I have a quad core processor.
AMD Phenom II x4 965 3.4 MHz
Which is about a year old. It has never been overheated and has never really been stressed for any long periods of time. I don't think I've seen the usage get over 50% even when doing heavy computing.
When my Motherboard boots up it always says how many cores it loaded. Recently it is now only loading 3.
It states roughly "3x cores loaded (0,1,2)"
I am also monitoring my CPU temps with windows 7 gadgets and that too now only picks up 3 cores?
What would have caused a core to vanish all of a sudden? Do I need to update BIOS and what do I risk in doing that?
Best Answer
It sounds like the processor might be defective. You should contact AMD or your computer manufacturer to request a replacement. Many processors have manufacturer's warranties covering the product for one year or longer.
In case you would like to do further diagnostics, try downloading CPU-Z or a similar tool that can get some basic information about the processor and display it to you.
You could also try updating or re-flashing the BIOS. It's unlikely, but possible, that the BIOS has a bug that is preventing your processor from working correctly. Keep in mind that there is always a risk in updating the BIOS. If you lose power during a BIOS update, it might render your system unusable. Be sure to keep a charged battery in place if this is a laptop, and don't update BIOS during a time when the power supply is unreliable (like during a storm).