3800X2 or Opty 165?

S

Smoove910

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Dec 22, 2005
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Ok, so I see Newegg has the 3800X2 back in stock for socket 939. I have been wanting to go dual-core for a while, but do not know which provessor will benefit me most. I do want to overclock this thing (regardless of what I get), but I am up in the air on which proc to get.

3800X2 -
Pros - Cheaper, higher multi
Cons - 512k cache, requires more voltage?

Opty 165 -
Pros - Known overclockers, possible good stepping from Newegg, 1mb cache
Cons - Low Multi, a few bucks more than the 3800x2

The 9x multi puts a sour taste in my mouth because I don't think my board will go up past 260-ish. The 10x multi of the 3800x2 will allow me a higher overclock (potentially), but I am not sure what the stepping is for this new batch of processors. The Opty 165 may have some good steppings left in the pipeline, but like I said before the 9x multi discourages me a bit.

I use my puter for gaming occasionally, but mostly used for ripping and burning DVD's.

What are your thoughts guys?

P.S. I could always sell my de-lidded Opty 148 CACJE stepping to make up the difference in $$$ needed for the Opty 175 and it's 11x multi... That's an option... and (hint, hint) my Opty may be up for sale if anyone is interested.
 
drop your muilty on your opty that you have right now real low, and see how high your board will go if you havnt already, just reading what other people can do isn't really sufficient. then if it goes up to 280-300, get the opty, if not, get the 3800
 
I've tried the 10x and 9x multi on my current Opty and that's where I came to the conclusion that I could only reach 260-ish. No matter what I did (change HTT, increase voltage, etc.) it would not remain stable. Personally I think it's the Northbridge needing more volts, but there isn't a BIOS option that allows me to increase it. Maybe I have a weak memory controller on the CPU, but I find that hard to believe... especially with an Opty.

Overall, I would like to achive a 2.6ghz clock, but would love to have 2.8ghz.
 
I'm in the exact same situation as you.

I don't know what my motherboard is known to push out, but I doubt it's 300+ for some reason.
 
well if you board can only do 260fsb have you updated you bios lately?

but if that really is your max then i would get an opteron 175. I would not want my Mobo to limit my CPU clock.... and most 165s are going over 2.6ghz.....
 
BIOS is already at the latest revision... which was released in November 06. I think it's just a crap board that cannot achieve high HTT. I suppose that's what you get with a Biostar SFF.
 
You could also consider going with a 4200+ or other similar X2 with higher multiplier, as they share a similar price delta with the Opteron.

In the end though, if you want to get a good proc for overclocking, you should shop for steppings either on Ebay or the FS/FT forums.
 
Yea, if I go with the 4200, I may as well get the Opty 170 with extra cache. I dunno... the only reason I was considering the 3800x2 was the price, but if I have to spend more, I'll probably go with an Opty of some sort.
 
Video encoding doesn't get anything at all out of more cache. Get the 3800 and 2.6ghz should be no problem.

4200 might get another 150mhz, but 50 bucks is 50 bucks.
 
I couldn't get my 3800 X2 past 2.4ghz and my 165 will do 2.8+.
However if your board sux and you can't do more then 260 FSB just get a 3800 X2.
260 x 9 is only 2340 mhz which you could easily do that with a 3800 X2.

If selling your current cpu is an option by all means do it if you have no other use for it and get the opty 175.
 
Well, looks like someone bought the last 3800x2 from the egg. I think I'll just go for the Opty 170 or 175.

Anyone need a (de-lidded) Opty 148 CACJE stepping for 'bout $80.00?
 
I'd personally say you should go for the Opty 165. That's what I did. I'm running mine at 300x9 for 2700 right now, and that's only because I need to revamp my cooling to run higher or else it'll overheat (my case airflow sucks and it's an excuse to go watercooled).
 
As I've stated before, I cannot reach HTT above 260-ish, so my overclock would suck...
 
Smoove910 said:
Well, looks like someone bought the last 3800x2 from the egg. I think I'll just go for the Opty 170 or 175.

Anyone need a (de-lidded) Opty 148 CACJE stepping for 'bout $80.00?
Click to expand...


I think I've already come to that conclusion. Just need to sell my existing processor to get the 170. I've posted my proc in the "For Sale" thread if anyone is intrerested...


http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1148976
 
Smoove910 said:
As I've stated before, I cannot reach HTT above 260-ish, so my overclock would suck...
Click to expand...

yea man - you should look at new mobos too...

even w/ the 175's 11x multiplier, you're still only looking at 2.86-ish... which isn't bad but definitely not pursuing to the fullest potential...
 
True, but I have a SFF, so not many options of boards with high HTT if at all. I would like to keep costs down as well..
 
So I just pulled the trigger on the 3800x2. I saw they had some in stock again, so temptation got the best of me! I suppose I shouldn't shop at 1:30 n the morning or I impulse shop... Oh well, now I'm anxious to see the stepping and the results it'll do for me.

My Opty 148 is still up for grabs!
 
stormshadow said:
yea man - you should look at new mobos too...

even w/ the 175's 11x multiplier, you're still only looking at 2.86-ish... which isn't bad but definitely not pursuing to the fullest potential...
Click to expand...

It'd take a lot of luck to get any further than that without water or a 120mm tower sink. 2.85 on air is pretty good.
 
I've read a lot of reviews stating the 3800x2 can achive 2.5ghz pretty easily... sometimes on default voltage. I'm shooting for 2.5-2.6.... but hoping for 2.7ghz... I suppose it all depends on how well the memory controller is as well as how nice my board decides to play with the new proc...

2.5 should be no problem since I already have PC4000 ram... basically everything would be at default except the processor. 2.6 should be achievable, but this will be the area my HTT starts crapping out. 2.7 will be totally luck, so we'll have to see!

Now I'm anxious... but getting a little worried since the order isn't at step 5 yet... It's still sitting at step 3
 
Smoove910 said:
I've read a lot of reviews stating the 3800x2 can achive 2.5ghz pretty easily... sometimes on default voltage. I'm shooting for 2.5-2.6.... but hoping for 2.7ghz... I suppose it all depends on how well the memory controller is as well as how nice my board decides to play with the new proc...

2.5 should be no problem since I already have PC4000 ram... basically everything would be at default except the processor. 2.6 should be achievable, but this will be the area my HTT starts crapping out. 2.7 will be totally luck, so we'll have to see!

Now I'm anxious... but getting a little worried since the order isn't at step 5 yet... It's still sitting at step 3
Click to expand...

A few months back some of the steppings out of Newegg were hitting 2.8 on stock voltage, but as always overclocking is a complete tossup. Make sure to post back with your final results.
 
Just looked at my order status on Newegg and the processor is shipping from New Jersey. They must not have these at the Ca. site... Hoping for a decent chip here!
 
The cpu in my sig got me a nice 2.75ghz pretty easily. I can't get it stable above 2.85ghz though. It'll do 2.5ghz @ stock voltage, and 2.75ghz @ 1.51v. To get it stable at 2.8 requires 1.58v. To reach 2.85ghz requires a quite high 1.67v.

Information about my chip is in my signature. I've personally dealt with 3 x2 3800s and my buddie's will do [email protected] no problem, the other for my cousin won't do above 2.6ghz without a voltage of 1.55.

Mine is still running ~2.75ghz right now at 305x9. My board comfortably does 340+ fsb though. Good luck with it, hope you get a good one. If your board will let you do 260mhz, then you should have no problems hitting 2.4-2.6ghz. Maybe a bios update or some other setting is stopping it from going higher, don't really know, don't have any experience with that board.

PS: I dual primed mine for 24 hours before calling it stable. Many memtest passes as well, although my memory is at 251mhz or so right now, its still overclocked since it is pc4000 :]
 
So I should have my dual-core CPU either today or tomorrow... Freakin UPS sucks... anyways is there anythingI should do to my computer before swapping procs? I've got all of my music and pictures backed up as well as the dual core optimizer patch and another patch labeled TscSync.

Anything else you guys can think of before swapping?
 
some people need to fuck about with the HAL if you're coming from a single core/proc system, so rather than doing that generally I like to give it a good ole reformat to make sure everything is fresh.
 
Ok, so I got the stepping shown below... threw it in and booted right up... downloaded the dual core patch from AMD and Microsoft... so far no problems that I can see.

I have it sitting at 2.7ghz now with 1.4vcore... dunno if it does that on stock since I put it on 1.4vcore to start... Only negative is this bitch gets warm compared to my Opty 148... Idles at 38-42c and load is over 50c...

Also, cut me some slack cause I still have to see if this is stable...

UnburnedPictures042.jpg
 
Let me/us know how it goes, if its stable or not or etc. Good luck!!!

BTW mine idles around 35-36C and loads around 45-47C with 1.51v

Mine has an arctic cooling freezer 64 pro on it though and 3 120mm case fans.
 
Smoove910 said:
Ok, so I got the stepping shown below... threw it in and booted right up... downloaded the dual core patch from AMD and Microsoft... so far no problems that I can see.

I have it sitting at 2.7ghz now with 1.4vcore... dunno if it does that on stock since I put it on 1.4vcore to start... Only negative is this bitch gets warm compared to my Opty 148... Idles at 38-42c and load is over 50c...

Also, cut me some slack cause I still have to see if this is stable...

UnburnedPictures042.jpg
Click to expand...

That does seem a little warm... Maybe you didn't seat the HSF right? How's your airflow in your case? I just cleaned my front fans out and got a 2*C drop overall.
 
I have a Q-Pack with (1) 120mm fan pulling air in from the rear and a Zalman 7700cu for my heatsink. I doubt I seated it weird since it is pretty fool-proof on the installation. I have noticed that core 1 is about 8-10c warmer than core 0 at load... dunno what the deal with that is, but I think the temps are going to affect the overall amount this CPU can go. So far I am happy with it.... but may end up losing my 2.7ghz clock speed to heat issues.

Having a SFF doesn't help a thing as well... Oh well... more stuff to tinker with.

I am VERY amazed that I have been able to reach 270 on my FSB with a 166 divider... this is something my Opty would never allow! From just the "feel" of it, I may be able to push this up to 2.8, but like I said earlier...heat!

I'll keep you all posted if anything else changes or if I find something new out, but thus far I am really digging dual-core!
 
did you get an OEM CPU or a boxed one? If it was boxed, I would try the stock heatpipe heatsink that came with the processor...

Yeah, the Zalman's are quiet and all.. but they can't cool near as well as a heatpiped heatsink.

And, yes, I have used a couple different Zalman cooler before..... Oh yeah... let's push the heat from the CPU right back down into the CPU socket area.. that sounds like a godd idea to me. If you could turn the fan around so it was pulling air off the heatsink, you could probably run 4-5c cooler under load.... but I don't think that is possible with that type of Zalman cooler.
 
Smoove910 said:
Well Cyclone, I would love to take your advice but the X2 I received (retail version) did not come with a heatpipe cooler... it's just a basic looking heatsink.

I'm thinking about the Arctic Cooling solution but don't know if it'll fit in my case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835185125


Anyone know if this will fit in a Q-Pack?
Click to expand...

Really??? That's weird... I thought all the X2s were shipping with the heatpipe cooler.

That cooler doesn't appear any larger than the stock heatpipe cooler, so it should be fine. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't get away with an XP-90. I'm currently in the process of going watercooled and that might be a somewhat more expensive option that you could go with if you're concerned with temps and space within your case (the radiator, pump, and res, if you have one, would need to be external).
 
Man oh man.

When I ordered my Arctic Cooler I was in awe of its sheer size. The thing is pretty big and the pictures do it no justice. In my rig it sticks out width wise as far as my videocard and other PCI cards. It overlaps just barely one memory slot closest to it so I had to modify the cooler a bit by sanding a side down on it. That is a consideration. It is adjustable in a way, you can remove the clipping mechanism and re-orient it to fit the best way possible. It is very possible that it would fit into your SFF but man I just don't know. It does indeed offer very good performance. Take a picture of the inside of it for a general view.

By the way, my x2 went straight to 2.5ghz out of the box no problem on stock voltage. I had to play with it about a week to get it to 2.75ghz stable. It's possible it will go further if you disable the 1T command rate for your memory at least in my experience.

PS: The stock cooler is pretty good that it came with but it is somewhat loud. My Arctic's fan spins very slowly and keeps it cool enough.
 
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