Oppy or Dual Core?

[Karl|Neo]

Hi, I'm planning on upgrading soon and as such I need some help on a couple of things.
Firstly, are opterons still as overclockable as they used to be, and which is the best one to get? I'll only be using air cooling (probably a AC 64 Pro). Secondly, would it be a better idea for me just to go for a 3800X2 if i can afford it, or is it that much of a difference that I should save up until i can get one anyway?
Lastly, I'm sure I'll have missed it but is dual core actualy worth the £100ish premium over the opterons, I mean £100 is the difference between a 7900GT and a X1900XT.
Thank you in advance,
Karl

[ultim8um]

Got an Opty 146 here and its quite happily running at 2.7Ghz with a scythe ninja cooler on it (and a slow 120mm fan attached). Dual core isn't worth it at the moment IMHO as the price premium is a bit to big. Once AMD get to 65nm then dual core prices should drop due to increased yields etc. Only problem I can see is that they probably wont bother with 65nm dual core 939's as by the time these are out they will be producing the DDR2 CPU's....

[Karl|Neo]

Thanx for your input ulti, anyone else have any thoughts?

[killkoy]

i think it depends on what you are using the pc for.
If you are doing a lot af multitasking then dual core might be better. If are just going to use it for gaming them you might as well save some money as very few games can take advantage of dual core cpus

[Smokey21]

i think it depends on what you are using the pc for.
If you are doing a lot af multitasking then dual core might be better. If are just going to use it for gaming them you might as well save some money as very few games can take advantage of dual core cpus

But games are using Dual Core, and it will do so more and more. Ut2007, due out within 6 months will utilize it, and the lastest drivers do as well, and more and more games will.

You'd be daft not to get a Dual Core.

[Karl|Neo]

Yes it is just essentially for gaming, and I agree there isn't much call for them at the moment, but is the future-proofness (is that even a word?) worth the £100 price difference? Especially seen as the opterons are clocking so well at the moment, they could offer the same performance, if not better with todays games?

[awm]

What about opty and dual-core. You should think about the 165, especially if you plan to overclock.

[0iD]

Why not hold out for the new batch of am2's due out soon if you want to go dual core & future proof. Course, it'll mean a new mobo & DDR2 ram.

[TooNice]

It's hard not to mention 'Conroe' when AM2 is mentioned

Both would need new memory, motherboard on top of the CPU.

[Karl|Neo]

As much as I'd like to wait for AM2, I haven't got the money for DDR2 memory as well as the motherboard/CPU/GFX I'm already having to get.
Good suggestion with the dual core opteron, is the 165 better/more OCable than a 3800x2?

[awm]

From what I've heard yes. I think it has more cache, but a slower default clock speed. If you can wait though the cost of the DDR2 memory would be pretty negliable in compared to everything else. Also a cheep Conroe should be cheeper than a 165, as Intel's dual cores are currently cheeper than AMD's. It seems that Conroe will be avalible at a little over $200 at launch compared with $327 a 165 costs on newegg. That $100 should get you DDR2 and a very good system. Of course I have no idea on motherboard pricing. While this is usally bad advice, wait if you can. The CPU world is about to take a big step and it would be preferable to join it if you can. That said a 165 will handle basicly anything you throw at it.

[Agent]

Hi, I'm planning on upgrading soon and as such I need some help on a couple of things.
Firstly, are opterons still as overclockable as they used to be, and which is the best one to get? I'll only be using air cooling (probably a AC 64 Pro). Secondly, would it be a better idea for me just to go for a 3800X2 if i can afford it, or is it that much of a difference that I should save up until i can get one anyway?
Lastly, I'm sure I'll have missed it but is dual core actualy worth the £100ish premium over the opterons, I mean £100 is the difference between a 7900GT and a X1900XT.
Thank you in advance,
Karl

1) They are as overclockable as always
2) No, save yourself the £100 quid for now. Bank it till a later date

[Karl|Neo]

Thanks guys, I'm gunna do both things suggested (bear with me), I'm going to wait for a month or two to see if anything interesting happens (ie AM2, Price drops, etc), and if nothing happens, then I'll go with a 144 or 146. I'm still not enamoured(sp?) about the buying DDR2 idea, as I've got some pretty new Ballistix that would just go to waste, and it would batter my tight budget as is.