Question regarding Phenom II X2 B59

[PeterHegyi]

Greetings,


I will be as precise as I can.

My issue: Yesterday my Phenom X4 955 BE CPU just died. The problem is that my plan was to sell the system in the next few months and build a totally new pc. However I don't want to buy a second hand 955 BE again because even if it is an old CPU the price is really high and if I'm going to sell this build anyway, there is no reason to invest in it anymore.


So I was wondering..if I buy a Phenom II X2 B59 (which I can get for 20 euros, second hand but with guarantee) can I unlock it maybe to 4 cores with my ASUS m4a78lt-m Mobo?

Also, what do you think about this CPU? Can it run Dota 2, maybe Witcher 3 smoothly?

My Rig:

CPU: Phenom II X2 B59 (of course if I buy it) - RIP phenom x4 955 BE
Mobo: ASUS m4a78lt-m
Ram: 2x4 GB Corsair 1333 Mhz.
GPU: Gainward Gtx 460 Gold Edition 1 GB

Theoretically I will change the 955 BE to x2 b59. I know its a way weaker CPU, but I need only for Dota 2, maybe Witcher 3 and I'll use it anyway for 2-3 months.

I found a video on youtube with this CPU, but I don't know how reliable is this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjv9D8A6xVU

Can this be true?

Thanks for your help in advance.

Peter

 

[a39232]

it is actually the luck of the draw, sometimes they turn of cpu cores because they are bad, or because they just need more dual cores.

 

[ComputerSecurityGuy]

Are you sure your CPU died? I have never heard of a CPU dying after being put in the motherboard. It is usually some other component. Although, and I'm assuming it was a video on core unlocking, it is true. Some Athlon X2, all Phenom X2, all tri core chips and some quad core chips have disabled cores. These don't always renable but if you are lucky they do. Personally I still own two but neither would unlock. I would say it works slightly under 50% of the time, a bit more with voltage tweaking, but that is just my guess.

 

[PeterHegyi]

Let me rectify myself. My CPU did not die, I killed it accidentally...I was cleaning the processor and when I wanted to open the heatsink and the CPU just jumped out and a few pins brake. In the service they said that they cant repair it so I have to buy a new one..

 

[blazorthon]

Yes, it is very unusual for a CPU to die, at least when you aren't going for huge overclocks and/or running with very high temps for a long time. Even if you are right and it did, that might be because the motherboard or PSU are faulty and they killed the CPU.

EDIT: Ok, that makes sense. Damaged pins are almost never covered by warranty.

 

[PeterHegyi]

So in this case..let's forget the reason why the CPU died. As I mentioned above, I killed the CPU accidentally. But what about this Phenom II X2 B59, may I run Dota 2 smoothly with it? Can I unlock 4 cores with my Mobo? Will I experience huge difference between the old BE 955 and this B59 processor?

 

[blazorthon]

Like the others mentioned, it is luck of the draw. As far as I'm aware, there are three common reasons for disabling the cores in the first place: 1, the disabled cores don't work at all. 2, the CPU uses too much power due to low quality silicon, so cores were disabled to reduce power consumption. 3, they just needed more dual core or triple core models (or quad core models with Zosma die) to meet demand. Only CPUs that were disabled for the last two reasons would work with unlocking and you might need a new CPU cooler if it does work.

Asus didn't specify support for unlocking in their page for that board, so I don't know. Most boards that have the feature will advertise it, so probably not, but maybe.

 

[PeterHegyi]

Yea, I understand that.

However, this can be possible?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjv9D8A6xVU

That CPU is able to run a game like Witcher 3?:O

Because in this case I dont need to worry to run Dota 2 smoothly. As I said before, I'm going to sell this PC anyway soon, so I don't want to buy a 955 BE if this CPU can handle Dota 2, maybe Witcher 3...

 

[blazorthon]

A quad core Phenom II at a decent frequency is still a fairly capable low to mid end gaming CPU, so yes, it's possible. Unlocking is just not guaranteed.

 

[PeterHegyi]

Well I don't want to unlock it if it can handle these two 2 games.

Anyway, thanks for your help sir

 

[PeterHegyi]

Also as I see in the video, that B59 was not unlocked. It was on dual core when running Witcher 3.

 

[blazorthon]

Ah, I didn't look at that, sorry 🙁

Yes, that is also possible, granted not all games will run well on a lower end dual core like that. Even an LGA 1150 Celeron G1820 at 2.7GHz will be around 50% faster despite costing $40 new, to put things in perspective.

 

[lodders]

I have 2 Phenom II, both originally 3.2 Ghz dual core. both on Asus M4A78LT motherboards.
Both unlocked to all 4 cores
One overclocked to 3.45Ghz
The other overclocked to 4.0Ghz, and my son is still using it as a gaming machine - roughly equivalent to an Intel i3
Hope you are as lucky as me

 

[ComputerSecurityGuy]

Alright I see why it's dead. And the dual core chip should at least hold you over until you can get a whole new system. And you could probably unlock one core or two if you are lucky.