I'm looking to build a 939 system sometime soon (already decided that am2 isnt worth it and i'm not waiting for intel) and I can't decide between the 3800 and an opty 165. the opteron is about $30 more on most sites (although Newegg has a much lower price than anyone else for the 3800). What with the only difference being twice the cache on the 165 (I plan to overclock, but none of this "my opteron sux cause it came at 1.8 and wont hit 3.0" nonsense). I do a lot of gaming, photoshop, video editing, 3ds max, etc. Since I *know* i wont be able to afford to get new motherboard/proc/ddr2 for conroe, I want a decent chip that will last me at least 2-3 years if it needs to. So I have a few questions: 1. Is the extra 1mb cache going to help with anything now or in the future? 2. I know people say they "suck" for massive overclocking, but do current 165's (not paying like 400 for a "good" one off ebay) overclock respectably -- i'm talking like from 1.8 to 2.4-6? Anyone with experience? Thanks in advance.
For what it's worth... I don't OC, but my pair of Opteron 250s are dead stable. I have never had a hardware related issue with this system in almost 6 months. Another advantage to the Opterons (which are S940, btw) is that as server hardware they will be around a lot longer. Server tech sticks around practically forever (I saw someone selling dual PII 400 MHz servers for good money recently) and therefore yu are less likley to discover that you can't get compatible kit in a few years. Also, I don't know if this is universally true, but at least some S940 mobos will work with S939 procs. I know my Tyan K8WE claims that it will run the full range of S939s including FXs as single CPUs or else a pair of Opteron 2XX or 8XX units.
The 165 I wanted to buy is a s939 proc, I wasn't planning on investing in a s940 chip - my max budget for proc is right around the $330 they want for a 165.
i would recomend the 3700 san diego. dont know about steppings and that. but mine dose just short of 3ghz. and it has the 1meg of cache that the opty has. might be worth looking into over the 3800 edit: ah sorry
The 1mb cache gives you the equivelent of a 100-200mhz boost. i.e. a 2ghz 1024k cache CPU is about as fast as a 2.1-2.2ghz 512k cache CPU. a 2.4ghz OC should be a reasonable target. 2.6-2.7 if your lucky
well, I think that makes up my mind between the 3800x2 and the opteron -- I'd be perfectly happy with an opteron from 1.8 to 2.4. I've built (unfortunately, not for myself) three different systems with a 3800, and every one has been a good processor, I'm just willing to pay the few extra $$ for the opteron if the cache (and probable better overclockability) pays off in the long run -- Thanks for the info.
