3800 or 4800 x2?

D

d7a7z7e7d

Gawd
Joined
Oct 19, 2004
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I've heard a lot about the x2 3800+ overclocking well on air but I'm still unsure as to which processor I should buy for my new A8N32-SLI Deluxe.

What kind of speed can I expect to reach with a 3800+ using air? I thought I've read around 2.5GHz... would the stock hs/f be sufficient for these speeds?

What kind of speed can I expect to reach with a 4800+ using air?

What's the best hs/f to use on either one of these? I have ordered a Zalman CNPS7700-Cu but I want to make sure I'm using the best one... Is this one good?

I noticed that the 3800+ has half the L2 cache as the 4800+, how much of an impact does this have in the real world?

Lastly, if I wanted to switch to water cooling, how much would my overclocking potential change and what processor would be the better choice then?

Thanks :)
 
Id definitely save the money and get an 3800. All 3800's should do at least 2.4ghz. Thats plenty fast having 2 cores at 2.4ghz.
 
don't buy either. Buy an opteron either 165 or 170. They both are overclocking past the 4800+ speeds with ease on stock air or a mid range air cooler. They are just about half the price of a 4800+ and half the same amount of cache. They are also test harder and are of better silicon

with the extra cash you save you can buy a better hsf or maybe something else nice.
 
Opterons are a good pick also, I didnt mention that because he was sorta asking between those two. :p
 
yeah ok if you MUST stay within the X2 line either buy the 3800+ or get the 4400+ no reason to buy a 4800+

But honestly i think Opties are the best bet, Give awesome bang for the buck
 
The opterons are OK, but with all the recent price increase are really really bad value. I just picked up a X2 3800 for $144.82 from Dell due to the coupon last week. I could get two of those for less than the price of one 165.
 
....Well thats great and all. Ive never heard of an x2 3800 for $144. Thats a one time special deal, not a normal price. Mentioning it is pointless.

And.....you can find used opterons around forums for $290-$300.


puppyfriend said:
The opterons are OK, but with all the recent price increase are really really bad value. I just picked up a X2 3800 for $144.82 from Dell due to the coupon last week. I could get two of those for less than the price of one 165.
Click to expand...
 
Dell tends to have these deals quite often. That's how I picked up my first 2405. It was $1500 list but I got it for $700ish a week after it was introduced. And how I got my 700m for $650. Both that monitor and that laptop have been at least that low a few times since. So saying these are one time deals is misleading. Even the "regular" price for a X2 3800 at Dell is fequently $241 which is a bargain compared to a used opteron.

Retsam said:
....Well thats great and all. Ive never heard of an x2 3800 for $144. Thats a one time special deal, not a normal price. Mentioning it is pointless.

And.....you can find used opterons around forums for $290-$300.
Click to expand...
 
opteron is by far the better chip than the X2.
More cache, and can overclock past the fastest X2 with ease.
 
Opty 165 or X2 3800+ will do you just fine. Don't spend more money than that.

The zalman 7700 will suffice as the heatsink.

1mb cache versus 512kb cache makes a negligible difference.

Dtess, overclock past teh fastest X2s with ease? My X2 did 2.87 fully dual stable, and others can do 2.9+ (the good 4600+s). I see MANY opterons topping out at 2.7 Ghz, so remember there's no guarantee here...
Oh and i've seen 0550UPMW opterons getting stuck below 2.5, although that might just be user error
 
Not true Dtess. My X3800 is at [email protected] and is Prime stable. The Opty's used to be good bargains, but with the combined recent lowering of the X2 prices and the rising going rates of the Opty's, I don't think they are such bargains. I say get whichever you can find cheaper and have good supporting equipment to get the best OC you can out of the chip.
 
Mixman said:
Not true Dtess. My X3800 is at [email protected] and is Prime stable. The Opty's used to be good bargains, but with the combined recent lowering of the X2 prices and the rising going rates of the Opty's, I don't think they are such bargains. I say get whichever you can find cheaper and have good supporting equipment to get the best OC you can out of the chip.
Click to expand...

You know that is not the norm and you have a very good chip, most people do not hit 2.8 many are getting stuck much lower. Yes prices have changed, but personally i would rather search around a little bit to find a nice opty that will hit 2.6-2.8 then gamble on an X2.

I'm not saying the X2 is bad by any means. But the Opteron is tested harder, and is made for more rigerous evvironments, which in the end means you will likely have a better chip will more head room.

I had planned on the the 3800 at first too. But when i bought, i got the opteron cheaper than the X2. There are many deals to be had.
 
I think the actual bargain is the Opty 170 at $395. The 165's are too much, I would take my chances with an X2 3800 at $295 than a 165 at $325.

It's unfortunate the craze has made Opty's so expensive. When they first came out they were down right bargains and couldn't be beat, but it seems like the prices are getting higher and the clocks are getting lower, at least compared to the early steppings and what used to be true about the Opty's blowing away the X2's as far as value, but not as much now.
 
Would my A8N32 SLI Deluxe support an Opty? I don't see it mentioned anywhere on their website but it is an s939 board and an s939 processor, so I'd assume yes?

If I were to get a 3800 x2, which core would I want? Manchester or Toledo? Is it true that less cache means less heat and higher overclock potential? I just want to be able to hit 2.5-2.6 on air with a nice zalman....

Thanks again guys, you rock :)
 
No cache means nothing really. Thats speculation at best. Also the toledo and manchester have the same cache. Toledo has 1mb but half is disabled from what I understand. Which seems pointless to me but hey. So they are both the same cache.

Yes all 939 boards should support opterons. Most boards dont say they do, but they do. Look at bios updates for it.
 
puppyfriend said:
The opterons are OK, but with all the recent price increase are really really bad value. I just picked up a X2 3800 for $144.82 from Dell due to the coupon last week. I could get two of those for less than the price of one 165.
Click to expand...

:eek:
 
d7a7z7e7d said:
Which 3800+ X2 core is better for overclocking? Manchester or Toledo?
Click to expand...

They clock about the same. Some will tell you the Toledo because it has more surface area.
 
kirbyrj said:
They clock about the same. Some will tell you the Toledo because it has more surface area.
Click to expand...


i can't get over 210htt with my toledo core, lol...go go toledo core :rolleyes:
 
That doesnt seem right. Sure its not something else? Like motherboard?

infinity4life said:
i can't get over 210htt with my toledo core, lol...go go toledo core :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
 
Just to add my 2 cents.... the Manchester Core is supposed to run cooler. I think its got a TDP of 89W as opposed to the 110W for the Toledo cores.

That being said, I run my X2 3800+ Toledo/512 (Thats how Everest sees it) at 2750mhz 1.59v full time - Gaming Stable. It's 100% Prime Stable at 2700, and I can comfortably bench (Sandra/PTest/3d01/03/05/06) at 2800mhz/1.66v - Max OC on my current water cooling is about 2850mhz at 1.69v but I get random reboots in Windows. I think I'm cooling limited at the moment.
 
Well I went ahead and got the x2 3800+ manchester and I'm really impressed with the results :)

ASUS A8N32 SLI-Deluxe
3800+ x2 @ 2700MHz (270x10) 1.425v -- Zalman CNPS7700-Cu, 45c-idle 50c-load
TWINX-3200XLPT @ 225MHz, Dual Channel, 2-2-2-5

Only prime'd for 30mins so far but it's been stable for the most part. There has been a random crash once so I'm thinking that I might need to raise the vcore a bit... but overall, I think it could be pushed to 2.8 with the right tweaking but I'm happy where it's at :) Thanks a lot for the help guys! Maybe the best $300 I've spent ;)
 
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