Sempron 140 Unlocks to Athlon II X2

**KarmaKiller** · August 11th, 2009, 03:24 PM

Most computer enthusiasts know that some AMD processors can unlock extra cores, making the supposed single-core actually a dual-core, and so on. Thus, it comes as no surprise that the new Sempron 140, a single-core processor that many people love for its price, can be transformed into a dual-core Athlon II X2 series processor with a simple, well-known trick.

The trick requires a motherboard with AMD SB710 or SB750 southbridge that supports the Advanced Clock Calibration feature. By simply enabling the feature in the BIOS setup program, the system will be able to address both processor cores, with the complete feature-set of Athlon II X2.

A group over at the VModTech tested for the unlocked core's stability with much success. Validation can be found here.

So at around $40, you can have your way to a new dual-core processor.

Source

Gotta say, this sounds like an extremely good deal for $40.

**ShyguyXPC** · August 11th, 2009, 05:35 PM

bit off topic, but personally have my sights set on one of these for the money: Newegg.com - AMD Phenom 9150E 1.8GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 65W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

Quad core for $80? even if its at a measely 1.8GHz, its still a sweet price for the multi core performance. considering the supposed release price of these things was more than double that price, 65W too

for a Quad core...? not bad indeed.

but that Sempron might be a sweet deal if you can get a compatible Mobo to unlock the 2nd core for real cheap, extreme budget dual core system, more money for the GPU

now if they only sold a decent priced Mini ITX AM2+/AM3 board, with that required chipset, that would make for a sweet little system.

**ShyguyXPC** · August 12th, 2009, 01:53 AM

guessing this board should work for that trick, since it has the 710 southbridge?

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-MA785G-UD3H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

(one of the boards I was looking at for the Qpacks replacement)

or is it only certain boards with the required chipset that work?

**KarmaKiller** · August 12th, 2009, 08:42 AM

No, any board with that chipset should work. All you really need is the ACC option, and your good.
I do believe that board you linked to would work fine.

**ShyguyXPC** · August 12th, 2009, 12:03 PM

cool.

was looking at it mainly for the AM3 and AM2/AM2+ backwards compatibility, DDR2 use and 2 PCIE x16 slots, and the onboard Radeon 4200 chip.

**nemowolf** · September 1st, 2009, 02:06 PM

Originally Posted by ShyguyXPC

guessing this board should work for that trick, since it has the 710 southbridge?

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-MA785G-UD3H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

(one of the boards I was looking at for the Qpacks replacement)

or is it only certain boards with the required chipset that work?

Shy did you end up getting this board?

**ShyguyXPC** · September 1st, 2009, 05:50 PM

no, not yet, not sure if I will now, would be cheaper for me to just upgrade to a faster Dual Core Intel in current system, maybe upgrade to newer case as well. $60 for a 2.5GHz Intel Dual, and new case for $20-40.

but haven't done either yet.

but I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do with the Qpacks replacement plans.

but no, haven't grabbed that board or the CPU yet, if I did, wouldn't be at least till I sell the 3 or 4 GPU's (2x 4870's, 4830, 9800GTX)... I might hold onto the latter, 9800GTX, if I did the above mentioned upgrades, grabbing a cheap $40 PSU to run the card in the 2nd system for points for F@H, but the Radeons are being sold no matter what.

**nemowolf** · September 1st, 2009, 07:29 PM

Originally Posted by ShyguyXPC

no, not yet, not sure if I will now, would be cheaper for me to just upgrade to a faster Dual Core Intel in current system, maybe upgrade to newer case as well. $60 for a 2.5GHz Intel Dual, and new case for $20-40.

but haven't done either yet.

but I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do with the Qpacks replacement plans.

but no, haven't grabbed that board or the CPU yet, if I did, wouldn't be at least till I sell the 3 or 4 GPU's (2x 4870's, 4830, 9800GTX)... I might hold onto the latter, 9800GTX, if I did the above mentioned upgrades, grabbing a cheap $40 PSU to run the card in the 2nd system for points for F@H, but the Radeons are being sold no matter what.

Well since this is on that line of thinking ... How well would those Semperons handle Folding with the cores unlocked figuring that they unlock with that board? I was thinking about the possibility of using a rack like farm system with those seeing as how they have onboard graphics and are dirt cheap. All each setup would need is the mobo, cpu, some ram, and a PSU.

Worth it?

**Aaron_8015** · September 1st, 2009, 07:48 PM

TBH i would only consider it as a cpu to put in a gpu folding rig......

**ShyguyXPC** · September 2nd, 2009, 02:03 AM

What he said.

seriously aside from basic uses like web surfing etc, and maybe for a lower end Dual core (assuming you could get the 2nd unlocked core) Gaming PC, I'd only use also for a GPU Folding or Render rig as well (not use CPU for those tasks).

even if it was a single core, I'd use it for a GPU farm setup. its more than enough to feed job data to each card in the farm. Dual cores would just make it more responsive if you were doing other stuff on it at the same time.

The Qpack system I have, is only running a 1.6GHz Pentium Dual core right now, so its primary use is Web usage, emails, word processing, etc, and with a functional/properly cooled GPU for Folding when idle.

gaming, it can handle some older games fine, but nothing really newer in the last 3 or so years.

reason I want to upgrade the Qpack, is I find I need more CPU power when multitasking on it, faster CPU speeds for certain games to run a game server on LAN and still be able to use the system for everyday tasks (OCing could take care of this, but due to the cases design, cooling is an issue, and don't trust anything more than the current setup on the 420W PSU in the case right now, the Radeon 4830 is borderline for a GPU in it as is, and would like to install the 9800GTX, but not at the cost of blowing the PSU).

a better higher multiplier CPU, more cache, etc could come in handy down the road for Folding for some extra points, much more suitable for a Render node on the network for 3D apps, and just all around more responsive. (looking at E5200 or E5300 Dual Cores, also looking at some better SFF cases for better cooling and room for aftermarket cooler)