Which Processor?

Drakon · Jan 13, 2006, 07:16 PM

Which do you guys think is worth getting for the price/performance: X2 3800+, Opteron 165 or Opteron 170? I'm looking at getting a dual core processor, because my 3500+ struggles when running multiple apps like UnrealEd, Winamp, Opera etc.

Sargentwhitey · Jan 13, 2006, 07:23 PM

Well, I know all three of them clock quite well, but with the Opteron 165 you get that extra 512kb of L2 cache on each core. It's what I went with, now I just need a new motherboard to really squeeze the performance out of it

Drakon · Jan 13, 2006, 07:43 PM

The Opteron 170 has 1MB of cache on each core too, plus it's clocked to 2.0GHz instead of 1.8GHz.

Btw, which mobo do u have Whitey?

Judas · Jan 14, 2006, 03:10 AM

be careful... some sites really don't tell the truth... or give a straight out answer..

Some say 1mb cache.. but sometimes they are only refering to one core.. while other claim 1mb... for both cores.... just make sure it's 2mb total cache..

And yes... get one with 2mb total.... don't worry about the 200mhz difference... if you decide to oc.. you'll have no problem crossing that bridge...

get an opteron version.. they are the BEST...

No_Style · Jan 16, 2006, 03:28 PM

Get an Opteron if you're lucky to find some. (I heard they were a little difficult to acquire nowadays) However, the X2 3800+ isn't a bad chip to pick up if you can't find an Opteron 165 or 170.

klevo · Jan 16, 2006, 03:53 PM

pardon me, but your a64 3500+ is having problems with winamp & opera?

are you serious?

Drakon · Jan 16, 2006, 06:01 PM

No. It struggles when running multiple apps together. I use Max, Maya, Unreal Ed, C4D. Using any of those apps with other apps open takes a toll on the cpu, that's why I am looking at a dual core

Drakon · Jan 20, 2006, 05:38 PM

Woot!!! I just got my Opteron 165 from Zipzoomfly. The stepping is CCBWE 0548XPMW. Probably get this bad boy installed this weekend

Oh joy, I've got to reinstall windows again

Judas · Jan 20, 2006, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drakon

Woot!!! I just got my Opteron 165 from Zipzoomfly. The stepping is CCBWE 0548XPMW. Probably get this bad boy installed this weekend

Oh joy, I've got to reinstall windows again

you should really install windows XP 64bit

NUCLEARWINTER · Jan 27, 2006, 07:53 PM

im already starting to plan a new system....but im stuck a lil...i want an amd rig now. i want an FX processor either a 57 or 60. the 57 price has come down substantially, and not that far from the FX 60 as far as performance goes in the tests I've seen. is the FX60 that much better than the X2 4800(which is a lot cheaper)? or just marginally? i wanna justify spending up to 1200 dollars on 1 piece of silicon. also i hear everyone say that dual core proc's aren't really being tapped just yet by games. im mostly gonna play games and benchmark. would i be better off spending less money on a single core FX57 or should i get the dual core to future proof for the extra 3-400 dollars? also what is the baddest ass mobo for amd? im looking to spend upwards of $200+ for the mobo it has to be SLI because I'm trading in my ATI hat for NVIDIA. and id like all the bells and whistles. i want something i can overclock with. any suggestions? also is ddr2 support only coming with the next socket from amd? wonder y it's taking so long for them to adopt better ram? i know about the mem control on the proc but still (AMD NOOB)

No_Style · Jan 27, 2006, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NUCLEARWINTER

im already starting to plan a new system....but im stuck a lil...i want an amd rig now. i want an FX processor either a 57 or 60. the 57 price has come down substantially, and not that far from the FX 60 as far as performance goes in the tests I've seen. is the FX60 that much better than the X2 4800(which is a lot cheaper)? or just marginally? i wanna justify spending up to 1200 dollars on 1 piece of silicon. also i hear everyone say that dual core proc's aren't really being tapped just yet by games. im mostly gonna play games and benchmark. would i be better off spending less money on a single core FX57 or should i get the dual core to future proof for the extra 3-400 dollars? also what is the baddest ass mobo for amd? im looking to spend upwards of $200+ for the mobo it has to be SLI because I'm trading in my ATI hat for NVIDIA. and id like all the bells and whistles. i want something i can overclock with. any suggestions? also is ddr2 support only coming with the next socket from amd? wonder y it's taking so long for the to adopt better ram? (AMD NOOB)

Refer to this thread and my answer towards the FX-60. I would never blow $1200 USD on a processor for any socket, but that's just me. Dual-core or single? Well, since I do more than just game on my PC, I've always been a multi-threaded processor buyer. I would even consider an HT enabled Intel over a single threaded Athlon. As for games, dual-core presence in them is starting to show up already. Games like COD2 and Quake 4 have dual-core optimization patches released for them. Great advances? No, not yet, but it won't be too long now.

As for motherboard, look at the DFI LANPARTY UT NF4 SLI-DR Expert which have high regard in the overclocking scene. The ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe is no slouch either.

Yes, DDR2 will be the only type of memory supported by Socket AM2 processors. Why the late adoption? Questionable, really. Perhaps its due to the fact that DDR2 latencies haven't gone down enough, but nowadays it's pretty damn good.

If you haven't gone to the thread I posted, here it is again: Socket AM2 is coming and any major purchases on Socket 939 is towards a very limited future. Purchase wisely.

NUCLEARWINTER · Jan 27, 2006, 09:13 PM

thanx i think i'll wait for the am2. perhaps get the fx62. man its hard not upgrading when u really want to and by some miriacle actually have the money!!!!

Lowfat · Jan 28, 2006, 03:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NUCLEARWINTER

thanx i think i'll wait for the am2. perhaps get the fx62. man its hard not upgrading when u really want to and by some miriacle actually have the money!!!!

I know the feeling. I REALLY want a new cpu,mobo, and videocard, and am having a hard time waiting for a month till Yonah boards are available.

Judas · Jan 28, 2006, 07:08 AM

initially dual core present the thought that you NEED programs to take advantage of both cores.. THIS IS NOT THE CASE... although programs that are full capable of taking advantage of both.. say games... could seriously improve them.... single threaded apps still gain a fairly nice amount of preformance not to mention stability with dual cores..

For example.. even with pretty much zero programs in the background... i've seen on lower end video cards showing a large preformance improvement.... load times are seriously cut down... and overall smoothness and whatnot is astounding... imo, anyone with a dual core should see the difference apon putting up the system.. the first thing you notice it is within windows..... it just feels better....

I would NOT make a purchase at all (i'm actually suggesting several people that are getting machines built by me.. to seriously considering dual core over more powerful single core cpu's..)(

why? because it's coming... and the advantages are clear.... some new programs and games will REQUIRE full dual core or better support to fully take advantage of the game.. and the extra..... like in a up and coming game..... the physics engines and other high cpu intesive caculations on "high quality" mode WILL REQUIRE a dual core.... intel's HT cannot handle the job..... it needs to full blown cpu's... (and from my last information i've gotten about the up and coming game.. intels dual cores are NOT fairing well at all with the processes... still optimsing)....

Sargentwhitey · Jan 28, 2006, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drakon

The Opteron 170 has 1MB of cache on each core too, plus it's clocked to 2.0GHz instead of 1.8GHz.

Btw, which mobo do u have Whitey?

Sorry it took me so long, but I'm currently using an A8N-SLi Deluxe, gonna switch to a DFI board because this one doesn't clock well, for some reason

Drakon · Jan 28, 2006, 08:01 PM

Well I got the Opteron 165 installed. Windows and the BIOS recognizes it. Will wait a week before I oc this baby

technonerd · Jan 28, 2006, 08:50 PM

My suggest is....WAIT. X2 or dual processor is not the great yet and I believe it's still on early stage.

That's what I'm doing right now, want to see what M2 has to offer

Jan 13, 2006, 07:16 PM	#1
Drakon DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Floatin'... Posts: 4,957 Rep Power: 0	Which Processor? Which do you guys think is worth getting for the price/performance: X2 3800+, Opteron 165 or Opteron 170? I'm looking at getting a dual core processor, because my 3500+ struggles when running multiple apps like UnrealEd, Winamp, Opera etc.

Jan 13, 2006, 07:23 PM	#2
Sargentwhitey Has a JOB.. Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: NJ Posts: 1,473 Rep Power: 0	Well, I know all three of them clock quite well, but with the Opteron 165 you get that extra 512kb of L2 cache on each core. It's what I went with, now I just need a new motherboard to really squeeze the performance out of it __________________ Mobile:Intel Celeron M 1.5GHz, 40GB WD, 1GB PC24000, Intel Mediocre Graphics 2, SB Audigy 2 Notebook

Jan 13, 2006, 07:43 PM	Thread Starter #3
Drakon DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Floatin'... Posts: 4,957 Rep Power: 0	The Opteron 170 has 1MB of cache on each core too, plus it's clocked to 2.0GHz instead of 1.8GHz. Btw, which mobo do u have Whitey? Last edited by Drakon; Jan 14, 2006 at 04:49 AM.

Jan 16, 2006, 03:28 PM	#5
No_Style Styleless Wonder Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Ottawa, Ontario Posts: 6,034 Rep Power: 0	Get an Opteron if you're lucky to find some. (I heard they were a little difficult to acquire nowadays) However, the X2 3800+ isn't a bad chip to pick up if you can't find an Opteron 165 or 170. __________________ "The Best Style Is No Style" Specifications Here

Jan 16, 2006, 03:53 PM	#6
klevo 2 l33t Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Slovakia Posts: 587 Rep Power: 0	pardon me, but your a64 3500+ is having problems with winamp & opera? are you serious? __________________ My blog

Jan 16, 2006, 06:01 PM	Thread Starter #7
Drakon DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Floatin'... Posts: 4,957 Rep Power: 0	No. It struggles when running multiple apps together. I use Max, Maya, Unreal Ed, C4D. Using any of those apps with other apps open takes a toll on the cpu, that's why I am looking at a dual core

Jan 20, 2006, 05:38 PM	Thread Starter #8
Drakon DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Floatin'... Posts: 4,957 Rep Power: 0	Woot!!! I just got my Opteron 165 from Zipzoomfly. The stepping is CCBWE 0548XPMW. Probably get this bad boy installed this weekend Oh joy, I've got to reinstall windows again

Jan 27, 2006, 07:53 PM	#10
NUCLEARWINTER Reap What You Sow. Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Louisville, Kentucky Posts: 1,135 Rep Power: 65 System Specs	im already starting to plan a new system....but im stuck a lil...i want an amd rig now. i want an FX processor either a 57 or 60. the 57 price has come down substantially, and not that far from the FX 60 as far as performance goes in the tests I've seen. is the FX60 that much better than the X2 4800(which is a lot cheaper)? or just marginally? i wanna justify spending up to 1200 dollars on 1 piece of silicon. also i hear everyone say that dual core proc's aren't really being tapped just yet by games. im mostly gonna play games and benchmark. would i be better off spending less money on a single core FX57 or should i get the dual core to future proof for the extra 3-400 dollars? also what is the baddest ass mobo for amd? im looking to spend upwards of $200+ for the mobo it has to be SLI because I'm trading in my ATI hat for NVIDIA. and id like all the bells and whistles. i want something i can overclock with. any suggestions? also is ddr2 support only coming with the next socket from amd? wonder y it's taking so long for them to adopt better ram? i know about the mem control on the proc but still (AMD NOOB) __________________ insert witty comment here!

Jan 27, 2006, 09:13 PM	#12
NUCLEARWINTER Reap What You Sow. Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Louisville, Kentucky Posts: 1,135 Rep Power: 65 System Specs	thanx i think i'll wait for the am2. perhaps get the fx62. man its hard not upgrading when u really want to and by some miriacle actually have the money!!!! __________________ insert witty comment here!

Jan 28, 2006, 08:01 PM	Thread Starter #16
Drakon DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Floatin'... Posts: 4,957 Rep Power: 0	Well I got the Opteron 165 installed. Windows and the BIOS recognizes it. Will wait a week before I oc this baby

Jan 28, 2006, 08:50 PM	#17
technonerd DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Posts: 594 Rep Power: 0	My suggest is....WAIT. X2 or dual processor is not the great yet and I believe it's still on early stage. That's what I'm doing right now, want to see what M2 has to offer