I know a guy who can get my some Socket 939 Opterons. He's an IT professional. Probably pulled from older servers, maybe new. I must admit I've fallen out of the AMD loop. The "Denmark" Opteron has twice the L2 cache that my current X2 does at 1mb per core versus 512kb. How much of a difference will that make over the X2. On overclocking. I know the Optys are good overclockers. I also remember hearing that they run cooler than the X2s. Don't know if that was just a rumor though. I don't have an overclocking motherboard. It has locked voltages. I'd like some info on which would be the best, what has good stepping, etc. I'm looking at any Opty, 170 and up.
I've just gotten my 1st opty....the little 144 (1.8 single core) and compared to my previous Athlon 64 3200 (2.0) It runs about the same temp at stock speeds. I couldn't tell you what performance that is there from a larger cache, but its nothing I noticed. When it comes to Overclocking, they are beasts. Even bad ones seem to easily hit 2.6ghz (from the 1.8 or 2.0 opty). I would think that if you are not planning overclock, the difference would be minimal. Also just because you have locked voltages does not mean that you could not OC one of these chips. a simple push to 240 htt would be a nice bump, and with an opty it probally wont need more volts, and wouldn't get any hotter than stock speeds.... Also you have bragging rights to say you have a server chip. J
When I got my Opty, its a 170 CCBBE :approval: , I talked to some tech people and they flat out told me that Opterons were not Skt 939, and It would not handle my Simulators very well. Then how do they explain FS9 running steady locked at 32FPS, or IL2'46 running at 55-83FPS on a ASUS A8N-E skt 939?:smoke: But to be honest I didn't see a huge jump in F{PS when compared to my 2.3GHZ 3200. Thats not the CPU's problem, none of my simulators are configured to properly take advantage of a dual core CPU. But my system does respond better.
If your buddy can cherry pick CPU's for you then you are good to go for overclocking even with locked voltages. Do some research on what are the good stepping models for each Opty and then have him look for them. If you get the right chip in any given catagory then you can easily get a 700-1000MHz overclock even at stock voltage. This 165 will go to 2.75GHz at stock voltage (1.35v) with the stock cooler. As for temps from what I've read Opty's and X2 run about the same. http://wiki.extremeoverclocking.com/wiki/Opteron
Here you go, care of XS (.org) : XS original thread Known good steppings that are capable of 3ghz: CCB1E 0550VPMW CCBWE 0550UPMW (Some are crappy actually) CCB1E 0605XPMW CCB1E 0606VPMW CCB1E 0608MPMW CCB1E 0609FPAW CCB1E 0609FPMW CCBBE 0610DPMW CCBBE 0615EPMW CCBBE 0617FPMW Honorable Mention: CCBWE 0530TPMW (2.9ghz avg.) CCBWE 0546XPMW (2.85ghz avg.) CCBWE 0609FPAW (Unconfirmed precise averages, but seems to be 2.8-2.9) AVOID if you want to hit 2.8ghz+: CCBWE 0534SPMW CCBWE 0543TPMW CCBWE 0546MPMW CCBWE 0551 (Any packing code) (2.7-2.75ghz 1.55v) CCBWE 0602 (Any packing code) CCBWE 0607 (Any packing code) (2.65ghz 1.55v) My Opteron 165 is at 3.2GHz on 1.375V (.025V above stock) under my Tt Big-Typhoon with idle temps at 31*C and load of Orthos Stressprime for a 24 hour run at priority10 is at 46*C. Most Opteron chips are killer at overclocking with fairly low voltage increases...but you've still gotta watch your temps just like any other CPU. And, the 1MB cache on each core is nice too... Psychlone
I have a 939 platform and my upgrade options are limited in terms of CPU and RAM. However i would love an Opteron, Dual Core preferably, something like a 170 would be sweet. You can buy the Opteron 170's for around £120 but for me that is too much cash for an upgrade from an x2 3800. Sure the L2 cache would be doubled and i would probably hit higher clock speeds with less heat but how much of a tangible increase in performance would i really get? So that's why i wouldn't buy one. If i had the opportunity to get my hands on one from an IT professional looking after loads of servers and has a few spare Opty's in the back room, then i would jump at the chance. If you can get one, then get one. Are you talking about buying one off this guy, or getting one for nothing or as a favour, or maybe at a 'friends' price? I'd get as many as you can and punt them on ebay.
Opteron are much more stable than AMD 64 in overclocking, i get mine on Ebay from 200€ (a 185 just one week after it was put on the market)... i used to have an FX57 but an electric shock kill it so i try opteron. At 1st glance it was wonderfull (normal freq is 2.6) and when i beguining to overclock i have the feeling that my mobo are less overclockable than my CPU... If i should buy a CPU i certainly buy another Opty... or a core2 even if i don't like INTEL (same OC feeling than with my Opty...)
you'd need a better psu than that 450w to oc an opteron, they use 110w stock and up to 220w oc'd! (opteron 165) I was gonna get one till i read that. The extra cache = 100mhz pretty much ontop of your cpu mhz really.
What kind FSB speed do you need to run an opty at around 3ghz? I've been thinking of getting one because my 3500+ barely goes above 2.6. BTW: Orenda, maybe you could sell me one if you can get ahold of some?:grin:
for a 165 with the x9 multi 333FSB for the 170-185 with x10 multi 300FSB, I have my board running 325x9 for my oc.
