Dual core Athlon *or* overclocked dual core Opteron with silent cooling?

[slugg]

OK so I plan on building a gaming rig after new years whenever the ATI r580 comes out (so prices may settle down a bit on the mid-range? I hope.). Anyways, I definitely want to go AMD dual core... My two options are the Athlon x2 or the Opteron. I'm willing to overclock whatever I get, however I understand that opterons are known to overclock extremely well. Opterons tend to cost a little more, but the overclocking might justify the price. I dont know, lol

Anyways, I'm going to want to keep the rig relatively quiet. It's not going to be SILENT, but I'm probably going to end up using a heatsink on the CPU that requires a semi-slow fan. A little noise is fine - I'm just trying to avoid having a jet engine in my room, lol. Expect overall cooling to be "ok" as I will aim for silence.

Anyways, that said, how well would the Opteron dual-core overclock under these condition versus the Athlon x2? Which would give me the best price/performance*reliability ratio? Keep in mind, the overclock has to be low enough to maintain rock solid stability. I plan on running overclocked at all times. Currently I'm looking at the 2 closest in price chips, the Opteron 165 dual core and the Athlon 64 x2 3800+.

While we're at it, can anyone recommend a good, relatively quiet heatsink?

Thanks in advance

 

[pctwo]

I just looked at anand's RTPE and the Opteron165 can be had for a few dollars more than the X2 3800+, BUT THEY'RE ALL PREORDERS. So maybe it's a moot point.

 

[Markfw]

I have 3 Antec Sonata cases, with X2 4400, X2 3800 and Opteron 170 all OC'ed to 2550, all using XP90 HSFs with panaflo fans in my bedroom, can't hardly heard all 3 of them running.

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: pctwo
I just looked at anand's RTPE and the Opteron165 can be had for a few dollars more than the X2 3800+, BUT THEY'RE ALL PREORDERS. So maybe it's a moot point.

Yeah, I'd be very careful about Opteron "preorders" at this point, since multiple people have heard/stated that AMD will be cutting off retail shipments of these CPU's. Since you're not planning on building immediately, you can afford to wait, but if what people are saying is true, you might not be able to find any more Opterons on the retail market after a certain point (not for a reasonable price anyway). The X2 3800+ has half the cache and generally doesn't overclock quite as well, but you'll get more or less the same real-world performance out of it. Not to mention that it isn't subject to the major price gouging that's been going on for Opterons lately.

 

[AkumaX]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
I have 3 Antec Sonata cases, with X2 4400, X2 3800 and Opteron 170 all OC'ed to 2550, all using XP90 HSFs with panaflo fans in my bedroom, can't hardly heard all 3 of them running.

hah! i can't even hear mine!!

 

[slugg]

hmm well if supply will be even more limited by the time I'm ready to buy, the price will be rediculous... so the price/performance of an opteron would be eaten alive by the athlon I guess. Simple economics

Thanks guys

 

[rchiu]

Here is my personal experience. I had a x2 3800+, OC'ed at ~2.5, and now I have a 165 running at ~2.6. I love both processor and I don't "feel" that much difference between the two. The 165 is able to achieve same or higher OC at lower voltage, so that helps the temperature and noise. Although with my 3800+, the higher voltage didn't increased the temperature significantly.

The only thing I want to point out is that with 3800+, the multiplier is higher, so you have a little more option with overclocking. With my 165, I need to run the system at higher FSB because of the lower multiplier. But my current memory wasn't able to handle the higher FSB, and it doesn't play nice with my mobo at a divider higher than 5/6.

Anyway, to sum it up, they are both great chips. With 165, you should be able to get a little higher clock speed with lower voltage. But at the same time, you may need a good mobo and memory to get the most out of your chip.