AMD 64 4000+ vs AMD Opteron 180 4800 X2

[Blackstar_solar]

Hi,

I currently have an AMD 64 4000+ single core socket 939 CPU in a NF4 chipset mobo; dual core seems to be the way forward, however if I'm going to upgrade the CPU I can't really afford to do the mobo, ram etc as well.

I want to get the fastest CPU my board can support, in the AMD Athlon X2 939 range the 4800+ was the fastest, however, having been discontinued for nearly 2 years now I can't find any, even second hand.

I can, however, find AMD OPTERON 180 2.4GHz X2 DUAL CORE SOCKET 939 4800. I've heard of these CPUs but don't know anything about them. I think I can pick one up for about £100 but can anyone give me an idea if I'll get much a performance boast? Obviously I will from the dual coreness but other than that what do people think?

Mostly I use my PC for gaming...is this a worthwhile upgrade in that respect?

Thanks so much.

 

[Blackstar_solar]

The only snag is single core apps/games. You say it will be used for gaming and a lot of games currently are still single threaded. With both the 4000+ and the 180 at stock, the 180 will actually perform slightly worse in the game. This may be countered by the fact that the other core can handle background tasks. But overall, the difference will be almost unnoticeable.

Hmmm this is interesting. The 4000+ runs its core @ 2.4GHz and the 180 runs each core @ 2.4GHz, shouldn't this mean that with the 2nd core taking care of background tasks the performance should at least be the same?

If you're using the 4000+ on the stock HSF, bear in mind that won't be enough to cool the Opty. They run a lot warmer and so need better cooling.

What would you recommend to run at stock and overclocking?

What RAM are you running?

I'm running 4x512MB DDR400. I've always wondered why it only ran at 333!

Simply put for £100 and the fact that mostly I play games, is the upgrade worth it?

 

[Blackstar_solar]

Thanks for all the info GeForce.

I was thinking of getting this bad boy anyway as I'm pretty sure it will be quiter than my stock cooler.

I'm not really wanting to upgrade my computer for a couple of years, maybe a new graphics card at some point but certainly not for a year at least. I'm thinking the 180 will be a good purchase.

 

[Blackstar_solar]

I've just noticed that my mobo will run an opteron 185, whats the technical, realistic and cost difference between the 185 and the 180?