Opteron 144 with ASRock or Pentium D 805?

[mazeroth]

I can get the Opteron combo for about $220 shipped or I could go with a Pentium D 805 with an unknown motherboard. Which would you guys choose if this computer will be used 100% for gaming? I would probably overclock the Opteron to 2.4ghz and call it a day, and I would get the Pentium D up as high as I could on the stock cooler.

Also, what kind of cheap memory would you recommend if I went with the Pentium D that will allow a good overclock? I would be going with a 512x2 of Corsair Value Select if I went with the Opteron.

Note: This build is for my brother. My rig is in my sig.

Thanks!

 

[SynthDude2001]

If this is purely for a gaming box, I'd recommend going for the Opteron. The Pentium D would work better for multitasking type stuff, but for single-threaded gaming (which 99% of all games are right now, save a few special cases like Quake 4), the Opty would be faster. If the 805 gets crazy high overclocks (I don't know how it does in that area), it might be something to consider, but I don't think you could go wrong with the AMD setup right now...

 

[mazeroth]

Any other input? He's going to want to keep this combo for about three years or so, so I'm thinking maybe dual-core will help it live a little longer.

Thanks!

 

[3chordcharlie]

I think the 805 might be the better choice, with a decent OC you will get perfectly playable performance for current single-threaded games, and as more programs become multi-threaded, the 805 should be the better performer.

 

[mazeroth]

Anyone else? I really appreciate the feedback. If I build a computer and a year down the road I find out I chose the wrong setup for my brother I'm going to beat myself

 

[Markfw]

144 all the way. You can upgrade to dual-core easy later. The 805 is exspensive to get a good OC mobo, so don;t go that way.

 

[Zensal]

Not really Mark. The P5P800 is a cheap mobo with decent OC potential. Dual Core support out of the box on a DDR1 Mobo with an AGP slot.

As for mazeroth's question, we need to know what you want to do with this computer before we can give you a definite answer.

If your primary use is gaming, go with the Opty.
For anything else, the 805 will do better, as long as you don't mind the loud stock fan.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
144 all the way. You can upgrade to dual-core easy later. The 805 is exspensive to get a good OC mobo, so don;t go that way.

It was the 920 (820?) that wouldn't really OC without a highend mobo wasn't it?

 

[morkus64]

144, but don't go with asrock... i just had to send my board back. It doesn't like sata drives very much.

switch to asus a8n-sli (vanilla) much happier.