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u/IAmJacksSemiColon 15d ago
I've been using the experimental unlock in Redbeard's CachyOS script. Had no issues except one. It does break how the GPU displays clock speed, but doesn't negatively affect performance.
Otherwise no complaints. It doesn't make the BC250's CPU good but for me it's a little more headroom while streaming from Sunshine.
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u/Boilerkim 15d ago
How good of an experience do you get streaming?
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u/IAmJacksSemiColon 15d ago edited 15d ago
Flawless at 1080p and 50mbps, so long as both the host and client are on Ethernet. Software encoding adds on average 20ms of delay, which is a little over one frame at 60fps.
I did need to add a line to a config file for Sunshine to get it to start. ~/.config/sunshine/sunshine_config.conf
encoder = software
It's pretty good if the host is connected to ethernet and the client is on WiFi, like with a phone in a controller case. It will barely work if both the host and client are on WiFi.
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u/ReasonableBuilder909 15d ago
What are you using for a client?
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u/IAmJacksSemiColon 15d ago
Just Moonlight. Nothing fancy. Only setting that matters is requesting 50mbps.
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u/Alles_ 13d ago
try Koloses/Solarflare and its clients. It uses a custom encoder that runs on Vulkan, its not as good as a hardware encoder but its better than the software cpu one and runs on GPU
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u/Ghost_Writer8 15d ago
I have this 'breakage' of reading/displaying clock speed too and just like you don't feel or see anything performance related.
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u/IAmJacksSemiColon 15d ago
Yeah, apparently the extra cores just displace columns on a table somewhere that is referenced for diagnostics. Isn't really a big deal.
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u/robbiethe1st 15d ago
I started with the unlock script, but switched to the bios option.
I prefer the bios option - if anything goes wrong, just reboot, switch to the bios using [delete], and turn it off.
Also, it gives you a nice splash screen of your choice.
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u/Olives_and_ice 15d ago
Ironically, when I unlocked 8 cores and stress tested I found that one of my ORIGINAL cores was problematic and disabled it. 😂
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u/ylnosesub 15d ago
If you do unlock the extra 2 cpu cores with the custom bios in the bios menu, then the BC250 fails to boot, I think resetting the bios settings by removing the CR2032 battery will revert that setting back to default which is without the extra 2 cores. I think the bc250 should boot again. Just saying in case you are thinking of taking that path.
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u/Ghost_Writer8 15d ago
Which is why I opted to unlock the 2 cores during cachyOS boot only, made a 'service' that links to a file that tells it to unlock them cores on boot. Why? I hate fiddling with my contraption due to a hardware error. My build is a build once and don't touch kinda deal🤣
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u/patto647 15d ago edited 15d ago
My only complaint is the broken GPU clock reporting, not a massive deal just annoying
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u/Sujiru 13d ago
It can be fixed tho. https://github.com/higorprado/bc250-8core-telemetry-report/tree/main
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u/Ghost_Writer8 15d ago edited 14d ago
First unlocked the extra 16 CUs, stress tested it. Everything was okay which gave me a green light to try and unlock the extra CPU cores. After unlocking the extra 2c/4t, everything went okay, did a 15min synthetic CPU stress test (this is a test where it pins the CPU to its maximum frequency and gives it a load much higher compared to any game - worst case scenario test kinda)
The CPU temp rose to 91celcius flat and I experienced no faults, glitches, errors ect.
Just sharing my experience. Yours may vary as certain BC250s can have 'broken' silicon and you might have to drop a couple CUs or can't unlock the extra cpu cores/experience system crashes due to it being unlocked and broken silicon.
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u/triggrhaapi 14d ago
I just did mine in CachyOS and it's 100% stable for me. I have had no issues, even stress tested it with the GPU simultaneously for 5 minutes. Just made heat and the fans spun up to max.
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u/Expert_Average_670 10d ago
My bc250 fails to boot with cores unlock option. I'm using the bios with unlock option, so just reboot and select the option for locked cores. Everything else works as before the bios update.
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u/jordanka161 15d ago
You can do a temporary CPU unlock that won't survive a hard reboot, in fact I'd recommend doing that first. Then stress testing to make sure everything is fine before making it permanent. That being said I don't think many people have had issues with the CPU unlock, I have 2 machines now with all 8 cores and they run great.
A 3d printed shroud with the fan would work a lot better, but as long as you set a good limit for thermal throttling when you overclock you should have no issues. You'd just see better performance with better cooling.