AMD 939, some opinions.

[ebeattie]

So Im still a 939 owner user and abuser and I gotta be honest, I dont think I will be fully upgrading to a current gen layout for a few more years so no C2D or AM2 rec please.

That being said, I am currently running a 4000+ San Diego. I love this thing and I have been running it for a year and a half with no hiccups and has taken everything Ive thrown at it and laughed it off.

However in the upcoming era of Vista and the unified architecture of video cards and the high probability of multithreaded applications (games, office tools, ect.), I am forced to think about upgrading my cpu to a dual core.

As stated, Im sticking with 939 for at least 2 more years. I have yet to see any detrimental performance by not upgrading off of 939; all of the games I have played so far run great and with a step up to the 8800 GTX, I dont see 939 being a bottle neck for this generation or the next of video cards. By the time that 939 is a true bottleneck, AM2 will be gone and AM3 will be in. I am a fan of AMD if you cant tell, both from products to ethics.

So I have before me two options. One option is the 4800+ Toledo which is basically 2 4000+ San Diego's smooshed onto one chip. Good price and solid architecture.

Or for about 200 more bucks I can go for the FX-60. it only has .2 ghtz fast performance, but it does have unlocked multipliers which to me indicated better overclocking potential. I must admit, I never overclock so I cant say this would be an advantage for me.

it seems to me that the only differences between these two chips are name, .2ghtz, and unlocked multipliers but I dont oc so that is a nonissue to me.

Any opinions would be appreciated. As it stands, the 4800+ has my vote, but I wanted to see what you all thought.

 

[BlueWeasel]

If you aren't going to overclock, don't waste the extra money on the FX.

However, you could pick up a 3800+ or 4200+ and likely be able to overclock to 4800+ speeds. You've got a great overclocking board and RAM, so why not?

 

[lopri]

I'd take a look at those dual-core Opterons. (Socket 939 of course) These days they're cheaper than X2 counterparts. Same or better quality chip for same or lower price. Sounds like a no-brainer to me.

 

[Furen]

I'd get an Opteron 180 or an X2 4800+, whicheverone you find cheapest (they're basically the same thing, just different names). I'd say no to an FX-60 for two reasons. First, it draws LOTS more power than the 2.4GHz part. Secondly, nearly doubling the cost for an 8% speed bump is not the best deal. Third, even when overclocking, getting to 3GHz could be troublesome, so even if you decide to dabble into overclocking the unlocked multipliers isn't worth much.

 

[Rottie]

if you decide to buy x2 3800 or 4200 oc to 4800 speed (2.400) or x2 4800 can oc to 2.600 or 2.700

 

[BoboKatt]

Aye I've still got my 4800+ kicking around on a very nice DFI SLI 939 Lanparty mobo with 2 GIGS of DDR RAM and a very nice Big Typhoon. I've never considered getting an FX series due to the cost and extra power consumption. The fact it has unlocked multipliers still showed on many tests that it would not help it OC any better (or marginally) for the price premium.

I had an original AMD 3200+ and then went up to the X2-3800+ dual core and finally the X2-4800+. In all cases I was happy and impressed with the performance. My current 4800+ runs nice and quiet and cool Oc?ed to 2800 MHz with the big typhoon. It's a rocket, uses very little power (compared to many other CPU's) and as you said, with a next generation GPU it still holds its own.

I mean it all comes down to what you can find for the price ? I found the 4800+ on Ebay when the AMD price drops came in and I paid less for it than I did my original X2-3800+. I could not pass up that opportunity.

As others have said however, if you can find and Opty cheaper that runs the same stock speed as the 4800+, heck grab it. However getting the x2-4800 wills not disappoint. To this day I will go on the record as saying it has been my most pleasant CPU to use, OC and run even though I now have an Intel e6600 as my main.

 

[Noubourne]

A lanparty board for someone who doesn't plan to overclock. Wow.

Careful where you say that, DFI may require you to return the board due to belligerent misuse.

If not overclocking, I'd vote 4800.

 

[m1ldslide1]

Originally posted by: Noubourne
A lanparty board for someone who doesn't plan to overclock. Wow.

Careful where you say that, DFI may require you to return the board due to belligerent misuse.
[\q]

QFT.

I'd recommend the Opty 180 if it's still like $290 on newegg. I think that's about the same price as the 4800+, isn't it? Plus you may decide to OC some day, and then will be kicking yourself for not getting the CPU that you could've squeezed that extra 5% out of. That may sound petty, but it's the truth.

 

[Noubourne]

Originally posted by: m1ldslide1

Originally posted by: Noubourne
A lanparty board for someone who doesn't plan to overclock. Wow.

Careful where you say that, DFI may require you to return the board due to belligerent misuse.

QFT.

I'd recommend the Opty 180 if it's still like $290 on newegg. I think that's about the same price as the 4800+, isn't it? Plus you may decide to OC some day, and then will be kicking yourself for not getting the CPU that you could've squeezed that extra 5% out of. That may sound petty, but it's the truth.

4800s are more like $240 now. It's like $50 cheaper. I think the Opty 175 is $230 at 2.2Ghz, it won't be that much less performance, and I believe the Opty's still ship with a much better cooler (heatpipes FTW).

200Mhz isn't going to make much difference really. If you aren't overclocking, really, it would be hard to convince me it mattered which one you bought. It's like 2% performance in either direction. Meh.

It's when you start to talk about a possible 1000Mhz+ OC vs. a 600Mhz OC that it becomes sort of a deal.

 

[tallman45]

Both the 4800+ and an Opty 175 would come with the same Heatpipe cooler which is a very good cooler. For the $10 premium over the 175, get the 4800+

 

[Makaveli]

Another vote for DualCore Opteron. I just replaced my 146.

Picked up a Opteron 170 CCBBE 0615DPMW

Doing 2.7 at stock voltage on a XP90+48CFM 92MM

55C full load
Idle CnQ Active 33C

Specs

 

[patentman]

I might be selling my 4800+ to upgrade to a c2d. PM me if interested.