Dual Opterons over Core 2 Duo?

[Dravic]

I have a very similar linux workstation/server
2 x AMD Opteron 275
Tyan Thunder K8SE
2gb (4 x 512mb) DDR1 ECC REG RAM
Nvidia 7800 GT
Antect Titan 550 case w/ PSU
Ubuntu 7.10

I love this workstation for what I do on it, but it is not a gaming platform, and will be handily out performed in single threaded apps by most modern CPU?s greater then 2.4ghz.

I love using 4-8 threads with ffmpeg, and other encoders. It?s running two VM?s (old win2k office machine, a linux web dev environment). I use compiz with the bells and whistles. But, I still don?t attempt to game no it.
It?s GREAT at what it does, but it not really tuned for singled threaded performance.

 

[AndroidVageta]

Exactly...thats why I'm so interested in it as a gaming platform. I mean, most games these days, if not all of them, support 4 cores...I know Crysis does all the way to GTA4...so thats why I'm pretty sure that the Opterons would be faster. Looking at the benchmarks and reviews online, Opterons get smashed when running 2 or single threaded programs, but when programs that used 4 cores were used they scaled right next to the quad core Intels and beat the dual cores.

Desktop performance and media encoding etc I'm sure is good too, may not be on par to Intel, but I don't benchmark encoding and how many programs I can have open at once, so this aspect doesnt much concert me.

 

[Phynaz]

Originally posted by: AndroidVageta
Exactly...thats why I'm so interested in it as a gaming platform. I mean, most games these days, if not all of them, support 4 cores.

More like most games don't support four cores.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Do not buy it. Absolutely not. Way overpriced and its pretty bad hardware. I upped my system for less then $350, and look at my system now! Much better then dual opty's.

 

[Kutark]

Originally posted by: AndroidVageta
Exactly...thats why I'm so interested in it as a gaming platform. I mean, most games these days, if not all of them, support 4 cores...I know Crysis does all the way to GTA4...so thats why I'm pretty sure that the Opterons would be faster. Looking at the benchmarks and reviews online, Opterons get smashed when running 2 or single threaded programs, but when programs that used 4 cores were used they scaled right next to the quad core Intels and beat the dual cores.

Desktop performance and media encoding etc I'm sure is good too, may not be on par to Intel, but I don't benchmark encoding and how many programs I can have open at once, so this aspect doesnt much concert me.

Absolutely wrong. Most games don't even support 2 cores, much less 4. Supreme Commander right now is the only game i know of thats actually optimized for and utilizes 4 cores. Crysis says its supports 4 cores, but nobody has been able to get the CPU utilization above 0 on more than 2 cores while playing it.

The other thing you're not realizing is that most games are not nearly as CPU intensive as they are GPU intensive. Right now a core 2 duo at 4ghz can push enough data to provide 3x gtx280 cards running in triple SLI with enough information that the video cards are still the bottleneck.

Frankly even if the games used all 4 cores properly, your GPU would still be the bottleneck.

There is a reason that nobody reccomends quad cores for gaming right now, it just simple doesn't provide a benefit. Maybe 1-2 years from now when developers are writing games to properly utilize multiple cores, say for AI or physics processing, will a quad core be a good idea. Until then you are wasting your time and money.

 

[Idcurrie]

It's a fine system but not to be used to replace what you have. The ECC memory does have a slight performance penalty but 2x S940 Opteron with DCDDR-400 will have the same memory bandwidth as an 800Mhz fsb Core 2 Duo.

The memory bandwidth and latency are not a problem, the CPUs are very solid for workstation use and the motherboard can support a very hefty cad card, so can the power supply.

Make no mistake though, this is a workstation, not a gaming rig.

The people on this board don't seem to realize the value in this kind of hardware - it is after all a site for home enthusiasts. That system is a steal for $400. You could easily part it out and turn a tidy profit.

Edit: I should ad, if you're NOT going to part it out, don't bother. Somehow I doubt you have a use for an Operton/Xeon class workstation with ECC memory and a cad card. This is not a desktop system.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: Idcurrie
That system is a steal for $400. You could easily part it out and turn a tidy profit.

That's what I said...

 

[Duvie]

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...ght_key=y&keyword1=270

This showed 2 dual core opterons could not beat 1 oc'd E6600 in several apps I ran.....

not to mention killed them in F@H here...

http://forums.anandtech.com/me..._key=y&keyword1=duvies


The huge L2 cache pools and the better IPC was the difference...The P4 days a 3.4ghz P4 could be equaled by 2.2ghz Athlon...C2D ended those days and was better clock for clock....

 

[AndroidVageta]

Well, after pointing him to this site my friend let me have his old Opteron system which included the CPU's, mobo, RAM, 320GB SATA2 HDD, Nvidia 8600GT, the Thermaltake Armor case, 850 watt PC Power & Cooling PSU, PLUS a 17 inch Samsung 710N LCD monitor and a Plextor SATA DVD-RW.

I went ahead and traded for my system plus a old X1950Pro I had laying around for his stuff. I know the Opterons are slower and so did he, so he threw in the extras to sweeten the deal. I figure I can easily sell the Opterons plus the motherboard and RAM for enough money to if not get me the exact Intel hard ware I traded something close to it.

Ultimately I lost an old X1950Pro that wasn't even being used in exchange for a bad ass case, power supply, and a nice little 17 inch LCD...as well as dual Opterons...for the time being atleast.

Questions now...Core 2 Duo or Phenom 4X?

 

[AndroidVageta]

After some searching I can get a Intel E5200, Asus P5N-D motherboard, and 2 x 2GB DDR2 1066 for just $270 from Newegg. If I can just get $200 for all the AMD hard ware than the trade was more than worth it. Thanks guys for all your input!

 

[Duvie]

How much do you want to OC it to?

I built a E5200 and placed it on a micro ATX board that has been capable of getting it to 3.6ghz at a price of 135-140...figure in many deals on OCZ memory at newegg for 4gb and I dont see why you cannot get all 3 for around 200 now....Then buy a decen taftermarket cooler because 3.6ghz on a stock cooler was not ideal

 

[AndroidVageta]

Ive got the current cooler, which is a Thermaltake Blue Orb II which should be more than enough for the Intel. As far as the motherboard goes, which did you use? I just went with the Asus because of SLI support and it seems like a solid board for future upgrades and overclocking.

 

[RaptureMe]

Hangs head low with shame for not trying harder to stop you...
I so hope you can get rid of that shit now that your friend screwed the crap out of you!!
Really that was a good deal like 3 or 4 years ago but not now...
I got a stomach ache now cause I am so up set over you getting ripped off..
If you can unload that stuff I would asap!!
Basicly what you did was went from a up to date system to a totaly outdated system.
I mean for god sakes its using fricken old school DDR ram.
Now here we are like at DDR3 standards these days right..??
If you really want raw data crunching power get a C2Q or Amd X4!!
If you want a multi socket server then get an updated one piece by peice if need be..
For gods sake never look back more then 6 month when upgrading look forward only!!

 

[AndroidVageta]

The case, powersupply, and LCD monitor alone are worth the trade in my opinion. I can replace my hard ware Im trading easily...even if I do or do not get rid of the AMD Opteron setup...like I said, new CPU, mobo, and RAM alone are only about $250...thats the cost of the power supply Im getting alone. Plus hes giving me a 320gb SATA2 drive and a 18x Plextor SATA DVD-RW.

I understand why you would be upset...but in my opinion it seems like a fair trade.

 

[RaptureMe]

Well i guess as long as your happy thats all that counts right!!

 

[AndroidVageta]

Just sold the Opteron system for $200...throwing in the 8500GT I got with the Opterons got the deal through. Anyways, settled for the following system after a little research:

Intel Pentium E5200 Core 2 Duo 2.5ghz 800mhz FSB 2MB cache
ASRock P45XE
GeIL Black Dragon 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

System cost: $212.97 w/ $9.39 S&H

Total Cost = $222.36

Not bad for only having to pay $22.36 out of pocket for a system that outperforms my old one in every way.
Intel E5200 is said to go up to 4.2ghz per core, so even if I only get say 3.6ghz with my system that's still faster than my E2200 (half the cache of the E5200 btw) by a big load. The Asrock I got because it has the P45 chipset, Crossfire (planning to ditch 9600GT for HD4870 soon), and its been reviewed as one of the best boards for overclocking/cheapassness of it, less than $100. RAM because its cheap, four freakin gig's(!), and supposedly overclocks damn well.

I'll keep updated with benchie's if anyone cares.