Opteron 165 or faster Single Core?

[SuperU21]

I'm rounding off my gaming rig and I'm looking to get a new processor. I'm fairly adept at overclocking so the idea of an Opteron 165/170 sounds pretty tempting.

Currently I'm using a 3200+ @ 2.7ghz

Would it be worth it to go with the dual core, I've read it doesn't improve gaming that much at the moment. Also, what are the success rates of even equalling 2.7ghz with a dual core opteron? If so, what cooling should I go for? This might also give me an excuse to go for water cooling as well.

 

[krotchy]

I would suggest an Opteron 165/170(depending on your Mobo and need for multiplier) for one reason. Sure a single core might run a game faster and over clock higher, with nothing else open. But a dual core will let you game at full speed even while a virus scan or some other form of random background BS is up. The more things you have open the more slowdown a single core gives, and the more help a dual core will get.

Also soon games will be written with multiple threads, and dual cores will show significant speed improvements on those.

Lastly, if you do go opteron 165/170 get it soon, because AMD is canceling these for everything but OEM applicatons. My 170(from newegg) is overclocked at 2667, on stock Vcore, and I have never overclocked anything in my life. It gives me a 3Dmark06 CPU score of 2021, and superpi 1M of like 28 seconds.

 

[Rotax]

my 165 isnt' doing as well as many others . . but i'm still using stock cooler w/ thermal pad . . from reviews the stock 'heatpipe' cooler was spose to be decent, but i'll be getting a scythe ninja and see how it does..i think my issue is temps..

i can't seem to get it prime stable at even 2422 (285x8.5) w/ a .025 + volt (1.408v loaded) . . but my load temps are low to upper 50s (depending on time of day...etc) I'm 'hoping' w/ a better cooler (thermal connection) it'll at least be stable at 2450ish =\

 

[starwars7]

Originally posted by: Rotax
my 165 isnt' doing as well as many others . . but i'm still using stock cooler w/ thermal pad . . from reviews the stock 'heatpipe' cooler was spose to be decent, but i'll be getting a scythe ninja and see how it does..i think my issue is temps..

i can't seem to get it prime stable at even 2422 (285x8.5) w/ a .025 + volt (1.408v loaded) . . but my load temps are low to upper 50s (depending on time of day...etc) I'm 'hoping' w/ a better cooler (thermal connection) it'll at least be stable at 2450ish =\

Hey Rotax,

Can you let ust know how the new cooler works?

I've got a 165 right now, and its very nice. My temps max out around 42C and idle around 28-30C, but I haven't OCed yet. Still using stock as well.

 

[Don66]

Get the Opty 165

I bought one from Monarch.
My CCBE 0610DPMW is doing 2.7Ghz @ default voltage.
Prime stable. :beer:
Would probably go higher, but my SN25P fsb will only go to 300
I guess I can live with it:evil:

 

[dguy6789]

Based on my experiences with a dual core and dual processor system, as well as others experiences with SMP systems, I would believe that it would be safe to state the following:

If one can afford a dual core processor now, and has the means to support it, then that person has no reason to purchase a single core processor now or in the future.

 

[taurus252]

will all this still apply to say an x2 4200- thats dual core as well- any advice on its oc abilities? would you say the opty 165 is easier for OC or better?

 

[JSFLY]

The Opteron's 1mb l2 cache > 4200 512 L2 cache

From sniffing around various forums I'd say the chances of you buying an opteron from newegg and getting it to 2.6 ghz are around 70%. My personal estimate.

 

[JSFLY]

Originally posted by: starwars7

Originally posted by: Rotax
my 165 isnt' doing as well as many others . . but i'm still using stock cooler w/ thermal pad . . from reviews the stock 'heatpipe' cooler was spose to be decent, but i'll be getting a scythe ninja and see how it does..i think my issue is temps..

i can't seem to get it prime stable at even 2422 (285x8.5) w/ a .025 + volt (1.408v loaded) . . but my load temps are low to upper 50s (depending on time of day...etc) I'm 'hoping' w/ a better cooler (thermal connection) it'll at least be stable at 2450ish =\

Hey Rotax,

Can you let ust know how the new cooler works?

I've got a 165 right now, and its very nice. My temps max out around 42C and idle around 28-30C, but I haven't OCed yet. Still using stock as well.

You should be overclocking. Paying $300+ for a 1.8 ghz proc is a waste of money.

 

[Witchfire]

Originally posted by: Rotax
my 165 isnt' doing as well as many others . . but i'm still using stock cooler w/ thermal pad . . from reviews the stock 'heatpipe' cooler was spose to be decent, but i'll be getting a scythe ninja and see how it does..i think my issue is temps..

i can't seem to get it prime stable at even 2422 (285x8.5) w/ a .025 + volt (1.408v loaded) . . but my load temps are low to upper 50s (depending on time of day...etc) I'm 'hoping' w/ a better cooler (thermal connection) it'll at least be stable at 2450ish =\

Your problem is probably with the stock cooler. The finish on the contact area on those leave a LOT to be desired. The stock heatpipe cooler that came with my 165 looks & feels more like a nail file than a finely finished contact surface. Give it a good lapping job & you might see some greatly improved temps.

 

[krotchy]

Originally posted by: JSFLY
The Opteron's 1mb l2 cache > 4200 512 L2 cache

From sniffing around various forums I'd say the chances of you buying an opteron from newegg and getting it to 2.6 ghz are around 70%. My personal estimate.

My 170 is from newegg and its at 2667 at stock vcore. Probably could kick the vcore up and get more out of it, but im not that gutsy

 

[TanisHalfElven]

het a dual core. even if it only clock up up to 2.3-2.2. really dual cores have become cheaper than (or equal to ) good clocked single cores. and with new games coming out with smp support your really winning.

 

[gobucks]

if you're deadset on upgrading, i definitely recommend an opteron 165/170 over any single core chip. after all, you're not gonna get much higher than 2.7 on a single core anyways, so that wouldnt justify an upgrade. one thing you might want to do is look around for a used chip thats been tested up to a speed that you're looking for. You might be able to find a 165 that can hit 2.8 or higher in the forums, and i recommend paying a little extra for this. I didnt, and i got stuck with a bum chip that can "only" do 2.52GHz, which i suppose is still 770MHz over stock so i cant complain too much lol. Definitely go opteron over an X2. I had an X2 3800+, and i couldnt even get past 2.4GHz at 1.525 VCore.

 

[Puffnstuff]

I went from a 3500+ to an opty 175 and I definately saw the difference right off the bat. Gaming is much better now with the dc opty, programs load faster, decoding is much faster so yes I see the benefit of using a dc cpu. Power consumption is better than with my old single core so I say go for it.

 

[Brounstoun]

Originally posted by: JSFLY
The Opteron's 1mb l2 cache > 4200 512 L2 cache

From sniffing around various forums I'd say the chances of you buying an opteron from newegg and getting it to 2.6 ghz are around 70%. My personal estimate.

Hey JS FLY, I recently bought an opty 165 and some OCZ EL Platinum Revision 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200).

Was your RAM anywhere close to being a bottleneck in your system? Would you think that the RAM I bought will pose any problems when I go to OC ?

 

[JSFLY]

Originally posted by: Brounstoun

Originally posted by: JSFLY
The Opteron's 1mb l2 cache > 4200 512 L2 cache

From sniffing around various forums I'd say the chances of you buying an opteron from newegg and getting it to 2.6 ghz are around 70%. My personal estimate.

Hey JS FLY, I recently bought an opty 165 and some OCZ EL Platinum Revision 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200).

Was your RAM anywhere close to being a bottleneck in your system? Would you think that the RAM I bought will pose any problems when I go to OC ?

If you mean I had to use dividers then yeh, but its no biggie. You should be fine. Just turn use dividers to get your OC. Remember, When it comes to overclocking, MHZ is king, Nothing else matters. Ram speed/timings arent going to give you the performance boost an increase in Mhz would.