AMD Dual-Core: Athlon vs. Opteron

wee017 · Apr 18, 2006, 10:43 PM

I'm going to upgrade to dual-core soon, and I decided to go with AMD. At first, I thought that the AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ was the way to go, but I saw some people saying that there Opteron blew it away and could clock really high. I am mostly going to use the PC for gaming, and web development. These are the three processors I have in mind:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 1GHz HT 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - $460.00
AMD Opteron 175 Denmark 1GHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - $506.00
AMD Opteron 170 Denmark 1GHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - $400.00

All the prices are from newegg, haven't looked at other sites. The Athlon is in between the two as far as price range, but it has .2 more GHz than the 170, and is the same as the 170 as far as clock speed and L1 and L2 cache.

For the system I was planning on using an A8N32-SLI, an Enermax Liberty Series 620W PS, 2GB of 3500LL, and a 7900GT.

Thanks for all the help (in advance)

Judas · Apr 18, 2006, 11:38 PM

ALWAYS... the opteron... enless your running stock settings with no plans of overclocking .. then whichever you figure is better.

the 175 flies when it's overclocked

the whole point of the opterons is that they are designed for major workstation machines.... so they are made of higherquality.... it's like the cavilear vs camero, even of similare design, ones got a fair bit more work put into it to make it that much more.

In any case, the opterons are excellent overclockers due to the quality..... with minimal need of serious voltage increases. I've seen the 175 hit 3.1ghz and some people have managed a higher result....

wee017 · Apr 19, 2006, 01:49 AM

Just curious, how come you have the 4400+ though??

Judas · Apr 19, 2006, 02:03 AM

it was the only thing available at the time... if i could just get an opteron in exchange of my x2... i'd do it right away...

i'll have to wait to sell off this one.

Drakon · Apr 19, 2006, 02:30 AM

Why not get an Opteron 165 and oc it? It's cheaper than the 170

wee017 · Apr 21, 2006, 02:53 AM

Well, that's what I'm trying to find out, what to get.. 175 seems a little expensive, might get around it though. It's really attractive, a dual core at 3.1 GHz, can't imagine it.

Lowfat · Apr 21, 2006, 04:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drakon

Why not get an Opteron 165 and oc it? It's cheaper than the 170

it only has a 9X multi, which could limit OC's if you don't want to use a divider or don't have high scaling ram. However the price difference is quite large, i'd likely take the 165. You can grab OEM 165s here for $50 cheaper than a retail 3800+. Even the retail 165s are only 10-15 more than the 3800s.

I'd definately take an Opty over an X2, they are generally binned better than their X2 couterparts, therefor will likely clock higher.

wee017 · Apr 21, 2006, 11:54 PM

So it's 175 vs 165 .. hmm.. vote!

Judas · Apr 22, 2006, 03:04 AM

i say 175 is you can afford it.... highest potential period.....

No_Style · Apr 22, 2006, 03:38 AM

Why not go for the 170 (if you can find one)? 10 x multiplier. In between the 175 and 165. A winner in my opinion. You were on the right track when you were considering it originally.

blown503 · May 2, 2006, 04:42 AM

[COLOR=Red]175[/COLOR]

franguinho · May 2, 2006, 05:27 AM

175!!!

Tipstaff · May 2, 2006, 06:13 AM

180!

<sorry, had to be the smartass>

I'm with No_Style. The thing is that the 170 wil overclock just as high as the 175, but it's cheaper. Both will clock to about 2.5/2.6 ghz on stock fans (maybe higher) btw.

wee017 · May 2, 2006, 11:07 PM

Well, thanks for all feedback. I'm deciding to go with the 175 (as soon as I get the money).

Apr 18, 2006, 10:43 PM	#1
wee017 DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Behind you. Posts: 241 Rep Power: 0	AMD Dual-Core: Athlon vs. Opteron I'm going to upgrade to dual-core soon, and I decided to go with AMD. At first, I thought that the AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ was the way to go, but I saw some people saying that there Opteron blew it away and could clock really high. I am mostly going to use the PC for gaming, and web development. These are the three processors I have in mind: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 1GHz HT 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - $460.00 AMD Opteron 175 Denmark 1GHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - $506.00 AMD Opteron 170 Denmark 1GHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - $400.00 All the prices are from newegg, haven't looked at other sites. The Athlon is in between the two as far as price range, but it has .2 more GHz than the 170, and is the same as the 170 as far as clock speed and L1 and L2 cache. For the system I was planning on using an A8N32-SLI, an Enermax Liberty Series 620W PS, 2GB of 3500LL, and a 7900GT. Thanks for all the help (in advance)

Apr 22, 2006, 03:38 AM	#10
No_Style Styleless Wonder Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Ottawa, Ontario Posts: 6,034 Rep Power: 0	Why not go for the 170 (if you can find one)? 10 x multiplier. In between the 175 and 165. A winner in my opinion. You were on the right track when you were considering it originally. __________________ "The Best Style Is No Style" Specifications Here

May 2, 2006, 04:42 AM	#11
blown503 HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: S. Indiana Posts: 573 Rep Power: 0	[COLOR=Red]175[/COLOR] __________________

May 2, 2006, 05:27 AM	#12
franguinho Brazilian Fool Join Date: May 2002 Location: São Paulo Posts: 3,380 Rep Power: 0	175!!! __________________ The Aliens mostly come out at night... mostly...

May 2, 2006, 06:13 AM	#13
Tipstaff HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Real capital of Canada: Torauna Posts: 6,773 Rep Power: 190 System Specs	180! <sorry, had to be the smartass> I'm with No_Style. The thing is that the 170 wil overclock just as high as the 175, but it's cheaper. Both will clock to about 2.5/2.6 ghz on stock fans (maybe higher) btw. __________________ Portal: The Flash Version _________________________________ Brain: So, you sacked the cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker? Mr. Sackett: The second cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker I've sacked since the sixth sitting sheet slitter got sick.

Apr 19, 2006, 01:49 AM	Thread Starter #3
wee017 DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Behind you. Posts: 241 Rep Power: 0	Just curious, how come you have the 4400+ though??

Apr 19, 2006, 02:30 AM	#5
Drakon DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Floatin'... Posts: 4,957 Rep Power: 0	Why not get an Opteron 165 and oc it? It's cheaper than the 170

Apr 21, 2006, 02:53 AM	Thread Starter #6
wee017 DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Behind you. Posts: 241 Rep Power: 0	Well, that's what I'm trying to find out, what to get.. 175 seems a little expensive, might get around it though. It's really attractive, a dual core at 3.1 GHz, can't imagine it.

Apr 21, 2006, 11:54 PM	Thread Starter #8
wee017 DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Behind you. Posts: 241 Rep Power: 0	So it's 175 vs 165 .. hmm.. vote!

May 2, 2006, 11:07 PM	Thread Starter #14
wee017 DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Behind you. Posts: 241 Rep Power: 0	Well, thanks for all feedback. I'm deciding to go with the 175 (as soon as I get the money).