AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition 3.1GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor

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Unlocked to quad with gigabyte GA-790GPT-UD3H and runs great. Even at dual core it will overclock and is still great. I have this and a E8400 and see little or no difference. If unlocking to a quad I would think better cooling is a good thing. This is great value even if it don't unlock. Buy it with dual core and bonus if you get quad.

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Do not buy this chip EXPECTING it to be a quad. It is a great dual core processor, easily overclocked to 3.6ghz and higher. I was lucky enough to get one that unlocked to a quad core and I run it overclocked d 3.6ghz in my multimedia/gaming rig. I ran it as a dual core before unlocking and it performed well above my expectations. This chip does not deserve low ratings because you have trouble unlocking cores.

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always fan of AMD processors, this is one of the best overclocking CPUs available for budget PC users.

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Bought this for a friend's build. I try to support the under dog so I usually use AMD parts for my builds as long as the value is there. Haven't had a chance to unlock the cores or OC this thing so I can't really comment on that. Once I get some time, I find out what this thing can do. Even if this thing can't unlock, there is more then enough power for gaming. Crossing my fingers for this.

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I'm impressed with the new speed coming from a Barton (duh!)overclocks easily on air primed over 7 hoursk3780mhz. (18x210). Idles at 28, hottest41 during stress test.For a budget build you can't go wrong!M3A78-emEarthwatts 650Mushkin redlines ddr2 CM hyper212+

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Got them to see if it would actually unlock. I managed to unlock the third core and overclocked it to 3.6Ghz. I'm impressed with this cpu.

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Got this 6 months back. Unlocked it with an AM2+ board and OCed it to 3.7ghz stable. What a bargin for quad core with black edition. Heard good things abt the new 555BE as well, it will be an even better OC.

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While ordering this processor, I also ordered a replacement heatsink/fan for one of my old AM2 processors. I ended up using it on this processor as it is significantly bigger and would be quieter too. I'll use the stock fan on the old processor.I purchased a motherboard capable of unlocking the two locked cores, but they won't unlock. I won't count this against the CPU, I paid for a dual-core and got a dual-core.CPUID identifies this CPU as Stepping 2, revision RB-C2, AMD CPUINFO identifies it as 0x 10.4.2 (for those who are keeping track).I had originally been looking at an Athlon II 250, but spent the extra $25 or so after reviewing benchmark tests between the two. This chip beat the 250 out by a small margin in most tests, and I was also hoping to unlock the extra cores.Comparing this CPU to my old 4800+, it is noticably faster. I haven't run any benchmarks yet, but am confident that the kids games will pick up a little bit.3.1GHz, Dual Core, with 6MB L3 cache for under $100, I'm impressed.

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J'ai acheté ce processeur pour une machine secondaire dans l'espoir de pouvoir débloquer les deux coeurs cachés avec une carte mère Asus M4A785TD-M EVO. Avec quelques réglages simples à faire dans le BIOS standard de cette carte mère, j'ai réussi au premier démarrage à passé en Quad Core sans aucun problème et j'ai un CPU équivalent au Phenom II X4 955 pour pret de 50% du prix! Ma carte maitresse supporte ce CPU sans problème est pratiquement sans échauffement des Mosfet. Un bon achat OUI c'est certain et même sans pouvoir débloquer les deux core supplémentaires. À mon avis ce CPU offre le meilleur rapport performence/prix sur le marché présentement.

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Hey all, I have yet to put this beast into a motherboard. I am waiting for a few newer Gigabyte models to come out - maybe even the 800 series AMD chipsets. I expect to put this into use in about 4 to 5 months. I will update  this post at that time!

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I have a 0944 stepping 550 x2, and it does not unlock. No amount of tweaking could get it to unlock successfully. It is currently on watercooling never reaching 30c under full load. The maximum it could overclock to is 3.8ghz at 1.50v. Voltage below that makes it unstable. Without the watercooling, I doubt my CPU could even reach 3.8ghz. Highly disappointed with this product. I could have bought a Phenom x4 for a little more money, but with much better performance and stability. Considering that the Phenom II x2 is merely Phenom II with two defective cores, these CPU's are extremely overpriced. I would give this product a two star rating, but my invoice number wouldn't allow me to do so.

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Current stepping is 0944, i am having trouble unlocking the 2 extra cores, maybe i just have bad ones, i am gonna try stepping the vcore to 1.4 if that doesn't work then i will accept that my cpu can't be unlockedIt is still good even if i can't unlock it, for $99 that i jsut bought it for, you can't go wrong

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I am very impressed with this processor, one of the best black editions that I've used when building. This provides solid performance for any range of activities, including gaming. This is a solid CPU and great for overclocking. I would buy this again anytime.

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A great processor if you are looking for something cheap that has a lot of power. You can push this processor pretty hard and it will preform. As well as being a black edition it is a great overclocker and you might get lucky if you can unlock the other two cores.

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Used this cpu in a budget build for a friend and wow is this sucka fast for a $100, and it has plenty of oc'ing headroom with a decent cooler. Definitely recommended.

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Awesome temptation for a tinker'er. If you can unnlock, bonus, If you can't it's still a good overclocker. Try to get a mobo that is good for oc and unlocking.

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I got this one along with a msi 770 c-45 mobo and unlocked to quad core with a bios flash via windows easily. this thing is now super fast, and VERY CHEAP, if you're a gamer on a budget, you won't regret it, it's a very powerful thing, even if you can't unlock this, However, if you have 200-300 more to spend, I'd suggest to go with intel, which are even faster. But my friend was really tight on his budget, so I gave this one a try and now that the 4 cores are unlocked, it's a real beast!

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first amd i have the pleasure building with and this thing is a powerful option on a budget. i heard a lot of success on unlocking to quad but didn't get a chance to fully test mine out.

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The clamp for the heat sink is a great improvement over the ones that came with the Athlon 64s. Easy and secure. I'm not an overclocking enthusiast, although I may look into unlocking the cores on it. That said, the performance increase of my system was very visible after upgrading from an AMD Althon 64 3400. Multitasking is much, much smoother when running higher cpu load games.

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Got this CPU alongside my UD4P motherboard. Unlocked it into a quad core with zero effort. Got a quad core computer on the cheap. Even if you cannot unlock it, you still got a powerful dual core.

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just got it today, popped it in a MSI 785GM-E65 with 4Gb Patriot ddr3, unlocked 4cores with zero effort, runs stable so far, you can really feel the speed compared to any of my other machinescrazy deal if you get one that unlocks!

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I put this on a Gigabyte 790X mobo and OC'd it just by upping the multiplier to 18.5 from 15.5 = 3.6Ghz. I used the AMD ACC firmware to see if it saw four cores and it did, but wouldn't subsequently boot to Windows. More investigation needed, but still ... this this has E8400 performance for $70 less. Great value, great CPU.

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bought this with gigabyte/corsair combo. without any update  to the mobo, unlock the 2cores that was disabled. I did not expect I would get a 4cores cpu for 110$ but it just happened to me!

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best amd i've ever owned and i've had the original 700mhz duron, 1700 tbird, 2500 barton, and opteron 144.

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Being a bit of a curious person, I wanted to test my luck since I read that these chips are able to be unlocked from a dual core processor to a quad. Combined with my Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P motherboard, I was able to successfully unlock my chip using the Hybrid EC Firmware in the BIOS and enabling Advanced Clock Calibration.That's besides the point though. Even without the unlock, this chip is still very good. Even at stock speeds, this chip is clocks in at a respectable 3.1GHz. It's able to compete very well with comparable Core 2 Duo processors not to mention it comes in at a very attractive price point (but so does the rest of the AMD Phenom II/Athlon II line as well).Overclocking-wise, this chip was made for it. If you're not shy on the volts you should be able to hit 3.8-4GHz on these chips without too many problems. It's all made a lot easier as well by the unlocked multiplier since this is a black edition chip.Price for the performance is very good especially for overclockers. My only gripe is with diminutive cooler that AMD decided to include with their dual cores. It's just basically a small aluminum block with a fan on top. It's unfortunately nowhere near as elaborate as the heatsink you would find included with quad core processors from AMD. All things considered though, the heatsink that's included is not bad and does an adequate job in terms of cooling the dual core (at stock speeds) but I would have liked to see the beefier X4 cooler included with the X2 and X3 chips. If you plan on overclocking, I recommend grabbing an aftermarket cooler as they're quite cheap and their cooling performance is much better.I recommend you grab one of these chips if you're looking for a good dual core AMD chip with decent overclocking potential. It's also great if you just want to toy around (like me) and try to unlock the extra 2 cores. Either way I think it's great value, especially if you get all four cores to work.