New PC

[russ0r]

Hello there.

I'm finally gonna take the plunge and go S939. My overclocked 2500+ is getting a bit long in the tooth.

I've been out of the overclocking/hardware scene for a while (like, 18 months) and I have no idea what overclocks well these days, so I've got a few questions...

I've been looking at the Opty's, primarily the UP148, and have seen that its a wicked overclocker. But I've also heard that the Athlon 3700+ is a pretty sweet overclocker too (Sandy core) - Which should I go for? What are the advantages/disadvantages of both?
I heard that the Opterons have 3 HyperTransport 'tunnels'? Whereas the Athlon's only have 1? Does this affect performance at all?

I also read that Opterons need 'registered' RAM. Do I need to make a special purchase here? Or should any decent RAM just work alongside an Opteron?
Plus, whats the best brand RAM to get for overclocking these days? I don't wanna go overboard - I'd like to keep the costs for a gig of RAM under 150 quid if possible.

And my final question: DFI LanParty SLI-DR or Asus A8N32-SLi Deluxe? Which is best for overclocking? Anyone know if MSI have a good overclocking board too?

Any help much appreciated.

Russ.

 

[brightside_]

Socket 939 Opterons do not need registered RAM,they are different to their socket 940 counterparts, so your okay on that point.
You can get a decent kit of 2GB of RAM for under £150, GSkill or OCZ I would reccomend. Mushkin also aren't bad!
DFI boards are proabably the best boards for overclocking, imo anyway, so go for that
It depends on how much your willing to spend, but going for an X2 3800 dual core wouldn't hurt you, and owuld give the added benefit of enhanced multi-tasking and a little bit of future proofing They clock well, mine being an example is at 2.6GHz on air, and with a lower level cooler than most (Akasa Evo33)
If you are going to go single core though, then most of it depends on the stepping, if one has better than the other. Some steppings will clock like hell, and some will go fairly well. Opterons are generally made from better Silicon (might be wrong here, anyone want to comment?). However, the 3700 OEM's are currently on special this week at £128, bargain to be honest!

 

[russ0r]

It depends on how much your willing to spend, but going for an X2 3800 dual core wouldn't hurt you

Cheers for the quick reply.

I'd like to stick with single core for now. I play a lot of games, and I'd rather have the added performance in games of a faster single core, than a PC that is better for multi-tasking all round.
Then I could upgrade to a faster dual-core in 6 months - a year or so.

I might just hang on a bit for AM2, thinking about it. Anyone know what dual-core S939 availability will be like once AM2 is introduced?

 

[russ0r]

Bumpage.