First these are the processors in Question. All are 939 and will work in pretty much any 939 board. I think a bios update is needed for early 939 boards.
Opty # of cores Cache per core Ghz Multiplier
165 2 1mb 1.8 9
170 2 1mb 2.0 10
175 2 1mb 2.2 11
180 2 1mb 2.4 12
185 2 1mb 2.6 13
X2
3800 2 512k 2.0 10
4200 2 512k 2.2 11
4400 2 1mb 2.2 11
4600 2 512k 2.4 12
4800 2 1mb 2.4 12
Fx-60 2 1mb 2.6 Unlocked
Which is better?
Well the optys are believed to be binned as better chips. I have never seen any proof of that but it is very plausable. They also tend to overclock better, use less voltage and run cooler. That said if your only going to run them at stock speed you would probably be better of with the X2 equivilent. All dual core retail optys come with a 4 heat pipe HSF that is vastly superior to the old stock HSF. Some of the High end x2s now ship with it also.
165 vs. 3800?
Probably the most asked question. The short answer is that if you have a good board and plan to overclock then go with the 165. You will need a good board do to the 9x multiplier instead of the 10 with the 3800. If your not going to overclock you best bet will be the 3800 unless you find a 165 cheaper. Also the 165 stock HSF is good for moderate overclocks unlike many stock HSF. I cannot say the same for the 3800.
Which should I get 165/170/175/180?
They should all overclock about the same. The steppings will matter more than the Product Number. The only exception is if you need a higher multiplier so that it puts less stress on your board.
If you dont overclock.....no point in buying an opty unless it is cheaper.
Can I hit 3ghz on air?
Probably not. Thats not to say it doesnt happen. To get 3 ghz you must get a great chip a great board and then still get lucky. Just dont buy the processor expecting to get 3ghz out of it. Fx-60 speeds however should be obtainable by almost all optys with some unlucky exceptions.
What board should I get?
To make this easy im just going to say to stick with the DFI NF4 Boards. Im not saying there isnt other boards out there that are just as good. I do know that all of there boards from the Infinity to the high end Lanpartys all overclock well.
So is the Opteron for servers only or can you use one in a desktop?
They definately can be used in a desktop.
Don't Opterons need that expensive memory?
Unlike the 940 opterons no special memory is needed. Just plain old DDR works fine.
How are opteron's for gamming compared to the X2.
At the same clockspeed and the same cache the performance pretty close to the same. A 180 at stock speeds should perform the same as a 4800 except that the 180 may run a bit cooler. The gains come from overclocking with the exception that you will see little gains in framerate above around 2.4 ghz as you are almost completely limited by the video card at that point. If you dont have something at or above a 7800gt then you will reach dimishing returns sooner. Just something to keep in mind.
How do I overclock?
Please read this.
I will be adding additional information later. If you have anything you would like added please post.
Opty # of cores Cache per core Ghz Multiplier
165 2 1mb 1.8 9
170 2 1mb 2.0 10
175 2 1mb 2.2 11
180 2 1mb 2.4 12
185 2 1mb 2.6 13
X2
3800 2 512k 2.0 10
4200 2 512k 2.2 11
4400 2 1mb 2.2 11
4600 2 512k 2.4 12
4800 2 1mb 2.4 12
Fx-60 2 1mb 2.6 Unlocked
Which is better?
Well the optys are believed to be binned as better chips. I have never seen any proof of that but it is very plausable. They also tend to overclock better, use less voltage and run cooler. That said if your only going to run them at stock speed you would probably be better of with the X2 equivilent. All dual core retail optys come with a 4 heat pipe HSF that is vastly superior to the old stock HSF. Some of the High end x2s now ship with it also.
165 vs. 3800?
Probably the most asked question. The short answer is that if you have a good board and plan to overclock then go with the 165. You will need a good board do to the 9x multiplier instead of the 10 with the 3800. If your not going to overclock you best bet will be the 3800 unless you find a 165 cheaper. Also the 165 stock HSF is good for moderate overclocks unlike many stock HSF. I cannot say the same for the 3800.
Which should I get 165/170/175/180?
They should all overclock about the same. The steppings will matter more than the Product Number. The only exception is if you need a higher multiplier so that it puts less stress on your board.
If you dont overclock.....no point in buying an opty unless it is cheaper.
Can I hit 3ghz on air?
Probably not. Thats not to say it doesnt happen. To get 3 ghz you must get a great chip a great board and then still get lucky. Just dont buy the processor expecting to get 3ghz out of it. Fx-60 speeds however should be obtainable by almost all optys with some unlucky exceptions.
What board should I get?
To make this easy im just going to say to stick with the DFI NF4 Boards. Im not saying there isnt other boards out there that are just as good. I do know that all of there boards from the Infinity to the high end Lanpartys all overclock well.
So is the Opteron for servers only or can you use one in a desktop?
They definately can be used in a desktop.
Don't Opterons need that expensive memory?
Unlike the 940 opterons no special memory is needed. Just plain old DDR works fine.
How are opteron's for gamming compared to the X2.
At the same clockspeed and the same cache the performance pretty close to the same. A 180 at stock speeds should perform the same as a 4800 except that the 180 may run a bit cooler. The gains come from overclocking with the exception that you will see little gains in framerate above around 2.4 ghz as you are almost completely limited by the video card at that point. If you dont have something at or above a 7800gt then you will reach dimishing returns sooner. Just something to keep in mind.
How do I overclock?
Please read this.
I will be adding additional information later. If you have anything you would like added please post.