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opteron or 3700+ SD?? HELP

AlanJ

AlanJ

AlanJ

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Joined
16 Nov 2005
Posts
683
Location
Torquay
Hi im in need of some help on what to choose. Basically i use my pc for gaming, and internet use.
Id also like to beable to overclock

My current spec is
DFI Ultra-D nf3 UT
480 hiper TypeR psu
200 maxtor hdd
Artic cpu cooler
ati x800xt pro

I need to find a CPU and Ram for 200 pounds if possible, ive been looking at the opteron 144UP CAB2E 0548EPAW, and also the AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 90nm, they are around the same price, but i'd love to see a minium of 2.6/2.7ghz out of the cpu i choose.

Please help me, the current spec is all brand new, just waiting for the cpu/ram! i'd like to purchase today!.

Thanks in advance Alan.
 
Both good choices, but your budget is not realistic. I would normally say go for the Opteron, but a few reports have leaked in of how good the newer 3700+ are doing (retail box).

The opteron 146 used to cost £100 ish, so paying £150+ for a 144 seems like a slap, also the 144 uses a 9x multi and the 3700SD uses an 11x multi, the latter kinda makes it easier to get a good overclock without raising your HTT through the roof!

Either go for the 3700+ *or* flip a coin for it :D

What do you think about Dual-core?
 
Thanks for posting. Ive kind of had my heart set on the opteron for quite some time now, but reading the 3700 SD overclocking thread has kind of changed my mind. This will be the first overclock i would have attempted but have studied it. I suppose my maximum budget it 250 pounds, managed to borrow some off my farther.

My mind was set on the Opteron 144UP + GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200.

Subtotal £234.90
Shipping (City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)) £8.00
VAT £42.51
Total £285.41

slightly over my budget, i could get one stick of Geil 1GB.
 
Jestergt said:
My mind was set on the Opteron 144UP + GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200
Click to expand...
Hmmm could be better!

Nearly always worth paying out for some quality ram, I'm not talking MUSKIN Redlines here, but GeIL value is near the bottom of the barrel. .

Go and speak with Father again! ;)
 
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I'm sure the Geil is ok, I'm just saying you could spend a little extra.

You would need to roughly work out your overclock before buying the RAM, sounds silly I know, have you got any spare sticks of PC3200 that you could use for initial testing, to see what your CPU can do?

Sounds like the long way round but there is method in my madness!
 
Big.Wayne said:
You would need to roughly work out your overclock before buying the RAM, sounds silly I know, have you got any spare sticks of PC3200 that you could use for initial testing, to see what your CPU can do?
Click to expand...
On my DFI mobo there are soo much RAM dividers that it's possible to have the RAM running at 200Mhz with a lot of FSB (HTT) speeds.

OT, have you overclocked your SD 3700+ CCBWE chips yet?
 
ok i have found some 1GB MUSHKIN PC4000 DDR 500MHz Memory (redline) for 109.00. would this be ok for my current spec, with the retailed opteron 144UP?
 
What you have to remember is that the Opteron 144 has a 9x multiplier, so to get a decent overclock like 2700Mhz you need a mobo that can do 300Mhz FSB and 300Mhz is by no means guaranteed, if you have a mobo that only does 250Mhz the maximum overclock you can gat is 9x250 = 2250Mhz
 
Well im a little new to all this overclocking as you can probley tell. The motherboard i have is the DFI Lanparty nf3 Ultra-D and the only thing i can find in the manual todo with FSB is 'FSB 2000MTps hyper transport and high speed ddr400' if that helps.
 
sja360 said:
its not FSB your looking for it'll be HT or HTT. cant remember which.
Click to expand...
Technically it is HTT but essentially it is still a case of a multiplier x FSB speed = CPU speed.

the 2000Mhz HT speed is the FSB x HT multiplier x two way operation = 200 x 5 x 2 = 2000Mhz

What you need to do is keep the HT below 1000Mhz (2000Mhz dual) by lowering the HT multi to 4x or 3x when overclocking
 
Grr confused now (it doesnt take much), Could some kind person PLEASE decide for me on what to get.

opteron 144 or 3700+ SD and ram, wanting to overclock my cpu, on my DFI ultra-d nf3 board

Thanks in advance Alan.
 
If you wanna overclock they both look good, it's a tough call!

144 = 1.8GHz out the box (should reach 2.6-2.8GHz with some luck)
3700+= 2.2GHz out the box (should reach 2.6-2.8GHz with some luck)

Hmmm not sure, The opterons and the new 3700+ SD are very similar in terms of spec, but between the two I would say the 3700+ (Retail) would be the easiest to overclock because it has an 11x multi, whereas the Opteron 144 has a x9 multi.

The opteron 144 *used* to cost £95.00
The 3700+ *used* to cost £250+ (ish)

These days your paying a premium for Opterons!
 
I was in the same situation and went for a San Diego 3700+ because they were the same price, it has a 11x multiplier so that allows a good overclock even if the mobo clocks badly and it was available at the time.
 
I've got the 3700SD and have it with 1gb of ram - running nicely at 2.7ghz on stock volts and stock cooler - going to get a better cooler and bump up towards 2.8 a.s.a.p
 
Thanks for that what stepping is that? I want be getting my 3700 SD until the beginning of next month
 
You made the right choice. I'd have gone for a 3700+ when I got my 144 if it wasn't for the fact that it was double the price. Even with a high end overclockers motherboard and top of the line cooling you'll struggle to get more than 2.8-2.9ghz or so out of a 144 because the a x9 multi (HTT being the limiting factor). A good 3700+ won't get any further, but it won't need the same expensive equipment to get there.

I am still dead pleased with my 144 though considering it cost me barely £100 including delivery. :)
 
personally if the 3700s are good now, id buy now! and worry about food, toilet paper(ride bike to work) untill next month.you never know it might just almost pay for itself:)
 
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