What is the best AMD socket 939 CPU

[Compman55]

Motherboard is an asus A8N5X.

It has a A64 3400+ in it now. What would be a good upgrade?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Any of the X2s listed here.

Something like this maybe.

Update your BIOS first, though.

The switch from single to dual core is a night and day kinda thing. That said, even with the upgrade, it'll only be about as fast as the C2D rigs in your sig. It's not an upgrade I would do unless I had a task in mind for the machine (and/or was already using it for something), wanted a speed boost and could find the CPU fairly cheap.

A basic modern rig like this one would absolutely flatten it.

 

[guskline]

I think the FX 60 was the fastest but most expensive.

 

[Stoneburner]

the Opteron 100 range was probably the best bang for the buck.

 

[SPBHM]

Opteron 185 and FX 60 are the same,
but it's going to be hard to find and expensive,

so I recommend the Opteron 180, it's the same but with 200MHz less and you can find for a reasonable price.

 

[exar333]

Opteron 185 and FX 60 are the same,
but it's going to be hard to find and expensive,

so I recommend the Opteron 180, it's the same but with 200MHz less and you can find for a reasonable price.

This. The two listed are the best, but the Opty 180 could generally OC just as well.

 

[john3850]

Had the most fun with a A64 3200 winchester with a xtpe and ut2003 on line.
That cpu is still running on a different mb that I gave my friend.

 

[SlowSpyder]

The FX60 is the fastest, I think. But they are rather expensive. If I was upgrading the CPU, and couldn't do a whole platform upgrade, I would look at Opteron 165's and 170's. Dual core, full 1MB L2 per core, and they overclock very well if your motherboard can handle the 9x multiplier of the 165 (the 10x multiplier of the 170 will likely allow for higher clocks, though).

Both CPU's are fairly cheap on Ebay, $20-$30. I would do this over an FX chip, no way I'd spend that much money on an older platform.

 

[Obie327]

fx60 and opteron 185 are the same, But the opty seamed more stable than my old fx60. My friend is still rocking the 185 with 4 gigs of ddr ram (333) speeds. My opinion these days is that if it ain't running at 2.6 ghz then it's time to let go of the system for gaming.. It plays borderlands 2 on maximum ugly, But does well enough. My sis has my fx60 with xfx 8800 gts 320 xxx mad dog or something like that. lol. The system is still serviceable and plays a lot of older favorites. I just wished the motherboards didn't get so flaky over time. Might sell the fx60 cheap if my sis isn't using it?

 

[Makaveli]

Another vote for Opteron 1**.

Still using my 170 ,4GB of DDR500 with a radeon 4890 it handles everything I demand from my HTPC.

 

[Imouto]

Had the most fun with a A64 3200 winchester with a xtpe and ut2003 on line.
That cpu is still running on a different mb that I gave my friend.

Mine was a Venice. What a sweet CPU it was.

Upgraded to a X2 4200+ a while later.

 

[Zardnok]

I bought an Opteron 165 dual core for my old 939 box to upgrade from a 3400+. With both clocked at 2.6 the Opty was a huge difference in performance. Unfortunately, bulging caps caused the motherboard to die a month after I installed the Opty. I bought a C2D system to replace it with and the Opty has been sitting under a Tuniq Tower collecting dust on a shelf ever since. Let me know if you have trouble finding a CPU. I might be convinced to pop the Tower off and sell the CPU.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I hooked a friend up with an X2 4800+ S939 CPU. It runs most basic desktop things pretty well, all things considered. Win7 HP 64-bit, 4x512MB RAM.

 

[Yuriman]

I have an Opteron 165 that runs to this day, overclocked from stock 1.8ghz to ~3.0ghz with reasonable voltage. I think most of the Venice Opterons top out at around the same clocks (and the Opterons seem to be of a higher bin than the Athlons).

 

[sobe88]

Opty 165, definite favorite of the 939 days

 

[mikeymikec]

I have an X2 3800+ and Opteron 150 spare.

 

[Compman55]

So an opty 165 ~ 185 would be better than a faster athlon 64 x2 ?

Care to explain why? I see prices are indeed better, but I would think the higher speed X2 would be better,

 

[SPBHM]

you can overclock the 165, and at the same clock it would be as good as the fastest X2, and faster than most X2s (most X2s had half the l2 cache compared to the 4800+ and the 165)

 

[Compman55]

Is the multiplier unlocked on the opty's?

 

[Makaveli]

Is the multiplier unlocked on the opty's?

No

The only chips unlocked on amd in that era was the FX line.

 

[nemesismk2]

I used to have the athlon64 opteron 180

 

[tweakboy]

Doesn't the 1090T fit that mobo. 6 core and very overclockable.

 

[Stoneburner]

No

The only chips unlocked on amd in that era was the FX line.

The Opterons were good overclockers though. I can't remember why AMD released the 100 series, but alot of people on this board got good use out of them. the 165's could OC to 2.6 range without much hassle. I kept mine at 2.7gh stable for 3 years without issue.

 

[videogames101]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMD-Opteron...ore-/350747517531?pt=CPUs&hash=item51aa2e625b

I would suggest that deal, $33 for what was the top of the line 939 dual core.

It is used, however.

 

[Makaveli]

The Opterons were good overclockers though. I can't remember why AMD released the 100 series, but alot of people on this board got good use out of them. the 165's could OC to 2.6 range without much hassle. I kept mine at 2.7gh stable for 3 years without issue.

Agreed.

I have my 170 at stock now in the HTPC but when it was in service I did 2.8Ghz easily.