Upgrading CPU advice

[jonh123]

I'm thinking about upgrading my current CPU ( athlon 64 3200+) socket 939 to an Opteron. I currently have a DFI lanparty sli-d motherboard and 1536mb (4 sticks) of Kingston Valueram. My question is if I should go ahead and get the Opteron 144 venus for $170 or the 146 for $210 or maybe even the 148 for $259. I'm not sure how well they would overclock with the kingston valueram (maybe I should upgrade that too??). Any advice or recommendations are apprectiated. I use my computer for gaming, building websites and general use. Thanks

 

[jonh123]

I've tried overclocking the 3200 but the most I've been able to do with it has been a 200 mhz increase, anything after that its been unstable. Do you think the ram could be holding it back. Its PC 2700 by the way.

 

[SidVicious]

Do you think the ram could be holding it back. Its PC 2700 by the way.

Obviously !

PC2700 is meant to run at 166MHz, a 200MHz OC would mean that you were running your memory at 183MHz.

Even such a moderate overclock with a full rack of RAM it is quite an achievement considering that the memory controller won't allow a lot of headroom with 8 banks populated, especially with mismatched memory (2x 512MB + 2x 256MB).

Did you use the memory dividers to get there ?

If you are interested in overclocking, look into getting a pair of high quality modules and a decent cooling system.

 

[jonh123]

didnt use the memory dividers, guess its just luck.... know I guess my question would be, should I just go buy 2 gigs of corsair xms memory and overclock the 3200+ or upgrade to an opteron and forget about overclocking, it would be around $5-100 (depending on what opteron I went with) cheaper if I went the overclocking route. But I would rather pay the extra money, if the opteron can perform better then an overclocked 3200+. (Given that the perfomance differnce was worth the extra money..)

 

[SidVicious]

You should look into replacing that memory, as I stated before, PC2700 is'nt up to the task of feeding your current CPU with enough memory bandwidth, getting a new CPU would just make that problem worst.

Beside, you are taxing the memory controller with too many mismatched modules, even 4 sticks of identical RAM is stretching it.

One of your motherboard's strong point is its ability to supply a lot of voltage to the CPU and memory, therfore, I would suggest that you look into getting modules based on Winbond chips as they love high voltage and are insanely overclockable, otherwise, Samsung TCCD will do the trick.

Use This list to find out which chips various modules are based on.

 

[jonh123]

okay I think Im going to go for the Corsair XMS twinx ram for $188 at newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145575). Im also starting to think I should take advantage of the no payment for 6 months if you spend over $500 at newegg. So I was thinking about getting the Opteron 165 denmark too. Any suggestions?

 

[luminaris]

okay I think Im going to go for the Corsair XMS twinx ram for $188 at newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145575). Im also starting to think I should take advantage of the no payment for 6 months if you spend over $500 at newegg. So I was thinking about getting the Opteron 165 denmark too. Any suggestions?

I have the 165 dual core on a DFI board and it's awesome. I have it overclocked to 2.5Ghz and I can hardly keep up with it. I game, video edit, surf porn and use it for everything else. You wouldn't be disappointed.

 

[SidVicious]

Before you order, ask for the Revision # on the modules, 4.1 to 4.3 will have Samsung TCCD chips while 5.1 and 6.1 have Mosel Vitelic which are not known to be great overclockers.

You can read This DFI specific guide to overclocking if you need in-depth information about your motherboard.

As for buying a new CPU along with new memory, a X2 3800+ or an Optie 165 will fit the bill, you will want a good cooling system along with those.

 

[jonh123]

I emailed newegg a while ago and have not heard back from them prolly cause of the Holiday. I would like to order this tonight. What other ram would you recommend that would be good for overclocking? I dont really want to spend any more than $200 for pc3200 2x1024mb. Thanks for all your advice.