Unlocking AMD Athlon X2 5000+

[whosurdavid]

This is my first post on this board as I've tried everything and now am desperate. I have checked the entire forums on information regarding how to do this properly and it has not been of any help. Any help will be appreciated, thanks in advance!

Computer Specs:

Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H
Power Supply - CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W
Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB
Video Card - 2600XT ATI Radeon
Case - Antec 900 I
Processor - AMD Athlon X2 5000+ (2.2Ghz Stock)
Heatsink - Cooler Master Hyper 212+
Memory - 4 x 1GB Corsair DDR2 800 (5-5-5-18)


I recently just purchased the AMD Athlon X2 5000+, hearing that it unlocks very well with the motherboard I had purchased. I unlocked the cores through bios, but everytime I boot up Windows 7, there are some artifacts on the screen. Surfing on the internet, doing daily applications are very glitchy also. Although browsing is very glitchy on the computer along with some artifacts, there has never been a crash whatsoever.

Here are the steps I took in trying to make things work:

- Installed Windows 7 Professional x64 on the Hard Drive
- Restarted, launched BIOS, went to (MIT).
- Changed Hyrbid on "EC Firmware Selection" and "Auto" on "ACC"
- Computer restarted, and then I started to have artifacts
- I restarted once again and went into bios, Changed Manual under ACC
- Default settings were -2% for each core, I upped cores 2/3 in increments
- It still had artifacts by the time cores 2/3 were up to +12%,
- I even decreased cores 0/1 by -4%



I obviously have no clue what I am doing, so I asked one of my cousins for help who has overclocked many things before. He recommended that I upped the voltage of the CPU to help stablize my CPU cores. I went into BIOS and upped the Vcore in lowest increments. Still didn't work. I then thought that maybe one of the cores that I had unlocked were bad. I disabled Core 2 in Bios, same problem. I then enabled Core 2, and disabled Core 3, still bad. I then disabled Cores 2/3 and still bad. I tried upping my memory voltage (VDIMM) , to stock 1.8 to 1.9.

I flashed the motherboard's bios from F7 to F11, also didn't help. If I get get quad core, I would really love tri-core, or maybe both cores are defective.


Currently CPU-NB Voltage is at 1.35V, and CPU Voltage is at 1.45V. I'm not sure if this indicates anything, but right when I turn on my computer and launch internet explorer, Windows 7 changes from Aero theme to Basic theme. There are no more artifacts on the desktop, scrolling through the thread is still glitchy, and pictures are filled with artifacts. I have the latest drivers for my video card, 10.7 Catalyst.

Originally I was using the 4200HD integrated graphics card that the motherboard had provided. I thought that it was the graphics card because it I only saw artifacts when in pictures/scrolling. Also when I maximized my screens, it would be slow to open completely, similar to the effects if you don't have the graphics driver installed. I installed the driver for the 4200HD and it had the same issue. I then pulled my 2600XT from my other system and installed it. This video card is a POS and was giving me issues in my other rig, for it to run properly, I had to underclock it. Its now in this current system that I'm trying to overclock. I have the latest drivers, which I got from Guru3d. Also, I just installed RivaTuner, and underclocked the video card, now I am seeing artifacts on my desktop once again.

Thank you in advance, I hope this is enough to clarify!

 

[ChanceCoats123]

I would probably point this at a graphics card or the Windows installation. You mentioned that you disabled individual cores and then went back to a dual core and still had the issues which leads me to believe it is not processor related.

 

[trents]

Wait a minute. What CPU are you using? I don't think there is such a thing as an Athlon X2 5000+. There is an Athlon X2 64 5000+ but I don't think it has any disabled cores. As far as I know it has a total of two cores to begin with. I don't think that generation of AMD CPUs had extra cores that were locked. Locked/unlocking cores didn't come along until the Phenom II series. Am I missing something? What is the OPN on it? For example:

ADO5000IAA5DO

or

ADO5000DOBOX

 

[coonmanx]

Nobody ever knows that these chips actually exist. Here it is...

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=AD...0a8a32c687ca5eea81dc8a1069ccb97d71de87277cc21

 

[trents]

Oh, yea, seems there was a thread about these earlier this summer as I recall. Somebody overseas was selling them and everybody was trying to figure out if it was bogus. Turns out (as I recall) there was some truth to it but there still was this shroud of mystery and skepticism surrounding it. They were like black market engineering samples or something that didn't quite make it into full production before being scuttled. Whosurdavid I just wonder if what your are seeing represents a defective CPU that didn't make it to market for good reasons.

 

[coonmanx]

Honestly you should go throw that CPU in a different computer and see what happens. Or you throw a different CPU in this computer and see what happens. That would eliminate it as the source of your issues.

 

[whosurdavid]

I don't have any issues if I don't unlock the other 2 cores. I can toss it into another computer of mine by the motherboard doesn't have the capability of unlocking any cores at all. I've reformatted my computer once again, this time to Windows 7 Ultimate, x86. I then unlocked the cores, and still have the same issues. Should I go grab a new video card and try it all over again?

 

[trents]

I don't have any issues if I don't unlock the other 2 cores. I can toss it into another computer of mine by the motherboard doesn't have the capability of unlocking any cores at all. I've reformatted my computer once again, this time to Windows 7 Ultimate, x86. I then unlocked the cores, and still have the same issues. Should I go grab a new video card and try it all over again?

Why not? Artifacts are normally a video issue. Do you have onboard video you can try?

Could you show us the "Memory" tab of CPU-z when you have the core unlocked?

It's a normal courtesy around here that if you will be participating on the forum you should put details of your system specs in your sig so that strings get long we can reference system components handily.

 

[trents]

You know, I thinking your PSU at 400W might be kind of marginal, though it is a Corsair and that brand usually gives you a little extra margin at a given wattage rating when compared to a lot of other brands. Does your video card require a dedicated power connector or does it take power from the PCI bus?

 

[whosurdavid]

You know, I thinking your PSU at 400W might be kind of marginal, though it is a Corsair and that brand usually gives you a little extra margin at a given wattage rating when compared to a lot of other brands. Does your video card require a dedicated power connector or does it take power from the PCI bus?

I will have photos up tommorrow as soon as possible. Thank you all for the quick replies and dedication towards getting this solved. The motherboard came with an integrated 4200HD ATI Radeon graphics card. I unlocked the additional two cores and still had artifacts. Artifacts usually mean a video card issue, so I decided to grab my 2600XT ATI Radeon from my other computer. I installed drivers, unlocked the additional two cores and still get artifacts. The 2600XT does NOT require dedicated power connector, it takes power from the PCI bus.

 

[Bobnova]

Give it some more vcore.
All data that ends up in a video card starts off in the CPU, i've gotten video artifacts from excessive OCing on a given vcore before on an AMD cpu.

 

[trents]

I'm looking at the CPU-z pics and wondering about your HT Link speed: 1607.3. What is it when you just run two cores? Stock HT Link speed for a deneb would be 2000 mhz but for an Athlon 64 X2 it would be 1000 mhz ( or 800) I think. Your CPU is kind of a hybrid. What happens if you manually change the HT Link to 1000? Do you still get the artifacts?

 

[coonmanx]

It is a Deneb. Take a look at the CPU-Z page.

 

[whosurdavid]

I've updated my sig to show my computer components, sorry about that. Could it possibly be that I did not apply enough thermal paste between the heatsink and cpu itself? Come to notice, I constantly hear a rattling noise from the heatsink's fan. I've made sure that the fan and the wire is not touching anything to cause a vibration. I took the fan off to see if it was the fan that was super noisy, and once I took it off the heatsink, it didn't make the noise anymore. Only when the fan is on the heatsink does it make the noise. The noise changes as I do stuff on the computer, such as when I am viewing a powerpoint, when I click "next" the noise would make a noise everytime I clicked next instead of a long continuous noise when the computer is idle. As of upping the Vcore, I've already increased CPU-NB Voltage to at 1.4V, and CPU Voltage to 1.5V when my cores were unlocked and it did not make a difference.


I'm going to unlock the cores now and take pictures of the CPU-Z page that shows Memory.


*** Sound is also distorted when the cores are unlocked, I'm not sure what all of this indicates. ***


This is when i'm running two cores only.

 

[trents]

It is a Deneb. Take a look at the CPU-Z page.

The first CPU-z pic he posted says its a Phenom FX-5000. The second one says its an Athlon 5000-Dual Core Processor.

Whosurdavid, your vcore is only .944. That seems awfully low.

 

[whosurdavid]

Yeah, everything is at stock(auto) right now. I did not unlock any cores and reverted all changes I made to my voltages when I took those screen shots. I'm confused myself with this processor. Any reccomendations on what i should do? To change the Vcore, I up CPU-NB Voltage and CPU - Voltage, correct?

 

[trents]

.944 is the stock setting? Or do you mean "Auto"? Auto is not always a reliable default to establish stock settings. That is very low for a stock setting. Most current AMD desktop CPUs start at about 1.25v for the stock range. If it were me I'd give that baby 1.35v and then see what happens to your artifacts with four cores, if temps permit, of course.

 

[whosurdavid]

Sorry about that, everything is on Auto. When I unlock my cores and up the voltages, programs like SpeedFan and CoreTemp don't show my core temperatures for some reason. It shows it as 0 C. I've also tried all of the other temperature programs. I'm thinking the temperatures should be low enough though with the Cooler Master 212+ , and the 900's huge fans.


I;ve just unlocked the cores. CPU Voltage is at 1.4v , and CPU NB VDD is at 1.5v. Here are the pictures:







It is weird because CPU-Z reports Core Voltage at 1.136V, from time to time the Core Voltage jumps up to 1.360V. I'm not sure what is going on here.

 

[coonmanx]

Cool N' Quiet is what is going on. It reduces clock speed and voltage when the CPU is at idle. If you turn it off in BIOS it will show full voltage in CPU-Z. When you unlock you lose the ability to monitor core temps. You will still see the CPU socket temp.

Is all of that pixelation what you are talking about? I can see it behind your CPU-Z screenshot.

 

[whosurdavid]

I see. Yeah thats what I'm talking about. Sometimes I see it upon the goodbye screen of Windows 7 and sometimes it happens upon the log in screen of Window 7.