considering my options

[twitchee2]

First off I have the comp in my sig. I am looking at what I would like to do this summer asfar as upgrading is concerned. I dont really want to update the whole because I dont need it. I was thinking about geting a opterton 165 to replace my 3700sd. Will the DC operton @1.8 have a significant performance increase over the single core 2.2?

 

[Duvie]

IN multi-threaded apps it will.....DVDshrink will use and scale well with dual core...Many CAD apps gain a lot with 2 cores...DIVX and XVID with Gknot I had big gains with 2 cores....now the 165 needs to gain back the disadvantage of the clock speed...So I hop you will be ocing it and trying for 2.4-2.6ghz...maybe more with the HSF you have and a little bit of vcore boost.

 

[twitchee2]

No matter what chip I buy I will find out its limit, to me that is a must to know, I probably will not run it 24/7 at that speed though. Should I maybe get the 170 instead, I dont perfer to run day to day OCed. its also another $70 more.

 

[Captante]

On average the 165 & the 170 have the same overclocking potential, but the 10x multiplier of the 170 will make your life a bit easier... depends on how badly you need that $70 I guess.

 

[twitchee2]

so the 170 would probably be the better choice in this situation then? I would really like to have a nice stable system at 2.2

 

[the Chase]

Nah- only 2.2 with a DFI Ultra-D, save the $70. The DFI will take that 165 to it's limit with no probs. Also should be able to do 2.2 on stock volts (or a very slight increase) - safe for 24/7 IMO.