How to unlock 4th Core on a Phenom II (x2 or x3)

[Quinn]

Alright, Before we start, you are going to need knowledge of Overclocking and general BIOS knowledge.

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If you went cheap like me, and bought either a AMD Phenom II Dual Core or Tri-Core, you can have the power of a Quad in you system for less

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DISCLAIMER!!! I am not responsible for any damage to anything in your computer, or any damage to anything that this tutorial could affect.

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Background knowledge: You may be thinking right now, why is it even possible for me to unlock all four cores on my Phenom II x2/x3? The answer is simple, AMD was lazy in a way, so all x2/x3 processors are actually Quad core processors, with 1-2 cores disabled or malfunctioning.

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As was said above, some processors have broken/malfunctioning cores. This is where the main risk comes in, because when all four cores have been unlocked, the broken ones may cause the system to not boot into the OS, sometimes the system won't even POST (google it). My Phenom II x3's fourth core has one malfunction that I have found so far. It doesn't like to boot when the processor has been OC'ed. I have read that someone even fried their CPU/MB/RAM by unlocking the fourth core, so be careful.

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Tutorial: Turn on your PC, and go to the BIOS. Now, if yours has an overclocking tab, like mine does, go to that (sorry HP/Dell/Acer/Gateway etc users, you will not have this menu, as the aforementioned company's disable overclocking options in the BIOS) Now, go down until you see a option called "Advanced Clock Calibration". If you have it, set it to auto. There, hopefully you are done, save the settings and exit the BIOS, and see if your fourth core works right

(If not, try setting the CPU back to its original clock/voltages)

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If you BIOS does not have the "Advanced Clock Calibration", then you are SOL (Shit Out of Luck

[Diggy]

I have read that someone even fried their CPU/MB/RAM by unlocking the fourth core, so be careful.

I think that may a bit too risky but apart from that awesome find and nice tut!

[Quinn]

I think that may a bit too risky but apart from that awesome find and nice tut!

 

I think it was the guy's fault, can't remember why though

[Diggy]

I think it was the guy's fault, can't remember why though

I take it he exposed the cpu/ram/mobo to static electricity?

[Quinn]

I take it he exposed the cpu/ram/mobo to static electricity?

 

Probably

[slasherking823]

not many mobos can actually do this, but its definitely a benefit

[Quinn]

not many mobos can actually do this, but its definitely a benefit

 

As I said, only certain chipsets can do this (or did I forget to mention that?)