Athlon II, are Phenom II's with L3 disabled - huh???
Where did you get that bit of information. I haven't read that. You got a credible source link I can read - that's not just a bunch of people discussing the topic in an open forum? That just doesn't sound right to me. If it's the case - I would like to know.
In fact, some Athlon II procs may actually be the same as Phenom II. Although the majority of Athlon IIs will be the smaller Propus cores, AMD will double-source the chips by taking some cores that might have been turned into Phenom II X4s and switching off the L3. Other than that, these chips will be virtually the same as a Propus—same TDP, same L2 cache, same clocks. While it might seem unusual, AMD says the practice is not unprecedented and happens quite often with budget CPUs. Because both the would-be Deneb and Propus cores are 45nm and essentially the same microarchitecture, it’s unlikely this will have any practical impact on the end user, the company says.
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/cheap_chip_athlon_ii_x4_breaks_100_quadcore_barrier
(some Athlon II X4s will be crippled Phenom IIs but AMD insists that the new die will be used).
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3638
AMD sent us an e-mail confirming that they are building AMD Athlon II X4 processors that are based on both the new 'Propus' 169mm die and the older 'Deneb' 258mm die size. When an AMD Deneb core (Phenom II X4 processor) fails the L3 cache test the L3 cache is disabled, so it basically becomes an Athlon II X4 processor. This makes good business sense as a processor isn't being wasted due to a problem with the L3 cache
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1073/1/
update 16/09/09. AMD has informed HEXUS that a number of Athlon II X4 620 and 630 chips will use the existing Deneb architecture but with the L3 cache disabled. For all intents and purposes, the Deneb and Propus chips will appear as identical models to the system.
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=20230&page=2
While the bulk of Athlon II X4 CPUs will rely on AMD’s Propus core, it turns out that some Athlon II X4 CPUs will also utilize AMD’s more powerful Deneb core. Deneb is of course the flagship core AMD uses in all Phenom II CPUs and features 6MB of L3 cache integrated in the CPU.
In other words, some Athlon II X4 users may purchase the exact same core used in AMD’s Phenom II X4 965.
These Athlon II X4 chips will of course have their L3 cache disabled by AMD.
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/amd_propus_athlon_2_x4_630_620_performance/page2.asp
However, there are a few exceptions. As we learned from one of our AMD contacts, some Athlon II X4 SKUs will be based on Deneb core with a disabled L3 cache that is why if you are lucky, you may still be able to transform your Athlon II X4 into a Phenom II X4. Of course, although Phenom II X4 800 series has been discontinued, AMD still wants to have the opportunity to use partially defective semiconductor dies left from the production of higher-end processor models. And Athlon II X4 will be exactly this opportunity for them.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/athlon-ii-x4-630_2.html#sect0
Unlocking that L3 cache?
A few overclockers have found recent success turning an Athon II X4 620 or 630 CPU into a fully-fledged Phenom II X4 just by activating ACC in the BIOS. Instead of a core being unlocked, the ACC is capable of activating the 6MB of L3 cache turned off on the chip. Here's the thing, if you have the older Deneb based processor... you might be in luck. Propus, as explained however, has this cache physically missing and as such it's just not possible to unlock it.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/amd-athlon-ii-x4-620-review-test/2
If you need any more just let me know.
