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Athlon 64s vs Opterons, performance differences?

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Gregory_WE

Gregory_WE

Member
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Joined
Jun 19, 2002
I know that they are pretty similar, but how would two equal Athlon 64s and Opterons compare performance wise? I'm considering getting an Opteron instead of a new A64 but I want to know if the Opteron will be any worse than an A64 in games and what all it would be better at. I'd like to compare using the same frequency and ignoring the cache size difference. I'm talking single core here btw. Just as an example, let's use an Opteron 144 and an A64 3000, but let's hypothetically say they have the same cache size so that doesn't affect the comparison.

Edit: Basically I never looked into the differences between an Athlon 64 and an Opteron.
 
Can the two (comparing one cache size against a larger cache, despite similar clocks) not be mutually exclusive? I suppose if the core is different...

Fill me in everyone.
 
Oh yeah, I'm also wondering if the 939 Opterons are even supported by my mobo (MSI K8N Neo 2 Plat - NF3 Ultra). I just recently updated to the latest BIOS like a week ago.
 
do a search on opterons here in the forums. there's several thread on the overclocking/tweaking of this cpu.

opterons because of their use for servers go through severe testing, more severe than an athlon64 with the possible exception of the fx series chips.
 
Ok, I also looked at a few things that compared the two lines so I'm ok with that now.

But, will it work with my mobo as I asked above? Anyone know?
 
Yes, it will work if it's socket 939. Pretty much all of the newest BIOSs allow the use of opterons.
 
WingsofGOD said:
How can you ignore that?
Click to expand...

I was thinking about basic core architecture, I wasn't sure if there was some sizeable architectural difference between the two chips besides differences in cache size sometimes. I wasn't necessarily looking for quantitative performance differences, just something like "an Opteron core performs just as well if not better than the comparitive Athlon 64 core."
 
if thats true.. then someone tell me, why would they make an A64 if opteron is always the way to go?
 
Apparently, although the cores are named Venus, they're virtually the same as a San Diego.
 
azu said:
if thats true.. then someone tell me, why would they make an A64 if opteron is always the way to go?
Click to expand...

Because Opterons are not supposed to be used in normal desktops, only workstations or servers. They will work just fine, but AMD doesn't like it.
 
Gregory_WE said:
Oh yeah, I'm also wondering if the 939 Opterons are even supported by my mobo (MSI K8N Neo 2 Plat - NF3 Ultra). I just recently updated to the latest BIOS like a week ago.
Click to expand...

I have a 148 on a neo2 plat and it's OCing happely...
 
There is no difference between an A64 with 1MB of L2 cache and an Opteron, as long as the Opteron is Socket939.
That's it.

Opterons come at lower stock voltages however, so they should overclock farther.
 
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