It’s pretty annoying, but it appears that the Asus M3A76-CM motherboard doesn’t have an option in its BIOS to enable Advanced Clock Calibration. This is despite its southbridge supposedly supporting ACC.
Why is this such a big deal? Well, it isn’t for the average user, but if you’re an enthusiast and happen to have a dual-core CPU like the AMD Athlon X2 7750+ Black Edition, it certainly is. This CPU actually has two extra disabled cores, that have reputedly been enabled by flicking ACC on. You can imagine how useful this is if you happen to edit high-definition video, for example!
If anyone from Asus happens to be reading – small chance, I know – please do introduce this feature to the board in a BIOS update, if possible. I would imagine it would certainly boost the board’s popularity.
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I just got the M3A76-CM and when I asked ASUS about it, they responded by saying that their mATX boards are not ideal for overclocking. If I want an enthusiast board, then I should buy another board according to them. I think they should just release a new Bios for us that includes ACC, or I wish that I knew ahead of time that it wasn’t going to be supported. I thought about going with the sb750 but the 790GX is double the price and theres no way it offers double the performance.
Besides lacking ACC, the bios has very limited voltage and multiplier options, particularly to control the northbridge which is LOCKED at 10x. I think the hardware itself IS capable of so much more, but the Bios is what is holding this value board back. The message I get from Asus is that there isn’t enough MONEY in it for them to offer a better Bios.
As the poster above say this board isn’t ideal for overclocking and 125watt CPUs.
Also the author is incorrect with unlock the CPUs. Only the AMD Phenom IIs such as the X550 BE, X3 710 and X3 720BE are unlockable.
The Kumas are Phenom I Quads with two disable cores. Phenom I are not unlockable as now nor do I think will they ever be. Seriously… why would you want a Phenom I quad anyway. They were terrible.
@Adam: Sorry if there was any confusion. I never meant to suggest that all CPUs were unlockable. There are several reports that the 7750 BE is unlockable. Whether the four cores will actually be usable is another question, but I’m sure many (like myself) would at least like to experiment. (Aside: the 7750 BE is not a 125w CPU but rather a 95w one.)
As to why one would want a Phenom I Quad – I think the point here is that it’s about making the best of what you have (a mid-range value dual-core). I, for one, am certainly not claiming that it would be better that a Phenom II or Intel Core 2.