Vmodtech reports that it is often possible to activate the dormant second core on an AMD Sempron processor.
The Thai computer enthusiast site has discovered that some Sempron 140 CPUs are escaping from AMD’s fabs with a fully functional second core that has been disabled to meet the demands of the market.
Users interested in attempting the unlock must be equipped with a motherboard that sports the “Advanced Clock Calibration” BIOS option. Chips that have been unlocked with the ACC option are detected as Athlon II X2 440s and appear to offer surprisingly robust overclocking– 3.7GHz in Vmodtech’s labs.
Discovery of the Sempron 140’s hidden potential makes it the third part from big green to keep a little sauce in the vest pocket; it joins the Phenom II x3 and the Athlon X2 in AMD’s growing stable of diamonds in the rough.
Before dropping a hot Grant on a Sempron and a dream, however, know that there is an equal chance that the second core has been disabled because it failed QC as an Athlon II X2.
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