Opteron versus X2 what is the difference

Liver

Senior member
Aug 8, 2004
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What is the difference between a dual core opteron (1xx) and an X2?

I know that the 2xx and above can have 2 way / 4 way etc.

Liver
 

govtcheez75

Platinum Member
Aug 13, 2002
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Originally posted by: Liver
What is the difference between a dual core opteron (1xx) and an X2?

I know that the 2xx and above can have 2 way / 4 way etc.

Liver

Opterons all have 1mb cache per core. Only the 4400+ and above X2's have 1mb cache per core. The Opterons are designed and manufactured for servers that run 24x7, so they are generally higher quality and tested more rigourously. This is usually the reason that most Opterons will overclock better than their consumer product counterparts.
 

Liver

Senior member
Aug 8, 2004
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Thanks for the quick answer. So with the dual core opterons, what are they roughly equivalent to in the X2 lineup?
 

Furen

Golden Member
Oct 21, 2004
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Performance should be the same. Reliability should be better. One thing to look out for is the fact that though Opterons overclock better at lower voltages (stock or close to stock) they generate lots more heat than an a64 at the same vcore.
 

govtcheez75

Platinum Member
Aug 13, 2002
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clock for clock, the performance should be about the same given that they both have the same amount of cache. I think AMD claims that the extra 512mb of cache per core = about 200mhz in their performance rating (i.e. 2ghz with 1mb cache = 2.2ghz with 512kb cache), but I've found that usually the higher clock speed usually performs better than the extra cache for most applications. It has yet to be determined which has a better memory controller though.
 

imported_michaelpatrick33

Platinum Member
Jun 19, 2004
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Originally posted by: govtcheez75
Originally posted by: Liver
What is the difference between a dual core opteron (1xx) and an X2?

I know that the 2xx and above can have 2 way / 4 way etc.

Liver

Opterons all have 1mb cache per core. Only the 4400+ and above X2's have 1mb cache per core. The Opterons are designed and manufactured for servers that run 24x7, so they are generally higher quality and tested more rigourously. This is usually the reason that most Opterons will overclock better than their consumer product counterparts.

That is not all true. The X2 4600+ only has 512K L2 cache per core and runs at 2.4Ghrtz.

X2 3800+ two 2.0Ghrtz cores with 512K L2 cache per core
X2 4200+ two 2.2Ghrtz cores with 512K L2 cache per core
X2 4400+ two 2.2Ghrtz cores with 1024K L2 cache per core
X2 4600+ two 2.4Ghrtz cores with 512K L2 cache per core
X2 4800+ two 2.4Ghrtz cores with 1024K L2 cache per core

Usually the Opterons have interconnect links to other cpus unlike the desktop (and X2 chips) but the 1XX series Opterons won't have those so like the poster stated above you are getting the cream of the crop chips when you get the Opteron.
 

BlingBlingArsch

Golden Member
May 10, 2005
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hm, i always thought that the Opteron was the "father" of the clawhammer core and thatswhy it shouldnt have a chance vs todays CPU´s like San Diego and X2.
 

Hacp

Lifer
Jun 8, 2005
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Originally posted by: michaelpatrick33
Originally posted by: govtcheez75
Originally posted by: Liver
What is the difference between a dual core opteron (1xx) and an X2?

I know that the 2xx and above can have 2 way / 4 way etc.

Liver

Opterons all have 1mb cache per core. Only the 4400+ and above X2's have 1mb cache per core. The Opterons are designed and manufactured for servers that run 24x7, so they are generally higher quality and tested more rigourously. This is usually the reason that most Opterons will overclock better than their consumer product counterparts.

That is not all true. The X2 4600+ only has 512K L2 cache per core and runs at 2.4Ghrtz.

X2 3800+ two 2.0Ghrtz cores with 512K L2 cache per core
X2 4200+ two 2.2Ghrtz cores with 512K L2 cache per core
X2 4400+ two 2.2Ghrtz cores with 1024K L2 cache per core
X2 4600+ two 2.4Ghrtz cores with 512K L2 cache per core
X2 4800+ two 2.4Ghrtz cores with 1024K L2 cache per core

Usually the Opterons have interconnect links to other cpus unlike the desktop (and X2 chips) but the 1XX series Opterons won't have those so like the poster stated above you are getting the cream of the crop chips when you get the Opteron.


No need to be picky man. He was probably referring to 4400+ and 4800+.
 

Gamingphreek

Lifer
Mar 31, 2003
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Originally posted by: BlingBlingArsch
hm, i always thought that the Opteron was the "father" of the clawhammer core and thatswhy it shouldnt have a chance vs todays CPU´s like San Diego and X2.

Different core (Sledgehammer v. Clawhammer).

The Opteron IIRC has a slightly tweaked core. It is tweaked for a greater amount of stability. Additionally it will be slightly slower than an X2 because it requires Registered RAM. Not only that, you find a server board that OCs as well as an enthusiast board. Opterons dont OC better; your kidding yourself.

-Kevin
 

Hacp

Lifer
Jun 8, 2005
13,923
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Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Originally posted by: BlingBlingArsch
hm, i always thought that the Opteron was the "father" of the clawhammer core and thatswhy it shouldnt have a chance vs todays CPU´s like San Diego and X2.

Different core (Sledgehammer v. Clawhammer).

The Opteron IIRC has a slightly tweaked core. It is tweaked for a greater amount of stability. Additionally it will be slightly slower than an X2 because it requires Registered RAM. Not only that, you find a server board that OCs as well as an enthusiast board. Opterons dont OC better; your kidding yourself.

-Kevin


??? THe new ones in socket 939??? They supposedly use higher grade silicon, therefore oc better?????
 

RichUK

Lifer
Feb 14, 2005
10,341
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well i have a opteron dual core 165 see sig.

after some recent testing i was able to get it stable at 2.7 but it still required 1.55 volts, and my xp90 can keep it below 60 under full load, so until i get my water setup i am going to back off to 2.6Ghz.

check my the thread i made here
 

BlingBlingArsch

Golden Member
May 10, 2005
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Originally posted by: Hacp
Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Originally posted by: BlingBlingArsch
hm, i always thought that the Opteron was the "father" of the clawhammer core and thatswhy it shouldnt have a chance vs todays CPU´s like San Diego and X2.

Different core (Sledgehammer v. Clawhammer).

The Opteron IIRC has a slightly tweaked core. It is tweaked for a greater amount of stability. Additionally it will be slightly slower than an X2 because it requires Registered RAM. Not only that, you find a server board that OCs as well as an enthusiast board. Opterons dont OC better; your kidding yourself.

-Kevin


??? THe new ones in socket 939??? They supposedly use higher grade silicon, therefore oc better?????

maybe the 939 opterons do oc better but from user reviews (opteron@3050 vs X2@2800 + 7800gtxSLI, see below) it seems as if they do need about 400Mhz more than a X2 to achieve the same results in game benchmarks. so they´re not made for gamers.
here some numbers:
http://www.forumdeluxx.de/forum/showthread.php?t=163372
what do u say richUk? do these benches seem likely? as an owner of one opteron? :)
 

chinkgai

Diamond Member
Apr 4, 2001
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Originally posted by: BlingBlingArsch
Originally posted by: Hacp
Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Originally posted by: BlingBlingArsch
hm, i always thought that the Opteron was the "father" of the clawhammer core and thatswhy it shouldnt have a chance vs todays CPU´s like San Diego and X2.

Different core (Sledgehammer v. Clawhammer).

The Opteron IIRC has a slightly tweaked core. It is tweaked for a greater amount of stability. Additionally it will be slightly slower than an X2 because it requires Registered RAM. Not only that, you find a server board that OCs as well as an enthusiast board. Opterons dont OC better; your kidding yourself.

-Kevin


??? THe new ones in socket 939??? They supposedly use higher grade silicon, therefore oc better?????

maybe the 939 opterons do oc better but from user reviews (opteron@3050 vs X2@2800 + 7800gtxSLI, see below) it seems as if they do need about 400Mhz more than a X2 to achieve the same results in game benchmarks. so they´re not made for gamers.
here some numbers:
http://www.forumdeluxx.de/forum/showthread.php?t=163372
what do u say richUk? do these benches seem likely? as an owner of one opteron? :)

so um...isnt single core vs dual core like apples and oranges? they shouldnt be compared...

if you notice, the guy in that thread is using 81.84 nvidia drivers, which has dual core enhancements. thats why the dual core beats the single core in 3d apps but the single core rapes the dual core in superpi.

my personal example...without dual core enhancements (78.03 drivers) i get around 97000ish aquamarks...with dual core enhanced drivers (81.85 drivers) i get 110000ish aquamarks. this is using my 7800gtx.

also...what gamingphreek said is out of date. he is talkin about socket 940 opterons. with socket 939 opterons, you dont need registered ram and they'll work on any socket 939 board (with updated bios). they really are essentially the same cpus as the x2 4400+ and the 4800+ in terms of performance clock per clock.

as for higher overclocks? there isnt enough data to conclude at the moment since not enough people own them yet
 

ribbon13

Diamond Member
Feb 1, 2005
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Originally posted by: chinkgai
so um...isnt single core vs dual core like apples and oranges? they shouldnt be compared...

if you notice, the guy in that thread is using 81.84 nvidia drivers, which has dual core enhancements. thats why the dual core beats the single core in 3d apps but the single core rapes the dual core in superpi.

my personal example...without dual core enhancements (78.03 drivers) i get around 97000ish aquamarks...with dual core enhanced drivers (81.85 drivers) i get 110000ish aquamarks. this is using my 7800gtx.

also...what gamingphreek said is out of date. he is talkin about socket 940 opterons. with socket 939 opterons, you dont need registered ram and they'll work on any socket 939 board (with updated bios). they really are essentially the same cpus as the x2 4400+ and the 4800+ in terms of performance clock per clock.

as for higher overclocks? there isnt enough data to conclude at the moment since not enough people own them yet

:thumbsup:

To be valid, he should have been comparing the Opteron 175 to the 4400+



Anyone got a bench of the 3800+ X2 versus the Opteron 165?

 

Diogenes2

Platinum Member
Jul 26, 2001
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Originally posted by: ribbon13

To be valid, he should have been comparing the Opteron 175 to the 4400+



Anyone got a bench of the 3800+ X2 versus the Opteron 165?
Why ? It doesn't seem like it would be valid..