n00b with sempron, advice sought

[popeyejohnson]

hi, im new, im adey johnson from nottingham, pleased to be here. i came on advice from a friend who reckons this is the place to gain computer knowledge, so ive registered to ask advice on the following
i brought a pc last week it has a sempron 140 chip ands mcp61m-m3 mobo v.2.6 in my readings i have come to see its a dual core but crippled and there is a 50/50 chance of being able to use it.
i have been into my bios menu and dont have the required feilds to unlock the extra core but v.7 of this mobo does i have found a link for the bios (but cant find it now i want to link to it!) so basically can i update my bios to v7 and will that enable me to unlock my 2nd core, many thanks
adey

 

[Cigarsmoker]

http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Pr...?DetailID=1139&CategoryID=1&MenuID=19&LanID=0

http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/K10/AMD-Sempron 140 - SDX140HBK13GQ (SDX140HBGQBOX).html

A couple of useful links for you. Try updating the BIOS first then try to unlock the second core. There's no guarantee to core unlocking. Sometime it works sometime it doesn't. It depends on the particular processor. Only way to know is to try it.

 

[popeyejohnson]

thank you cigarsmoker, prompt and helpfull but i cant seem to find the thanks button? new forum new layout, youknow...
im off to read brb to talk more if your around
many thanks
adey

 

[popeyejohnson]

right ive gone and down loaded cpuids cpuz to gain more info on what i have
mcp61m-m3 v7.0 mobo
nvida mcp61 rev a3 chipset
nvida mcp61 rev a2 southbridge
american megatrends inc 080015 bios (v02.61 or 67 in actual bios?)
and a sempron 140 sagaras cpu
right now i know what i have and according to the link that i got at the top this board is an unlocker so i dont understand what i need to do if someone could please advise id be gratefull this pc is slllooowwwwww and if i cant unlock the core im going to have to buy an athalon or some other am3 cpu but i really dont want to spend the money

 

[keny]

I've just had a quick look attoure board and it looks like you need to enable ECS or something labeled like that in you're bios, you normaly get into you're bios by pressing delete during the boot up of you're computer

 

[trents]

If you carefully watch the post messages as the computer is booting you may see something like: "To enter setup, press _". "Setup" is bios.

Are you asking how to update the bios?

 

[popeyejohnson]

nar man, im not a powerful user by any-means but i have a clue, from what ive read in the links on this thread and other reading i have done it seems that with this board i have i should be able to do it but in my bios i have no acc or ecs options in my bios (ami v02.6 ?1?7? unsure of the character) so i suppose the question is if i donot have these options in my bios how to get them? bios update? new board? i have been reading round but dont know what terms to search and all-ways end up back t the ecs site
i understand its not fun explaining stuff like this to folkes with limited knowledge but a prod would be appreciated
adey

 

[popeyejohnson]

im asking how to attempt to unlock my sempron sagaras 140 to an athalon with a mcp61m-m3 v7.0 mobo on a american megatrends inc 080015 bios (v02.61 or 67 in actual bios?) i have no acc or ecs option when i enter setup via del at boot

 

[keny]

Can you put a pic up of you're different bios sub menu's to see if we can tell you what option you need to enable

 

[I.M.O.G.]

Yup, if you can take a camera picture of your bios screens, we can tell you which option you need in order to attempt core unlocking.

I'm looking now to see if it is described in your motherboard manual. Many manuals do tell you how to use their core unlocking feature, but ECS is not much of an enthusiast brand, so they may not make it clear.

to the forums, hope we can help.

 

[I.M.O.G.]

According to your motherboard manual, there is no core unlocking feature on your motherboard. You can download the manual here by clicking "manual": http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Pr...?DetailID=1139&CategoryID=1&MenuID=19&LanID=0

If there is a core unlocking feature that is not documented in the manual, you probably should first ensure you are on the latest BIOS version. Updating the bios is described on page 44 of the BIOS manual. You can download the latest bios here by clicking bios:
http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Pr...?DetailID=1139&CategoryID=1&MenuID=19&LanID=0

Some boards do not come with core unlocking features. It is possible your board does not support unlocking cores.

 

[Niku-Sama]

^^^the page you linked to says something about core unlocking right under the picture of the motherboard.

any way
i'm curious though, was this a system that popeyejohnson bulit him self or bought as a system that was already put together (pre bulit) like an e-machine or acer

 

[popeyejohnson]

ok now its a bit further down the line
i have done a few upgrades,
ram and soundcard, and gone to win 7 x64 ultimate to make use of my 4 gb ram, yes i did build this pc, i got mobo and cpu £30 from gumtree a £20 case +psu and bits and bobs thrown in (graphics card and gta 4 capable cpu coming soon)
as requested i have took some photos of cpuid and bios, i think i have found core unlock but im not sure as it still shows as a sempron when enabled but the system runs fine?
i thought if the 2nd core was dodgy then it wouldnt boot/be unstable? i have not noticed that it runs the same as ever?
ive attached a few images from cpu and bios, if i cant unlock a core, how about an overclock? can i? and how?
also need advice for a £50 odd graphics card if anyone can help,
many thanks
popeye
sry for bad pics, cheap android 2mp cam

 

[keny]

If it unlocks it will come up in cpuz as Athlon ii x 2 and show 2 cores at the bottom right corner of cpuz , sometimes you may need to disable coolNquiet to get it to work also, I don't know why but sometimes it works, as for overclocking, as long as you're cooling is half decent these chips are great overclockers regularly making 4ghz , to find out how read dolks phenom ii overclocking guide as the principles are the same as with the sempron.

 

[popeyejohnson]

ok ive just rebooted into bios>frequency/voltage controll>unlock>enabled and disabled amdc&q but still showing as sempron so i suppose ill have to find the guide then, many thanks pal

 

[RGone]

If the unlock feature had worked: >> Sempron 140 with unlocked core is reported by CPU-Z and similar programs as "Athlon II X2 4400e Processor".

 

[keny]

Looking back at you're bios screenshot, I'm not 100% sure that the option you are using is for core unlocking as its under the freq/voltage sub menu, and I'm wondering if it just unlocks the options to adjust things in you're other bios menu's, I would have thought the option to unlock may be in you're chipset sub menu or advanced menu as there is usually another option for "auto" aswel as the core unlock option, but I'm not clued up on ECS mobo's and there bios may differ from others

 

[popeyejohnson]

@RGone, yes im aware that if it would have worked it would report the cpu as an athalon
but as kenny said im not sure thats for cpu unlocking, but its the only option that says anything close to cpu unlock
and according to the ecs site this board is an unlocker
so if it is does that mean i have a crippled bios menu?
its american megatrend ami?
see i not long ago upgraded from a pent 4 and now im trying to get it gameable if thats a word?! but as i dont understand what im trying to do really im struggling,
i just tryed top read dolks guide but it just makes my head hurt too much theory and not enough click this!

 

[popeyejohnson]

as i dont really know how to proceed can anyone tell me anything about software overclocking and related apps?

 

[keny]

Have you tried the bios from HERE i think this should add the acc option to youre bios if you dont yet have it, try it if you are confident in bios updating, youre board is on the list so this should sort youre problem out