Opteron (Socket 940) - still good for current computing environment?

[AnitaPeterson]

Hi folks,

I've come across an ECS MCP61SM-AM motherboard (pulled from an Acer Aspire E380 machine)... the board uses Socket 940 for the CPU... and it was originally paired with an Athlon64 4400+ CPU... I even have the original heatsink and fan from that CPU.

It looks to me like the only Socket 940 CPUs still in existence are from the Opteron family, which means they're server CPUs. I know nothing about these.

Is it worth getting one of these Opterons, for like $5 (shipping included), to build a working machine with it? I see a Socket 940 AMD Opteron 248 at Newegg, what kind of performance will it have, compared to one of the regular consumer processors?

Just wondering... I hate to see potentially good equipment go to waste.

 

[Denithor]

The Opty 2xx series are only single core chips. That particular model (248) runs 2.2GHz and has a TDP of 89W - absolutely ridiculous for a single core at that speed by today's standards (the heavy hitter desktop quad-core chips today only consume 77W).

It's not exactly a bad chip but it's going to use a lot of energy while not doing much work. Much, much better off just buying a cheap H61 board (~$50) and a Celeron G530 (2.4GHz dual core, 65W) with the cheapest DDR3 memory and call it a day.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

You could get a dual core opteron chip on eBay for ~$20.

It'll be competitive with a Core 2 Duo.

What was said above about heat and power efficiency still holds true. For a general use system, it's better in the long run to get a more modern, efficient rig.

But if you want to build an AGP system to play vintage games, or run legacy software/hardware (say, with an expensive peripheral like a CNC machine that runs from a Serial or Parallel port) then it's probably the way to go.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

I see... thank you for the input, folks!...

Indeed, such a venture would only make sense if the CPU wouldn't cost me anything, or if I could get the dual-core version for very little $$$...

Strangely enough, the board doesn't even have AGP, it's all PCI/PCI-e... In any case, this wouldn't be a machine I'd be planning to keep. A few years ago, I used to gather older computers and send them to Eastern Europe, as part of a charity project. This machine would have had a similar fate - except that it would go to Cuba or Jamaica....

 

[nenforcer]

That machine should be slightly newer than even that old 130nm Opteron processor which was a first generation design.

I'm not sure if it can run the AM2 Phenom's, but it should be able to take one of the

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103980

.65nm Athlon 64 X2 5000 or 4800 Brisbane AM2 CPU's available on NewEgg for $45.

And it does straight from Acer

http://support.acer.com/acerpanam/desktop/0000/Acer/AspireE380/AspireE380sp2.shtml

 

[sm625]

There are 10W 1GHz ULV sandy bridge chips that are faster than most opteron socket 940 chips. Well, in theory there are... I still have yet to see any reivews of 10W tdp parts. There are plenty of 17W chips though, and some of those have variable tdp.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

That machine should be slightly newer than even that old 130nm Opteron processor which was a first generation design.

I'm not sure if it can run the AM2 Phenom's, but it should be able to take one of the

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103980

.65nm Athlon 64 X2 5000 or 4800 Brisbane AM2 CPU's available on NewEgg for $45.

And it does straight from Acer

http://support.acer.com/acerpanam/desktop/0000/Acer/AspireE380/AspireE380sp2.shtml

I am a bit lost here... Are you saying that the motherboard would in fact be Socket AM2? That would be quite an excellent surprise...

Hmmm... now that I look at Wikipedia, Socket 940 is indeed mentioned as Server-only: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socket_940

I guess it's time to take a closer look at the board...

 

[andy2000]

From what I can tell, the MCP61SM-AM is AM2. If it has an Athlon 64 4400+, then it can't be socket 940. You would have to do some checking to see if it will work with a Phenom, or Phenom II since some early AM2 boards aren't compatible.

 

[tcsenter]

Socket 940 a.k.a. AM2

 

[Arkaign]

Socket 940 a.k.a. AM2

That's a bit misleading at the surface.

There is a Socket 939, Socket 940, and Socket AM2/AM2+/AM3+. All of these look incredibly similar.

Anything labeled 'Socket 940' is in fact an Opteron board, and has nothing to do with AM2, even though AM2 also has 940 pins.

By FAR the easiest way to tell is looking at the ram type. All Socket 940 boards will have DDR1 sockets. All AM2 boards will have DDR2 sockets. This is due to the Socket 940 chips having DDR1 IMC, and AM2 chips having DDR2 IMC.

 

[Arkaign]

The Opty 2xx series are only single core chips. That particular model (248) runs 2.2GHz and has a TDP of 89W - absolutely ridiculous for a single core at that speed by today's standards (the heavy hitter desktop quad-core chips today only consume 77W).

It's not exactly a bad chip but it's going to use a lot of energy while not doing much work. Much, much better off just buying a cheap H61 board (~$50) and a Celeron G530 (2.4GHz dual core, 65W) with the cheapest DDR3 memory and call it a day.

Opteron 2xx series had both single and dual core models.

Regardless, the mobo in the OP is quite certainly an AM2 board.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Yup, I was wrong on all counts. The board's correct model is MCP61PM-AM, and indeed it's an AM2 socket... here it is: http://www.ascendtech.us/ecs-mcp61pm-am-dual-core-am2-motherboard_i_mb64ecsmcp61pma.aspx

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Well then.

 

[pantsaregood]

That motherboard can be flashed to an Abit BIOS and overclocked.

http://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thre...1-C0-With-Unlocked-Overclocking-Options--4998

I flashed a motherboard from an Acer Aspire T180 with this BIOS. Works perfectly - I did, however, further modify the BIOS with modbin6 to allow for voltage control.

Put an Athlon 64 X2 in it, and you have a system that's perfectly useful.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Cool, thanks much, everyone!