# Few questions on 555 Black Edition??



## TONYSALEM (Jun 22, 2010)

I am going to buy a Phenom II x2 555 Black edition tomorrow. I am just wondering if there is a way to look on the box for (c3 stepping or are they all c3) also is there any way to tell which are better chance of unlocking cores.. I seen somewhere else to look for a "M" at the end of the # on box?? 
Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated!


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## JrRacinFan (Jun 22, 2010)

All 555's are C3 and just like any other deneb based dual/tri core it's an unlock gamble. Take unlocking as a bonus if it does, don't base your purchase on unlocking.


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## Dent1 (Jun 22, 2010)

TONYSALEM said:


> I am going to buy a Phenom II x2 555 Black edition tomorrow. I am just wondering if there is a way to look on the box for (c3 stepping or are they all c3) also is there any way to tell which are better chance of unlocking cores.. I seen somewhere else to look for a "M" at the end of the # on box??
> Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated!




Get a Athlon II X3, they are faster, cheaper and can potentially unlock too!


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## brandonwh64 (Jun 22, 2010)

Dent1 said:


> Get a Athlon II X3, they are faster, cheaper and can potentially unlock too!



NEGATIVE ON THIS!!! Phenom II has the 6mb L3 cache. Even if it doesn't unlock, its still faster than an athlon II X4 630 CPU.

Check out the gaming performance for a Phenom II 555BE compared to the others. 

Anandtech review


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## Dent1 (Jun 22, 2010)

brandonwh64 said:


> NEGATIVE ON THIS!!! Phenom II has the 6mb L3 cache. Even if it doesn't unlock, its still faster than an athlon II X4 630 CPU.
> 
> Check out the gaming performance for a Phenom II 555BE compared to the others.
> 
> Anandtech review



I agree, the Athlon II X4 is slower than the Phenom II X2 at the same clock in single threaded applications due to the cache difference.

Gaming is just small area the Phenom II X2 has a temporary advantage over the Athlon II X4, overall its slower.

But the* X3 *is definitely faster than the Phenom II X2


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## joeyck (Jun 22, 2010)

in all honesty... this CPU would own 

AMD Athlon II X2 260 Regor 3.2GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache...

or this : 

AMD Athlon II X2 255 Regor 3.1GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache...

or this 

AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache...

but the 555 is awesome... WOOP!

and as dent said and many other the phenomII's r just orgasmic


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## NdMk2o1o (Jun 22, 2010)

Do not get an Athlon II X2, seriously just get a pII x2 and hopefully do some unlocking 

A pII is faster than an Athlon II X3 in most things. If you must get an Athlon II get a x4 otherwise a nice PII x2/x3 with the potential to unlock cores will be a much wiser choice.


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## joeyck (Jun 22, 2010)

I didn't say to get them, but if ur trying to gimp ur self from spending for a 555 then buy an athlon  i recommend a PII since i have one and in love with it,


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## Dent1 (Jun 22, 2010)

I think you guys are misreading what has been said.

The Athlon II X3 is faster than both the Athlon II X4 and Phenom II X2 in gaming.

The Athlon II X3 is faster than the Phenom II in non gaming too.  The Athlon II X3 is cheaper and faster in both gaming and non gaming related tasks, its not gimping - it can be unlocked too. 


Edit:

 Proof: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Athlon_II_X3_425/10.html - Athlon II X3 beatin' the Phenom II X2 550 in gaming despite being clocked 400Mhz lower 

To be honest the performance is about the same, depending on the game, but overall its the better processor in non-gaming which swings the tide.


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## NdMk2o1o (Jun 22, 2010)

Dent1 said:


> I think you guys are misreading what has been said.
> 
> The Athlon II X3 is faster than both the Athlon II X4 and Phenom II X2 in gaming.
> 
> ...



No an Athlon II x3 is not faster than a PII x2 in gaming did you even look at most of the benchmarks or read the comments?, for a start clock to clock the PII is faster in everything due to the architecture and the added L3, for another thing there are a habdful of games that actually make use of more than 2 cores. 

It is a cut down phenom core doesn't overclock as much, the chances of unlocking to anything are much less likely and the difference in price of an Athlon II x3 and a PII x2 are negligible so thats a null comment


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## JrRacinFan (Jun 22, 2010)

The OP is not asking whether or not he should look at other options. Personally I would go with the Athlon X4 630 instead ....


... but he was asking specifically about the 555 Black. It's a pretty good chip.


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## NdMk2o1o (Jun 22, 2010)

JrRacinFan said:


> The OP is not asking whether or not he should look at other options. Personally I would go with the Athlon X4 630 instead ....
> 
> 
> ... but he was asking specifically about the 555 Black. It's a pretty good chip.



Contradiction there? people are giving their opinions and you say he isn't looking for opinions then recommend an Athlon II x4 lol

Though as I mentioned if he is considering an Athlon II then over a PII x2 the only viable option is an Athlon II x4 so I will agree with you on that. 

Other than that the Atlon II x3 isn't worth it plain and simple


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## Dent1 (Jun 22, 2010)

NdMk2o1o said:


> No an Athlon II x3 is not faster than a PII x2 in gaming did you even look at most of the benchmarks or read the comments?, for a start clock to clock the PII is faster in everything due to the architecture and the added L3, for another thing there are a habdful of games that actually make use of more than 2 cores.



Iam not disputing that a full blown Deneb architecture isnt better, it has 6MBs of cache that is obvious. My dispute is the difference is only by as small amount (FPS) when the X2 leading, despite having the extra 6MB of cache and despite being clocked 400Mhz higher, if they were clocked the same that small and insignificant lead would be a lot narrower in gaming. And to be fair the X3 did beat out the X2 in a few tests too which shows the potential that a X3 has even with such a low base clock and missing cache. Even TomsHardware shows that the Athlon II X3 is closer to its Phenom II X3 cousin in gaming!

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/athlon-ii-x3,2452-10.html



> Once you consider consistency for the dollar however, the stock Athlon X3 435 looks very attractive indeed compared to its Phenom II X3 720 cousin.





NdMk2o1o said:


> It is a cut down phenom core doesn't overclock as much, the chances of unlocking to anything are much less likely and the difference in price of an Athlon II x3 and a PII x2 are negligible so thats a null comment



The X3 overclock pretty, granted it might not get 4Ghz, but 3.6-3.8 GHz is a pretty standard and respectable OC, as for the unlock factor is mathematically 50% whether one goes for the X2 or X3, if the  unlock fails I know which one I would rather.


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## JrRacinFan (Jun 22, 2010)

NdMk2o1o said:


> Contradiction there? people are giving their opinions and you say he isn't looking for opinions then recommend an Athlon II x4 lol
> 
> Though as I mentioned if he is considering an Athlon II then over a PII x2 the only viable option is an Athlon II x4 so I will agree with you on that.
> 
> Other than that the Atlon II x3 isn't worth it plain and simple



Yes I did contradict myself.  We are on the same page with the Athlon II X4.  And you are correct he isn't looking for opinions, and what I posted previously (See post 2) wasn't opinion.


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## TONYSALEM (Jun 22, 2010)

Ahhh.. I thank everyone for the feedback. Here is the deal.. I am getting one of these combos tomorrow and from what i see here the 555 black is the best of these choices. It is going in my living room for mostly movies and music.. But i always like to have it ready if i wanted to play a little game of battlefield 2 or something..My daughter plays little games like dora and whatnot but she likes the shooter once in a while so i need it capable!! I really just wanted to know if there was a way by looking at the closed box to tell if this or that one is better chance of unlocking?


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## NdMk2o1o (Jun 22, 2010)

Dent1 said:


> The X3 overclock pretty, granted it might no get 4Ghz, but 3.6-3.8 GHz is a pretty standard and respectable OC, as for the unlock factor is mathematically 50% whether one goes for the X2 or X3, if the  unlock fails I know which one I would rather.



I'm sorry I could find many more reviews which is easy to do saying that the PII > the Athlon II all day long and it does, dont pick out a few tests, you need to look at all of them and then look at the overall picture and the fact is the PII beats the Athlon II outright most of the time and not just in gaming. 

I dont see your argument, the Athlon II is marketed below the PII and as such the performance puts it where it should be. 

I see you are the proud owner of an Athlon II x4 though i will do any test with my PII x2 unlocked against your Athlon clock for clock if you want a real world comparison just to prove a point.



TONYSALEM said:


> Ahhh.. I thank everyone for the feedback. Here is the deal.. I am getting one of these combos tomorrow and from what i see here the 555 black is the best of these choices. It is going in my living room for mostly movies and music.. But i always like to have it ready if i wanted to play a little game of battlefield 2 or something..My daughter plays little games like dora and whatnot but she likes the shooter once in a while so i need it capable!! I really just wanted to know if there was a way by looking at the closed box to tell if this or that one is better chance of unlocking?
> 
> [url]http://lookpic.com/d2/i2/182/C9HGANdj.jpeg[/URL]



And at that price the Athlon II x4 is a steal, as mentioned if you must got with an Athlon II then get the X4, and that is a bargain


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## JrRacinFan (Jun 22, 2010)

@TonySalem

The board has the capability but what if it doesn't unlock? That's my only rebuttal. If it helps any look for 1004CPMW and 1004EPMW batch numbers.


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## TONYSALEM (Jun 22, 2010)

If it does not unlock i am ok with the fast dual with the l3 cache.. I will overclock it as far as the board,ram,and tuniq 120 let me!!  

* Are you guys thinking the x4 630 is the better route?


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## joeyck (Jun 22, 2010)

get the PII x 2, i'm not going to say why or have an internet debate PII is the newest architecture and is simply perfect. the athlons r old so yea thats all i'ma say lol get a PII x 2


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## Dent1 (Jun 22, 2010)

NdMk2o1o said:


> I'm sorry I could find many more reviews which is easy to do saying that the PII > the Athlon II all day long and it does




The dispute is not about PII and Athlon II.

The dispute is about Athlon II _X3 _and Phenom II _X2_ specifically.




NdMk2o1o said:


> dont pick out a few tests, you need to look at all of them and then look at the overall picture and the fact is the PII beats the Athlon II outright most of the time and not just in gaming.



They were not random tests, I only selected the gaming tests because the conversation shifted towards gaming. If we are talking about work related tasks the both the Athlon II X3 and X4 will beat the Phenom II X2 by a land slide, look at the encoding, productivity, rendering and synthetic benchmarks and you'll see that the extra cores do better.



NdMk2o1o said:


> I see you are the proud owner of an Athlon II x4 though i will do any test with my PII x2 unlocked against your Athlon clock for clock if you want a real world comparison just to prove a point.



What will that prove? the argument isnt about "clock for clock" the argument is about 2 cores vs 3 cores or 2 cores vs 4 cores.


TONYSALEM, @ if you are playing Battlefield the Athlon II X4 is better, there are reviews that show that Battlefield Bad Company gets double the frame rate with quad cores in general, price/performance the X3 is best as it will give similar results for 40% less $$$.


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## NdMk2o1o (Jun 22, 2010)

joeyck said:


> get the PII x 2, i'm not going to say why or have an internet debate PII is the newest architecture and is simply perfect. the athlons r old so yea thats all i'ma say lol get a PII x 2



Well athlon II's are only as old as PII's if its a PII x2 Vs an Athlon II x4 then go with the x4, unless you want to take the risk of unlocking the PII, for the price of them deals as shown the Athlon II x4 is a sweet deal


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## Dent1 (Jun 22, 2010)

joeyck said:


> get the PII x 2, i'm not going to say why or have an internet debate PII is the newest architecture and is simply perfect. the athlons r old so yea thats all i'ma say lol get a PII x 2




The Athlon II came out after the Phenom II. You are getting confused with the Athlon I

Edit:

NdMk2o1o, I will accept your challenge but only if you keep your X2 locked - since the argument is about the Phenom II X2 550 with 6MB cache vs the Athlon II X3/X4 without L3 cache. We need to also include non-gaming related benchmarks as you also said "then look at the overall picture".

We should probably create a new thread for these tests?


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## joeyck (Jun 22, 2010)

actually i was thinking bout the anthlon 64 XD lol


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## TONYSALEM (Jun 22, 2010)

Now i am really confused.. lmao


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## JrRacinFan (Jun 23, 2010)

TONYSALEM said:


> Now i am really confused.. lmao



Just go with the x4 and call it a day is pretty much what everyone else is saying.


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## NdMk2o1o (Jun 23, 2010)

Dent1 said:


> The dispute is not about PII and Athlon II.
> 
> The dispute is about Athlon II _X3 _and Phenom II _X2_ specifically.
> 
> ...



Again in benchmarks this only shows that the Athlon II x3 bests the pII x2 to an extent when the Atlon is overclocked to 3.77ghz 

I agree at that Athlon II x3 vs the pII x2 550 then the athlon is the overall winner, though that said it has an extra core and is overclocked in them benches, the 550 was not! 

When you take into consideration the 550 wasn't overclocked and has 1 less core and still keeps up with the Athlon for the most part it makes sense to know the pII 550 will also overclock to 3.7ghz easily and beat it in most of those tests, add to the fact the chances to unlock to x3 with the 550 are high and in some cases x4 and the pII in my eyes is the clear winner.


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## Dent1 (Jun 23, 2010)

NdMk2o1o said:


> Again in benchmarks this only shows that the Athlon II x3 bests the pII x2 to an extent when the Atlon is overclocked to 3.77ghz
> 
> I agree at that Athlon II x3 vs the pII x2 550 then the athlon is the overall winner, though that said it has an extra core and is overclocked in them benches, the 550 was not!
> 
> When you take into consideration the 550 wasn't overclocked and has 1 less core and still keeps up with the Athlon for the most part it makes sense to know the pII 550 will also overclock to 3.7ghz easily and beat it in most of those tests,



Which website was that! The websites I posted had stock performances too, I am not sure where you are getting these overclocked stats from. Which website, on the TPU review the X3 dominated the work related tasks by a landslide and then went back and forth with the X2 in single threaded gaming tasks despite its architectural handicap - this was @ stock speeds, remember some of the tests are "lower is better".

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Athlon_II_X3_425/1.html



NdMk2o1o said:


> add tothe fact the chances to unlock to x3 with the 550 are high and in some cases x4 and the pII in my eyes is the clear winner.



But are missing the fact that the Athlon II X3 performs similarly in gaming to the X2, hands it to the X2 in work related tasks consistently and also has the potential to unlock too....and it costs 40% less! That is value for money at its best.

I accepted your challenge earlier, create the thread and we shall begin our benchmarks together, send me a pm when the thread is ready!


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## TONYSALEM (Jun 23, 2010)

Please link me to the "challenge" tread if it takes place please! Just for curiosity!!


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## NdMk2o1o (Jun 23, 2010)

Dent1 said:


> Which website was that! The websites I posted had stock performances too, I am not sure where you are getting these overclocked stats from. Which website, on the TPU review the X3 dominated the work related tasks by a landslide and then went back and forth with the X2 in single threaded gaming tasks despite its architectural handicap - this was @ stock speeds, remember some of the tests are "lower is better".
> 
> http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Athlon_II_X3_425/1.html
> 
> ...



Haha lovin this  well the only review I seen on toms hardware was with the athlon II x3 stock and oc' to 3.77ghz and at stock it was barely better than the pII x2. Also show me where an Athlon x3 is 40% cheaper than a pII 550, that would be worth the $ 

As for your acceptance I thought you said something about its not clock for clock but hey I am willing to put my money where my mouth is.

So heres the challenge, how about some ideas of benchmarks that me and Dent1 can run comparing my pII x2 unlocked compared to his Athlon II x4 at the same clock speeds can run that are not dependant on the gpu or memory


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## Dent1 (Jun 23, 2010)

NdMk2o1o said:


> well the only review I seen on toms hardware was with the athlon II x3 *stock* and oc' to 3.77ghz




So you now admit that the review had stock clocks in the review. Seems like your eyes suddenly got better. lol



NdMk2o1o said:


> and at stock it was *barely better *than the pII x2.



Now you are admitting that the X3 at stock is better (barely but still better) than the X2.  So by your own admission the X3 is better, so why would you pay more for the X2 if its slower by your own admission?



NdMk2o1o said:


> Also show me where an Athlon x3 is 40% cheaper than a pII 550, that would be worth the $



Ok you got me there 40% was a made up percentage. But regardless why would you pay more money for a processor that can only win insignificantly in one area, single threaded gaming, but gets handed in almost every thing else? Makes no sense.





NdMk2o1o said:


> As for your acceptance I thought you said something about its not clock for clock but hey I am willing to put my money where my mouth is.



My post as very clear from the start, the Athlon II X3 and X4 is faster than the Phenom II X2 in non-gaming related tasks by a landslide, in single threaded gaming related tasks the performance is exaggerated by the difference in clock speeds and if the clock speeds were identical the X2 will still win in single threaded gaming related tasks but it would be a more narrow victory. 




NdMk2o1o said:


> Some and Dent1 can run comparing my pII x2 *unlocke*d compared to his Athlon II x4 at the same clock speeds can run that are not dependant on the gpu or memory



The argument is about your Phenom II X2 (2 cores) outperforming a Athlon II X3 or X4, the fact that you are desperate to unlock your Phenom II X2 shows that you do not believe in your own processor or arguments lol - anyone else agree?


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## Dent1 (Jun 23, 2010)

Ok, the thread has been created and testing shall begin soon--> http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?p=1937917#post1937917

Reluctantly, I will agree to this challenge if NdMk2o1o has his processor locked to a X2 and his clock speed is lowered to match mine, or alternatively my clock speed overclocked to match his! - This way we get a true representation of the differences between 6MB of L3 vs 2 extra cores with no L3 cache.


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## brandonwh64 (Jun 23, 2010)

TONYSALEM said:


> If it does not unlock i am ok with the fast dual with the l3 cache.. I will overclock it as far as the board,ram,and tuniq 120 let me!!
> 
> ** Are you guys thinking the x4 630 is the better route?*



NO. get the Phenom II and join the club LOLZ


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## TONYSALEM (Jun 25, 2010)

I bought the Phenom II x2 555 Black.. Put it in loaded win 7, back in bios acc on and quad action. Occt stable and prime 95 for over 2 hours!! What a steal.


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## joeyck (Jun 25, 2010)

haha gj! told u 555 was the bttr route


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## Dent1 (Jun 25, 2010)

joeyck said:


> haha gj! told u 555 was the bttr route



He could of easily of got a dud, it was a 50/50 gamble!




TONYSALEM said:


> I bought the Phenom II x2 555 Black.. Put it in loaded win 7, back in bios acc on and quad action. Occt stable and prime 95 for over 2 hours!! What a steal.



Gad that everything has worked out for you, its a great processor


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## TONYSALEM (Jun 25, 2010)

I thought about the Athlon II X4 630 but the guy at Microcenter i always deal with said if the 555 black doesn't unlock bring it back till you find one that does unlock all 4 and is stable!! Nice huh


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## joeyck (Jun 25, 2010)

nothing wrong with gambling lol


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## MN12BIRD (Jun 25, 2010)

Just wondering.  With the AII vs PII and L3 cache debate can't you also unlock the 6MB L3 cache on the Athlon II x3 and x4's?


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## JrRacinFan (Jun 25, 2010)

MN12BIRD said:


> Just wondering.  With the AII vs PII and L3 cache debate can't you also unlock the 6MB L3 cache on the Athlon II x3 and x4's?



Only on some. The ones you are speaking of have "CAYAC" in the stepping and batch information on the IHS etching and are based on a disabled Deneb core.



TONYSALEM said:


> I bought the Phenom II x2 555 Black.. Put it in loaded win 7, back in bios acc on and quad action. Occt stable and prime 95 for over 2 hours!! What a steal.



Congrats!!!! Did you happen to catch what the batch no. was on it?


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## TONYSALEM (Jun 25, 2010)

JrRacinFan said:


> Congrats!!!! Did you happen to catch what the batch no. was on it?



I did not but.. as soon as i can find some AMD screws for my Tuniq Tower 120 i will be switching coolers so i will look and post the batch #... Good idea, i almost forgot to even look at the chip(first AMD) so i was excited!


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