Asus Core Unlocker

• Systems pages on this blog
• Overclocking guide
• Applying Windows Updates will not unlock cores

Applying the 2103 BIOS update to my Asus M4A785TD-M EVO motherboard I now get an option to launch the Asus Core Unlocker when I boot the computer.

At present the computer is using an AMD Phenom II X6 1055T processor so there is nothing to unlock. I do have an AMD Phenom II 550 X2, which is widely hailed as a Black Edition processor that has 2 hidden cores.

If anyone is interested I could try unlocking the cores and post the results. At present the 550 is used in a Zotec ITX motherboard (with Phoenix/Award BIOS - that possibly has unlocking capability) - the 550 is easy and modestly overclocked to 3.4G from the stock 3.1G. As it is being used in an ITX format computer heat and power dissipation if of prime concern.

Searches finding this post:
asus m4a785td-m bios 2103 bugs - 16 Aug 2010, Arnhem- As far as I was concerned I didn't find any bugs.

m4a785td-m-evo bios 2103 disabled fourth core - Aug 2010, Bucharest - I can only surmise that this is in reference to a Dual Core processor that will not unlock to 4 cores (only the 3 making it an X3 not an X4) - there have been reports that some X2 processors cannot be unlocked at all!

Cores can also be unlocked using "Unleashing Mode"

DRAM Timing

Posts on Overclocking and memory speed.


What does 5-5-5-15 mean?

CAS is the acronym for Latency Column Address Strobe  - we all can look-up what latency is!   ****  ref to one of the posts linked below.

The Numbers:

1. CL - CAS# Latency - in clocks - 5
2. RAS to CAS Delay (tRCD) - 5
3. TES Precharge - (tRP) - 5
4. Cycle Time - (tRAS) - 15 

In addition the Bank Cycle Time - (tRC) - [25] is specified as it the CR (Command Rate) - [2T]

These timing figures (5,5,5,15 - not the graphic above) were taken from the CPUID/CPU-Z utility running on my AMD Athlon X2 5770 machine.

I have made no attempts to overclock this machine.

Reading some of the posts on the Internet it would appear that there is much confusion regarding these figures. Some seem to imply that smaller the figures the better (fewer clock cycles to complete a processor operation) while others the higher the figures the faster the computer will perform.

In my experience, the higher numbers are associated with faster memory and performance. I have recently purchased 4G of DDR3 RAM that is rated at 9,9,9,27 and that is rated at 1600MHz.

My Intel E8400 computer with DDR2 RAM (400MHz) reports memory timings as: 5,5,5,18 with a CR of 2T.

My Netbook with an Intel Atom N280 processor and DDR2 RAM reports: 4,4,4,12 - This netbook is definitely slower than either of the desktops!

My sub-notebook with DDR3 reports 7,7,7,20

Some Internet posters seem to indicate that there is a "magic" formula that you can use to adjust your memory timing in system BIOS to improve on the Auto settings that a non-overclocked useage would provide. Until it is determined what the figures actually mean there seems little point in changing them from their manufacturers specifications.

• Some more links including those from Kingston, WikiP and Mushkin
• ***** Rather pompous (just like me!) post on overclock.com
• CPUID CPU-Z for how to view these characteristics for your processor
• Spec of the 1,600MHz RAM I purchased - from Kingston Website - has specs for timings and more 

JumperFree Configuration

Having started to document my overclocking experiences it seems the Asus/AMI BIOS feature for Advanced CPU and other settings is not well documented. These are some of my notes relating specifically to Jumper-Free Configuration. In other words this terminology just means "configuration using software (BIOS) settings"  as opposed to making physical changes on the motherboard i.e. moving jumpers.

Please follow the links at the foot of this post for more details

CPU Overclocking - changing the default [Auto] to [Manual] and the setting of CPU/HT Reference Clock (and many other parameters) is done under the "Advanced" BIOS menu option-→JumperFree Configuration.

Asus M4A785TD-M EVO

JumperFree is just another way of saying "do it with software"

Links:

• Simple guide to help get you set up and start overclocking your P5B motherboard.  - The Tech Repository Oct 2006
• My Overclocking guide
• Unlocking your system UEFI/BIOS