# Unlocking Phenom II Callisto x2 to Deneb x4



## Unlockurcore

What I did: I unlocked a Phenom II Callisto x2 cores to Deneb x4 cores. 

What I needed: AMD Phenom II X2 545 Callisto 3.0GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
PS: Mobo+CPU Combo Newegg $152

How I did it: Went into M.B.I.T. turned on Auto ACC (Advanced Clock Calibration) and changed Bios version to Hybrid. Save and Exit BIOS. Rebooted to Windows 7, it detected hardware change and asked for auto-reboot. After reboot check task manager performance window and see 4 core graphs. Opened CPU-Z and it showed 4 cores and identified the processor as Phenom II Deneb x4 3.00GHz with locked 15x multiplier. (Buy black edition callisto to have unlocked multiplier)

Why I did it: Wanted a quad core system and found out that current generation quad core started above $100 for processor and could not afford it. Next saw the multiple forum postings about unlocking Callisto to Deneb and went for it. 

Other thoughts:

Details and Pricing of Rig:
AMD Phenom II X2 545 Callisto 3.0GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5
A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
POWERCOLOR AX4650 512MD2 Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP
Coolmax CoolMax 500 Watt ATX 12V Power Supply
Thermaltake USA Inc Power Supply Adapter Cable Set
Recycled case and fans
Total Cost:357.94 

Pros: Compare this with Intel Core 2 Quad 2.66 GHz and it comes almost equal to it but it wins hands down on value...$92 vs. $166. Plus it seems to run really cool and from what I hear overclocking does not seem to heat it up that much up to 3.4 Ghz. More with better fan and cooling! 4 Ghz 4 cores is possible.

Cons: Slightly slower than Intel Core 2 Quad 2.66 GHz Processor but better if compared with applications that need more megahertz than other things. 35% average slower than core i7 4Ghz but it costs $400+ so value is better. Buy black edition if there is a good combo or individual part discount! Unlocked multiplier would be awesome!

AMD is an awesome company, these days it does not compete with Intel on pure speed but when you throw in prices, AMD hands down beats intel in all categories except perhaps the insane $400+ chips. Honestly for the average joe/jane who wants to keep up with the latest and do a decent amount of gaming plus video producing for the cheapest value possible, I think the below $100 Phenom CPUs are the way to go. Not to mention HTPC applications! I have it hooked up to a 52' Sony 52v4100 lcd tv and my god its like I have HBO/Showtime/Netflix for $0.00. Ok fine Netflix is 9.99/month but Hulu is free for now!


----------



## StrangleHold

I cant figure out if this is a advertisement or your just tickled to death. Glad it worked out for you.


----------



## Unlockurcore

I was tickled!


----------



## StrangleHold

Yeah, its cool to make a Quad out of a Dual. Easy on the pocket too.


----------



## zer0_c00l

ya we all had fun doing it  heh


----------



## linkin

I wish i had AMD.


----------



## bomberboysk

Unlockurcore said:


> Slightly slower than Intel Core 2 Quad 2.66 GHz Processor but better if compared with applications that need more megahertz than other things. 35% average slower than core i7 4Ghz but it costs $400+ so value is better. Buy black edition if there is a good combo or individual part discount! Unlocked multiplier would be awesome!


Actually.... it depends on the area, i7 is only $300 for a 920, and overclocks better than the phenom II's on air or water. Plus the intels have better per clock performance aswell as hyperthreading.

Even then though amd is great for the budget sector, although the 965/955/945 PII's are a little over priced considering what you can get i5 for these days.


And the only reason you can unlock is because amd didnt hard lock them to two cores, and someone writing the bios forgot to include it in the ACC feature(i want to say biostar for some reason, imma have to check on that).


----------



## StrangleHold

bomberboysk said:


> And the only reason you can unlock is because amd didnt hard lock them to two cores, and someone writing the bios forgot to include it in the ACC feature(i want to say biostar for some reason, imma have to check on that).


 
Pretty sure it was Biostar. Think it went like, AMD didnt laser cut the cores and it was a CPU bios code that locked down cores. Biostar Bios programmers included ACC in their bios and forgot that when you enabled it, it would override the CPU code to disable the cores.


----------



## 87dtna

550 unlocked to a quad at 3.8ghz here...unlocked multiplier FTW!

Less than $600 for a setup that nearly does 18k 3dmark06, not bad!  I missed out on a great deal for a 4890 about a month ago, $120 shipped   Or else I'd probably be over 20k 3dmark06 scores right now!


----------



## Unlockurcore

bomberboysk said:


> Actually.... it depends on the area, i7 is only $300 for a 920, and overclocks better than the phenom II's on air or water. Plus the intels have better per clock performance aswell as hyperthreading.
> 
> Even then though amd is great for the budget sector, although the 965/955/945 PII's are a little over priced considering what you can get i5 for these days.
> 
> 
> And the only reason you can unlock is because amd didnt hard lock them to two cores, and someone writing the bios forgot to include it in the ACC feature(i want to say biostar for some reason, imma have to check on that).



The way this economy is going, I think I will be in the budget sector for a while! 
BTW, I used a GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard?? Are you saying that Biostar owns Gigabyte and or the board is just rebranded Gigabyte? Didn't know that. Also I heard on other forums that Asrock also unlocked. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/unlock-phenom-ii,2273.html

Anyways...I was tickled cause it has been a while since I was able to do something other than boring old overclocking...Really happy with the total system price and the fact that it actually unlocked....It seems like a hit and miss thing because of AMD throwing in some dead cores once in a while and motherboard updates...

Final thought: Who here thinks that they should leave us Easter Eggs like this in every CPU generation... It improves customer satisfaction plus it is not like everybody is going to do this kind of thing....


----------



## StrangleHold

No, Biostar doesnt own Gigabyte. Biostar is more of a budget board comparied to Gigabyte.

 Pretty sure it was Biostar and Asrock that started it, from back in April.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/unlock-phenom-ii,2273.html


----------



## Unlockurcore

*Well gigabyte works*



StrangleHold said:


> No, Biostar doesnt own Gigabyte. Biostar is more of a budget board comparied to Gigabyte.
> 
> Pretty sure it was Biostar and Asrock that started it, from back in April.
> http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/unlock-phenom-ii,2273.html



Yeah, u r right that's what the article says but, well, gigabyte board works cause I did it. Also doesn't it sort of mean that it wasn't just biostar bios engineers that screwed up but that they started doing it purposely? Gigabyte seemed almost proud to help out their customers do the overclock/unlock...

PS:I wish Intel's extreme edition and Amd's black edition should always have core unlock possibilities on top of unlocked multipliers and overclocking. I would want to unlock a sandy bridge 4 core to a 6 core, 8 core in the future. Or if bulldozer doesn't turn out to be crap like I expect...maybe turn that into a 6 core from a 4 core...


----------



## StrangleHold

Yeah, most all of them have it now, you have to atleast have a S/B 710. Some companies bugged out and blocked it but most didnt.

From what I understand Bulldozer is a complete reworked 32nm. core. Their suppost to come out the first of next year with a Thuban 6 core 45nm. Which is really a 6 core Deneb.


----------



## Unlockurcore

*Programs that use 6 cores*

Do they write programs that use multi-cores in general that is, you can add a hundred cores and the program would know what to do with all of them or do they still write most programs to be able to use only a limited amount of cores?


----------



## bomberboysk

Unlockurcore said:


> Yeah, u r right that's what the article says but, well, gigabyte board works cause I did it. Also doesn't it sort of mean that it wasn't just biostar bios engineers that screwed up but that they started doing it purposely? Gigabyte seemed almost proud to help out their customers do the overclock/unlock...
> 
> PS:I wish Intel's extreme edition and Amd's black edition should always have core unlock possibilities on top of unlocked multipliers and overclocking. I would want to unlock a sandy bridge 4 core to a 6 core, 8 core in the future. Or if bulldozer doesn't turn out to be crap like I expect...maybe turn that into a 6 core from a 4 core...


The only reason the cores can even be unlocked is because AMD cheaped out and didnt laser cut. Gigabyte wants to sell more boards, they dont own amd and if they can get people to buy thier board by "unlocking" then they will.

Some nvidia boards now actually support unlocking with "Nvidia Clock Calibration".


----------



## 87dtna

I use Gigabyte and ASRock boards, they have never let me down.   Biostar is poop for AMD platforms, I think they focus and care more about their intel boards and it shows.  I hear stuff all the time about people needing to RMA an Intel board and they get serviced right away, but with an AMD board the customer service is like non existant.


----------



## Unlockurcore

What about microstar? I used them once for Phenom I x4 and have had no problems...Also for P4 in 2005 and worked solid until the PSU died and decided to upgrade to Phenom II just now


----------



## StrangleHold

When you say Microstar I assume your talking about MSI. Some are ok some are not, kinda of a 50/50 thing.


----------



## Unlockurcore

Really? Wow...then I lucked out! Twice! Ok also with the Phenom ii unlock...Need to buy a lottery!


----------



## 87dtna

MSI is pretty decent quality, but if you do have problems the customer service is one of the worst.  And they also never give the mail in rebates.


----------



## RG_AMD

*Callisto to Deneb in ECS A790GXM-AD3*

How about for ECS A790GXM-AD3 motherboard?

I have a phenom II X2 550 BE on a ECS 790GXM-AD3 board. My problem is that when i set the cpu multiplier to x15.5 to make it 3.1GHz in the bios menu, then after booting and looking it a CPU-Z, it is 3.1Ghz, but after a while it goes back to 800 MHz (x4 multiplier default),  Ive  already updated my bios to 790TA20, what seems to be the problem? it just keeps coming back to the default multiplier.


----------



## StrangleHold

RG_AMD said:


> How about for ECS A790GXM-AD3 motherboard?


 
Paired with AMD SB750 south bridge controller supporting the function of ACC (Advanced Clock Calibration), ECS A790GXM-AD3 allows users to push the overall system performance to another higher scale. It also means that you you are trying to 'unlock' a triple core AMD Phenom II processor and make it a quad core this board should be able to give it a shot.
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/938/1/


----------



## 87dtna

Stay far away from ECS motherboards.....junk!


----------



## StrangleHold

RG_AMD said:


> I have a phenom II X2 550 BE on a ECS 790GXM-AD3 board. My problem is that when i set the cpu multiplier to x15.5 to make it 3.1GHz in the bios menu, then after booting and looking it a CPU-Z, it is 3.1Ghz, but after a while it goes back to 800 MHz (x4 multiplier default), Ive already updated my bios to 790TA20, what seems to be the problem? it just keeps coming back to the default multiplier.


 
You have Cool & Quiet enabled.


----------



## 87dtna

Yeah just put some load on the CPU and it automatically will just back to stock speeds.  It's just an energy saver.


----------



## RG_AMD

thanks guys for all your response 

any mobo you can recommend that can be unlocked?


----------



## StrangleHold

You want a Crossfire or a single slot board, or do you need onboad video?


----------



## RG_AMD

StrangleHold said:


> You want a Crossfire or a single slot board, or do you need onboad video?



let's do it this way:

option 1: single slot board

option 2: single slot board w/ onboard video

option 3 crossfire

option 4: crossfire w/ onboard video.

w/ the budget in consideration.

thanks a lot.


----------



## 87dtna

For a single slot I highly recommend the board I have, gigabyte 785g board.  It does also come in an AM2+ socket that uses DDR2-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128394

Whether it has onboard video or not doesn't matter.   I have never used the onboard on this board, it was disabled before the first boot into the OS.


----------



## StrangleHold

AM3

1. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392

2. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131398

3. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128378
or 16x/16x in crossfire
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128377
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130223

4. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128398
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131366


----------



## 87dtna

Oh I thought he wanted to re-use his DDR2 memory, or am I getting two different threads mixed up...

If he's wanting full AM3 than I highly recommend the board I currently have for single slot-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128397


And then here's the board I'm going to get, and I'm looking to crossfire-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402


Make sure you have a case that can support full ATX motherboards though if you are wanting a dual 16x slot board.

Here's an open box deal right now on the 785gmt mobo-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128397R

Cheap!


----------



## RG_AMD

i may just change my motherboard, thanks again guys.


----------



## RG_AMD

*Ecs a790gxm-ad3*

Hope you can help me out guys.

I have an ECS A790GXM-AD3 board. I want to set my cpu multiplier to x15.5 to make it 3.1GHZ, i've turn off the C&Q in the bios, save it and boot it, and all works just fine. The problem is that the next day when booting it again, my board don't boot up, even though my system is turned on, it just give me a blank screen, so i have to clear the cmos again, and i will setup again the bios. I experience this many times. Does this mean that i just have to enable the C&Q feature and leave it that way? and also does this mean that the board cannot do overclocking?

Thanks guys for your help.


----------

