Differences with higher watt cpu

[Starwind]

So checking out the Zambezi quad cores on newegg. The 4100 is more popular than the 4170 which runs 500 more mhz for 30 more watts. I'm assuming that the lower watts lets you overclock more thus why that half ghz isn't a big deal because you can overclock the 4100 to higher speeds. Would doing the 4170 with liquid cooling like a H100(Doesn't say AM3+ just AM3 I would assume that it still works) cancels it out with being able to keep temperatures lower or is the 4170 for people not looking to overclock?

 

[trents]

The main thing to realize is that probably to a large extent the 4170 is a 4100 with some of the overclocking done at the factory for you.

Yes, the H100 water block will mount on AM2, AM2+, AM3 and AM3+. The sockets and the socket retention bracket are physically the same as far as cooler mounting goes.

 

[LZ_Xray]

The lower power consumption is due to the lower clock. If you clock the 4100 to the same speed as a stock 4170 it will also be pulling somewhere around 125W. They're identical silicon, but the 4170 is higher "binned" which is why they run it 500MHz more clock at stock. In the end though, you could probably get them to pretty much the same clocks when OCing. Possibly a little higher on the 4170 since it has fewer defects (higher bin) but no guarantee. Just depends on what you consider worth $20.

 

[Starwind]

Well that makes things simple then. Makes me wonder why it has such a huge amount more of ratings on newegg though.

 

[Bobnova]

It came out first, that's all. The 4170 is fairly new.

 

[Starwind]

With that said... Wouldn't the 4170 run better because it has everything that should be turned off to OC on by stock running at the higher speed or am i just grasping at straws with that thought?

 

[Bobnova]

It's the straws one, though I commend you on giving it thought in the first place (many don't).
Any FX4100 should be able to hit 4170 clocks with all that business turned on at 4170 type vcore. Were they the same wattage there might be a difference in leakage, but given the higher wattage I'd say that they probably both leak like sieves.

(A Lengthy sidenote: A high leakage chip draws a lot of watts for a given vcore and tends to run hot at said given vcore, a low leakage chip draws less at the same vcore and runs cooler. Generally speaking low leakage chips are nice for air OCing as heat is the primary issue. High leakage chips can generally survive more vcore for longer and hence are the chips of choice for extreme cooling (read: dry ice(-78c) and liquid nitrogen (-196c), really extreme) operations in the benching world. Whether this still holds true in reality for FX bits I don't know, as far as I can tell they all leak rather impressively when the vcore starts going up. At stock vcore less so, they're sort of weird that way)

In any case, they all start off trying to be the same chip. In this case I don't think either of them is really a higher or lower binned chip even, it's just a question of where AMD wants to market them.
Of course, unless I'm totally mistaken (I may well be), the FX4xxx and FX6xxx series are defective FX8xxx silicon in the first place, so calling one FX4xxx a partial defective and the other not is sort of silly I suppose.

Realistically I should have gone to bed an hour ago and am now rambling intensely.
Suffice to say, it doesn't really matter which chip you get unless you're going to run them at stock. If you're OCing (I'd hope so), buy the cheaper one.


Bonus: All the AMD sockets are the same as far as cooling mount bits go starting midway through 939 and continuing through now and the foreseeable future. AMD is awesome that way.

 

[Starwind]

More information is always a good thing so I thank you for that on the chips as all of this is quite addictive. I was going through an intel build a few weeks ago for the fun of it put together an AMD one since I've NEVER had an intel chip and I have an odd ache for staying with AMD. Still trading things in and out with it, but AMD build is quite a bit cheaper.

 

[Daveburt]

(A Lengthy sidenote: A high leakage chip draws a lot of watts for a given vcore and tends to run hot at said given vcore, a low leakage chip draws less at the same vcore and runs cooler. Generally speaking low leakage chips are nice for air OCing as heat is the primary issue. High leakage chips can generally survive more vcore for longer and hence are the chips of choice for extreme cooling (read: dry ice(-78c) and liquid nitrogen (-196c), really extreme) operations in the benching world. Whether this still holds true in reality for FX bits I don't know, as far as I can tell they all leak rather impressively when the vcore starts going up. At stock vcore less so, they're sort of weird that way)

In any case, they all start off trying to be the same chip. In this case I don't think either of them is really a higher or lower binned chip even, it's just a question of where AMD wants to market them.
Of course, unless I'm totally mistaken (I may well be), the FX4xxx and FX6xxx series are defective FX8xxx silicon in the first place, so calling one FX4xxx a partial defective and the other not is sort of silly I suppose.

Realistically I should have gone to bed an hour ago and am now rambling intensely.
Suffice to say, it doesn't really matter which chip you get unless you're going to run them at stock. If you're OCing (I'd hope so), buy the cheaper one.

Wow, well said!
You ramble pretty good for someone who stays up too late...
Not like I would know.

I do think there's some amount of binning that goes on at AMD, but I'm pretty sure your right that it relates more to TDP than potential clock speeds...
And I don't doubt that most 4xxx/6xxx's are 8xxx's that didn't make the grade.

If your planning on running your rig on stock (ambient) cooling, spend the $$$ on a higher rated chip.
If you have better cooling (even Custom water), save your $$$ and drop down in grade.
In the end it's all really luck of the draw anyway...

When I used cold air/water cooling last winter my best 8xxx actually turned out to be an 8120 even though it runs pretty hot on ambient!

I really need to test that chip on Dice/LN2, I'd bet it'd do 7.5+...