Unlocking Cores

[Dan C]

Ok, I well mananged to unlock my Athlon 445 AMD (HTPC) easily to 4 cores... (R760 odd not bad).. but I'm a bit worried.

Seems all the tools I use the temps per core shot up to like 88c , whilst the CPU temp remain at about 32 idle and 48 load...

Do you guys think it's a glitch in the program or is my chip really going that temps ? I felt with my finger tips and the heatsink of the cpu (stock cooler) and it's ice cool.

Somehow my gut feeling is that the software is confused... hope so , cos then I will have a fully functional quad core for little money... not that I need it for my HTPC

 

[Pada]

It could be that the temperature sensor's multiplier is incorrect to me - like 2x instead of 1x.

Just make sure that the heatsink is properly secured to the motherboard. If it's the stock cooler, then it has to be tightened in the opposite directions as to what the arrows point, otherwise you're loosening it!

 

[repitah]

IMO / understanding:

It is not impossible when you consider how AMD gets it tri core chips from quad-cores: When cores don't pass the tests during manufacturing, the cpu is binned has having X cores faulty. AMD then switches off the core using the means which your unlocking utility disables.

So... probably find the unlocked core failed due to high leakage. high leakage = high temp. You could probably cool using water, but not really worth it.

Besides, you shouldn't really need a lot of cores to run an HTPC. I run an Atom 230 with Nvidia ION (Mecer Cape7ion) as my HTPC. Apart from a slight noise from the tiny fan, the machine has plenty power to play full HD video (Using XBMC 9.10 and now XBMClive 10).

Only time cores and grunt really become useful is when ripping media to hdd, but I would rather use my main machine/laptop for that job.

 

[Lope]

Yeah, you don't know if the 3rd core was disabled due to demand or the core being faulty.
What progs you using? Core Temp is probably a good one, and whatever util is available for your mobo from the manuf site.

 

[Dan C]

I really don't need the 4th core.. even 2 would be fine for my newly built HTPC. Was just interested in finding if you guys think the software reporting the temps is wrong... I used HW monitor and Core Temp.. both the same.
But in the BIOS the temps (only shows cpu, not cores) are lower.

Was just wondering if it was really temp related, and somehow it was quite exciting to have a 4 cores instead of three.

Not going to OC my new HTPC , don't think Shrek the 7th will play better

Edit : BTW never get a Lian-Li 37, I struggled my butt off to get everything fitted in that one.. but it's a case of note !!

 

[Lope]

when u say "CPU Temp" do you mean core temp? its free to DL, you can google it.

 

[Dan C]

when u say "CPU Temp" do you mean core temp? its free to DL, you can google it.

Yeah Core Temp.

OK, I went and did the whole test... OC it to 3.5 (10%) .. got to 98c then shut down on Cinebench... so not so much worth unlocking the 4th core. Seems that the temps are real if u unlock....

Well it was quite exciting.. and nerve wrecking.. but the CPU still survived viva AMD !!

 

[Chevron]

Reseat the cpu cooler. If the cooler is cold but cpu hot it means that the cooler isnt making full contact with the cpu.

 

[Lope]

Theres also the possibility that an unlocked core can cause data corruption even if it seems fine?
I wonder when AMD will start selling 5 core CPUs

 

[Dan C]

Theres also the possibility that an unlocked core can cause data corruption even if it seems fine?
I wonder when AMD will start selling 5 core CPUs

whahaha 5 cores ... guess they will .. why not ?

I've had tri-cores for the best of 3 years now.. no probs.. always like the odd one out. But upgraded from the 720 to a 6 six core and so far very impressed.

Seems this little athlon 3 core beast is the best for HTPC's and not bad bang for buck... well it can stand the heat at least

 

[Dan C]

Reseat the cpu cooler. If the cooler is cold but cpu hot it means that the cooler isnt making full contact with the cpu.

Never used a cpu cooler, whats that ?

Eidt: my question was not about cooling a CPU.. I know how to do that. I need to know whether unlocking a core contributes to extra heat and if anyone else had the same experience and possibly
it confuses the software ?

 

[Pada]

The unlocking of the extra cores aren't as simple as just enabling them, like you could do with a simple BIOS mod on like the HD 6950 graphics cards, so it is highly likely that certain stuff will stop to function properly if the extra core cannot be unlocked "successfully".
It will definitely contribute to extra heat - at least to 1/4th of the total heat of the CPU.

I've also read that the stock cooler that comes with the X3 CPU isn't quite capable of handling the 4 cores.

You should be able to find people with similar issues using Google / another search engine, but it might not be that easy to find a nice explanation for the dramatic increase in temperature!

I'd rather recommend that you drop the unlocking of the extra core because you really won't need it in your HTPC.