K8 Processor Upgrade; San Diego Vs. Opetron

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Wed May 30, 2007 2:16 am

I need to upgrade my old Athlon 64 bit 3000+

I have three choices:
AMD 64 bit 3700+ San Diego K8, 1MB L2: 59â‚¬
AMD Opteron 144, K8 1 MB L2: 75-85 â‚¬
AMD Opteron 146 K8 1 MB L2 88-101 â‚¬

Now I need more powerful, yet realtively cool processor ( under 100 TDP ) for K8. Dual cores are too expensives and these I can get realtively cheap.

I need prcessor that can handle a lot video decoding easily and realtively easily to do multiple tasks with single core. I do some pretty heavy video stuff, so processor should be able to do that better than my 3000+ Venice.

But stuff is not that much that I'd need dual core.

I don't play much games, but also game speed could be pretty good just in case.

kater · Post by **kater** » Wed May 30, 2007 5:27 am

The three CPU's you listed are, basically, identical units. Opterons are just San Diego core CPU's but since they were made from better quality wafers (AFAIK) they tend to have a significantly better OC potential - often over 3 GHz in "home" conditions. OTOH "normal" San Diegos also OC decently.

One thing you could do first is to try and OC you current CPU - it's a Venus core, so it's not much different than an Opteron - it just has less cache. See if you can run it faster. Most 3000+ CPU's OC'ed very nicely and could go up to >2500 MHz w/o problems.

Will you see a noticeable improvement if you switch to an Opteron? No. I mean, your current CPU runs at 1800 MHz, the 3700+ runs at 2200. Optys go at 1800 and 2000, respectively. Say, what kind of difference can we talk about?

If you want to upgrade - go get X2. I was in the same situation some time ago - been there, done that.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Wed May 30, 2007 6:45 am

X2's are almost impossible me to get for S939. Cheapest is 139 â‚¬'s.

mexell · Post by **mexell** » Wed May 30, 2007 7:17 am

I was in the same situation one month ago... nowadays, there isn't any upgrade path for s939 that makes sense.

You can choose whether you want to buy a cpu which is way overpriced for it's power or way underpowered for it's price (I hope you know what I mean: I think 3600x2 are <100â‚¬).
Or you can throw away your ram and mobo and have the complete freedom of choice

But who do I tell this...

In your case, I would not try getting a new cpu because you don't get that more power that it would be reasonable for that amount of money. I would try doing some overclocking and saving for a new system.

Btw., confronted with exactly the same decision I ended up with buying a complete new c2d system which I'm totally happy with... but that's probably not what you want to afford right now

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Wed May 30, 2007 12:13 pm

3700+ San Diego is 59 â‚¬'s, price of high speed AM2 Semprons in here. It doesn't seem bad choice.

BrianE · Post by **BrianE** » Wed May 30, 2007 4:28 pm

I would also suggest to at least attempt to overclock your existing CPU first. It's not like chips that come from the factory at a higher clock speed are going to be any cooler, provided you don't need to increase the voltage much if at all.

At least that way it will be a free upgrade and will tide you over until it is time to upgrade to something with multiple cores. I am also of the opinion that you won't get much value going from 512kb cache to 1mb, and the way of the future is headed towards multi-core CPUs, so that should really be your next step IMHO. (In the near future, something AM2 or C2D based.)

mexell · Post by **mexell** » Wed May 30, 2007 11:18 pm

Here (in Germany) a AM2 3600X2 is at 59â‚¬. That is just to prove that every CPU you can get for S939 is overpriced.

If I were you, I would just overclock as much as it gets and then buy a major upgrade maybe a year later.

According to my experience (and to the opinion of my favourite computer magazine), you don't notice a difference during normal work as long as you don't have at least a 30% surplus in processing power.

Edit: I've just noticed that the 3600X2 starts at 51â‚¬. And that's even an EE.

kater · Post by **kater** » Wed May 30, 2007 11:37 pm

Tom's Hrdwr CPU comparison script - LINKY - select two CPU's and compare them head-to-head in various applications.

Ok, so you can get 3700+ for 60 e. Fine. How much will you get for you old 3000+? 20 e? You sure it's worth it?

You never wrote anything about OC'ing so I assume you're not a big fan of it. A pity, as most A64 OC very nicely and unless you up vcore dramatically there won't be noticeable* changes in temperatures and power consumption.

I agree with mexell - unless you get at least 1/3 oomph more it's not worth upgrading - you jus won't notice. You'd best either save and hunt for X2 or splurge for a new C2D system.

* c'mon, you can live with 2 degrees more in idle and 4 under load.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Thu May 31, 2007 4:21 am

Since I am taking Entrace exam in Near by city next week and they have good computer shop next to, which sales 4000+ San Diego for 70â‚¬'s that might be good choice for me.

I am not planning OC as I am virtually dumb ass even to know how to perfrom OC unless I accidently do it

klankymen · Post by **klankymen** » Thu May 31, 2007 7:15 am

I would definitely suggest switching to AM2.

you can sell 1GB of good DDR for about the same price as value DDR2, and a dual-core 1,9GHz cpu costs 60â‚¬.

I got as much as 80â‚¬!!!! for my old A8N-SLI Premium 939 motherboard, for which you can get a good AM2 board.

ACook · Post by **ACook** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 6:30 pm

good to see I'm not the only one with this dilemma. 2y ago selected high end MB and high grade ram, with only a 3000+ winnie cause I can always upgrade later. now after breaking someone elses s-a athlon, I'm looking around, and suddenly s939 chips are way overpriced..

should I want to upgrade to a dual core, I'm probably going to be stuck with an expensive SLI board, 2GB of expensive ram, working as a fileserver...

anyone interested in 2x1GB CL2 DDR?