Quad Unlocker - Get more than you paid for

 
Pacstar Computers’ master builders, David Chen, left, and Jeff Tian    

Pacstar Computers has won many magazine awards for its systems over the last ten years, so we posed them this challenge:  build the most powerful but affordable computer you can.  Pacstart’s master builders, director, David Chen,  and Head Technician Jeff Tian came up with a system that potentially unlocks the fourth (and disabled) core in AMD’s affordable Phenom II X3 processor. We must stress, it will void your warranty!

CORE SYSTEM

CPU: AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition -  $150

Triple Core 2.8GHz/7.5MB Cache/95w/45nm
The Black Edition AMD Phenom II X3 720 is not only the best overclocking AMD CPU thanks to its unlocked clock ratio, but if you’re lucky you may be able to transform it into a quad-core chip as well. On the production line, AMD can disable one or two cores (to get triple or dual-core chips from the same manufacturing process) depending on testing of the chip or their requirements for dual or triple-core models. Some motherboard manufacturers now offer a BIOS capable of attempting to re-enable the cores. AMD itself told us some enthusiasts have been able to unlock the fourth core in certain batches of CPUs. AMD also stresses the 720 overclocks well

COOLER: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 - $50

Has six heat pipes and 42 fins, an ultra quiet 92 MM RPM FAN.  It is quite, cheap, and easy to install. It offers performance far beyond stock coolers and achieves 130 Watts cooling capacity – becoming one of the most efficient CPU coolers for power users

MOTHERBOARD: MSI 770-C45 - $80

AMD 770+SB710, Socket AM3, FSB / HyperTransport 3.0, Hyper Transport Bus up to 5200MT/s, DDR3 800/1066/1333/1600, PCI Express 2.0 16X,Gigabit Lan ,SATA II, RAID, HD Audio
For such an inexpensive price, this MSI motherboard is stable, overclocks well and has the lucky-dip feature to unlock cores of AMD processors. The user can decide whether to overclock a single-core or run a multi-core setup. How do we do that? Simply by enabling the option in BIOS, users can easily activate the locked core(s). MSI has chosen to manufacture the 770-C45 with dimensions that are only slightly smaller than a full sized ATX motherboard at 305mm x 210mm, rather than 305mm x 244mm. As the AMD 770 chipset only supports a single graphics card you don't get the option of multiple graphics cards set up in CrossFire and this means that there is plenty of room for the expansion slots. In addition to the single PCI Express x16 graphics slot there are two PCI Express x1 slots and three PCI slots.

MEMORY: 4GB Corsair XMS3 PC10600 DDR3 1333MHz - $155

2x2G XMS PC 10600, 1333 Hz, 240 pin DIMM
This Corsair RAM is reliable, comes with the XMS heat spreader and a lifetime warranty.

GRAPHICS: MSI ATI HD 5770 - $200

The Radeon HD 5770 runs a very efficient cooling solution, which allows us to overclock the card quite handily. Considering its reasonable price tag and the included MSI Afterburner overclocking software, its price to performance with a little overclocking is through the roof. The powerful GPU and large amounts of bandwidth available lets it run new games with high quality settings. With support for DirectX 11 for upcoming games, there’s some future compatibility in it as well.

HARD DRIVE: 2 X Samsung 1T HD103UJ - $230 ($115 each)

With two Samsung hard drives you can do Raid 0, Stripe for performance, you can separate system and data by using two physical hard disk or do Raid Mirror for added protection.

OPTICAL DRIVE: LG DVD-BURNER GH22NS50 22X, DVD RW - $50

This LG DVD burner not only burns fast and reads quiet, but also can read disks in all kinds of condition.

POWER SUPPLY: Huntkey 550W Green Power ATX - $65

This PSU is highly efficient and comes with output protection to protect your whole computer, including over voltage, current protection and short circuit protection.

CASE: Huntkey H402 - $65

ATX / Micro ATX, 0.6mm SECC, 5.25’’X 4 3.5X7
The Huntkey H402 case offers a cool, quite and clean room for your PCs. It comes with anti-dust mesh design on the front panel; rugged edges, and plenty space for further updating.

System Cost: AUD $1,499

EXTRAS

MONITOR: Samsung P2350 23in 1920 x 1080 2ms - $265

This LCD monitor has really high dynamic contrast ratio of 50,000:1 and 2ms response which means you get really sharp pictures that are blur free.

KEYBOARD/MOUSE: Logitech Cordless Desktop EX 100 - $59

This combo has a space-saving design, programmable hot keys, 1000 DPI optical mouse and is cordless. The mouse responds instantly and tracks precisely and keyboard has solid construction for long life.

OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - $130 upgrade

Windows 7 is faster, more secure and more reliable than its predecessors and supports up to 16 GBs of RAM.

Total System cost with extras: AUD $1,499

Are there better options? Let us know.