New CPU advice...E2180?

[sparka]

I'm considering upgrading from my current processor (Opteron 144) to an intel dual core. Currently, I'm pretty confused on what model processor to get.
Keep in mind i'm going to overclock the heck out of it (looking for around 3.0-3.2)

From what I've read, an E2180 seems like a good choice at this point. But what about an E4XXX? What's the difference between these?


Anyways, just looking for some input. Any comments would be greatly appreciated

Thanks in advance

 

[blackersabbath]

The difference between the two is that the 4 series have 2mb L2 cache and a higher multiplier.

 

[MetaDFF]

If you are looking to overclock an EXXXX series chip this Tomshardware article might be of interest to you. (They overclock an E2160)

Tomshardware

Basically:
When compared to Core 2 Duo with its 2 MB or 4 MB L2 cache, the Pentium Dual Core comes with only 1 MB, and it also doesn't support the virtualization technology called VT.

You can also use the Intel Desktop Processor Comparison Chart
Comparison Chart

 

[4x4expy]

For the price you really can't go wrong with the E2180. With quality(yet budget) components, your overclocking expectations shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Denithor]

The real question is, why do you need to upgrade? Based on your video card you aren't a hardcore gamer, so what kind of programs are you running that need extra muscle behind them?

The programs you use really determine whether you need the extra on-die cache (the real advantage of the e4xxx versus the e2xxx). Some programs take advantage of increased cache (video editing/encoding, games, etc) while others just aren't very sensitive to cache.

The e2180 and e4500 will probably overclock to about the same point but the e2180 will require somewhat higher FSB to get there (due to its lower multiplier). Once these chips are pushed to 3GHz there will be very little difference in performance.

 

[blackersabbath]

The E21xx have been known to be able to get to 3Ghz easily too.

 

[Tempered81]

id go with a 4300 or 4400, its double the cache and u should get 3.2 ghz out of them

my 4300 tops out at about 3.2 stable on my gigabyte mobo

 

[DusterAZ]

I just did a similar upgrade, went from Opteron 165 @ 2.4 Ghz to the system in my sig. I am very happy with the upgrade since the Opteron was bottlenecking my video card. Overclocking to 3.2 Ghz took me all of a few minutes and everything is rock stable. The E2180 makes it pretty easy with a 10x multiplier, just start at 300 FSB w/ mem at 1:1 and it should be no big deal with DDR2 667 or above.

 

[Lagged2Death]

I've just built my first PC. I chose an E2180 CPU. I wanted to put together something inexpensive that had lots of upgrade headroom (i.e., it could run Penryn someday). I'd also seen the amazing overclocking results reported for the E21xx parts, and I found that attractive.

One of the often-cited advantages of the E2180 in particular is that they're supposedly all M0 stepping parts, which is considered an overclocking-friendly revision. There's a bit of a stepping lottery with some of the E4xxx parts.

So far, I haven't been able to get my own E2180 to run stably past about 2.3GHz. Use of the E21xx doesn't guarantee that 3+GHz will be a walk in the park.

 

[SerpentRoyal]

Need to use a decent P35 board and drop memory divider to 1:1.

 

[kmmatney]

I would go for the E2180 over any of the E4XXX series. I bought my E4400 before the E21XX cpus came out.