# Phenom II X4 960T ''Zosma'' Unlock to Phenom II X6



## btarunr (Apr 16, 2010)

AMD's upcoming series of Phenom II X4 900T series that supports AMD Turbo Core technology, and which are based on the "Zosma" die, have been confirmed to be able to unlock both its manufacturer-disabled cores to work as a six-core processor. Zosma is a "cut-down" version of AMD's Thuban six-core die, where two of its cores are disabled. With the remaining four cores, two can function with increased clock-speeds in boost-state as Turbo cores (3/6 could on the X6 chip). 

The core unlocking is said to have been done on an AMD 890GX chipset based motherboard, in the same way disabled cores on Phenom II X3 and X2 chips are unlocked. One of the first models based on Zosma are the Phenom II X4 960T and X4 940T, which operate at 3.30 GHz and 3.00 GHz, respectively. Their Turbo Core speeds are up to 500 MHz over clock speeds, depending on the model. The X4 T-series could form AMD's mainstream processor in the sub-$200 range.

*View at TechPowerUp Main Site*


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## btarunr (Apr 16, 2010)

Many Thanks to cdawall for sending this in.


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## cdawall (Apr 16, 2010)

Hehe of course I found this


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## AlienIsGOD (Apr 16, 2010)

O snap!! MOAR Cores !! I really think AMD has a winner on thier hands in these X4's.  If unlocking ratio is good, these X4 will sell like hotcakes..


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## MikeX (Apr 16, 2010)

960T the new 550BE


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## cool_recep (Apr 16, 2010)

Wow man. From 2 cores to 4  cores was good but with 6 cores, my e-penis will be 6 feet longer anymore. w00t

Seriously good.


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## JrRacinFan (Apr 16, 2010)

Any information on exactly which AMD 8 series boards were used in the source?


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## cdawall (Apr 16, 2010)

JrRacinFan said:


> Any information on exactly which AMD 8 series boards were used in the source?



The asus and asrock have core unlocking from what has been said so far but others may have it...


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## claylomax (Apr 16, 2010)

Release date?


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## Steevo (Apr 16, 2010)

3.3Ghz with a 500Mhz clock increase? triple core 3.8Ghz from the factory......


Sounds like a very overclockable chip..... I need one. Not that i do anything really that my CPU can't handle, but I just need it.


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## claylomax (Apr 16, 2010)

That's my next CPU.


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## [Ion] (Apr 16, 2010)

Any chance of unlocking on a 785G?


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## Mussels (Apr 16, 2010)

[Ion] said:


> Any chance of unlocking on a 785G?



i'd say definitely yes.


i'm gunna buy one, see if it unlocks, and if not... well, its gunna work nicely in my media PC until i go AMD on my main


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## Eng.Mostafa (Apr 16, 2010)

Wonderful ,, 

Keep it up AMD


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## naoan (Apr 16, 2010)

I wonder if its able to turbo if it unlock, just wondering as even if it won't it's still a very nice "feature". 

and wow, sub-$200? (both of them? for real?) get that Intel!


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## Baam (Apr 16, 2010)

cdawall said:


> The asus and asrock have core unlocking from what has been said so far but others may have it...



Nice. I think the MSI 890GX also has core unlocking with a bios update.


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## Tartaros (Apr 16, 2010)

Also the prices are great, you can do a great system with almost no money compared to intel. I recently purchased a new amd system and I'm very impressed.


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## Mussels (Apr 16, 2010)

naoan said:


> I wonder if its able to turbo if it unlock, just wondering as even if it won't it's still a very nice "feature".
> 
> and wow, sub-$200? (both of them? for real?) get that Intel!



that would depend on how good a chip you get.

Like, i'm sure many of these 'quads' are the ones that work fine as 6 core chips, just that they cant clock up right in turbo.. so hey, turn the FSB down a few MHz and it might go stable.


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## Kantastic (Apr 16, 2010)

cdawall said:


> Hehe of course I found this



Why was I not surprised? You seem to have all these wonderful chips that can unlock & clock to 4GHz, which is not an easy feat for an AM3 C2 chip.


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## [Ion] (Apr 16, 2010)

Mussels said:


> i'd say definitely yes.
> 
> 
> i'm gunna buy one, see if it unlocks, and if not... well, its gunna work nicely in my media PC until i go AMD on my main



So these Thuban-based chips do have DDR2 memory controllers, right?


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## suraswami (Apr 16, 2010)

[Ion] said:


> So these Thuban-based chips do have DDR2 memory controllers, right?



I believe the answer is 'Yes'.


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## [Ion] (Apr 16, 2010)

suraswami said:


> I believe the answer is 'Yes'.



Awesomeness!
I see what might be a new b-day upgrade for my rig


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## suraswami (Apr 16, 2010)

[Ion] said:


> Awesomeness!
> I see what might be a new b-day upgrade for my rig



According to Gigabyte this AM2+ board (which I recently bought) with bios update support X6 procs

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/CPUSupport_Model.aspx?ProductID=3193&ver=

But the god damn gigabyte is not releasing a bios update for my main board.  If they do not release I am going kick that board out and buy an Asus/MSI 890 + DDR3


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## cdawall (Apr 16, 2010)

Kantastic said:


> Why was I not surprised? You seem to have all these wonderful chips that can unlock & clock to 4GHz, which is not an easy feat for an AM3 C2 chip.



I have a lot of fun chips and all c1 and c2 chips can do 4ghz it depends on the person clocking them


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## cadaveca (Apr 16, 2010)

cdawall said:


> I have a lot of fun chips and all c1 and c2 chips can do 4ghz it depends on the person clocking them



 I hate to say it, but you are very right.



Steevo said:


> 3.3Ghz with a 500Mhz clock increase? triple core 3.8Ghz from the factory....




I do not beleive the 960T will hit 3.8 on turbo, just 3.6. The 940T should hit 3.5ghz.


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## naoan (Apr 16, 2010)

Mussels said:


> that would depend on how good a chip you get.
> 
> Like, i'm sure many of these 'quads' are the ones that work fine as 6 core chips, just that they cant clock up right in turbo.. so hey, turn the FSB down a few MHz and it might go stable.



Well seeing some (many?) of the unlockable past Phenom/Athlon II were showing all sort of quirks I'm expecting this one will too, let's just hope Turbo is not one of the thing that goes awry.


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## Rakesh95 (Apr 16, 2010)

I actually own an Intel chip, but could somebody explain why AMD would'nt be suing these companies for having core enabling abilities. Isnt AMD losing a lot of money from this?


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## Gjohnst4 (Apr 16, 2010)

Nice, Been waiting for these. Hope my MSI 790FX GD70 can unlock these with a bios update


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## runnin17 (Apr 17, 2010)

This is really good news. Gotta love AMD. Intel is just plain boring compared to AMD. Woot!!!


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## dir_d (Apr 17, 2010)

Gjohnst4 said:


> Nice, Been waiting for these. Hope my MSI 790FX GD70 can unlock these with a bios update



It better or im gonna throw a shit fit


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## PCpraiser100 (Apr 17, 2010)

*facepalm* here we go again....


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## Mussels (Apr 17, 2010)

they get a 500MHz boost in turbo, so it all depends on the original clock.


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## Steevo (Apr 17, 2010)

Rakesh95 said:


> I actually own an Intel chip, but could somebody explain why AMD would'nt be suing these companies for having core enabling abilities. Isnt AMD losing a lot of money from this?



AMD is like the muscle shop down the street, Intel is like Mercedes Benz, when they have it its good, and when they don't you still buy for the name. Intel will change sockets again and again at a whim to force user to update, AMD is still providing great real world performance for users with slightly older machines.

I use both, but with current prices, and updates AMD is getting my build business, and also my home business. I have used C2D but for power use, total system cost, total system performance, and great chipsets and *****integrated video***** AMD is killing Intel.


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## btarunr (Apr 17, 2010)

Rakesh95 said:


> I actually own an Intel chip, but could somebody explain why AMD would'nt be suing these companies for having core enabling abilities. Isnt AMD losing a lot of money from this?



Because it doesn't want to. Kind of like the Radeon 9700 soft-mod that sold ATI tons of cards. AMD can always turn off this feature. Phenom I X3 and Athlon X2 7000 series could not be unlocked to X4 at all.


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## F430 (Apr 17, 2010)

how about 955 on 785ud3h ?


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## Wile E (Apr 17, 2010)

Saw this coming a mile away. Unlocks are always good news.


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## b82rez (Apr 17, 2010)

Can't wait for a legit person to review one of these chips....I'm hoping to upgrade to the 1090T if they bench well enough up against the i7.

Anyone know when these chips will release in Australia?


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## Kitkat (Apr 17, 2010)

unlocked its Phenom II X6 1605T  lol

http://www.xfastest.com/viewthread.php?tid=41281


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## MilkyWay (Apr 17, 2010)

do you guys think these new x4s will clock or perform any better than the current x4s?
im not talking about unlock ability just 4 cores

looks good but i dunno if id rather scope out a current x4 since a lot of people might sell those to fund the x6 purchase, you could get a nice deal possibly especially if its a proven chip


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## Mussels (Apr 17, 2010)

MilkyWay said:


> do you guys think these new x4s will clock or perform any better than the current x4s?
> im not talking about unlock ability just 4 cores
> 
> looks good but i dunno if id rather scope out a current x4 since a lot of people might sell those to fund the x6 purchase, you could get a nice deal possibly especially if its a proven chip



well, 500MHz is already guranteed due to turbo


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## cauby (Apr 17, 2010)

Rakesh95 said:


> I actually own an Intel chip, but could somebody explain why AMD would'nt be suing these companies for having core enabling abilities. Isnt AMD losing a lot of money from this?



and just complementing for what others said,it also kind of serves as a good marketing oportunity for them.They sell quad cores that could possibly be unlocked to six cores,people will see the news on the net and say "Wow,possible 6 cores for U$200?I gotta get one of these" and so they will sell well...that just what happened with many of the Athlons and Phenom II.


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## Zubasa (Apr 17, 2010)

btarunr said:


> Because it doesn't want to. Kind of like the Radeon 9700 soft-mod that sold ATI tons of cards. AMD can always turn off this feature. Phenom I X3 and Athlon X2 7000 series could not be unlocked to X4 at all.


Actually some of them did unlock 
http://www.techpowerup.com/92330/Athlon_X2_7750_BE_Unlocked_to_Quad-Core.html


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## AlienIsGOD (Apr 17, 2010)

But do these new X4 and X6 have a DDR2 memory controller?  I wiki'ed it and it says there is both http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenom_II.


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## WarEagleAU (Apr 18, 2010)

Cheaper for me than going the full 6 core way, especially since the Asus board I want will unlock this


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## MikeX (Apr 18, 2010)

dont go all happy now, cuz next gen will be hyperthread (Bulldozer), 4/8 and 8/16.
I think I get a sempron 140 unlock to 2 cores then wait for Bulldozer. XD


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## rizla1 (Apr 19, 2010)

MikeX said:


> dont go all happy now, cuz next gen will be hyperthread (Bulldozer), 4/8 and 8/16.
> I think I get a sempron 140 unlock to 2 cores then wait for Bulldozer. XD



bulldozer doesnt actually use hypertreading , the cores are in groups of 2 the goups of cores are real cores not hyperteading .  Anyway would intel not sue them for using hypertreading?


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## Trigger911 (Apr 21, 2010)

Man i am getting behind on this stuff


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

I just acquired a 960t Black edition for $75 and it will not detect all 4 cores in my motherboard (msi k9n6pgm2-v2)

I was wondering:

1. How much I could sell the chip for

2. If it's worth keeping and buying a new motherboard to unlock all 6 cores

Edit: what are my chances that the cores are even unlock able and if there is a way to find out without buying a new motherboard


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 5, 2010)

hmmm no offense to the person above me but i smell troll....

*whiff whiff.... yup
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 *


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> hmmm no offense to the person above me but i smell troll....
> 
> *whiff whiff.... yuphttp://www.themudflats.net/wp-content/uploads/troll.jpg *



Quit spamming and making useless posts


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 5, 2010)

dont insult me last anyone knew these CPUs never saw the light of day they were scrapped so untill i see a VALIDATED CPU Z color me skeptical not to mention talk about resurecting an old thread


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> dont insult me last anyone knew these CPUs never saw the light of day they were scrapped so untill i see a VALIDATED CPU Z color me skeptical



How do I "validate" cpu-z?


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 5, 2010)

right at the bottom it says validate click it lol now wheres the almight W1zzard the GOD OF TPU when i need him to look at this and tell me its real


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> right at the bottom it says validate click it lol now wheres the almight W1zzard the GOD OF TPU when i need him to look at this and tell me its real



I'm not sure if this means it's validated or not

"ID : 1376519
Submitted by casemods | Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:00:30 +0200 | Rejected by CPU-Z 1.55"

So it was rejected?


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 5, 2010)

yea sometimes CPUZ does that not sure if its a fluke and ur cpu is legit or not this is why i want to see W1zzard pop in 

kinda weird tho that yours has Rated FSB and it should say HT link instead on the bottom left


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> yea sometimes CPUZ does that not sure if its a fluke and ur cpu is legit or not this is why i want to see W1zzard pop in



Well I'm probably going to just take it out and put my dual core back in so I can play GTAIV.

I'll take a pic of the CPU when I do that...but I'll leave it in so I can do the cpu-z thing

also my friend on steam was telling me that my bios should have a setting for enabling the 4 cores, but in the CPU list on this board, this cpu is not listed. only 2 thuban x6's...any ideas?

right now it's only running 1 core as you can see


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 5, 2010)

well if its an engineering sample you have to manually set the clocks for one thing sort of like the AMD TWEAKER it had low clock speeds if your cpu is real then 9/10 its an engineering sample altho unlikely....

it might also be that your bios just dosent support the CPU period if so thats why its running as it is


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> well if its an engineering sample you have to manually set the clocks for one thing sort of like the AMD TWEAKER it had low clock speeds if your cpu is real then 9/10 its an engineering sample altho unlikely....



Guy who I bought it from said he knows a guy at AMD

/g/ said it's an engineering sample.


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

LOL





Uploaded with ImageShack.us


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 5, 2010)

well this is why i want to hear from W1zzard or BTA as they are the ones who can probably find out more about this


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## erocker (Sep 5, 2010)

It's an engineering sample and the motherboard doesn't support it so yes, everything is going to be out of whack. Casemods, have you tried updating to the latest bios on your motherboard?



crazyeyesreaper said:


> hmmm no offense to the person above me but i smell troll....
> 
> *whiff whiff.... yuphttp://www.themudflats.net/wp-content/uploads/troll.jpg *



Please don't make these kind of pointless garbage posts. Thanks.


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

erocker said:


> It's an engineering sample and the motherboard doesn't support it so yes, everything is going to be out of whack. Casemods, have you tried updating to the latest bios on your motherboard?



A steam friend was going to walk me through it last night but when I opened the .exe, a cmd window opened, had some writing at the top but closed in less than a second, so I'm not sure how to do the update.


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## erocker (Sep 5, 2010)

casemods said:


> A steam friend was going to walk me through it last night but when I opened the .exe, a cmd window opened, had some writing at the top but closed in less than a second, so I'm not sure how to do the update.



Usually, the best method is to update the bios within the bios. Your motherboard manual should have this information. What motherboard are you using?


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

erocker said:


> Usually, the best method is to update the bios within the bios. Your motherboard manual should have this information. What motherboard are you using?



msi k9n6pgm2-v2


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## erocker (Sep 5, 2010)

casemods said:


> msi k9n6pgm2-v2



Not going to happen on that motherboard. The CPU will not work correctly. You will need something with a newer chipset (AMD 8XX, or Nvifia 9xxa).


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

erocker said:


> Not going to happen on that motherboard. The CPU will not work correctly. You will need something with a newer chipset (AMD 8XX, or Nvifia 9xxa).



I was going to get this board - any good?

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0334891

Also, any idea what I could sell this thing for

I was just trying to get a decent quad core for GTAIV


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## erocker (Sep 5, 2010)

casemods said:


> I was going to get this board - any good?
> 
> http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0334891
> 
> ...



That motherboard would maybe work. It is an engineering sample so you never know.

Like I said in my previous post, we cannot discuss selling them here.


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

erocker said:


> Like I said in my previous post, we cannot discuss selling them here.



Why not?


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## cadaveca (Sep 5, 2010)

casemods said:


> Why not?



Sale of ES cpus is illegal. TPU doesn't condone ANY illegal activities.


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

cadaveca said:


> Sale of ES cpus is illegal. TPU doesn't condone ANY illegal activities.



Should I take this back to the guy that sold it to me then?


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## cadaveca (Sep 5, 2010)

To me, technically, yes, as technically he stole it, and you are in possesion of stolen merchandise.



If you are an AMD employee or agent that has this cpu legitimately, then it's all good.


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

cadaveca said:


> To me, technically, yes, as technically he stole it, and you are in possesion of stolen merchandise.



He said his friend works at AMD

He said he got a lot of CPU's from him and they all have worked.

So maybe his friend just gets a bunch of free cpu's?

Is it illegal to give them away?

I doubt he would jeopardize his job at AMD...but I have no idea...

Maybe he didn't know it was an engineering sample because his friend just gave it to him...that sounds pretty reasonable...


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## cadaveca (Sep 5, 2010)

I suggest you just leave the whole topic alone. And yes, if AMD were to call back all the 960Ts out there, and one person failed to return one, it could cause some issues for the person unable to return it.

ES cpus are given out on loan for testing purposes. Sometimes they end up in big OEM boxes though(I have quite a few ES intel cpus pulled from Dell boxes), however, there aren't really any 960T machines on the market, at least that I am aware of.


EDIT: however, if these cpus are launched, or about to launch, he may have been "given" the cpu permanently, but sale is still illegal. CPU does exist, and is real, obviously. But now you must understand the reaction Crazyeye had.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 5, 2010)

yea sorry for the garbage post but someone ive never seen joins the forums today and says they have a 960T its makes a man raise and eyebrow or 2 and a jaw drop as well lol

and since they havent been released publicly you can probably understand the *troll post* come on erocker i know damn well your a mod but if you had randomly stumbled across this first you would have had the same thoughts i did just your a mod so you cant step out line as often as us regular ppl who just get infractions *points at mailman*


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## pantherx12 (Sep 5, 2010)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> yea sorry for the garbage post but someone ive never seen joins the forums today and says they have a 960T its makes a man raise and eyebrow or 2 and a jaw drop as well lol
> 
> and since they havent been released publicly you can probably understand the *troll post* come on erocker i know damn well your a mod but if you had randomly stumbled across this first you would have had the same thoughts i did just your a mod so you cant step out line as often as us regular ppl who just get infractions *points at mailman*



Back in my day trolling was slightly more extreme then what this guy just done 

Good news on the zozma chips if they get released, shame I can't do anything with this info : [


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## Loosenut (Sep 5, 2010)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> yea sorry for the garbage post but someone ive never seen joins the forums today and says they have a 960T its makes a man raise and eyebrow or 2 and a jaw drop as well lol
> 
> and since they havent been released publicly you can probably understand the *troll post* come on erocker i know damn well your a mod but if you had randomly stumbled across this first you would have had the same thoughts i did just your a mod so you cant step out line as often as us regular ppl who just get infractions *points at mailman*



Mailman?  

He was framed I tell you... He was framed


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## Wile E (Sep 5, 2010)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> yea sorry for the garbage post but someone ive never seen joins the forums today and says they have a 960T its makes a man raise and eyebrow or 2 and a jaw drop as well lol
> 
> and since they havent been released publicly you can probably understand the *troll post* come on erocker i know damn well your a mod but if you had randomly stumbled across this first you would have had the same thoughts i did just your a mod so you cant step out line as often as us regular ppl who just get infractions **points at mailman**



Hey, you shouldn't talk about your daddy that way.

(See what I did there?)


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 5, 2010)

if mailman was my dad it would better explain my behavior but sadly hes not... mines a drunken bum who likes to say things along the lines of   "get off my lawn" followed by colorful language we all enjoy... or complain when hung over... mailman would be a much better dad i could laugh as he gets hit with bansticks all the time that would be awesome...

i must be getting more popular as well everyones quoting the same post from me lol 



wait on second thought mailman would be a horrible father hed steal 1 of my 5850s and say i didnt deserve it cause i was acting like an ass and thats his job not mine


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## erocker (Sep 5, 2010)

This is a news post. Please stay on topic.

Thank you.


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## boise49ers (Sep 5, 2010)

Mussels said:


> i'd say definitely yes.
> 
> 
> i'm gunna buy one, see if it unlocks, and if not... well, its gunna work nicely in my media PC until i go AMD on my main



Good, what is the price range ?


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

Here are some pics I just took


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## erocker (Sep 5, 2010)

casemods said:


> Here are some pics I just took



It's not an engineering sample. That is a legitimate 960T OEM CPU.


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

erocker said:


> It's not an engineering sample. That is a legitimate 960T OEM CPU.



What does that mean exactly?

And since it's legal now, what's it worth?


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## erocker (Sep 5, 2010)

casemods said:


> What does that mean exactly?
> 
> And since it's legal now, what's it worth?



I have no idea... I need to research it further. You figure though, a new 965BE goes for about $170 bucks.


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

erocker said:


> I have no idea... I need to research it further. You figure though, a new 965BE goes for about $170 bucks.



But is the 965BE theban based with 2 locked cores?

From what I read"

"With all 6 cores running, the 960T is recognized by BIOS as "Phenom II X6 1605T"


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 5, 2010)

well in terms of what you would pay the 960T wouldnt be much better then a 965 a 960T will oc further etc etc but at stock and at 4 cores new it would probably be close to the 965be in price that said yours is bare cpu only and has had a couple users new its worth probably as erocker posted above $170 to sell it now you might actually get that since theres a few ppl who want one lol but in terms of used sales id say $120 ish for the most part maybe a bit more but right now you have the only one so who knows someone might pay a good price for it


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> well in terms of what you would pay the 960T wouldnt be much better then a 965 a 960T will oc further etc etc but at stock and at 4 cores new it would probably be close to the 965be in price that said yours is bare cpu only and has had a couple users new its worth probably as erocker posted above $170 to sell it now you might actually get that since theres a few ppl who want one lol but in terms of used sales id say $120 ish for the most part maybe a bit more but right now you have the only one so who knows someone might pay a good price for it



From what I understand, it was never used.

Also, can't it be unlocked to 6 cores, making it more valuable as an X6 1605T?


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## erocker (Sep 5, 2010)

casemods said:


> Also, can't it be unlocked to 6 cores, making it more valuable as an X6 1605T?



It's not certain. Some can, some cannot. It's possible the extra two cores are defective or disabled.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 5, 2010)

^ exactly and besides with Bing cashback and deals on different sites you can get a 1055T for around $180 and if really lucky you can sometimes score 1035T OEM 6 cores for even less on ebay etc pulled from OEM rigs


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> ^ exactly and besides with Bing cashback and deals on different sites you can get a 1055T for around $180 and if really lucky you can sometimes score 1035T OEM 6 cores for even less on ebay etc pulled from OEM rigs



Keep it or sell it for $150+ and get an athlon x4 for $80?


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## cadaveca (Sep 5, 2010)

Keep it. Will not be a common cpu, and the Turbo function, in a proper board, will be quite useful. I'd have fun with it.


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

cadaveca said:


> Keep it. Will not be a common cpu, and the Turbo function, in a proper board, will be quite useful. I'd have fun with it.



OK I will. Turbo ads what? 50% or something?

How can I tell what boards would utilize the turbo?

Looking at these 2 boards right now


http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0334891

Open Box: ASUS M4A89TD PRO AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/...


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## theonedub (Sep 5, 2010)

casemods said:


> Keep it or sell it for $150+ and get an athlon x4 for $80?



Definitely keep it, an Athlon II X4 is nothing special. 



crazyeyesreaper said:


> ^ exactly and besides *with Bing cashback *and deals on different sites you can get a 1055T for around $180 and if really lucky you can sometimes score 1035T OEM 6 cores for even less on ebay etc pulled from OEM rigs



Bing cashback is dead, RIP


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## erocker (Sep 5, 2010)

casemods said:


> OK I will. Turbo ads what? 50% or something?
> 
> How can I tell what boards would utilize the turbo?
> 
> ...



The 890FX is well worth the extra $14 bucks!


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

erocker said:


> The 890FX is well worth the extra $14 bucks!



It's $30 more! Which is a lot when you factor in shipping (now $40 more)


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## erocker (Sep 5, 2010)

$129.99 vs. 

$142.86 w/ shipping

=

$12.87


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## cadaveca (Sep 5, 2010)

casemods said:


> OK I will. Turbo ads what? 50% or something?
> 
> How can I tell what boards would utilize the turbo?
> 
> ...



You want a board with a good Thuban bios. I am not playing with Thuban yet, so I have no idea what is best at the moment...I've been very patiently waiting for ASUS Crosshair 4 Extreme before using my own Thuban. Lots of others here have 'em though, so bet to look at what they say.

Not sure what turbo-speed is...i think it's 3.0 stock, and 3.4 Turbo(as is marked in green sharpie on your cpu). This is quite a bit slower than 965BE, but power consumption is much better..should be around 80w or so stock(95w max).


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

erocker said:


> $129.99 vs.
> 
> $142.86 w/ shipping
> 
> ...



The microcenter board (open box just like newegg) is only $104.00 with maybe $10 tax = $114.00 out the door.


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## erocker (Sep 5, 2010)

casemods said:


> The microcenter board (open box just like newegg) is only $104.00 with maybe $10 tax = $114.00 out the door.



That's not too bad.. Both boards have Thuban bios's so either will work. If you want less expensive, go for it.


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## cadaveca (Sep 5, 2010)

bah...just stick it in the mail, headed in my direction.


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

erocker said:


> That's not too bad.. Both boards have Thuban bios's so either will work. If you want less expensive, go for it.



What would I be missing out on if I went the microcenter board vs the newegg board, out of curiosity?


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## cadaveca (Sep 5, 2010)

880G board,  w/IGP, less pci-e, vs 890FX, max pci-e, no IGP.

890FX is better for overclocking.


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

cadaveca said:


> 880G board,  w/IGP, less pci-e, vs 890FX, max pci-e, no IGP.
> 
> 890FX is better for overclocking.



I'm not going to be doing any overclocking, just want to unlock the cores if possible and possibly use the turbo function if it doesn't decrease the life span of the CPU.


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## pantherx12 (Sep 5, 2010)

casemods said:


> I'm not going to be doing any overclocking, just want to unlock the cores if possible and possibly use the turbo function if it doesn't decrease the life span of the CPU.



The CPUs are designed to run turbo straight away with no fiddling thus running it won't decrease the life span.






By the way, assuming CPU is 3ghz turbo will net you a 16.5% increase not 50%.


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## Mussels (Sep 5, 2010)

boise49ers said:


> Good, what is the price range ?



that post was ollllld as. i bought an x6 thuban months ago.


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## cadaveca (Sep 5, 2010)

casemods said:


> I'm not going to be doing any overclocking, just want to unlock the cores if possible and possibly use the turbo function if it doesn't decrease the life span of the CPU.



When it comes to unlocking cores, you need to get a motherboard that supports unlocking, as the unlock hardware in 790FX is not present in the 800-series chipsets. ASUS and gigabyte have added thier own hardware to unlock, while MSI relies on software to unlock.

I'd like to explore how that works, so this chip is very interesting to me. So much so..I'll give you 965BE for it.


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## Loosenut (Sep 5, 2010)

cadaveca said:


> I'd like to explore how that works, so this chip is very interesting to me. So much so..I'll give you 965BE for it.



Even though a trade for a 965BE is an amazing offer, I imagine he's received quite a few pm'ed offers for that chip by now


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## cadaveca (Sep 5, 2010)

Loosenut said:


> Even though a trade for a 965BE is an amazing offer, I imagine he's received quite a few pm'ed offers for that chip by now



Not sure why though. It's nothing really spectacular...same as 940BE, but with turbo. IT would be quite a bit slower than 965BE...I'm just interested in investigating the differences between MSi's software unlock, and the hardware solution provided by the other two.

So really, I don't REALLY want it ...playing with it might be fun. But it might be NOT fun too.....the chip might NOT unlock.


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## pantherx12 (Sep 5, 2010)

cadaveca said:


> IT would be quite a bit slower than 965BE....



Why would you run it stock speed anyway ?


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## Loosenut (Sep 5, 2010)

If he does decide to trade with you, I'd be very curious to know what your results are.


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## cadaveca (Sep 5, 2010)

pantherx12 said:


> Why would you run it stock speed anyway ?










I pretty much run stock 24/7 because of my environment, and temps(using stock cooler, even). Seems Crossfire needs an OC, but really, I think that's asinine. I think i might be making a change in Intel very soon...only thing holding me back ATM is my 4x2gb mem...cost too much for me to buy another set for 1366. Problably won't be able to find another set of hypers.

I'm also interested in how Turbo, at stock, might affect Crossfire performance.


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## pantherx12 (Sep 5, 2010)

Oh right, just used to everyone busting crazy clocks on every bit of kit they have XD


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## theonedub (Sep 5, 2010)

cadaveca said:


> http://forums.techpowerup.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=37878&stc=1&d=1283701737
> 
> 
> I pretty much run stock 24/7 because of my environment, and temps(using stock cooler, even). Seems Crossfire needs an OC, but really, I think that's asinine. I think i might be making a change in Intel very soon...only thing holding me back ATM is my 4x2gb mem...cost too much for me to buy another set for 1366. Problably won't be able to find another set of hypers.
> ...



OT, but you could probably lower that Vcore


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## cadaveca (Sep 5, 2010)

theonedub said:


> OT, but you could probably lower that Vcore



Actually, no, I cannot. Load temps are 65c under P95, far too hot for any volt drops.

Once colder, sure, 1.275v, no problem, but need to keep load under 48c.



Hence me willing to play with other chips...what I've got now is absolute crap, in my house.


Thanks for the advice, but trust me...I definately know what to do when it comes to overclocking. Probably moreso than most, given my "skills" in memory tweaking. I can't even got 3500mhz outta this chip on the stock cooler, and stock volts. It being a 965BE really has no reflection on how good the chip _might_ be.


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## theonedub (Sep 5, 2010)

I was just making an observation and offering up an opinion not judging your abilities, so you can save the skills and 'I know more than you' talk for someone else. 

Must suck to have such a crappy chip, I'd have gotten rid of it by now.


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## cadaveca (Sep 5, 2010)

It's actually not so bad...4ghz @ 1.475. Just need good cooling for it to scale.

Overclocking is something I lost interest in some time ago. Unfortunately, testing shows that 965BE @ stock is not sufficient to push 5870 Crossfire, but learning that was well worth any "crappyness" that this chip may have.

And sry, you posted OT, just to try to give advice, to someone that doesn't need it. I'm not bragging, just stating a fact. Anyone that spends some decent time tweaking can do that same, hence the quotations aorund "skill"..I do not see it as any skill. It's really not hard to change a setting, and test the effects. you may think it's me bragging, when really, any "skill" in overclocking, to me, is a joke.

But in the end, yes, because this cpu isn't a "stellar" chip, my interest in 960T remains fairly high. I don't think it will offer the performacne the rest of my system needs...and unfortunately, it seems no AMD chip, at stock, will meet the needs of 5870 Crossfire.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 5, 2010)

well the 960T where its thuban probably has a much better IMC  ive seen many THubans getting over 3000mhz NB with relative ease with good cooling where as 955 965 need extreme volts to do the same thing and as you mentioned the higher the NB the better CF seemed to scale so id say its worth it due to bandwidth and latency drop


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## cadaveca (Sep 5, 2010)

Yeah, my thoughts exactly, and hence my interest...need to see if it pans out that way or not...

I have 1090T here, have for many months now...still waiting for the CH4Extreme, as I mentioned earlier...maybe that might be better...but...I'd much rather have the direct compare of a Deneb vs Thuban, @ natural 4core. Also, the compare of how disabled cores affects performacne, might be interesting too.

Seems kinda odd that they have named it 960T, given the clockspeeds, too...IMHO should be called 940T.

ya gotta wonder about the binning process too...is it downbinned for bad cores...or maybe bad IMC...or NB? Quite an interesting chip, to me.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 5, 2010)

or most likely they could be 1090T derivatives that didnt make the cut thus lower speeds all around if say 1 core is truly faulty then it couldnt be a 1055t or a 1035t oem so my guess is the 960T has at least 1 bad core good thing about core unlocking tho u dont need to unlock ALL the cores a 5 core cpu might be pretty interesting as well


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## casemods (Sep 5, 2010)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> or most likely they could be 1090T derivatives that didnt make the cut thus lower speeds all around if say 1 core is truly faulty then it couldnt be a 1055t or a 1035t oem so my guess is the 960T has at least 1 bad core good thing about core unlocking tho u dont need to unlock ALL the cores a 5 core cpu might be pretty interesting as well



Well I was planning on seeing if I could unlock the cores, but not sure how to do it.

Any guides on this?

Probably going to get the microcenter motherboard today since it's close by.

I don't want to do anything that can possibly damage the CPU at all though.

I have a couple people interested in it and I don't see the need to keep it unless it's actually capable of unlocking to 6 cores (or 5 even like you said)

edit: probably getting this, since it's 15 minutes away

http://www.frys.com/product/6250080?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

MSI 870A-G54 AMD 870 AM3 Motherboard  

$90 after rebate

"OC Genie and Unlock CPU Core"

"stable core unlock function, overclocking capability"

should do the trick, yeah?


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## crazyeyesreaper (Sep 5, 2010)

i prefer the asus M4A785 TD V evo since i can pretty much jump into the bios and manually set what core to unlock in under 20 seconds i had 2 athlon II x3 440s unlock to Quads with L3 about a week ago on those boards surprisingly enough they were C2 variants so extremely rare they unlocked with L3 but cpuz and the benchmarks didnt lie

not sure if it supports turbo or not etc etc tho


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