Hmm, Opteron 165 or X2 3800+ (or maybe 170)

[Chaos_Being]

Title says it all. First of all, here's what I'm planning on using alongside whatever cpu I choose (I have these nailed down almost 100% at this point):

Motherboard- Epox EP-9NPA+ SLI
RAM- 2x1gb G.Skill Extreme Series PC4000
PSU- OCZ Powerstream 520w
Video Card- eVGA 7800 GTX
Heatsink- ThermalRight SI 120 w/ Panaflo 120x38mm Med. speed

My goal is 2.6ghz, so I can be at FX-55 speeds. More would be better

My initial plan was to use a X2 3800+, but now I'm very tempted by the DC Opterons. There are a few caveats though. I'm a little uneasy about the 165's multiplier of 9, I"d have to be able to hit pretty high HTT to attain my goal. Also, the 165 is going to be a pain to obtain, its out of stock pretty much everywhere now so I'd have to backorder it. And who knows what the next batch may be capable of.

The 170 has climbed back up in price above $400, so in reality that pretty much kills it for me. That's why its a "maybe," and to be honest its a pretty far maybe.

The other choice is the X2 3800+. Cheap(er than the 170 ), easy to obtain, but has less cache and "seems" to overclock less than the 165- or is that just Opteron hype?





Basically, if you were in my shoes and had the hardware I listed above, which would you want- X2 3800+ or 165? Or 170, if its really worth the high cost?

(There is also of course the option of single cores, but seeing as how I am already spoiled by HT, I think a normal single core would just drive me nuts. Dual core seems to be the logical choice for an upgrade, to me anyways.)

 

[rseven]

Chaos_Being, the Epox should have no problem going to 300htt so you can achieve your goal of 2.6 as long as the 165 is capable. While the 3800 gives you a higher multi it is not any more likely to clock above 2.7GHz. It's something of a crap shoot. The fact that the Opteron has the larger cache and runs a bit cooler would make me lean toward that being the better bet. I see little reason to go for a more expensive core than these two. Even if they clock a bit higher you will surely not notice a performance gain. I have heard that the 165 is being discontinued, but I don't know if it's confirmed or not. Good luck with your new rig.

 

[thalzaar24]

Looks like we have basically the same setup. I'm getting 2gb of G.Skill RAM along with an Opty 165. I wanted to get a dual core as well, but the price was too hard to pass up on the Opty. I hear they are discontinuing the 165 so better get one while ya can, or go with a 170 (which should be good but a bit more expensive). From the raves on the boards here, the Opty's seem to be the way to go. Tremendous overclockers at a price that's hard to beat, plus they have a bit more cache I believe. Win/win/win situation

 

[Chaos_Being]

I've heard people mention that the 165 is being discontinued, but mostly as hearsay- "I read that someone on XtremeSystems knew someone who talked to AMD who said they were discontinuing it" sort of stuff. I actually searched over there (and on other forums) and couldn't find a definite answer about the discontinuation. The fact that pretty much all of the retailers who are out of stock of the 165's have an anticipated restock date, lends me to hope to believe that its just a rumor Especially because for the best-case scenario, I wouldn't be able to purchase anything until mid-december at the earliest.

I'm leaning very heavily towards the 165 (given that I'll be able to find one still.) Help me put my last concern to rest. I'm replacing a 2.4c @ 3.3ghz. At what speed would I have to clock the 165 to make it faster? (I suppose in single-threaded applications, dual-core vs. HT is going to make a multitasking difference no matter what I'd assume.) I have confidence in my OC skills but just in case I get a bum chip, I'd hate to actually be downgrading.

 

[rseven]

Personally, I didn't think it made any sense for AMD to bring out the 165 only to discontiue it a couple of months later.

 

[thalzaar24]

Yeah, I know how the hearsay has been spreading. I just mentioned it as something to keep an eye on. I haven't read anything and I was a bit suprised to hear someone post, saying it was gonna be discontinued. Like Rseven said, it doesn't make sense to release it a few weeks ago, then discontinue it, unless they believe those chips were too good for the price they were going for, which could be possible

As for performance, I recently upgraded to a 3700 Sandy core coming from an Intel Engineering Sample 2.6c at 3Ghz (didn't push it too far). It's hard to judge the performance upgrade because I also upgraded to a 7800GTX, but i say it was worth it. Going to a dual core will definately be worth the upgrade. Even if you can only take advantage of one core now, the future will be the land of multicore processors so you will be able to run those programs as soon as they are released. I'm anxious to try out F.E.A.R. as i've heard that it has support for dual cores, which should be awesome. As for what speed, I realy do not know, but i'm sure 2.6 is a reasonable number since that was what you originally were shooting for. With the increased cache compared with the Intel chip, your performance should definately leave it in the dust. My sandy is running at 2.2 and I think it's performing much better in games and in windows compared to my Intel.

 

[toddm27]

without a doubt the 165 as mine hits 2564 at stock voltage!

 

[kiljaden5]

now if I only could get my hands on a 165...

 

[deathman20]

Man makes me think if I should get a 165 now after getting my X2 Only ones I've been able to find are the Retail packages for $350ish.

 

[TankGuys]

Man makes me think if I should get a 165 now after getting my X2 Only ones I've been able to find are the Retail packages for $350ish.

We're going to have more at the end of this week, retail boxed, at $325 I believe. I would have liked to price them even lower, but our wholesale cost is up pretty high now (what with demand being so high, and supply being virtually non-existant!).

I have 15 arriving hopefully Thursday/Friday. Unsure on steppings, but we'll see when they show up.

 

[vulcanman09]

i believe these are what you are looking for

http://www.infonec.com/site/main.php?module=detail&id=11461

 

[toddm27]

I paid 312 shipped from mwave but their out of stock, I think newegg has some for like 300.00 plus shipping

 

[thalzaar24]

Newegg HAD the OEM version of the 165 for $289 before shipping but they went out of stock pretty quickly (mine comes tomorrow! dang slow UPS ). They also had the retail version for $359 but those are out as well.

 

[Chaos_Being]

Yep, and now Newegg doesn't even have the 165 oem listed at all (out of stock or not.)

By the way, I did eventually stumble onto the thread on XS that mentioned the person who contacted AMD and was told the 165 was being discontinued. A few pages later someone reported that they asked a retailer about the supposed discontinuation, and that retailer contacted AMD who told them no such thing was happening.



Anyways, I am pretty much decided on the 165 so long as I can find one cheaply and if they are actually in stock, when I am able to purchase one. Hopefully the later steppings still OC well The X2 3800+ is my second choice. All the other DC chips are just too darn expensive.

 

[rseven]

I am glad to here the discontinuation story has been laid to rest as I'd like there to be some around for me early next year. I hope you can nail one down soon, Chaos_Being. Good luck.

 

[deathman20]

Heheh I've decided to ditch my X2 3800+ and go for a 170 Figured that better it will better suit my system.

Hopfully you get a good chip there.