Opteron Vs. Athlon64 for GAMING !

[x850Pro]

Sorry I couldnt find a topic like this one.

I am looking at buying a 3200+ Venice Core socket 939 but after reading some of the helpful forum topics I am not sure if the Opteron is the better buy. I only have $ 170 to spend and I cant go any higher. I am using a Asus A8V will a Opteron work with it. It is also a socket 939 board.

Also just wanted to know how much of a difference the processor is going to make going from a P4 2.26 Northwood to a Athlon 64 3200+ reguarding my FPS in 3D Mark and Gaming. Thanks all.

 

[TecHNooB]

Going from Intel to AMD will generally give you a 10 fps boost. I'm not sure what core the Opteron 144-148s are running, but they can hit FX-57++ speeds with decent cooling. At stock, the 3200+ Venice should be similar to the Opteron, but it'll take steady bumps in vcore to OC the sucker and you might need water cooling after 2.6Ghz. With the new E6 stepping, you may not even reach 2.6Ghz without a ridiculous amount of vcore. Took my 3500+ Venice 1.55v to hit only 2.66Ghz. Opterons can hit 2.6Ghz (at least) at stock vcore. Definitely worth your money to get an Opteron and OC it.

Edit: Btw, check out TankGuys for good deals on an Opteron. Newegg is currently busy ripping people off.
Link: http://www.tankguys.biz/

Monarch has good deals on dual core opterons, if you're considering those.
http://monarchcomputers.com

 

[Fallengod]

Well I dunno if you would want to buy a used one like off these forums. But in terms of forum prices. You can find a 3200+ venice for about $100-$115(I wouldnt pay anymore than that). You can also find opterons around for $140-$170 for the 144/146.

There really isnt too much difference between venice and opteron. Just some more cache. I definitely dont notice any difference, and I play games, use maya, and do alot of hardcore mpeg2 encoding. If you cant notice any difference in those scenarios, there is no difference.

Id say get whatever you can find that is cheaper. Personaly, Id go for an opteron. Just cause its newer, has more cache and overclocks like crazy. But if it came down to it, it really would make much difference. Unless you are doing hardcore overclocking, then the opteron is an easy choice. One note: The opteron does produce more heat than the venice though, so that is something to consider.

If you are not doing any overclocking, get whichever is cheaper.