I am sure that absic will have plenty to say on this matter but for my own twopenneth if you are using one of the processors with an extra core unlocked that is a bonus anyway and the previously locked core might be flawed anyway and that is the reason for it being binned as a dual core or three core etc.
Yeah, I know. I'm rather happy that it's running stable unlocked. All in all, I've bought this PC used and didn't really know all that much about what'd I'd be getting. Considering the price, the fact that I also got receipts that mean I have warranty for 2+ years on everything I'm, indeed, quite happy. The processor aside, I've been positively surprised with the graphic card, too ( better cooling than stock and slightly factory overclocked ).
Pretty impressive O/C with the unlocked core. 
Yes, I have to say that you are probably hitting the threshold with the CPU which is why it keeps falling over when you try and push it a little further.
Nah, it's not that great
. It's a rather nice processor for overclocking:
http://www.overclock.net/amd-cpus/475649-amd-phenom-ii-x3-700-series.htmlSome of these scores are probably fake, though.
Seems like you're right about the CPU. I've tried upping the CPU-NB to 2400 without voltage change and it booted without that last core again. Got worse as it didn't boot again at all after that. Had to clear CMOS to get it to run so I'm not playing with memory controllers any more.
Just a thought and, as I don't run an unlocked CPU I can't check this out, but in your BIOS is there the Core Performance Boost option? If so try disabling it and then see if you can gain a bit more from the CPU. The Core Boost feature is designed to shut down 1 or 2 of the cores on the CPU and boost the frequency of the remaining cores to improve system performance. Also, have you disabled the K8 Cool&Quiet feature in BIOS, this could be having an effect and holding you back too.
Nope, I only have that control that allows you to set % corrections to each core and the one that allows you to disable some of the cores ( or that's how I understand it ). K8 Cool&Quiet is disabled for this reason and so that it won't clash with K10Stat ( just a precaution ).
I think I've reached the limit of what's reasonable with this setup. I have 4 P-states for the processor:
- 800Mhz @ 0.7625v
- 1400Mhz @ 0.8875v
- 2800Mhz ( stock speed ) @ 1.2000v
- 3500Mhz @ 1.4125v
with CPU-NB bumped to 2200Mhz. To get anything more out of it I'd have to add loads of voltage so there's not much of a point. As I don't want to exceed 1.75v on RAM I'll have to accept the 6-6-6 timings. The sticks sit right next to each other if you want dual channel on this board and they're under the CPU fan ( Mugen 2 is huge
) so cooling isn't all that great.
Offtopic galore but do you have any idea if running the processor
below it's rated operating voltage may damage anything? I've checked the specs on AMD site out of curiosity and noticed that my 800Mhz setting is running under their values.
I'm also wondering if downclocking memory on a graphic card could be harmful. I mean, it'd get more energy than it needs then ( as you can't lower the voltage )?
Back on topic: Gigabyte answered faster than I thought it would but for the moment it's a Q&A on my side rather than theirs. It'll probably take a while before they get all the info they want out of me.
