Comparable AMD processor with Pentium D 820?

[Parasitic]

Hey,


Finally it's time to dump the XP 2500+...motherboard issues and I am not spending any more money on this old system anymore. It's reached the end of its life and I must go on. I was thinking originally of getting a 3500+ Venice or 3700+ San Diego with the ASRock Dual 939, but then seeing the sale ads at Frys about a 820D for $219 I now have doubts about sticking with AMD...the Smithfield looks really promising aside from its heat dissipation and power requirements, but I can't figure out how fast it actually is how it matches up with A64's.

So there's my question: 2.8GHz dual core, 2*1mb L2 cache. Is this comparable to a 3700+?
I know that I will need DDR2, but aside from high latencies, is DDR a better performer compared to DDR2?

 

[Markfw]

The $279 X2 3800 combo at fry's leaves that 820 in the dust even at stock, let alone overclocked, and not even considering the horrible heat...

Enough said ? Forget the 820D

 

[Parasitic]

What about the 920D?

Right now I have the 2500+ running @ 2.32 (232 * 10) and it's a little flaky...will a 3500+ or 3800+ X2 be much faster stock?

 

[stevty2889]

With the release of Presler, their is absolutely no reason at all to go with the overheating crap Smithfield at all. But like mark already said, the slowest AMD dual core is faster than the 820/920 by far at stock speeds, and even the 840/940 have trouble keeping up with it in a lot of things. So far the only way to get a Presler to overclock well enough to keep up with an overclocked AMD, is with the $200 Asus P5WD2 motherboard, so I still see no good reason to go with the Intel dual core, over the AMD.

The 820 is a dual core, so you should be comparing it to other dual cores, rather than AMD"s single cores. But if you aren't running programs that take advantage of a dual core, you might want to just stick with a single core, so I guess you would have to give more info about what you are running first.

 

[Parasitic]

Mostly some multimedia stuff, DVD ripping, HL2.

Then the occasional engineering stuff like S-plus, Matlab, and ASPEN.

 

[Parasitic]

BTW is it easy for an Opteron 144 to hit 2.2GHz?
If so I guess I might just go with that over a 3700+.

 

[saltedeggman]

Originally posted by: Parasitic
BTW is it easy for an Opteron 144 to hit 2.2GHz?
If so I guess I might just go with that over a 3700+.

no sweat, given that you have the right components

 

[stevty2889]

You'll likely benifit from the dual core in your multimedia stuff, and some in DVD ripping depeinding on the software(DVD shrink is SMP aware). Don't know what your budget is, or if you overclock, but I'd go with an AMD dual core either way.

 

[Parasitic]

What about work related stuff? Some of the engineering programs I run are pretty iterations intensive and my 2500+ kinda chokes.
By the way how much faster is the 144 stock compared to a 3200+? I am assuming that an A64 3200+ is probably as fast as my 2500+ if we aren't talking about optimizations.

 

[Duvie]

CAD programs and other 3d rendering stuff are usually geared toward workstation type computers and have long been very SMP aware....

I would get a 3800+ X2 and a decent mobo like the neo4-f for under 100 bucks and you could easily OC that to 2.4ghz if you so choose.....

Opteron 144's should so 2.2ghz in their sleep, but it is only a single core but has the larger cache...in my experience the cache makes little to NO difference in these type of apps....

I would recommend at least 1gb of memory...2 if you can afford it...My 3d apps burn my 1gb pretty fast....

 

[Faikius]

Forget the 820 and look at the 920. It's in the same price range as the 3800+.

The 920's can be overclocked pretty well if you use the Asus P5WD2, but it is a $200 as already mentioned. That said you should save a little cash going with DDR2 as it's still a little cheaper than comparable DDR1.

I had to make the same decision about a month ago: 3800+ vs. D920

I went with the 920 because it was relatively cheap and a DDR2 platform. At least I won't have to swap out my ram when Conroe or the AM2 platforms hit

I'm currently running it at 4Ghz and couldn't be happier...

 

[n7]

The Pentium D series certainly isn't ideal, but if you can't afford the X2 3800+, check out the 920.
Less heat output & great if you like to OC.

I do think dual core is optimal for you, so don't go single...you'll only end up disappointing yourself.

 

[Duvie]

Originally posted by: Faikius
Forget the 820 and look at the 920. It's in the same price range as the 3800+.

The 920's can be overclocked pretty well if you use the Asus P5WD2, but it is a $200 as already mentioned. That said you should save a little cash going with DDR2 as it's still a little cheaper than comparable DDR1.

I had to make the same decision about a month ago: 3800+ vs. D920

I went with the 920 because it was relatively cheap and a DDR2 platform. At least I won't have to swap out my ram when Conroe or the AM2 platforms hit

I'm currently running it at 4Ghz and couldn't be happier...

These are good points about compatability in the future...

however since Intel changes chipsets like underwear I doubt either move will save you from buying a mobo and since the intel mobo is far more expensive, buying that twice might still leave AMD cheaper...

Just one man's opinion...


Theone thing I have noticed that I have not with the INtel dual core chips is AMDs have held their value better...get an X2 now, much cheaper mobo, and 1gb of decent ram (does not have to be the best)...most of the other components will be transferable...The cheap mobo will still overclock an X2 to comparable speeds of a 4ghz P-D 920....Then wait for conroe or AM2 which both will need NEW MOBO and likely both will WANT YOU to UPGRADE to 800DDR2....so dont fool yourself....

I haven't hung around here much, but I am still smart enough to see the whole picture...

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

Hmm... I think an X2 3800+ would be best. If you can afford an 820/920, you'll almost certainly be able to squeeze in a 3800+ somehow. Maybe just get 512MB RAM for right now, and upgrade later.

 

[Parasitic]

I already have a gig of Mushkin PC3200 Level I that does 230~233MHz at CAS 2.5-4-3-11, 2.8v. I am however having a hard time finding new memory that matches the chips on those Mushkins which I heard from the tech is MoselTech chips.

Because of that I was thinking of maybe starting fresh and getting 2 GB of DDR2 off the bat?

 

[Cooler]

You could get a 165 opty and oc it.

 

[Parasitic]

Ok so I got a little cheap and picked up a 3500+ with a Gigabyte K8NSC-939 combo at Fry's. I know that the Gigabyte isnt the newest kid on the block (nForce3 250Gb) but since I am in no rush to dump my 9700 Pro I decided that it seems to be a decent choice for the time being, then I'll upgrade later.

My 3500+ is E4 Venice and CDBHE stepping. Is it a dud?

 

[carlosd]

Originally posted by: Faikius
Forget the 820 and look at the 920. It's in the same price range as the 3800+.

The 920's can be overclocked pretty well if you use the Asus P5WD2, but it is a $200 as already mentioned. That said you should save a little cash going with DDR2 as it's still a little cheaper than comparable DDR1.

I had to make the same decision about a month ago: 3800+ vs. D920

I went with the 920 because it was relatively cheap and a DDR2 platform. At least I won't have to swap out my ram when Conroe or the AM2 platforms hit

I'm currently running it at 4Ghz and couldn't be happier...

Only $37 USD of difference between X2 3800+ and 920, not worth for the heat. The X2 3800+ OCs 26-2.7GHz, at 4GHz the 920 barely catch up, also the 920 will be sustancially hotter. Again no reason for a Pentium D.

And as Duvie said since the mobo for presler is more expensive, the X2 config will end being cheaper. So again no reason for buying the 920.