Unlockable Six Core CPUs

[jimmysmitty]

AMD Athlon II X4 640 with Thuban core spotted

http://www.cpu-world.com/news_2011/2011051301_AMD_Athlon_II_X4_640_with_Thuban_core_spotted.html

Was browsing the web and found this article. It looks like this Athlon II X4 is a cut down Thuban core which means if you get your hands on one, you could possibly unlock it to a 6 core CPU.

The only problem is that it looks like it is a OEM based CPU which means that only one OEM will get this CPU for use in their desktops, much like the Intel Core 2 6400 CPU. The rumor is that HP will be the ones to get it.

Thoughts?

 

[tecmo34]

Very interesting!!

I would make for a nice CPU, just like the Phenom II X2 550, if you could get from Newegg.com. I don't see users buying an OEM PC though to get a possible unlockable X4 640 to run as a Thuban. 😀

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

stealing our cores are just rude.I am a 640 owner and i want my cores back.

 

[HEXiT]

its possible you motherboard will not have enough power to run it correctly. as cores are disabled either because there broken or they didnt meet or to bring them in line with the thermal specification. enabling them with either create a buggy system or possible runaway temps.
if your already running at 140 watt 4 core cpu on a 140watt board if you then unlock another 2 cores you will be well over the voltage and thermal specifications of the board. end result FAIL! and a big 1 at that.
if you were talking duals to quads then fine as most run at well under 140watts often 95 or less. but quads to hexa cores i think that will be to much of an ask, and could well be fatal for the board and the chip.

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

its possible you motherboard will not have enough power to run it correctly. as cores are disabled either because there broken or they didnt meet or to bring them in line with the thermal specification. enabling them with either create a buggy system or possible runaway temps.
if your already running at 140 watt 4 core cpu on a 140watt board if you then unlock another 2 cores you will be well over the voltage and thermal specifications of the board. end result FAIL! and a big 1 at that.
if you were talking duals to quads then fine as most run at well under 140watts often 95 or less. but quads to hexa cores i think that will be to much of an ask, and could well be fatal for the board and the chip.

My cheap mobo dont have core unlocker.They only have core lockers.I can run one core with my core locker.

 

[jimmysmitty]

Very interesting!!

I would make for a nice CPU, just like the Phenom II X2 550, if you could get from Newegg.com. I don't see users buying an OEM PC though to get a possible unlockable X4 640 to run as a Thuban. 😀

There are crazy people out there.

I do find it interesting though because this is sort of new for AMD. Intel has been known to produce chipsets, mobos and CPUs just for OEM specific use but this is the first time a AMD CPU will be OEM only.

My cheap mobo dont have core unlocker.They only have core lockers.I can run one core with my core locker.

Thats strange because at work we sell a ASrock mobo for less than $50 bucks that has core unlocker and supports up to 95w TDP 4/6 core Phenom IIs.

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

Thats strange because at work we sell a ASrock mobo for less than $50 bucks that has core unlocker and supports up to 95w TDP 4/6 core Phenom IIs.

Nvidia chipsets..Hate AMD cores.

 

[jimmysmitty]

Nvidia chipsets..Hate AMD cores.

This is the one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157202

Its a nVidia 630a and 7025 IGP. Supports unlocking cores. Cheap as all get out too.

As for the OP, I am looking into more info on it to see which OEM actually carries it. But the original 640 was Propus based, essentially it was a lower end Deneb based quad core. These are the newest versions, think of them as steppings, of the CPUs. I would guess that AMD has a bunch of 6 core CPUs that didn't make the cut in one way or the other so they are trying to get them out before pushing Bulldozer out the door.

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

This is the one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157202

Its a nVidia 630a and 7025 IGP. Supports unlocking cores. Cheap as all get out too.

As for the OP, I am looking into more info on it to see which OEM actually carries it. But the original 640 was Propus based, essentially it was a lower end Deneb based quad core. These are the newest versions, think of them as steppings, of the CPUs. I would guess that AMD has a bunch of 6 core CPUs that didn't make the cut in one way or the other so they are trying to get them out before pushing Bulldozer out the door.

I still dont think that AMD would leave its K10 arch behind.

 

[jimmysmitty]

I still dont think that AMD would leave its K10 arch behind.

If AMD really wants to make sales and become a more profitable company, they will move forward from K10. BD will become the more dominant arch for them with K10 taking a back seat.

As for the op, I looked around and none of the OEMs seem to be putting these in their machines yet. But HP seems to have a few CPUs we wont see based on Zosma such as the Phenom II X4 840T, 960T and the 970 based on Zosma (we can get a 970 but not a Zosma based core, just Deneb).

AMDs site has no info about them and from what I can find, there are no Zosma based quad cores out for sale to the general public. For now I guess.

 

[buzznut]

I actually heard about this 6 months ago. Lots of speculation then, but it did seem fairly accurate looking back now.
Makes sense from AMD's point of view, take hexacores that weren't up to snuff, lock two cores and sell them to OEM's. OEM's will gladly take a discounted quad core cpu and plug it into their machine. Everyone's happy.

 

[kfitzenreiter]

Maybe I could don a robe, grow a beard and walk with a staff. Then I'd go to Intel and AMD and say, "let my Cores go free." I could be kind of like a microchip Moses or something....