single Athlon FX or multiple Opterons

[The Internal]

If I want to do both content creation (mainly 3ds Max and Adobe Illustrator) and be able to play the latest games (such as Half Life), which should I go for? A single Athlon 64 FX-55 or dual Opterons (let's say dual 2.0 GHz). What extra cost considerations might need to be factored in if I went with a dual proc system? Has anyone done comparative benchmarks of dual opteron vs FX?

 

[Googer]

Well, Single or doubble it all depends on what you are using a computer for in the first place.
tell me more aboot what you do and I will tell you what is better for what

 

[imported_whatever]

you will most likely want the fx-55. for most games, dual processor has little to no advantage.
"hidden" costs in dual: ECC Registered RAM.

 

[RussianSensation]

You can just get A64 3200+ for $190 90nm Winchester and overclock that to 2.4ghz. Now you'll have 3800+ performance for $190 + cost of the heatsink.

In fact even if you get A64 3500 + @2.2ghz and overclock that to 2.6ghz, you'll get to FX55 speeds for $280.

Now the argument can be made that you can also overclock FX55 since it already comes at 2.6ghz. But I just cant seem to justify spending $800 on a cpu. Maybe you can though...