AMD Opteron or X2?

[nandaman]

Hey quick question(s). I have an older socket 939 motherboard with 2gb of ddr400, and a X1950GT. I was wondering- Should I get an Opteron 165 or is the X2 4200 good enough? I don't know about the different L2 cache levels. I don't play very many games but CS:S and C&C 3. I am looking to buy Crysis when it comes out, but if I want to run everything on high then I have to upgrade everything. I am looking to overclock one of these processors to somewhere around 2.6-2.7. Do you think the X2 is good enough or should I spend the extra 25-30 bucks for the Opteron. Please respond, I need your help. Thanks in advance!

 

[bryanW1995]

x2 is clocked higher so it has a higher multi and doesn't need to be oc'd as much, plus it's cheaper. my opteron 180 shows as a toledo core in cpu-z, too. Basically, you're hard-pressed to find any differences in skt 939 chips btwn the x2 and the opteron. don't pay extra for the 165, it's like paying extra for bayer instead of generic wal-mart brand aspirin.

 

[Pyrokinetic]

I would agree with bryanW1995. The Opterons are designed for enterprise use and to help in longevity are clocked lower and priced higher. Some claim the Opterons are "better silicon" than the X2s but I am rather dubious about it myself. I have a single-core Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego core that has been overclocked (OC'd @ 2.77 Ghz -- 2.2 Ghz stock) for over two years now with no problems whatsover. Go with the X2 4200.

 

[bryanW1995]

it's hard to compare a single core to a cual core. In general, chips that are higher-end for both amd and intel typically won't oc as much. for example, you can get more oc in general out of a G0 Q6600 than a QX6850 or more from an opteron 165 than a 180. In fact, my 180 fails orthos over 2650. I don't care since I use it as a file server and just oc'd it for testing purposes, but it is interesting to note that most chips of a given family will usually oc to a similar final number. You might have to use more vcore to get a 4200+ to 2.7 than you would on a 4600+, but they'll both most likely get there.