Is the Opteron 170 worth the extra?

[Naffa]

thinking of upgrading my 3500 Venice and saw the Opteron 165. i thought it looked good but saw the 170. im hoping for 2.6Ghz and will be using the Artic Cooling 64 Pro. would this be possible with the 165? or is the 170 the only way to go? i have the GIGABYTE GA K8N Ultra-9.

cheers,
naffa

 

[aphex]

2.6 is easily achievable even on a "bad" 165 like mine, but it depends on how high you can push your mobo. Not sure if Gigabytes can get 290 HTT or not though.

 

[Explicit]

The difference in price is the number of multipliers you get. 165 has 9x200mhz, 170 has 10x200mhz.

In theory the 170 should clock better with lower FSB compared to the 165. But there's no reason why you can't get 2.6Ghz with the 165 and a good mobo.

 

[ryansm]

Great thing about the 170 is the 10x multiplier - which is better for ocing imo.

The 165 should do 2.6 no probs but will be easier with the 170. I have a 165 and I am glad I saved some extra cash to spend elsewhere! Mine runs at 2.55 pretty easily with temps around 32-38'C. Im happy with that!

 

[Minstadave]

I'd go with the 165 and save a few bob

 

[Naffa]

i was hoping to invest in some water cooling in the future too so the money saved could go towards it i thought that if i get some water cooling and just overclock my componants then maybe it will save me from having to upgrade in future. and this 165 seems to be very good value for money

 

[Explicit]

^ Watercooling would be nice, but some of the recent air coolers are really putting on a show (silence & performance in one)! Thermalright SI-120 & Big Typhoon being two of them. That would save you a fortune and still allow you to overclock.