Opteron 146 *OEM*?

[Ron2256]

Hi guys

I am new to this forum and this is my first post.

I've been looking for an opteron 146 in the past 2 weeks for a new built.
I would like to pair it with an asrock dual-sata2 and an Artic Cooling Freezer 64.

My question is simple.
Are you going to get more opteron 146 OEM in stock in the next few days (or weeks)?
I could buy a 146 retail with the standard cooler right now but i wouldn't use the amd cooler. ( + i prefer to save 40 quid on the OEM)

So what do you think Scan guys.

[DavidM]

I'd expect in the next week we'll have some, but I don't have an exact date at this time. We'll update the thread when we have more info.

[Ron2256]

Hi DavidM

Thanks for the quick reply.

Do you think that i should preorder?
I've got to get the asrock motherboard and a hard-drive (hitachi 250Gb sata2) as well.

[johnny02004976]

Hi DavidM

Thanks for the quick reply.

Do you think that i should preorder?
I've got to get the asrock motherboard and a hard-drive (hitachi 250Gb sata2) as well.

i have the asrock dual SATA board with opteron, its good stuff - just get watercooling for it now & get the most out of the chip

[MrChris]

cool i really want this cpu...but my dad is waiting till he starts his new job till he buys my pc...even tho im paying for it... can u preorder/reserve one if you have an account then supply a date later for when you want to buy/get it delivered???

oh and to the thread maker...the gigabyte gpower cooler pro hsf ftw against an arcticfreezer 64 hehehe

[Ron2256]

well, i've already ordered the freezer 64 so i will stick with that for now Chris.

I am not planing to go the watercooling route. I know that most of people managed to get 2.7-2.8GHZ on air cooling. If i get that i'll be more than happy.
That's FX-57 speed for 105£. Bargain

I ordered the opteron 146 yesterday and i have to say i am very happy i did
Today the price of 146 OEM has gone up to 128£.
I hope scan won't ask me to pay the new price.

[MrChris]

lol yer the fact u can oc so much on air is why i want it hehehe

[DoubleDs]

i have the asrock dual SATA board with opteron, its good stuff - just get watercooling for it now & get the most out of the chip

Hi

I'm looking for a motherboard to go with my 146, and I'm stuck on which board to get. I've been looking at boards from DFI and Asus, and I'm not sure if they are suitable for a beginner to overclock.

Is the Asrock good in that respect? Would you guys recommend it to a total beginner?

[project187]

but will u personally be able to get that??
i know i cant with my set up for a number of reasons

[jonathan_phang]

Hi,

I was going to get an Opty 146/144 over the Christmas Period but Scan was closed, and i got all impatient and everything, so seeing as I live in Watford, I went to the base of another fairly well know etailer (who will remain nameless) and got an opty 146 OEM, Asrock Dual Sata II (as I still have a 6600GT AGP and cant really afford to upgrade).

In retrospect, i should have waited, as I think that Scan have got a better batch to OC then the place I got mine from (in terms of Clocking). Scan, I will never deviate from you again!!!! That said I still have got it at 2500 - 250x10, which is not really that great considering...The Asrock board is great value but I cant help but think I should have saved to get a PCIe only board, as the Asrock one has a fairly limited set of voltage options, which I think is limiting me, along with the fairly naff stepping. It was the whole worry that they would be really scarce that made me rush out. Lesson. Go with who you know to be good.

Anyway, i think that the Asrock board is MORE that capable if you a decent stepping 146. However, the official BIOS (and subsequent official updates) limits you to 274, which effectively caps you at 27400Mhz. There are beta BIOSes that enable you to go past 274, so the board is capable, but i am quite annoyed that i have a crappy (relative) stepping!!!

On a final note, can anyone suggest good apps that can give me a comparison on where my chip is realtive to FX 53/55/57??? Currently, all i can go on is just the COU clock, and also Sandra - which incidentally puts me at kind of an imaginary FX54. I can get to 2600 put its not prime stable - maybe I need a volt mod or a Seasonic PSU.

Anyway, ramble over, any qs ask, but otherwise just thought i would chuck in an opinion on what seems to be a good value combo (OC or not)

JoP

[Ron2256]

I have to agree with the above.
The asrock 939 dual-sata2 is great if you have a good agp card and don't want to upgrade to a pci-e graphic card just yet.
Secondly, it's only 42 quids at Scan and for that money it's a very good clocker.
The ULI chipset is as good as a nforce4 chipset.
The board have some limitations with cpu voltage and i believe with the memory voltage as well. So you won't be able to push the chip to its limit but as you are new to overclocking, it should be good enough for you.

Here is a review of the board:
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2524&p=1

The boards from asus and DFI are better in some respect but much more expensive.
If you want good value and don't want SLI or crossfire, go for the asrock. It's a steal.

[Ron2256]

Sorry to hear about your poor stepping 146 Jonathan.
Is this a new stepping? from a new batch?
I am getting worried that the newer batch from AMD may not be as good as the previous one.
I just hope my 146 will be a good one.

[MrChris]

e4 stepping...cabne etc...

there have been reports of cabne style ones hitting 3ghz anyway, many simply say its hit and miss..

if u want to volt mod then i like to use this...
http://wiki.extremeoverclocking.com/wiki/Impaqt1

it not only tells u loads about ocing but has a helpful graph of core voltages and increases etc ehhe

[jonathan_phang]

@ Ron - The stepping that i had was a CACJE i think - I knew i should have wrote it down - but in all honesty, I'm not a newb OCer but I dont want to spend too much time running benchmarks!!! Anyway, the moral of the story is that I have already got a 500mhz OC, which is 25%. That in itself is a good margin, and that was for £130 (OEM) so I cant really complain.

Secondly, even with it, I am mostly a gamer, and i believe that my 6600GT is still a bottleneck, so in all honesty, even if i COULD get to 2.8-3.0Ghz, i dont think it would make too much difference. All of you who get worried about the steppings, i guess you are going to pay £100-£130 for a CPU worth a lot more, even if you get a low OC. Lets just be happy with it (Or at least try ) and get back on with gaming!!!!

@ MrChris - Yeah, i had read that wiki before, not bad. This was my first A64 system, and it helkped to read that and other wikis to get my head round how different the OC works, compared to the AthlonXP way. Planning to do a voltmod on the board as soon as i can borow some solder!!

Best of luck all you Opty owners!!!

JP

[DoubleDs]

I'm in the same boat as you Jonathan. I have a 6600 GT as well, with a 146 currently sitting around doing nothing.

Not sure if I should get the Asrock or buy an Asus/DFI with a new PCI-E GC....

Trying to get 2.7 from my 146 (CABNE stepping) would be kinda pointless because of the limitation of my GC

[Wam7]

Yeah both you guys are right, your GPU is the limiting factor. If you do want a get more juice out of the Opteron's than an ASRock dual-SATA2 will allow there is a very simple volt mod that just involves use of a conductive pen.

My dual-SATA is here (courtesy of Scan) just waiting for the Opteron 165 to arrive from the States. Shame Scan couldn't get those in but I suppose if would have been nearer the 220-230 I've seen them for and not the £170 it cost me.