The 1xx Opterons socket 939 have recently gained popularity in OC circles due to their amazing OC capacity. Fortunately, AMD has also incorporated CnQ for these chips, so I looked at getting an Opteron instead of a Venice. These are my thoughts:
Pros
- better availability than Venice (at least in Australia, it is difficult/long pre-order to obtain anything less than a 3500+ Venice recently)
- better pricing than a Venice (an entry level 144 Opteron @ 1.8GHz is AUD$215, 146 Opteron $230, versus Venice 3200+ $250, Venice 3500+ $310. Venice 3000+ now phased out)
- 1Mbyte cache versus 512
- undervoltable. I'm running my 144 Opty at 0.85VCore idle and 1.1VCore Max, using RMClock on an Asus A8V Deluxe. Standard voltage 1.35-1.4V, which means 13.7W idle and 41.3W at load (using CPU Power utility, 1.4VCore, 67W TDP)
- otherwise, still enabled with CnQ, 90nm SOI manufacture like Venices
- compatible with (?all) desktop socket 939 mobos, heatsinks, etc
- dual core Opty also compatible, so long you update the bios to accept dual core cpu's
- does not need registered DDR memory
- highly overclockable, if that takes your fancy
Cons:
- no official support by manufacturers for Opty in desktop mobos
- slightly more heat due to larger cache, but AMD maintains TDP <67W
- I really can't think of other cons...
Buy an Opteron instead of Venice
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well I know that dual core you get more cache and a better memory controller as well as a card that takes all sorts of voltages for about 5% cheaper....
who knows!?
venice though in general isnt that expensive.
if you want to check our prices, go to www.pricewatch.com
who knows!?
venice though in general isnt that expensive.
if you want to check our prices, go to www.pricewatch.com