Another lame CPU upgrade question

[Kampfzerstorer]

So I'm seeking your expert opinions. I currently own a Clawhammer FX55 running at 2.85, and looking for something to upgrade to that'll OC higher than what I have. I don't exactly relish the thought of dishing out another 800 bucks just to upgrade to the San Diego FX55. I also don't think going dual core right now would have any benefits (for me) because there is almost no thread optimized software available, and I would be surprised if we see much before late 2006/ early 2007. I upgrade every 6 months so if all sorts of thread optimized stuff comes out I can change to a dual core during summer/fall 2006.

So what are my choices? I was looking at a San Diego 4000+, or maybe a San Diego 3700+? What are the chances that I could get those to 3.0 or higher? Are there any alternatives I should be looking at?

 

[greenshift]

atm some optys are clocking that high, but thats just the luck of the draw. they are sandys also

 

[Aphex_Tom_9]

look for an opteron.

 

[MaJ()R PaYn3]

I got my 3700 sandy to 3GHz on air But if you want any opteron you better buy one quickly because they are stopping production of s939 opterons.

 

[rseven]

to the Forum, MaJ()R PaYn3 and Kampfzerstorer.

Yes your odds of a 3MHz are better with an Opteron.

 

[WarriorII]

rseven has it right.

but 2.85 is not bad. and an upgrade won't really give you much more.

$ per mhz is real high.

what about better memory? - just a thought.

An Opty would be nice tho.

 

[PhoenixOfChaos]

What type of cooling you running? (If you said that and I missed it my bad) With additional cooling you might be able to squeeze some more out of that FX-55 instead of getting a whole new proc.

 

[Kampfzerstorer]

This is a Clawhammer (130 nm) FX55 on water @ 2.85 1.67v on a DFI Lanparty UT SLI DR Expert, G.skill running at 265 @ 3 3 2 5 2.8v

 

[Stoanhart]

I know these kind of comments usually get shot down, but ... stick with what you got.

Your FX55 does 2.85Ghz. Do you really think you will notice much difference with another 100 mhz or so, maybe 200? I OC'd my chip from stock 2.0 ghz to 2.6. Guess how many 3d mark 2005 points it got me? about 100! yeah. In games, there is a bit of a difference, because there is AI, physics, auadio, etc. Maybe it boosted my avg FPS is CSS by 15 or so. Good, considering it didn't cost anything. But I sure as hell wouldn't shell out "another $800" for a 100-200 more mhz --> 3-5 fps.

You definately won't notice it browsing the web or something. Buy a better video card, or a second one, or more ram, or a second screen, or a nice chair, or something if you got money burning a hole in your pocket. Or if you really need a CPU, buy a nice X2 - they clock well. you could probably reach your current speed with a high end model, but have a generally more responsive system.

 

[Kampfzerstorer]

Actually I won't shoot down your suggestion, it is definitely something to consider. The $800 option was to go from a Clawhammer FX55 to a San Diego FX55, and I definitely DON'T want to do that. The other upgrade options will only be about $250.

As for only gaining 100 3dMarks from that overclock, I don't know what to say! Sometimes I gain that from a 3 fsb increase, like from 2.8 to 2.83 I gain 100 3dmarks.

 

[PhoenixOfChaos]

3dmark isn't the most effective way to test your OC on that, being that its heavily GPU based. Superpi times on the other hand could be a great way to find out.

 

[Kenshin Himura]

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but I second the whole "don't upgrade" idea. At best on water, you will get 200-250mhz more. An almost imperceptable difference, especially considering that an FX at 2.85 is probably facing some other bottleneck in the system. Have you considered a video card, or as mentioned a memory upgrade? I just think that the money could be much better spent elsewhere. Another option to consider would be monitor, to better enjoy what you have. I know that when I went from my 19 inch CRT to a 24 inch widescreen LCD, it changed my gaming experience immensely.

Kenshin Himura

 

[Kampfzerstorer]

Thats fine. If you honestly don't think the upgrade is worth it thats something for me to think about thank you! There isnt much room to upgrade RAM or the video cards. A video card upgrade would cost $1500 and only net me maybe 1000 3dmarks (05).

I'm kinda partial to CRT monitors I like running things at 2048x1536, to get those kinda resolutions on an LCD I'd have to spend thousands I think?


By the way thanks to all you guys/gals for tossing these ideas around with me.

Nice sig Kenshin!

 

[IWasHungry]

If you want to be sure you'll get a >3GHz overclock, I would suggest doing something like buying three Socket939 Opteron146s or 148s, and then selling off the two weaker overclockers.

 

[Stoanhart]

As for only gaining 100 3dMarks from that overclock, I don't know what to say! Sometimes I gain that from a 3 fsb increase, like from 2.8 to 2.83 I gain 100 3dmarks.

Well if you're running games at 2048x1536, I immaging you are running SLI 7800 GT(X) or something like that. You are providing 3D Mark all the GPU power it needs, so your CPU is holding you back

I have one 6800GT, which is bottlenecking me. CPU speed makes no difference. However, a simple no effort overclock on my video card gave me almost 1000 points.

So I guess, now that I think about it, my original statement was wrong. You probably will see an increase, benchmark wise. However, I doubt you will notice any difference yourself.

 

[PhoenixOfChaos]

A FX-55 @ 2.85ghz w/ GTX (or two) would own. I dont know what card you have but I'm willing to bet it wile pale in comparison to a GTX. GTX+RAM upgrade would probably see you the most gain.

 

[Froggy]

Spend your money on graphics. Newer games tax the graphics subsystem much than old games did.

 

[Mooyo]

I would also go along with the "keep the FX" suggestion. As many others have pointed out, for another 150-200mhz is it really worth the money(whether its a new cpu or going to insane cooling) for that very small increase in performance?

If you already have a good graphics card then I would suggest something like a raptor or other harddrive, for the money you'd be spending you'll get a lot better increase in gaming and the likes from buying a Raptor than getting another 150mhz. I forget if someone mentioned this already or not but perhaps a newer/better soundcard could also be another option, those new Creative X-Fi cards a pretty friggin sweet IMO.

 

[JRE]

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but I second the whole "don't upgrade" idea. At best on water, you will get 200-250mhz more. An almost imperceptable difference, especially considering that an FX at 2.85 is probably facing some other bottleneck in the system. Have you considered a video card, or as mentioned a memory upgrade? I just think that the money could be much better spent elsewhere. Another option to consider would be monitor, to better enjoy what you have. I know that when I went from my 19 inch CRT to a 24 inch widescreen LCD, it changed my gaming experience immensely.

Kenshin Himura

Another vote. A lot of peeps would kill for your CPU and there is no guarantee that getting an Opty will get you to the 3ghz mark unless you can pick your stepping and even then it's not guaranteed.

My only thought is if you were wanting to go the dual core route and you could sell your FX for a good chunk it might be ok if you are willing to trade off some top end speed for dual core goodness. My current 175 only gets 2655 stable.

 

[JoT]

Not often I hear "keep what you have, the bleeding edge isn't any faster!"