AMD Opteron Dual Cores

[adreen]

Do Opterons generally consume more energy? Also how are the temperatures compared to the 64 x2 chips?
Also the hypertransport frequency of the x2 chips are 2000mhz, while the HT of opterons are 1000....what does all that mean?

 

[DuxSyagrius]

The chips are basically the same. They have the same hypertransport speed (1000mhz SDR means 2000mhz DDR). from what I have read, the opteron has 3 hypertransport channels with all this bandwidth for dual CPU systems. But I dont think it benefits normal systems. If you get a 2MB cache X2 it will dissipate 110W. All dual core opterons dissipate the the same amount. Depending on what you are going to do with it, the opterons are simply a better chip. But if you are going to buy, you need to do it soon. Low end Opterons are going up in price everywhere. I think newegg has the best prices at this point.

 

[mpjesse]

1st question: generally no. But it all depends on which Operton model you're comparing to the X2 model. If you are comparing the same cores, then the power consumption would be equal.

2nd question: again, if you're comparing identical cores and clock speeds from Opterons and X2's, the temps are the same.

3rd question: you are confusing bus speeds; not your fault though. Opterons, Athlon 64's, FX's, and X2's in the Socket 939 or 940 format all operate on a 1Ghz clocked bus. However, some say and advertise it is 2Ghz because the bus is full duplex (it can send data back and forth at the same time). While the bus is truly only operating at 1Ghz, the effective theoretical data throughput would be 2Ghz. (it's just like DDR, PC3200 memory is really only running at 200mhz, but because DDR can transmit 2 bits per clock cycle, the theoretical data throughput is effectively 400mhz or DDR400.)

Make sense?

-mpjesse

 

[adreen]

heck ya! makes total sense. thanx for that awesome explaination!
i'm trying to get my hands on the opteron 165 atm, i found one for 409 cad that someone had pointed out before.

 

[HideOut]

Actually the Opty's use a bit less power at same speed cause their Vcore voltage is a bit lower isnt it?

Hide

 

[darkstar782]

The Oppys are the same actual die as the A64s, they will basically choose the best of them for the Oppys (as they are an enterprise product with a higher margin.) there are also low power Oppys ment for 1U racks etc if i remember right.

An identical die would likely be sold colcked slightly lower as an oppy, simply to give it a higher safety margin and increase stability, therefore the Opterons tend to overclock well.

Unfortunately you are somewhat limited on m/b choice if its 940 Opteron

 

[HideOut]

but we are talkin mostly about opteron 939's

 

[Fox_granit]

Really Opterons take less voltage becuase they are a server chip. Most industries don't like spending any more money than they have to on resources and electrcity counts as one of those. They are also unlocked like most of the FX series, so they are easier to overclock, and are also dual cores, at least the 939 pins are. to me its a much better proccessor than the athlon 64 x2's or the fx series. just an opion though

 

[RichPLS]

Only FX chips are unlcocked... I wish my Opteron 175 was unlocked...

 

[endyen]

but we are talkin mostly about opteron 939's

As the name suggests, these were intended as workstation chips. They do use the opteron standards, except for ecc memory.

 

[HideOut]

Really Opterons take less voltage becuase they are a server chip. Most industries don't like spending any more money than they have to on resources and electrcity counts as one of those. They are also unlocked like most of the FX series, so they are easier to overclock, and are also dual cores, at least the 939 pins are. to me its a much better proccessor than the athlon 64 x2's or the fx series. just an opion though

Mmmm no

Not unlocked, and single core 939 opteron's are 144, 146, 148, etc...

And to the last post before this...workstation standards? Not ecc, not registered, not socket 940, single Hypertransport instead of 3...Its just a different name and clock speed for a 4400+ X2, thats what its like.

hide

 

[adreen]

I thought the opty's would consume more energy if the x2 and opty were at the same frequency due to it having to overclock more (from 1.8, to say...2.4) while the x2 wuld go from 2.2-2.4. Wouldn't this require more wattage? I'm a noob to OCing so it is highly possible I'm just making an ass out of myself

 

[comical]

i kinda thought the opy's HT was 1000 cos it was a server chip structure so i was wrong again

 

[RichPLS]

Oh, well duh, right. An Opty overclocked more than the equivlant X2, in this case the Opty would draw more power and generate more heat. Damn, AMD and those crappy Opties!
At core speeds, the Opty and equivlant burn about the same power...