DEAD: AMD Athlon 64 FX-55 San Diego 2.6Ghz Socket 939 - $139 @ Newegg!

[Fraggable]

Originally posted by: Crusader

Originally posted by: Fraggable

Originally posted by: Crusader

Originally posted by: Craig234
Any other tips on motherboards (and fans) for people who either won't overclock or who are new to it, where 'ease of installation and use' is a factor?

I see the Artic Cooler Freezer 64 Pro recommended, $25 shipped.

I saw the DFI N4 Ultra-D recommended, about $115 shipped, reviews say 'hard to set up, for people who can spend hours, don't expect to work work the first try or two'.

Any other suggestions? My old ECS K7S54 sure can't run it

What? DFIs are easy to setup stock. Hit "optimized default" button and go. Take a quick scan of the screens to make sure the basics are set correctly (HDDs ect) and you're fine?

I'd like to see that rig that took hours to get running. He is either overclocking or making it entirely to hard. Theres no tweaking to get a DFI running at stock like anything else. I've never had a problem with getting any brand up and running the first time @stock.

Just check if the RAM you have will work in the DFI (any specific incompatibilities).. but you should do that with any motherboard you upgrade to.
No other suggestions.. the DFI + Arctic Cooling combo is tough to beat for ease of use and getting the highest quality stuff on the cheap (all Jap capacitors in DFI, heatpipes and as good of a fan setup as you are going to get without piecing together your own, which isnt worth it).

I had endless issues getting the first and last DFI board I bought to work. For some reason when I bought it (10 months after buying my CPU) it was on such an old BIOS it wouldn't work with my CPU without a BIOS update, then my X-Fi wouldn't work with it, and whenever I tried to boot with more than 2 of my 4 512MB sticks of RAM it wouldn't boot at stock speeds. Then the RAID setup was extremely weird an difficult to work with and I never did get it set up right even after following the terribly translated manual step by step.

I had it for 4 days and will never buy their products again. Their support is awful - no phone support at all and to me that is unacceptable.

DFI Street forums blow away any phone support from any company.
I had a DFI board come bashed up in shipping, and they replaced it immediately.

But just as a note to the guy looking at the DFI.. I had my RAID array setup in 5 minutes. I'm not sure what would be confusing, or hard about it.... ?

I'm not a noob, been an enthusiast since the Commodore 64. Built my 286, 386, 486, Pentium 1, Athlon Thunderbird, AXP, A64.. but I still dont think you'd need a couple decades of experience to use a DFI board.
if you have a hard time getting raid to work on a DFI, I'm not sure what to say about that because its so easy.

I've had Asus, Abit, Epox, Intel, Chaintek, and DFI and they are all the same.. DFI just offers a lot more options and better overclocking, if you even want to touch that stuff... which you dont have to.
The basic bios options, such as onboard RAID.. are typically all standard stuff. If you cant get one figured out, you wont Brand X either.

I've been an enthusiast for a long time as well and built my share of RAID arrays, but for some reason the DFI board would not retain my settings after a cold boot and it was not the board's battery. When it did retain the settings on a restart, it corrupted data as it was accessed. Weirdest thing I ever saw.

 

[XNice]

Originally posted by: LukeMan
CS:S only uses 1 core of the cpu, so the game would run the same on an FX-55 as it would on an FX-60. The 3700+ is a great cpu (1mb cache and will overclock to 2.6 pretty easy), but if you're going to overclock your cpu then you will need to apply the same logic to the FX-55 in weighing out your options: The FX-55 should overclock to 3.0 pretty easy since it uses the same core as the 3700+ and has an unlocked multiplier.

P.S. if you're overclocking the 3700+ to 2.6 then you will probably need a better than stock heatsink, since the stock AMD 64 heatsink isn't anything special (nothing near the Opteron dual core stock heatpipe heatsink).

I figured that into my plans, and it really comes down to price for me. I have analyzed the reports of people who overclocked w/ the retail heatsink and I know 3.0 ghz is going to be tough with it, which is why I am shooting for ~2.6ghz. I still paid more for my old 3000+ than what i'm paying for this 3700+.

fx-55 + heatsink = ~$165 shipped
3700+ retail = ~$96 shipped

Good good deal on the fx-55 though, im just glad someone else pointed out the 3700+ option. And including the fact I just dropped $260+ on a 7900GTO. If I didn't buy that I would have gotten the fx-55 easily.

 

[Triggerhappy007]

Originally posted by: XNice
I figured that into my plans, and it really comes down to price for me. I have analyzed the reports of people who overclocked w/ the retail heatsink and I know 3.0 ghz is going to be tough with it, which is why I am shooting for ~2.6ghz. I still paid more for my old 3000+ than what i'm paying for this 3700+.

fx-55 + heatsink = ~$165 shipped
3700+ retail = ~$96 shipped

Good good deal on the fx-55 though, im just glad someone else pointed out the 3700+ option. And including the fact I just dropped $260+ on a 7900GTO. If I didn't buy that I would have gotten the fx-55 easily.

Are you crazy? Why not spend $4 more than a 3700 and get an Opteron 146 at mwave? This should go at least 2.8ghz.
link

Newegg had it for $86 shipped, but it's OOS.

 

[sintaxera]

DO IT BURNEY!!! YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!!!!

 

[XNice]

Originally posted by: Triggerhappy007

Are you crazy? Why not spend $4 more than a 3700 and get an Opteron 146 at mwave? This should go at least 2.8ghz.
link

Newegg had it for $86 shipped, but it's OOS.

The only difference between these two, barring price, is that the opteron has a lower default clock but higher OC potential. Am I correct?

 

[Netopia]

I'm the one who asked/suggested the 3700+

I have to say that I agree with Triggerhappy007 that the Opteron certainly seems like the better choice! It's got all of the features of the 3700+ and (I beleive) that it's unlocked, which makes overclicking much easier. PLEASE someone correct me if I'm wrong about the Opteron being unlocked!

Were it me and it's unlocked... I'd go with the Opteron, and now that it's posted, what is the advantage of the FX over the Opteron?

Joe

 

[burney]

Originally posted by: sintaxera
DO IT BURNEY!!! YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!!!!

Gdamn it !...you should not have said that...I will have to argue myself all over again..

 

[knightc2]

I don't know if the Opty is unlocked although I have heard that too. This seems to indicate it is not unlocked...

geez people. This (fx-55) chip is 1 of the best single core cpu's on the market (only the fx-57 beats it out). It beats all the regular AMD 64 single core cpu's hands down due to it's already high frequency, 1mb cache, unlocked multiplier, and being made from better materials like the Opteron. It beats all the Opteron single cores (w/ exception to the $650 Opteron 154), even the Opteron 152 (same clock) due to having the unlocked multiplier. And the price beats the Opteron 152 also.

I do believe that the 3700 will give most people the best performance/dollar of all three of these cpus. Remember that the FX-55 does not have a heatsink/fan so unless you already have one you will need to add this in to the cost. The FX-55 will yield the best performance out of the box without OCing. The Opty is clocked at 2.0GHZ and although these are usually great OCers there is no gaurantee. Just keep that in mind. Either way all of these options are likely to be good ones and the prices are great as well. Too bad that coupon won't work on an X2.

EDIT: From what I have been reading the Opty 146 is NOT unlocked.

 

[Fraggable]

I have never heard that the Opterons are unlocked. There's no real reason for them to be, considering they're server CPUs. I don't know of anyone who overclocks servers.

Maybe I'm wrong but it seems like it would be big news if it was true.

I'm getting the FX because I have cheap RAM and a unlocked multi is the only real way I can OC. Plus having a chip that cost well over $700 at launch is very cool.

 

[Cygnus X1]

stop it! stop it! stop it! I can't take it anymore....please run OOS :music:

 

[LukeMan]

Originally posted by: Netopia
I have to say that I agree with Triggerhappy007 that the Opteron certainly seems like the better choice! It's got all of the features of the 3700+ and (I beleive) that it's unlocked, which makes overclicking much easier. PLEASE someone correct me if I'm wrong about the Opteron being unlocked!

Were it me and it's unlocked... I'd go with the Opteron, and now that it's posted, what is the advantage of the FX over the Opteron?

Joe

The Opteron is not unlocked. The Opteron beats the X2 and regular 64 series because it has more overclocking potential due to its higher quality silicone and other parts. The FX is built from the same high quality components but has the added bonus of an unlocked multiplier. The 64 and X2 series are for the mainstream user, the Opteron is for servers and overclockers. The FX series is for gaming and overclocking enthusiast who wish to get the best performance possible out of their system.

 

[imported_Crusader]

Originally posted by: Fraggable
I've been an enthusiast for a long time as well and built my share of RAID arrays, but for some reason the DFI board would not retain my settings after a cold boot and it was not the board's battery. When it did retain the settings on a restart, it corrupted data as it was accessed. Weirdest thing I ever saw.

That is weird.. mustve been defective. DFI does seem to have had more quality control issues than others (at least in the past), but if you get a good one they arent to shabby.
I've had more issues with my Asus boards (though I still like them, buy them and recommend them due to their large market presence). I've had best luck with Abit, but their unstable corporate position (according to my Taiwanese sources) in recent years has pushed me towards DFI.
All in all, I'm not bigoted against any brand. Though for my personal use, I always take the best overclocking board..

for when I run across deals like $139 FX55s!!!! I'm very excited to receive this chip... this is the gaming champ of all chips ever produced (beyond the FX57).

 

[XNice]

ok, I also found out that opty 146 10x multi, and the 3700+ has 11x multi. That made me feel better for not getting the opty. Funny thing is, i might just get the fx-55 if my 3700+ is somehow a dud.

 

[Fraggable]

Originally posted by: Crusader

Originally posted by: Fraggable
I've been an enthusiast for a long time as well and built my share of RAID arrays, but for some reason the DFI board would not retain my settings after a cold boot and it was not the board's battery. When it did retain the settings on a restart, it corrupted data as it was accessed. Weirdest thing I ever saw.

That is weird.. mustve been defective. DFI does seem to have had more quality control issues than others (at least in the past), but if you get a good one they arent to shabby.
I've had more issues with my Asus boards (though I still like them, buy them and recommend them due to their large market presence). I've had best luck with Abit, but their unstable corporate position (according to my Taiwanese sources) in recent years has pushed me towards DFI.
All in all, I'm not bigoted against any brand. Though for my personal use, I always take the best overclocking board..

for when I run across deals like $139 FX55s!!!! I'm very excited to receive this chip... this is the gaming champ of all chips ever produced (beyond the FX57).

I don't have a lot of confidence in any particular brand, I just know I don't like DFI. Their forums were worthless in my case and I couldn't get them to give me a RMA. I was lucky Newegg took it back and gave me an exchange or I might be stuck with it today.

I use an Abit now and it's ok, it doesn't have a lot for OCing but it is fairly stable. I'd consider any brand as long as reviews say it's a good board.

 

[Quick1]

I'm in! Ordered mine on Friday. Had been considering buying a 4000+ and o/c-ing to 2.8, so this was a No-Brainer!

$139 shipped...Sweet!

 

[Rockhound1]

Damn! I couldn't resist. I ordered one this morning. I had been holding out for an X2, but this is too good to pass up. I hope this will last me for a while. This will be the last hardware upgrade to my 939-based system (except maybe a graphics card ). I do not do a lot of mulitasking (hardly any), so this upgrade makes sense (until all the multi-processor games and applications start hitting the market, then I'll be kicking myself). I will be running it at stock for a while using the heatsink/fan that came with my current A64 3000+, but I plan on overclocking to 3.0 GHz since the multiplier is unlocked once I get a better cooling solution. This had better be noticably faster than my A64 3000+ running at 1.8 GHz. I mean it had better fly or I am going to be really disappointed.

 

[XNice]

When I had my DFI Ultra-D that supported AGP and s939 I had nothing but great support from the forums. Ultra-D's are boards for tinkerers and if you don't like tinkering with things, those boards just aren't for you. Also Newegg was great in RMA'ing my board after it went dead on me.

Just my 2 cents...

 

[blckgrffn]

Originally posted by: Rockhound1
Damn! I couldn't resist. I ordered one this morning. I had been holding out for an X2, but this is too good to pass up. I hope this will last me for a while. This will be the last hardware upgrade to my 939-based system (except maybe a graphics card ). I do not do a lot of mulitasking (hardly any), so this upgrade makes sense (until all the multi-processor games and applications start hitting the market, then I'll be kicking myself). I will be running it at stock for a while using the heatsink/fan that came with my current A64 3000+, but I plan on overclocking to 3.0 GHz since the multiplier is unlocked once I get a better cooling solution. This had better be noticably faster than my A64 3000+ running at 1.8 GHz. I mean it had better fly or I am going to be really disappointed.

In games you should notice a huge difference, as you should no longer be CPU bound most of the time

The 3000+ at its stock speed is a noticeable bottleneck.

Nat

 

[Smartazz]

Originally posted by: AAjax
Great find OP! If your looking for sopme serious bang for the buck, this is your deal

Edit: I nominate this as best find for a junior member, 8 posts and allready a keeper.

hmm, I didn't notice he was a junior member. Wasn't this chip $240 a week ago?

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Smartazz
Wasn't this chip $240 a week ago?

Probably.

I'm closer and closer to getting one. I can afford it, just keep telling myself I don't need yet another CPU.

 

[lag0a]

I guess buying this CPU depends on if you need it that badly, i think its best to wait out for some of the 939 Athlon 64 X2 to go down in price so you can get a dual core unless they come out with a 939 Athlon 64 X3, it depends on the extent of the 939 motherboards.

 

[Mysteriouskk]

Just got my shipment. Now I need a mobo...

 

[legcramp]

got mines too, just need to install it

 

[mr9865]

YES! Mine shipped today along with a 7900gto best $391.12 spent lol

 

[Bill Brasky]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: Smartazz
Wasn't this chip $240 a week ago?

Probably.

I'm closer and closer to getting one. I can afford it, just keep telling myself I don't need yet another CPU.

Same here. I think I'm gonna cave in tonight, I can feel it happening. I've got a 3700+ @ 2.55, so I'm trying to justify the money for an additional 500 Mhz.