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Dual Core, X2 or Opteron. Need to make decision soon

K

kravmaga

Senior member
Well I've decided to upgrade my single core but I'm still not sure the best route to go. I was almost set on getting an opteron 170 but cold hard facts are telling me it's probably not the best investment at all.

1. It's almost $200 more than the X2 3800
2. Going by the A64 OC sticky on these forums it overclocks worse than the X2 3800
3. All the good stock (best overclockers) have probably already been bought
4. Price gouging because of hype
5. It's almost $200 more than the X2 3800 and going by the A64 OC sticky on these forums and hearsay it overclocks worse than the X2 3800

Right now I would love to go dual core but I'd also really love to save some money/experiment and see where my XP-90c heatsink can take me with approx up to 1.5v to the core. I made a mistake buying my 3500+ venice instead of a 3200+ that could give me the same redults (forgot my tightwad OC'er roots) and don't wan't to make the same mistake.

I'm not sure where to go with this. I almost talked myself into saving for an FX-60 just so I can get the best performance but it's really way too much $ to spend on something like that. I pretty much absolutely need 2.6ghz on each core atleast to feel like I've had a worthwhile upgrade from my Venice. Any suggestions on what could give me 2.6 on each core almost definitely and work with my EVGA mobo and 2gig crucial value select ram (limited to 200mhz FSB 2.5-3-3-7 or something or other) I'm looking for the best value oc'er.


 
Id get the opty 165. Should be about the same or less than an X2. You can easily overclock it as well if you wanted.
 
#4 is your most important point. An Opteron 170 was a good deal when it was the same price or just a bit more than the X2 3800+ (like when I bought my 170 for $356 and the 3800's were still going for $330ish). If there really is a $200 difference between the two these days, it's not worth it at all for the extra cache. To be honest I have no idea how current Opterons are overclocking, but on average I would expect them to be more or less equal to the X2's, perhaps with a slight edge. If you can buy an Opteron 165 for about the same price as an X2 3800+ or less, then go for that, otherwise the 3800+ will be your best bet. From what I'm hearing about current Opteron prices, they are in no way the great deals that they were 2-3 months ago. 2.5-2.6GHz should be pretty easily attainable on either a 165 or an X2 3800+ with 1.5-1.55V on the core.
 
As already stated in this thread, they both OC to about the same level with the current steppings. You could get lucky and get a great stepping on the Opty or the X2, so you could throw that logic out. Unless you pay big bucks for a know great stepping, I think the X2 wins hands down. It should run cooler and deliver the same performace and it you don't OC, the X2 is faster.
 
From my personal experience and reading on XS, the 170's seem to have a lot of headroom whereas the 165's seem to be binned a little closer to default.

170 Opty CCBWE 0550 UPMW/VPMW's are frequently hitting 2.7Ghz- 2.8Ghz on air with little voltage bumps. I did it on 1.44v on air.

It all depends on how much a few hundred potential Mhz is worth to you. This is a hobby for me and I like tweaking with stuff so I've had about 6-7 Opty's to play with. Unless you really need a dual core, why not get a used 146 that clocks real nice....... the lowest Opty OC I've gotten is 2.65Ghz out of a crappy 144 stepping. Not too shabby for $150. Best is 2.92Ghz out of my 146... not bad either for the money.

 
Originally posted by: jlbenedict
Um... Newegg current has these two retail CPU's..

X2 3800+ for $313
Opteron 170 for $415

$102 difference.. not $200
Click to expand...

I was going to say the same thing... our prices aren't $200 in difference either 🙂

Also, don't forget the 170 has 1 Mb cache per core, the 3800 only has 512Kb. While this isn't a huge deal, it's something to consider.
 
my choice was easy: the 165 wasnt available 😛 and i didnt feel like waiting a month for it to deliver.

the 165 should be able to hit 2.6-2.7 on air, the X2 should hit 2.5-2.6, though there have been a few duds that couldnt get more then 2.3 Ghz.

since you're looking for the best value OCer, go for the 165. it has a low multi so you have to make sure your board can go up high. you should definatly be able to get 2.6, on nearly any stepping. got one here for $325 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103588
 
Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
#4 is your most important point. An Opteron 170 was a good deal when it was the same price or just a bit more than the X2 3800+ (like when I bought my 170 for $356 and the 3800's were still going for $330ish). If there really is a $200 difference between the two these days, it's not worth it at all for the extra cache. To be honest I have no idea how current Opterons are overclocking, but on average I would expect them to be more or less equal to the X2's, perhaps with a slight edge. If you can buy an Opteron 165 for about the same price as an X2 3800+ or less, then go for that, otherwise the 3800+ will be your best bet. From what I'm hearing about current Opteron prices, they are in no way the great deals that they were 2-3 months ago. 2.5-2.6GHz should be pretty easily attainable on either a 165 or an X2 3800+ with 1.5-1.55V on the core.
Click to expand...

Those are some high volts. Personally I am at 2.52 with my opteron 165 @ 1.4v (1.39 actual as DFI tends to undervolt a little) and my friends opty 170 is at 2.6 @ 1.4v.

If you can get a good deal on a 165 then go for that, otherwise a X2 will serve you well.
 
I have 2 3800 X2's and an Opty 170. They all hit virtually the same speed (2550) on different motherboards and different memory. But the Opteron runs with a little less vcore, and runs cooler.
 
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