i3-4130 Unlocking / Overclocking

[bimbaws]

Hi there! I have one question... We want to buy CPU - Intel Core i3-4130 3,4GhZ Dual Core... So the question is : Can we overclock / unlock this CPU to Quad Core?

 

[rgd1101]

I don't think so. intel usually does it on hardware.

 

[RazerZ]

Besides upping the baseclock by maybe a few mHz, no, not really. If you're looking for a LGA 1150 processor to overclock with using an unlocked multiplier you will need a "K" series CPU.

You can't unlock it to a Quadcore either unlike some old AMD CPUs...

 

[Guest]

Pretty certain that's impossible.
I'm no expert on the i3's, but they are straight up dual cores, there's nothing extra in there to unlock.

I do seem to recall once hearing that some i3's (More than likely the higher tier end) feature lesser binned i5's with two cores disabled or otherwise unusable, but I doubt very much that would become a reality in your case.

As for overclocking. No, you can't do that either. Every i3 is locked at the point of sale. Such a lock is very difficult and in most cases impossible to get around.


Besides, even if you could overclock, you'd need to buy a beefier cooler, which would negate the money saved on buying an i3 in the first place.

If you plan on gaming with this setup, watch out for games that have issues with dual-core CPUs. Some might be as minor as having a few unimportant things missing in-game. Some might just not start at all.