Socket 939 Athlon X2 dual core OVERCLOCKING -- how high?

[WhipperSnapper]

I'm one of those poor suckers who has a Socket 939 motherboard with a single core chip, a then expensive Opteron 148, and I'm contemplating upgrading to a dual core Athlon. I probably don't want to pay the premium for a dual core Opteron of comparable multiplier because I don't want to invest any more $$$ in Socket 939 than I need to. Remember the Opteron-shortage scare of late 2005? I do. Guess I was a sucker though it seemed like a good buy at the time.

If you're going to overclock, is it worth it to spend an extra $10-20 for an Athlon x2 4200 (11x) over an Athlon x2 3800 (10x)? Would they both tend to max out at the same speeds?

What kinds of overclocks are people getting for those Socket 939 Athlon X2 dual cores? What can I expect and at what types of voltages?

 

[MarcVenice]

People seem to hit 2.6ghz with a x2 3800+ all the time. Higher is possible, but not gauranteed. I wouldn't spend the extra cash on a x2 4200+.

 

[CurseTheSky]

I maxed out around 2.7GHz with my X2 4200+... and that was a pretty high overclock for that chip. If you can get it cheap, go for it. Otherwise, just grab the X2 3800+.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Could I get a higher and easier overclock with a dual-core Opteron? A 170 with a 10x multiplier is $116 shipped at Newegg, or about $40 more than the Athlon x2 4200, but I hate to spend $40 more on 939.

 

[MarcVenice]

Go cheap, the extra 100-200mhz you 'might' get isn't worth all the extra cash. Just buy that 65$ x2 3800+, oc it to 2.6ghz or higher and it should hold you over for another year at least. By then qaud and pentacores will be really affordable.

 

[Twsmit]

160x10 with my X2 3800+. This is with voltage just a tad over stock in the bios. Anything higher requires massive voltage and is not stable.

 

[Rhoxed]

i can pull 2.8ghz out of my 3800+ x2 with 1.51 vcore

 

[NoSoup4You]

2.7Ghz wasn't stable at 1.45v for me, so I settled on 2.65Ghz at 1.45v. It isn't stable at 1.425v, so I guess this is as high as it'll likely go.

Personally, I'd go with the Opteron for the better overclocking headroom. But as for value, there's no doubt the 3800+ is king of the hill.