks. I've used that and found that my Recommended Minimum PSU Wattage is 379W, so I think I'd go with a 450W PSU.

You'll want 1600mhz RAM and a 400w PSU will be fine, although I would probably stretch to 450/500w.
I'll go with 450W

I have the P2-550 running with all 4 cores unlocked @ 3.6 GHz on a Gigabyte GA-MA785GT-UD3H board using 1333 MHz memory, and got it to 3.6 GHz by upping the FSB to 220 MHz and upping the multiplier until CPU wouldn't go any further. ( HT clock increased as well to 2200 MHz). Memory is running at 1468 MHz effectively without lowering timings (Kingston HyperX) Vcore is increased a bit as well.
Higher clocked memorymodules are faster at a given speed but that does not translate in a lot of performance difference as CPU overclocking does.
So will a 1333MHz RAM be fine? I'll check the prices, if the difference is negligible, then I'll go with 1600MHz. But if there is difference in performance, then I'll go with 1600MHz only!

you just can't go with the latest bios since it disabled the ability to unlock cores, but second to last should work.
If a board has a BIOS that doesn't support unlocking, can I change the BIOS?

Personally, I'd go with an Asus because they allow independent unlocking, in case your chip only has 3 good cores and not 4. You can however, unlock with just an MSI 770.
Transcend 2*2=4GB DDR3 1333MHz C9 @ 4.4k
Corsair VX450W @ 4k
ECS 785GM-M @ 4.8k
Go for Biostar 790GX A3+.

Full atx,Core unlocking option, Excellent overclocker.
GA-790FXTA-UD5 <- Love this motherboard, its very stable while overclocking
Biostar TA785GE + BIO-unlocKING, AC Auras Wave, PII555 1002EPMW, Batch 1427

Test X4 4,0/4,1Ghz 1.472V Real - windows boot OK.
Stress Test X2 4,1Ghz ~1,39V and 4,0Ghz ~1,34V real
Room temp. 22°C
Motherboard with ACC support (SB710 or SB750 southbridge) or NCC (Nvidia’s answer to ACC) AND supports core unlocking.
My personal motherboard of choice is the Biostar TA790GX 128M with 78DEA113 BIOS. I have successfully unlocked my X2 550BE and X3 720BE with this board.
id go with the gigabyte 790FX or the MSI 790FX
The M4A79 series are very good boards, they were just out of my price range.
First change the EC Firmware Selection to HYBRID and then enable ACC ) and if the cores are good the system will still post and run windows - if not then you just go back into the BIOS after it resets itself when the boot doesn't work and disable them again
I hear good things about Gigabyte's boards
another thumbs up for Gigabyte mobos in general here.
GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
 

ShahJahan

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OK after going through all the suggestions (thanks for it), I think that Asus M4A785TD-V EVO $100 is the motherboard that will suit me. Since I'm not gaming, I've decided to save $200 by removing HD 5770 GPU. And since the mobo has IGP HD 4200 with 128MB shared, expandable to 512MB shared, so it should be able to play videos at 1920x1080 res(?) Anyone has experience with this mobo? And how are Asus mobos in general? Are they worth a buy?

The other contender here is Gigabyte GA-MA785GT-UD3H $95, the only difference I can see is that it has just one PCIe slot, which is why I'm giving Asus a preference. Rest its the same.

But I need a go-ahead from someone knowledgeable! Should I press the button for Asus M4A785TD-V EVO or does anyone has a better (in terms of price and/or features) mobo? It should be able to unlock cores, OC to 3.6GHz and have an onboard video.

1333 Mhz ram is fine, best "bang for the buck", can sometimes be overclocked nicely as well... I prefer 1333 over 1600 actually, due to its lower timings ... having super high memory bandwidth is all well and good, but not if you have to have super-loose ram timings to get there!! ( latency, eccch....)
How would I know if its having lower times, high mem bandwidth and tight timings? What do I look into to find it? I've seen something like 9-9-9-9
Is this how you identify it? So what digits should I look for? They must not be very costly! Best-bang-for-buck will be good enough for me.
 

ramone12781

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ASUS is a great MOBO but heres what recently decided on... I've heard these Gigabytes are built strong and great boards and great success at unlocking the other 2 cores on this exact same chip (x2 555 BE) below is what I got but the mother board you have listed was my second choice buy because I wanted the USB 3.0 and SATA 3.0 for future proof and I wanted to buy a gaming graphics card but since your not really gaming you can utilize the onboard gpu and be fine. Not too familiar with the tech terms on the memory but I did alot of research and it seems the G.Skill 4GB package is the way to go with this board and cpu. Anyways take my advice for what it's worth I was trying to keep myself on the lower budget too but ended up with that package at about a little over $600 but you don't need everything I have listed below: oh yeah and your fine with 1 pcie slot unless you plan on running 2 gpu's in crossfire...

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ - Retail58206198 (N82E16820231193) 58206198 3/12/2010

AMD Phenom II X2 555 Callisto 3.2GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Desktop Processor - C3 Revision Model HDZ555WFGMBOX - Retail58206198 (N82E16819103846) 58206198 3/12/2010

XFX P1-650X-CAG9 650W ATX12V 2.2 / ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail58206198 (N82E16817207002) 58206198 3/12/2010

XFX HD-577A-ZNDC Radeon HD 5770 XXX Edition 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail58206198 (N82E16814150464) 58206198 3/12/2010

GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4 AM3 AMD 790X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail58206198 (N82E16813128416) 58206198 3/12/2010

HEC 63RABB Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - OEM58206198 (N82E16811121098) 58206198 3/12/2010