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Last socket 939 upgrade

Youstolemyname

Youstolemyname

Youstolemyname

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Looking to squeeze the last out of my rig before a new motherboard etc.

I currently have a s939 dfi lanparty mobo with an A64 3500+. I have just got myself 2gb of ram and am looking to upgrade the CPU now. I am quite limited to what is available and want to know what would give me best bang for the buck?

A 4200+ x2 seems a good option but the 4400+ also appeals. However, the 4400+ seems almost double the price wherever I look. Is it worth it for the extra cache size on the 4400 or should I just go for the 4200 and see what overclocks I can get out of it?

Thanks for any advice :)

/edit .....would an opty 165 be worth considering as well?
 
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GeForce said:
Firstly, if you're going for a Manchester core, then go for the 3800+ X2 rather than the 4200+ X2. The recent 3800s are reaching 2.6Ghz at least on stock voltage, and up to 2.8Ghz with a little more Vcore.

The advantage with the Toledos is the extra cache size, which does provide a noticeable performance boost. The extra 512kb cache per core is supposed to equal around a 200Mhz boost in core clock, which makes the "real world" performance of a 4400+ X2 and a 4600+ X2 around the same.

Having said that, clock speed can be increased with overclocking but you can't add cache. And that cache does make a difference. But as you say, they're pretty expensive because there's not many around now. And as So939 is dead technology, you might be better off grabbing a 3800+ X2 and saving the extra cash for the next upgrade (ie. whole new system).

To sum up:
3800+ X2 Manchester: will clock at least to 2.6Ghz, cheap, but the lack of cache causes worse performance in software which uses that cache (eg. encoding, anything involving large files or the CPU moving data around).

4200+ X2 Manchester: Not worth the extra over the 3800+ X2. If you decide on a Manchester, get the 3800+ X2.

4400+ X2 Toledo: Won't clock as high as the Manchester, the extra cache holds it back. Expensive and hard to find. However, extra L2 cache makes a noticeable difference in real world performance, and the CPU will cope a lot better with cache intensive apps.

If you do a lot of gaming, remember a lot of games will still be single threaded. In this case, the highest core clocked CPU will almost always win out. Ie. A 3800+ clocked to 2.6Ghz will beat a 4400+ clocked to 2.4Ghz in terms of game performance (FPS).

Jon
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply, really helpful. What do you think about the option of an opteron 165 x2?, I can pick one up for the same price as the 4200+
 
Just one last question.

I currently have 2x512mb of OCZ Platinum Revision 2 running at 2-2-2-5 in dual channel @ stock 400mhz. I have just got hold of 2x1Gb of OCZ Platinum that runs at 2-3-2-5 @ stock 400mhz.

Will I be okay running the four sticks if I drop the timings to 2-3-2-5 or should I just sell the 2x512s and stick with the 2x1gbs
 
Went for the Opteron 165 in the end. Now just can't decide whether to sell the 1gb matched pair or not. Thanks for all your advice again :)

Not sure I really need 3gb and it could go towards a new gfx card.....

Decisions decision...
 
well, got the opteron 165 in and on a nice overclock @ 2.7ghz on stock volts with air cooling. Just running a divider at the moment to see how far I can push it.

However, idle temp appears to be 38 degrees and under full load (two instances of prime running) it shot up to 54 degrees quite quickly.

What are generally the 'accepted' temps for these chips, I know they will run hotter but this is HOT!

I see people mentioning the temps of both cores being different. How can I check the temps of each core? I just run ITE smart guardian to test.

I know I will get a few degrees drop when the AS5 beds in but am concerned about how hot this is.
 
still not happy with these temps......getting up to 60 now on load running dual prime.

Currently got an artic cooler 64, any recommendations for a replacement? Is the pro version a big improvement?
 
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str said:
Looks like you have good case/cooling/airflow as the PWMIC and chipset temps are fine.

Is the Freezer hot to the touch? I suspect it will be as during my testing with 939 setups I found it can easily become heat saturated. Still 60c load temp isn't so bad and as long as the other temps are stable it'll be just fine like that.

There is a wide choice of newer heatsinks which efficiently dissipate a lot more heat than a Freezer 64 can handle so it all depends on how much you want to spend.

I doubt there is much difference between the non-pro and the pro freezers.
Click to expand...

I dont really want to spend bundles.....certainly not 40 quid like the typhoon models seem to be. Plus I want something fairly quiet- which is why I was attracted to the freezer two years ago.

Seems like the pro has 3 heatpipes whears the non pro only has 2...
 
when you say it coped reasonably well, what temps were you seeing?

Still can't decide what cooler to get....any other recommendations for a decent s939 opteron dual core cooler anyone?

Want it to be quiet and cost effective
 
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