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X2-3800, X2-4400, Opteron 170 or P4-930

sprognak

sprognak

sprognak

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Joined
27 Jan 2006
Posts
481
Alright, spent the weekend catching up on X2's, Dual Cores and what have you. Despite my initial plans for an 805, I've now been talked out of it ;)

My current considerations for CPU's are:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ (Socket 939) (512Kb Cache) @£190.29
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4400+ (Socket 939) (1Mb Cache) @£311.32
(or AM2 versions of above???)
AMD Opteron UP 170 Dual Core San Diego 2.0GHz 2MB Cache (Socket 939) @£293.69
Intel Pentium 4 930 Dual Core "LGA775 Presler" 3.0GHz (800FSB) @£135

My considerations are:
The system will be well cooled, probably water cooled. I'm aiming for a high stable overclock primarily used for gaming (Everquest 2 is what I play mostly with occasional CoD2, HL2 etc).
The system should be quiet although this has little bearing at this stage for CPU selection.

So can anyone offer a fair comparison of the above CPU's. I can't really wait for a conroe as my current system is on it's deathbed. I'm also torn between an ATI 1900XT or a GeForce 7900GT or GX2 so at this stage SLI/Crossfire compatibility is up in the air.
 
Thanks, I'm looking seriously at the HIS IceQ 1900XT right now. I'm not impressed by ATI Crossfire to be honest, it's restriction of 'downgrading the faster card to the slower one seems a bit silly.

SLI on the other hand looks good and has come a long way but I still probably wouldn't take that route. The 7900's are very nice cards but seem to give random problems on Everquest 2 - the main game I'll be playing. I could be tempted for a well priced GX2 but at £350 I could save around £100 on the IceQ ATI.

So probably going to forget dual cards and head for the 1900XT on the premise that it's the single fastest card out there right now and it looks stable with the games I play. A big swap for someone who's been an Nvidia fan since the GeForce 2's....

Back to CPU's =) Anyone offer any input? Specifically what's the difference between the Opteron 170 and the X2 4400 because all I can see on the list is the Opteron is cheaper and has 2Mb Cache as opposed to 1Mb...

And finally (!) the Pentium 940 looks very nice with good potential for overclocking and gives me DDR2 and a Conroe motherboard which offers potential in a years time. While the 4400 may have the performance edge (??) I'd couldn't afford the more expensive CPU *and* the AM2 Mainboard DDR2 RAM. The 940 lets me save money on the CPU that can go to future proofing the rest of the system.

Long post I know but trying to get my thoughts organised.
 
Oh and on the Conroe note, I currently have a Duo Centrino T2400 laptop and let me tell you one thing - it's insane! 16619 MIPS on SiSoft Sandra puts it just ahead of a 3800 dual core - and this Intel beastie has a 1.8GHz clock rate! And the cache benchmarks? Well they're just damned silly, nothing can touch it.
 
Hmm so Opterons and X2's are pretty much the same under the hood, just the testing and branding or does the X2 pack some extra optimisations?

If they are the same then Opteron 170 may be the way forward. While the 3800 is a nice chip, I presume the 1Mb cache may give it an extra kick. On that note, the 940D is still very tempting as it leaves a very nice upgrade path.

Going to do some pricing of the options...
 
Ok, the two main paths seem to be:

Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe Crossfire (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard
Corsair 2GB DDR XMS3500LL Pro TwinX (2x1GB) CAS2
AMD Opteron UP 170 Dual Core San Diego 2.0GHz 2MB Cache (Socket 939)

£519.85

Asus P5WD2-E Premium Intel 975X (LGA775) PCI-Express Motherboard
G.Skill 2GB DDR2 HZ PC2-8000 (2x1GB) CAS4 Dual Channel Kit (F2-8000PHU2-2GBHZ)
Intel Pentium 4 930 Dual Core "LGA775 Presler" 3.0GHz (800FSB) - Retail

£539.85



The system will be Swiftech Watercooled.
 
Just to be difficult - add this AN2 system in for comparison...

CP-166-AM AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ 2.00GHz (Socket AM2) - Retail
G.Skill 2GB DDR2 HZ PC2-8000 (2x1GB) CAS4 Dual Channel Kit (F2-8000PHU2-2GBHZ)
Asus M2N32-SLi-DLX nForce 590 SLi (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboad

£594.85

Will the swiftech fit an AM2?
 
Can't wait for Conroe, need a new system this week or early next at latest - current rig is deaded...

So to sum up:

Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe Crossfire (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard
Corsair 2GB DDR XMS3500LL Pro TwinX (2x1GB) CAS2
AMD Opteron UP 170 Dual Core San Diego 2.0GHz 2MB Cache (Socket 939)

£519.85

Potentially the best overclocks by significant margin
No upgrade route as DDR and socket is being replaced

Asus P5WD2-E Premium Intel 975X (LGA775) PCI-Express Motherboard
G.Skill 2GB DDR2 HZ PC2-8000 (2x1GB) CAS4 Dual Channel Kit (F2-8000PHU2-2GBHZ)
Intel Pentium 4 930 Dual Core "LGA775 Presler" 3.0GHz (800FSB) - Retail

Good overclocker
Potential upgrade route to Conroe and supports DDR2 for future proofing

£539.85

CP-166-AM AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ 2.00GHz (Socket AM2) - Retail
G.Skill 2GB DDR2 HZ PC2-8000 (2x1GB) CAS4 Dual Channel Kit (F2-8000PHU2-2GBHZ)
Asus M2N32-SLi-DLX nForce 590 SLi (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboad

New AM2 platform and DDR2 for future proofing
Unknown overclocking abilities

£594.85

Still struggling for a decision here... Each has their pro's and con's
 
Explicit said:
This might help you decide: How often do you upgrade your rig (I mean in terms of CPUs, RAM)?
Click to expand...


Bought my current rig in fall 2001 as a 2800 Barton and 8RDA+ mainboard. Been through 2 mainboards (1 upgrade 1 failure), 4 HD upgrades, DVD Rewriter upgrade, 1 Graphics card upgrade, 2 Cooler upgrades and 1 RAM upgrade since then.

Only original thing is the CPU and that's because I was pretty much ceilinged with the other hardware.
 
Hmmmm


Speculating for the Opteron rig here then..

Would the Asus board be the best choice? I'm currently using a Lanparty NF Ultra B for my Barton rig and it's done well.

Considerations:

Sound levels
OC Capability
 
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