AMD denies locking down cores
 

RUMOURS OF a microcode update that will lock down cores in AMD's new processors have been thoroughly refuted by the company.

AMD reps have come forward and denied any attempt to lock down clock rates on Phenom II cores, although the company will be putting out a microcode update to correct a Cool'n'Quiet bug that has been reported on just the Athlon II X2 model 250 processor. As Athlon II X2 is a pure dual-core die, there is no chance of "unlocking" hidden cores as there aren't any hidden in there at all.

The Athlon II X2 does derive from the Phenom II architecture, said AMD, but the company opted to decrease the amount of L3 cache in favour of more L2 cache, lowering the overall die size and making the chip's 65W thermal design power (TDP) possible.
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/...-locking-cores