3700+ San Diego vs. 3500+ Venice vs. Opteron

[fustercluck]

I'm sort of considering 3 CPUs now, really want to purchase tonight sometime. Would like to be sure of what i want to get though. I'll either get a 3700+ San Diego, a 3500+ Venice, or some kind of 939 Opteron chip. Looking for any advice at all. I probably won't be able to overclock anything i get much due to heat, but i'll certainly try and OC.

 

[n7]

Err, what's wrong with your 3000+?

The only logical upgrade reason i could see would be if you were seriously going to OC a lot, & even your s754 NewCastle should hit 2.3 Ghz or more.

If you do insist, get the Opteron 144 or 146.

Or the Opteron 165 ( dual core :evil: )


Edit: wait a sec...htf are you planning to use a s939 CPU on your s754 mobo

 

[fustercluck]

I forgot to mention my current CPU and Mobo are out of order and i need to get new ones

Why opteron instead of venice or san diego? I'm considering all the chips listed above, but am curious as to why one is better than the other, it seems they are all good chips, i just want to get something i can be satisfied with.

Opterons are kinda hard to find, so i'm leaning toward going with one of the other ones. Also, arent opterons for servers or something?

Thanks for the reply

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: jacktackle
...Why opteron instead of venice or san diego? ...Also, arent opterons for servers or something?

:laugh:

Read up, & i mean it

S939 Opterons = teh nu hawtness

And no, they aren't just for servers.

 

[fustercluck]

Yeah, looks like a pretty nice chip. Though like i said they are hard to find, not at newegg or zipzoomfly. I would really prefer to buy from one of those sites so i can get my computer up sooner, they both ship to me within 3 days.

That huge thread you linked to showed some pretty nice results, but CPU-Z identified them at socket 940, is that wrong?

 

[n7]

http://www.tankguys.biz/opteron-cache-socket-p-1419.html

They don't have them yet though.

Check thru that XS thread, i'm sure you'll find somewhere that has them.

It's hard for me to try to find places for you guys; i'm from Canada.

But there are places that have them; you should know your own US stores better than i do.

 

[n7]

L00k what i found just on page 2...


http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=28&threadid=1711047&enterthread=y

 

[fustercluck]

I think i will go with either the 3700 or 3500 actually, if i get an opteron i won't be able to OC it worth a damn anyways, and that's pretty much the main reason to get it. So between the 3700 San Diego and 3500 Venice, which is better? Both pretty much the same? I know there's a cache difference, but there's also a pretty big cash difference as well, hrhr.

 

[n7]

I always say each to their own, but why exactly can't you OC?

Use the money saved by getting a lower chip to grab a TT Big Typhoon.

Did you buy a crappy s939 mobo or sumthin'?

With a good mobo & decent HSF, you'll hit at 2.2-2.4 Ghz at minimum with pretty muchany s939 CPUs (Winnie, Venice) out there, whether it be 3000+ or Opteron 144.

 

[Snakexor]

can i have your old board/ cpu if they odnt work?

 

[Mucker]

This 148 Opteron could be a very, very good deal: http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant...roduct_Code=120333&Category_Code=amdop

At least as good as SD3700 and potentially much better for a bit better price (warranties are moot anyway when you clock the snot out of them)

 

[fustercluck]

Hm, thanks for the link there, that's something to consider. I'm SO ready just to buy something now, but i gotta keep my head in the game - Anyone deal with monarch before? I'm basically wondering how fast they ship, i saw a lot of resller ratings saying they ship slow, i can't be having that.

I probably wont be able to OC anything much due to heat, and i feel i have bad luck OCing too, but maybe that's all in the past. I am planning on getting a cheap Mobo though, so that might also hurt my chances. I've heard mixed things about it when it comes to overclocking. The Opteron will work with the ASrock mobo here right?

 

[Snakexor]

if it doesnt all you should need is a bios update

 

[fustercluck]

Originally posted by: Mucker
This 148 Opteron could be a very, very good deal: http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant...roduct_Code=120333&Category_Code=amdop

At least as good as SD3700 and potentially much better for a bit better price (warranties are moot anyway when you clock the snot out of them)

Hrm, since it OEM it doesn't come with much of a warranty or a fan/heatsink right? Could i use the same heatsink/fan from my 3000+ Newcastle?

Maybe i'd be better off getting the retail 146 for $200. Anyone have more advice? - Also, are all of the 939 Opterons 90nm?

 

[ribbon13]

Yes, all of them are. Look here
http://www.amdcompare.com/us%2Den/opteron/Default.aspx

set the socket to 939
now look at the manufacturing tech columm. All 90nm

 

[fustercluck]

Alright then i think it's down to either the Opteron 146 retail for $199.00 or 148 OEM for $221. Still kinda worried about odering from Monarch, i don't want to wait another 2 weeks to receive my CPU. I'm leaning toward the 146 retail now, plus 2 day shipping, which would be $15.

If i go the OEM route shipping would be a little less, but i'd probably have to buy a heatsink/fan, assuming the OEM doesn't come with a heatsink/fan.

 

[ribbon13]

Monarch is in the same league as ZipZoomFly and NewEgg

OEM doesn't come with a HSF.

 

[fustercluck]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
OEM doesn't come with a HSF.

Any idea if the stock 3000+ Newcastle HSF would work on a 148 Opteron?

 

[fustercluck]

Bah, Monarch can suck it. Was FINALLY about to order after going nuts doing tons of research in the past few days and they give me this error message:

Unable to authorize payment: Order Rejected

We have rejected your order based on the information you have provided or other characteristics associated with your order. You may attempt to order again; however, repeated unsuccessful attempts may result in your bank putting a hold on your funds equal to the amount of each attempted transaction. You may wish to contact your bank and ensure that all of the information you provided for this order is on file. Please do not contact us regarding this matter.

So i guess i'll have to keep looking. Bastards. I won't be trying to order from Monarch any time soon.

 

[fustercluck]

Guess i'll have to start looking at other options now. Why doesn't Newegg or Zipzoomfly carry 939 opterons? Guess they are hard to get. Not sure what to do or where to buy anything now.

 

[WobbleWobble]

Originally posted by: n7
http://www.tankguys.biz/opteron-cache-socket-p-1419.html

They don't have them yet though.

Check thru that XS thread, i'm sure you'll find somewhere that has them.

It's hard for me to try to find places for you guys; i'm from Canada.

But there are places that have them; you should know your own US stores better than i do.

FrontierPC and NCIX both have them listed.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

What's wrong with purchasing an OEM chip, then taking the money saved on the purchase and going out to buy a kick-ass heat-sink-and-fan? Get a Thermalright 90 and a nice quite 92 mm fan for about $40 round trip. It should kick the beejeezus out of the stock cooler.

 

[AlabamaCajun]

I just got a 3700 for the extra cache and it really handles the OC well. The advantage to getting the Opteron is the HTT throughput Max 22G vs 14G on the 64s. http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/Pro...nformation/0,,30_118_8826_9014,00.html

MWave is a good source for Opterons and they deal fairly also. I ordered from Monarch and they delivered well on product and shipping but got a D- in customer service. I was shucked of to the manufacturer for RMA had to either leave a message of sit on hold while waiting for someone and paying for the call. They now sit last on my list to order from. My list of good sellers:
Newegg, MWave, Ewiz, ZZF, Xoxide, Sidewinder.
Avoid Spartantech/PC Progress I've built 2 systems from them but order process is slow and stock is not guarrenteed to be in with no notice or warnings of outtage. They will refund with no beef.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally posted by: AlabamaCajun
I just got a 3700 for the extra cache and it really handles the OC well. The advantage to getting the Opteron is the HTT throughput Max 22G vs 14G on the 64s. http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/Pro...nformation/0,,30_118_8826_9014,00.html

Is this really a big issue between the Athlon 64 and the Socket 939 Opterons? Isn't the normal bandwidth about 8.0 Gb/s at 800 Mhz FSB? (I might be wrong, forgive my ignorance.) If so, how would you end up getting beyond 14 Gb/second on either chip anyway? Wouldn't you have to increase the FSB far beyond 1000 Mh before the Opteron would have any advantage?

 

[fustercluck]

Well, i'm going to buy something tomorrow. Probably will try to get a Opteron at Monarch again hoping that stupid error they kept giving me was just a temporary thing. Otherwise i'll probably have to go with a 3700+ San Diego from newegg. I'll be getting my mobo at newegg anyway so that would be easier too.

Thanks for the advice thus far peoples.