worth changing Opteron 146 to 3800?

[helpimcrap]

i have an Opty 146 @ 2.8ghz and feel that maybe i should start looking at dual core processors as most games seem to be heading that way now and it would maybe give a nice boost on newer games.

however...

my opty has clocked reasonably well so would it be worth getting a 3800 and trying to clock that knowing that it may not go as well as my opty except in dual core stuff?

 

[helpimcrap]

hmmm cheers for that guys, so on the whole it should be a worthwhile upgrade for me.

the only thing thats putting me off an upgrade currently is that my next upgrade (it seems with every upgrade...) is that i would have to replace mobo/cpu/cooler/memory and even possibly the PSU. i already have decent kit in place like DFI NF4/2gb ram and a nice quiet enermax 480w coolergiant so i dont want to spend hundreds when i can get a decent boost in multithreaded games with a dual core.

 

[helpimcrap]

hmmm some conflicting stories here...

thanks for the replies.

ok then, to narrow it down to the types of stuff i'll be doing....

a) clocking the hell out of it.
b) running WOC on it (supports dual core)
c) running multiple apps like on occasion photoshop for editing
d) using internet
e) using multiple versions of powerpoint etc for my mums presentations.

so bearing that in mind... sometimes my system grinds to a halt a bit (or doesn't run as well as i'd expect) so that's the reason for considering it.

 

[helpimcrap]

ah sod it... i've gone for it...

 

[helpimcrap]

What chip did you go for in the end? I doubt you'll be disappointed, dual core for the win baby!

went for 3800+ and gonna clock it until it blows.

 

[helpimcrap]

just out of interest, what's a safe voltage for these dual cores?

 

[helpimcrap]

Cheers. Should I go for an Opteron or normal X2. What steppings should I avoid.

dont think you will find an opteron for sale except second hand...

 

[helpimcrap]

right, it came this morning @ 07:30... damned royal mail ALWAYS deliver my parcels at that time meaning i HAVE to get up or miss it....

but anyways, now i was awake.... run some quick tests etc to compare...

all scores are at 2.8ghz with stock figures in brackets if i did it...

WOC = world of conflict demo - that game i'm into at the moment...

opty 146 - 280x10 @ 1.49v
ram @ 200mhz

super pi 31.015s (stock 45.609)

3d mark 06
sm2 1774
sm3 1813
cpu 1098
total 4095


Aq3 gfx 13242
Aq3 cpu 12328
total 86155

WOC - 18fps (stock 10)

i got the opty out and went to put in the 3800+ stepping LCB9E 0719RPMW but then realised i had no idea where my arctic silver was. slight oversight... but i manage to find some ceramic paste from an old arctic cooler (9600XT - thats how old!) but it wasnt solid so i figured it should be ok. sods law, i found some AS5 as i'm doing this when i went to get something out of a drawer.

anyways enough story....

installed CPU at 08:30 and did those tests... then oced it to 2.6 (after running a couple of tests stock) on stock volts straight off...

3800+ @2.6
ram @ 200mhz

super pi 34.640s (stock 47.375)

3d mark 06
sm2 1780
sm3 1814
cpu 1975
total 4554


Aq3 gfx 14814
Aq3 cpu 11107
total 88890

WOC - 24fps (stock 18)

VERY impressed with the WOC increase! 33% increase in average frame rate from a CPU?? yeah that's cool...

so then me being me...

3800+ @2.8
ram @ 200mhz

super pi 32.547s (stock 47.375)

3d mark 06
sm2 1787
sm3 1825
cpu 2110
total 4614


Aq3 gfx 15630
Aq3 cpu 11570
total 93295

WOC - 26fps (stock 18)

44% increase in WOC frame rate over my opty at the same speed....

a bit better and its super pi 32mb stable and i had to up the voltage to 1.4v (think they're 1.35 stock?).

currently just trying to find a temp program that will allow me to see both cores and also trying to get it primed on both cores...

 

[helpimcrap]

i think overall although im having teething problems getting it stable i am impressed as even at stock encoding a DVD took about 15mins as opposed to about 25-30mins before on my 2.8 opty.

 

[helpimcrap]

Using my fx55 at 2.78, it took about 1hr encoding a dvd using "FairUse Wizard 2", havent tried it with my opty yet, but im guessing it sut cut the time by half, thats if fairuse wizard can use multi cores.?

i was using dvdshrink but i cant go into details on why.

 

[helpimcrap]

Also have I got my "HT Frequency ratio" set right,, its on 4x at the moment?

it should be set to be below 1000mhz ie FSB x HT ratio = 1000mhz or less.

eg FSB set at 250mhz, HT set to x4 = 250x4=1000mhz.
or FSB 300, HT set to x3 = 300x3 = 900mhz.

voltage wise set it yourself before overclocking to whatever the CPU is supposed to be. sometimes some motherboards bump the Vcore right up as soon as you move the FSB and this will effect temps.

 

[helpimcrap]

*Cough*OnchipMemoryController*Cough*

*cough*x3*cough*