x2 3800 upgrade to Opteron 165 ... what should I expect?

[ragejg]

I'm getting a Quad setup next year. Until then, my two Asus A8V Deluxe AGP rigs will work fine for the gaming resolutions I use (720p and 10x7).

But the desk rig has a lowly 3000+, and I know for certain that it will hold me and my gf back in the games we install on it. Best examples would be Portal, Quake 4 and Knights of the Old Repulic II.

So I looked for another dual core 939 cpu, and I scored an Opteron 165 for $90. I'm gonna put in in the 3800 x2's place in my media rig, and let the desk rig's 7800 GS enjoy some dual-core goodness (an HD 3850 will replace the 7800GS very soon, however).

SO, ABOUT THIS OPTERON 165...

The multipliers are unlocked, right?

...And should I possibly expect better overclocking than my x2 3800?

... And should I be able to feel the doubled cache? If so, what applications will tangibly feel the difference?

...

I hope to get 2.75-3ghz out of this chip with a pretty high-rated HSF, the Freezer Pro 64, as I've read late-2005 reviews bragging about 2.5ghz on stock cooling.

So no, AGP is not teh dead, especially for 720p and below! I have 2 rigs that are substantial testament to that!

Originally Posted by ragejg

The multipliers are unlocked, right?

No, I was able to get about 2.75Ghz max on my Opteron 175. Do you know what stepping you'll be getting?

[Uberpwnage]

I used to have an Opty 170.

1) The multiplier is not unlocked
2) There's a possiblity that you may have slightly better oc'ing, maybe 100MHz, but I wouldn't expect much. Opterons are tested for higher standards than Athlons, as they are server grade processors. Nevertheless, it really all depends on if you got lucky with the stepping:

CCB1E 0550VPMW
CCB1E 0605XPMW
CCB1E 0606VPMW
CCB1E 0608MPMW
CCB1E 0609FPMW
CCBBE 0610DPMW
CCBBE 0615XXXX

are some good steppings for the 165, might reach 2.8GHz or a little higher. My 170 was a CCB1E 0550VPMW, which was one of the best at the time, and I got 2.93GHz out of it, which was pretty high. Now with the newer AM2 Athlons and later 939 Athlons that's not saying much.

3) I never really noticed much benefit from cache, but the benefits are probably minimal at best. Maybe video encoding? Someone else probably knows better.

[ragejg]

CCBBE 0615DPMW




My 2 A8V Deluxes are real nice. If I'd tweaked just a bit better I could have remained at 2.6 -2.75ghz on my x2 3800 (so now for warm days I stick at 46 idle at 2.5ghz 1.45v, and I've pushed my 9.0 multi 3000+ to 2.4ghz with full stability, same volts and temps with both PSU's.

I might just be able to get some way better performance this one more time . 2 months ago the rig was a 3000+ with a 7800 GS and 1.5gb DDR @ ~200mhz, weak-ass timings.

Speaking of the RAM, I have 3gb of OCZ Gold on the way, so I'm set to finally get some serious bandwidth goin' on as well.