Processor decisions

[fps justin]

but not for gaming am i correct? and nice deal. 250 dollars more means you can spend it on sumthing else. LOL

[Tyreal]

It is suppose to be a server cpu. But that does not stop it from performing top notche in every application.

I personally would choose the Opty 165. I have heard of its legendary clocks and would love to have one. the 3800+ does have more cache, but as rich and the article showed, it does not make a huge difference. With the Opty 165 at high clock speeds it should be able to outperform a 3800+ overclocked.

for a kicker... it runs at a lower voltage... therefore, lower temperatures.

[gvblake22]

Originally Posted by gwhea38411

The Opty is designed for extreme usage as in 24/7/365 workstation use.

Yes indeed. Server chips are usually in a much more harsh working environment than the desktop chips in most people's home computers. But although the Opteron 165 is a server chip, it uses the exact same core as the Athlon64 X2 desktop dual core processors (Toledo), it is just called something different (Denmark). Thats why the Opterons still work in all regular desktop motherboards :)

[Tyreal]

and perform like speed demons :P

If i am correct, AMD tests each core and chooses the cream of the crop for their opterons.

[gvblake22]

Originally Posted by Tyreal

If i am correct, AMD tests each core and chooses the cream of the crop for their opterons.

That's what I've heard, but it's only what I've heard. So I can't really say that I've ever seen any official documentation supporting this...

[One4yu2c]

Socket 939 Opterons are relatively new, and they're showing some very good overclocking success in the enthusiast community. Factor in the additional cache without paying out the nose for it, and that's why it's such a popular chip.

[gwhea38411]

Since you'all put me onto the opty, ive been doing some readng. Reportedly, the chips that fail to meet opty specs are relegated to 64/64 x2 duty.

[fps justin]

lol.

[Tyreal]

Yes. thats what i've heard. As blake mentioned, I too, have not seen/read any official documentation stating this.

I've also heard that in times when a chip is very popular (like the 3000+) manufacturers will actually take chips that were suppose to be a, say, a 3800+ and put them in the 3000+. These chips, since they are rated to perform at 3800+ speeds, will overclock extremely well.

that was just an example and may not be true.

[Capper]

Originally Posted by gwhea38411

Since you'all put me onto the opty, ive been doing some readng. Reportedly, the chips that fail to meet opty specs are relegated to 64/64 x2 duty.

That is correct.
The Opty 165 I have runs 300x9 24/7......and smokes my 3800+ X2....which before this was my favorite CPU.
This is what overclocking is all about, taking a cheaper processor and getting top notch performance out of it.
Another bonus with the Opty is you get the newer super AMD cooler