939 Overclocks?

[adsmith82]

I am just wondering how well an Athlon 64 X2 3600+ 2.0GHz 939 Manchester cpu will overclock. I found one for sale and I want to upgrade my desktop to dual-core before I sell it and am curious about this chip's overclock potential. Are there other 939 CPU's that are infamous for their overclocks? Are they picky about motherboards? I have a Gigabyte GA-K8N51GMF-9 (http://www.giga-byte.com/Produ...w.aspx?ProductID=1939). Will this board work for overclocking? I don't like the board anyway because it has a problem turning on for the first time after being plugged in. Many of the Newegg reviews say the same thing about the board. But I don't really want to change it out. And I don't really want to buy a new one. I don't think it will bring enough return to justify it.

I would really like to find a couple of cheap used 8800 GT cards, 256mb even, and I know eVGA has a micro atx sli board for 939... that would help me get a good price for it. And I read that there are some other upcoming micro atx sli boards. Anyway, if anyone has comments or advice to sell a used computer, please post.

 

[SickBeast]

I've got an Opteron 165, and even at 2.6ghz I feel CPU limited in games with my 8800GTS 320mb. I game at 1900x1200 and should be GPU limited. I don't come close to matching the benchmark scores for my GPU in reviews in games. With an 8800GT you would be even more CPU limited.

At this point Socket 939 is not a platform worth investing in. IMO the Socket 775 platform is the best value right now. If you want a cheap CPU you could get a 2180/2200, plus you'll have a good upgrade path down the line provided your board supports 45nm chips.

To directly answer your question, 2.5ghz seems like a fairly guaranteed overclock on A64 chips. I've heard of some of the higher binned chips like the Opteron 185 hitting 3ghz, and actually I read an AT article once where they hit over 3.2ghz on a 65nm 3600+ dual core, but I have a feeling that they received a cherry-picked core (plus it wasn't even for Socket 939; it was an AM2 chip).

 

[Visual]

Most results I've seen on the web were around 2.7GHz.
I personally have a 4200+ x2 that goes almost to 2.8GHz without extra voltage. Not a boxed version so not a stock cooler, but not anything fancy too - just something cheap they offered me at the local shop, don't even remember its model or brand.

I'm not sure how your board would respond to overclocking though - at least while running the integrated video. If rising the HTT overclocks the video too, it can be quite limiting.

 

[Calculator83]

Get off 939,, I have a opteron 144 at 2.9ghz.. No good with the newer graphics cards,, DFI - NF4 Ultra D,, "IT WAS AWESOME AT THE TIME"

Anyhow any C2D rig at this point can out perform 939. get urself a new rig completely. The biggest problem here is actually that I think the card market right now is a gimick, You may think 350 is cheap for a 4870 but it doesn't seem that way at all to me. I think they're just pulling legs until they release their refreshes. The 4870x2 and the die shrunk 280, WHICH IS BOUND TO HAPPEN>

Wait 6months at least, and just what games are there to play atm. 6months i'd say sweet spot by then

 

[RallyMaster]

I have to agree that Socket 939 is now starting to become very CPU limited. I'd say the max you should go with that platform right now is something like a 9600GT. Past that and I'd say you're wasting money.

E7200 with HD4850 is just about the best for the money right now.

 

[SlowSpyder]

I had a s939 system until just a few months ago. With my Opteron at 2.56+GHz I never felt that it wasn't fast enough. What games feel CPU limited at 1920x1200 with an 8800GTS 320MB? Even though I'm willing to bet the 939 system is still plenty fast for gaming, I really wouldn't put any money into it... unless you get a good overclocing dual core for like $25, it's probably not worth putting money into.

 

[adsmith82]

this is only about trying to make the system more appealing to sell... and i found a 939 3600+ locally for $20... and have seen 8800gt cards online for $85, but I don't know if the vid card would up the price that much... but people like to see the number 8800, and for good reason, so maybe it would be worth the investment... thanks everyone for your input, feel free to comment further

 

[Zerohm]

I'm still using a 2GHz Althon 3200 and 6600 128MB video card I bought in '05. I'm wondering if I should upgrade my Epox Ultra 939 Mobo or just save my money for a whole new rig.

Option 1:
2.4 GHz Opteron Dual Core $180
GeForce 8800 GT 512 MB $170

Option 2:
Put $350 towards a new mobo architecture


I'd like to be able to play modern FPS, and this CPU / GPU upgrade seems like it'd be a real boost, but I'm still limited to PCIe 1.0.

Any thougts?

Would overclocking make much of a difference?

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: adsmith82
this is only about trying to make the system more appealing to sell... and i found a 939 3600+ locally for $20... and have seen 8800gt cards online for $85, but I don't know if the vid card would up the price that much...

No, no, no. You don't invest money into computers to boost their resale value. That only works with houses. For every penny you put into that system, you'll only get a percentage of back. Sell it as is, and if the new owner wants an 8800GT or Opteron 185, they can buy one for it.

 

[Martimus]

Manchesters can usually get up to the 2.5 to 2.7 GHz range. Mine is real hot at 2.7, but runs pretty well at 2.5 GHz, I should clock it down just because of the difference in temperature.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Upgrading to sell is usually a waste of money, but moving up to dual-core might pay for itself.

Overclocking to sell is a bad idea -- every little thing that ever goes wrong with the system, ever, can be blamed on your OC not being stable.

 

[imported_Woody]

You want to get rid of that old 939? My advice is to reformat the hard drive, reinstall Windows, then give it away to a worthy cause like a mother in law, a single mom neighbor who needs a new computer, or to a kid in the family who needs one for school. If you can get the dual core chip for $20 and you don't mind the time installing it you'll have a good computer for general computing use that will work much better than the single core. It would also make a great second computer for yourself. Don't overclock it because the new owner won't know how to deal with the system when it becomes unstable after filling up with dust bunnies.

Don't upgrade a computer to sell it, that makes no sense. It sounds like you want to try to stick it to some poor unsuspecting person who doesn't know the difference between an old overclocked dual core socket 939 and a brand new Core 2 Duo system running at the same clock speed. Give the computer away instead, you'll sleep better at night.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: myocardia

Originally posted by: adsmith82
this is only about trying to make the system more appealing to sell... and i found a 939 3600+ locally for $20... and have seen 8800gt cards online for $85, but I don't know if the vid card would up the price that much...

No, no, no. You don't invest money into computers to boost their resale value. That only works with houses. For every penny you put into that system, you'll only get a percentage of back. Sell it as is, and if the new owner wants an 8800GT or Opteron 185, they can buy one for it.

Ouch. Too true.