swapping an A64 for an Opteron 170

[nJett]

I've got an A64 3000+ happy @ 2.4ghz in my ASRock 939Dual and just bought an Opteron 170 to replace it . When I swap out the A64, will the settings carry over to the Opteron? E.g. will it be running with the same multiplier and divider and all that? I've not messed with 939's much so pardon my ignorance, I'm just wondering if I am going to have to spend a few hours fiddling with my settings all over again or if I can just plug it in and have fun @ 2.4ghz for awhile before figuring out just how fast it can go.

 

[f4phantom2500]

Even if it would, which I don't think it will, I wouldn't do it because if your Opty happens to be a dud overclocker then running it at those settings could be detrimental. Best to just run it at stock until you get a chance to mess with it.

 

[KayKay]

i had a 3000+ Overclocked @ 2.7 and jumped to an Opteron 165. I went to stock from the beginning, of course, but after a few days, i tried using my settings for my 3000+ and found it was just fine and dandy. I eventually pushed the opteron a bit higher, but i imagine, unless you have a dud, 2.4 should be good for your opteron with very little change

 

[nJett]

those were basically my thoughts kaykay - I know what my hardware can handle already and I'm confident the Opteron can hit at least 2.4ghz unless I get some really bad luck.

 

[11427]

I'd suggest you go into you BIOS and return everything to the default settings before installing the Opteron,.... but, thats just me

 

[Makaveli]

Well considering the bios is whats stores the information about the multipiers, why would it change when u switch cpu's?

Only if u reset the cmos will u loose all those settings. Just drop the opteron in, it will handle 2.4 with ez.

 

[myocardia]

nJett, only the latest BIOS or two for your motherboard supports dual-core processors. So, unless you have the latest BIOS for your board (or you find out that the one before it definitely supports dual-cores), you're gonna have to update your BIOS, before you even install the processor. Also, unless you really know what you're doing, you'll need to reinstall Windows, because Windows only checks to see how many cores you have once-- during installation.

 

[nJett]

I've seen posts from people running the same BIOS as me with dual cored Opterons, I'm not worried about having to update the BIOS.

Re: Reinstalling windows - I have never heard of having to reinstall windows for an upgrade to dual core. Everything I've seen says Windows will do it's usual "I found new hardware" thing and then recognize the dual cored CPU.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: nJett
Re: Reinstalling windows - I have never heard of having to reinstall windows for an upgrade to dual core. Everything I've seen says Windows will do it's usual "I found new hardware" thing and then recognize the dual cored CPU.

Yeah, that's what everyone says. The honest ones come back later, to say how much better all of their software now runs, since they reinstalled Windows, and recommend that anyone going dual-core from a single core do the same.

 

[jdoggg12]

Would going from an A64 3200+ @ 2.6ghz to an Opty 165 be a worthy upgrade? I'm not ready to drop the cash to go C2D yet

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: jdoggg12
Would going from an A64 3200+ @ 2.6ghz to an Opty 165 be a worthy upgrade? I'm not ready to drop the cash to go C2D yet

Not unless you need dual-core for some reason. Of course, with Skt. 939, if you wait until you have to have it, it will be too late. The prices have already started going back up on Skt. 939 Opterons.

 

[jdoggg12]

i'm thinking it would make my semi-miserable experience with supreme commander better - since it seems to run a lot better on dual core machines.... i hear crysis will benefit as well....

 

[myocardia]

Yeah, I hear the same about both of those games. Remember, though, that an Opteron 165 has a 9x multiplier, not a 10x. So, unless your RAM will run faster, you're gonna have to use a lower memory divider.

 

[jdoggg12]

My RAM doesn't seem to want to OC much, so i'm using a 3:4 divider to keep the RAM at stock speeds.

 

[11427]

Originally posted by: Makaveli
Well considering the bios is whats stores the information about the multipiers, why would it change when u switch cpu's?

Well,...because the 3000+ has a 9X multiplier and the 170 is a 10X. I agree it should not be a problem but (ya never know), I'd still go with the defaults, ensure things are stable, then start the OC.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Originally posted by: myocardia
Also, unless you really know what you're doing, you'll need to reinstall Windows, because Windows only checks to see how many cores you have once-- during installation.

I didn't have to when I went from my 3700+ to my opty 165. XP knew right away I had a new CPU and it came up in task manager with the two CPU cores. However I highly recommend doing this - one thing to note is there is a typo on the registry string, it should be "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager" not "\Contro l\". Further down in the thread though in post 10 is a downloadable ZIP file that has a file that you can run to automatically enter the stuff in the registry instead of having to do it manually.