Why Opteron?

[jonnyg]

Hello,

Now, before i start, ive had a look and i cant seem to find any more threads about the Opterons. My main question is 'Why?!'

I've been out of the processor market for a bit: Last i heard was the X2's were the next big thing, but then i lost interest and missed the whole 'OMGOPTERONlol' thing.

Now, not being a complete nub, i gather they overclock well, so give better performance for lower prices, but thats all really. I still have questions! Are they still good at stock for gaming/photo editing? With regards to the previous uses, do they perform better than the Athlon64's? Would i be better off in the long run by putting one in a new system, when taking into consideration the long term effects of overclocking? Is the moon made of cheese... and can the Opteron process the answer to this frankly harrowing question!?

I'd much appreciate someone just giving me a shoehorn into the wonderous boot of the Opteron processor, before i make a big mistake and put a 939 Athlon64 in my new computer.

Thanks,
John

 

[brocksta]

basically opterons are such the rage at the moment because of their excellent overclocking ability. Depending on the amount of volts and your cooling will affect the life of the cpu, but if your like me and upgrade usually every year, then this isnt a problem.

if your planning on getting a cpu that you want to keep for a while, id reccommend getting an x2 processor. Once again opteron dual cores seem to be the height of discussion at the moment, because they are also pretty good clockers. hope this helps.

andy

 

[jonnyg]

See, the cheapest X2 retails on OCUK for about £217 iirc, and the dual core opty is £317, so would the X2 be better in the long run? Plus, is the 3800+ X2 all that good. I've heard some pretty mean reviews. Is anyone about who has one and could reccomend it?

Also, alternatively, there is the San Diego 3700+ with 1Mb L2 cache that caught my eye for £159... On a budget that seems like a more logical option?!

 

[G550]

The uni-processor Opterons created a stir because they offered a 1Meg cache AMD64 core at significantly lower prices than equivalent Athlon 64 branded parts were selling for.

Since Opterons are designated as Server or Workstation parts they were receiving better graded cores than the ones going into the Athlon 64 line meaning that most of them were achieving 2.8 - 3.1GHz with air cooling at reasonable voltage levels.

AMD eventually reacted to the furore, restricted supply and hiked the Opteron prices. Most of the advantage the Opterons had has disappeared.

Prior to christmas, Retail Opteron 146's were selling for 105-115quid, whereas now you're looking at 150-175quid for the same part, _if_ you can find them in stock.

 

[jonnyg]

So cast the Opteron out of mind for now, yeh?

Back to the drawing board for professor jonnyg... <hysterical laughter>

 

[DavidS14]

The opterons were good value if you match the spec on the x2's

Opteron 170 has the same spec core as the 4400+ (as some of the x2's have less L2 cache). The 170 is 2GHz stock, the 4400+ is 2.2GHz stock but will probably clock about the same depending on stepping.

Opteron 170 http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/opteron/details.aspx?opn=OSA170CDBOX

4400+ http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop/details.aspx?opn=ADA4400DAA6CD

3800+ http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop/details.aspx?opn=ADA3800DAA5BV