One of the drawbacks to Opteron is that it doesn't have support for DDR PC 3200. It is locked at PC 2700.
You'll note that there are socket 940 motherboards that exclaim PC 3200 support, but that is for the Opteron that isn't an Opteron. The FX-5x line. Currently, being the FX-51.
That is the differentiating factor between the FX and the Opteron. The ability to run at a higher memory speed.
Another reason to look toward the Athlon64 instead of the Opteron is the requirement for registered or registered + ECC memory.
The Athlon64 has no such requirement. Unbuffered DDR is fine for it.
There are a couple of benefits to unbuffered RAM for a desktop machine. #1, is reduced memory latency. #2, is reduced cost.
"Richard, I'd like to learn more about registered vs unbuffered RAM"?
Go to Crucial's website and read for yourself!
About registered RAM- These are all brief FAQs
http://www.crucial.com/kb/answer.asp?qid=3669
http://www.crucial.com/kb/answer.asp?qid=3682
http://www.crucial.com/kb/answer.asp?qid=3727
About ECC RAM- Once again, brief FAQ.
http://www.crucial.com/kb/answer.asp?qid=3744
Finally, consider the price of all this. The Opteron is designed as a server solution. Therefore, the CPUs, motherboards, and RAM will all cost more. (Not always a lot more, but more nonetheless.) The benefit for a home user is negligible at best. The need for more expensive components is only appreciated by those that have a specific requirement for these features.
So what you end up with is a more expensive, less performance oriented system. The performance in the server market comes with scalability. And Opteron certainly has a lot of that. Something you likely do not need.