Unlocking Phenom II Callisto x2 to Deneb x4

U

Unlockurcore

New Member
What I did: I unlocked a Phenom II Callisto x2 cores to Deneb x4 cores.

What I needed: AMD Phenom II X2 545 Callisto 3.0GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
PS: Mobo+CPU Combo Newegg $152

How I did it: Went into M.B.I.T. turned on Auto ACC (Advanced Clock Calibration) and changed Bios version to Hybrid. Save and Exit BIOS. Rebooted to Windows 7, it detected hardware change and asked for auto-reboot. After reboot check task manager performance window and see 4 core graphs. Opened CPU-Z and it showed 4 cores and identified the processor as Phenom II Deneb x4 3.00GHz with locked 15x multiplier. (Buy black edition callisto to have unlocked multiplier)

Why I did it: Wanted a quad core system and found out that current generation quad core started above $100 for processor and could not afford it. Next saw the multiple forum postings about unlocking Callisto to Deneb and went for it.

Other thoughts:

Details and Pricing of Rig:
AMD Phenom II X2 545 Callisto 3.0GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5
A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
POWERCOLOR AX4650 512MD2 Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP
Coolmax CoolMax 500 Watt ATX 12V Power Supply
Thermaltake USA Inc Power Supply Adapter Cable Set
Recycled case and fans
Total Cost:357.94

Pros: Compare this with Intel Core 2 Quad 2.66 GHz and it comes almost equal to it but it wins hands down on value...$92 vs. $166. Plus it seems to run really cool and from what I hear overclocking does not seem to heat it up that much up to 3.4 Ghz. More with better fan and cooling! 4 Ghz 4 cores is possible.

Cons: Slightly slower than Intel Core 2 Quad 2.66 GHz Processor but better if compared with applications that need more megahertz than other things. 35% average slower than core i7 4Ghz but it costs $400+ so value is better. Buy black edition if there is a good combo or individual part discount! Unlocked multiplier would be awesome!

AMD is an awesome company, these days it does not compete with Intel on pure speed but when you throw in prices, AMD hands down beats intel in all categories except perhaps the insane $400+ chips. Honestly for the average joe/jane who wants to keep up with the latest and do a decent amount of gaming plus video producing for the cheapest value possible, I think the below $100 Phenom CPUs are the way to go. Not to mention HTPC applications! I have it hooked up to a 52' Sony 52v4100 lcd tv and my god its like I have HBO/Showtime/Netflix for $0.00. Ok fine Netflix is 9.99/month but Hulu is free for now!
 
Unlockurcore said:
Slightly slower than Intel Core 2 Quad 2.66 GHz Processor but better if compared with applications that need more megahertz than other things. 35% average slower than core i7 4Ghz but it costs $400+ so value is better. Buy black edition if there is a good combo or individual part discount! Unlocked multiplier would be awesome!
Click to expand...
Actually.... it depends on the area, i7 is only $300 for a 920, and overclocks better than the phenom II's on air or water. Plus the intels have better per clock performance aswell as hyperthreading.

Even then though amd is great for the budget sector, although the 965/955/945 PII's are a little over priced considering what you can get i5 for these days.


And the only reason you can unlock is because amd didnt hard lock them to two cores, and someone writing the bios forgot to include it in the ACC feature(i want to say biostar for some reason, imma have to check on that).
 
bomberboysk said:
And the only reason you can unlock is because amd didnt hard lock them to two cores, and someone writing the bios forgot to include it in the ACC feature(i want to say biostar for some reason, imma have to check on that).
Click to expand...

Pretty sure it was Biostar. Think it went like, AMD didnt laser cut the cores and it was a CPU bios code that locked down cores. Biostar Bios programmers included ACC in their bios and forgot that when you enabled it, it would override the CPU code to disable the cores.
 
550 unlocked to a quad at 3.8ghz here...unlocked multiplier FTW!

Less than $600 for a setup that nearly does 18k 3dmark06, not bad! I missed out on a great deal for a 4890 about a month ago, $120 shipped :mad: Or else I'd probably be over 20k 3dmark06 scores right now!
 
bomberboysk said:
Actually.... it depends on the area, i7 is only $300 for a 920, and overclocks better than the phenom II's on air or water. Plus the intels have better per clock performance aswell as hyperthreading.

Even then though amd is great for the budget sector, although the 965/955/945 PII's are a little over priced considering what you can get i5 for these days.


And the only reason you can unlock is because amd didnt hard lock them to two cores, and someone writing the bios forgot to include it in the ACC feature(i want to say biostar for some reason, imma have to check on that).
Click to expand...

The way this economy is going, I think I will be in the budget sector for a while! :(
BTW, I used a GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard?? Are you saying that Biostar owns Gigabyte and or the board is just rebranded Gigabyte? Didn't know that. Also I heard on other forums that Asrock also unlocked. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/unlock-phenom-ii,2273.html

Anyways...I was tickled cause it has been a while since I was able to do something other than boring old overclocking...Really happy with the total system price and the fact that it actually unlocked....It seems like a hit and miss thing because of AMD throwing in some dead cores once in a while and motherboard updates...

Final thought: Who here thinks that they should leave us Easter Eggs like this in every CPU generation...:D It improves customer satisfaction plus it is not like everybody is going to do this kind of thing....
 
Last edited:
Well gigabyte works

StrangleHold said:
No, Biostar doesnt own Gigabyte. Biostar is more of a budget board comparied to Gigabyte.

Pretty sure it was Biostar and Asrock that started it, from back in April.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/unlock-phenom-ii,2273.html
Click to expand...

Yeah, u r right that's what the article says but, well, gigabyte board works cause I did it. Also doesn't it sort of mean that it wasn't just biostar bios engineers that screwed up but that they started doing it purposely? Gigabyte seemed almost proud to help out their customers do the overclock/unlock...

PS:I wish Intel's extreme edition and Amd's black edition should always have core unlock possibilities on top of unlocked multipliers and overclocking. I would want to unlock a sandy bridge 4 core to a 6 core, 8 core in the future. Or if bulldozer doesn't turn out to be crap like I expect...maybe turn that into a 6 core from a 4 core...
 
Last edited:
Yeah, most all of them have it now, you have to atleast have a S/B 710. Some companies bugged out and blocked it but most didnt.

From what I understand Bulldozer is a complete reworked 32nm. core. Their suppost to come out the first of next year with a Thuban 6 core 45nm. Which is really a 6 core Deneb.
 
Last edited:
Programs that use 6 cores

Do they write programs that use multi-cores in general that is, you can add a hundred cores and the program would know what to do with all of them or do they still write most programs to be able to use only a limited amount of cores?
 
Unlockurcore said:
Yeah, u r right that's what the article says but, well, gigabyte board works cause I did it. Also doesn't it sort of mean that it wasn't just biostar bios engineers that screwed up but that they started doing it purposely? Gigabyte seemed almost proud to help out their customers do the overclock/unlock...

PS:I wish Intel's extreme edition and Amd's black edition should always have core unlock possibilities on top of unlocked multipliers and overclocking. I would want to unlock a sandy bridge 4 core to a 6 core, 8 core in the future. Or if bulldozer doesn't turn out to be crap like I expect...maybe turn that into a 6 core from a 4 core...
Click to expand...
The only reason the cores can even be unlocked is because AMD cheaped out and didnt laser cut. Gigabyte wants to sell more boards, they dont own amd and if they can get people to buy thier board by "unlocking" then they will.

Some nvidia boards now actually support unlocking with "Nvidia Clock Calibration".
 
I use Gigabyte and ASRock boards, they have never let me down. Biostar is poop for AMD platforms, I think they focus and care more about their intel boards and it shows. I hear stuff all the time about people needing to RMA an Intel board and they get serviced right away, but with an AMD board the customer service is like non existant.
 
What about microstar? I used them once for Phenom I x4 and have had no problems...Also for P4 in 2005 and worked solid until the PSU died and decided to upgrade to Phenom II just now
 
MSI is pretty decent quality, but if you do have problems the customer service is one of the worst. And they also never give the mail in rebates.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top