I have been given the task of building a $3000 system for a friend. I'm not making a penny... just enjoy helping out when I can. That said, I feel I owe it to this guy to maximize his money and I'm a little unsure about the CPU.
My friend is a HARD CORE gamer... can't stress that enough... and he's comfortable with overclocking his system and is aware of the risks involved. I'll be going with a water cooling system for the CPU and a Seasonic 500 watt power supply along with a case with excellent airflow... so that brings me to my question...
What's the minimum overclock you guys think an Opteron 165 should hit? 2.4? 2.6? Higher?
I've never laid hands on an Opteron (I goofed and bought an X2 for myself back in July) so I'm trusting some good input to steer me in the right directions.
While I haven't OC'd one myself, with the right memory, running 1:1, you should easily achieve a stable 20% overclock. So if that core is rated at 2.2GHz, 2.64GHz should be possible, even higher if you have the patience to stress test it for a couple days.
I would say 2.4 to 3.0 is the sweet spot for a good overclock on a Opteron.
While an experienced overclocker is likely to reach beyond 2.8GHz, especially with a DIY watercooling 'rig, I think it would be wise to set the bar lower in order to avoid any disappointment, especially if we're talking about an inferior watercooling kit.
Try to get a 170, as they have better steppings. The 170's are the only Opteron dual-cores that can hit over 2.9 stable on air.
THAT is the type of input I was looking for... it's only around $60 extra to go up to a 170 I believe.
The only thing I can promise the guy is that it'll run 1.8 as advertised... anything over that is gravy... thus I asked for realistic estimations of what it could do.
Try to get a 170, as they have better steppings. The 170's are the only Opteron dual-cores that can hit over 2.9 stable on air.
THAT is the type of input I was looking for... it's only around $60 extra to go up to a 170 I believe.
The only thing I can promise the guy is that it'll run 1.8 as advertised... anything over that is gravy... thus I asked for realistic estimations of what it could do.
Hitting that high isn't guaranteed, even with that. Make sure you get a good motherboard, very nice cooling, a decent PSU and aim for 2.7 realistically.
I understand and accept that nothing is guaranteed over the stock speed... just trying to get a realistic idea. Personally, I'd consider 2.6 to be a tremendous success.
I've tried convincing this individual to wait (maybe for AM2 or perhaps longer for Conroe) but that's not an option for him apparently... so whatever it is, it'll be a Socket 939 CPU.
I understand and accept that nothing is guaranteed over the stock speed... just trying to get a realistic idea. Personally, I'd consider 2.6 to be a tremendous success.
I've tried convincing this individual to wait (maybe for AM2 or perhaps longer for Conroe) but that's not an option for him apparently... so whatever it is, it'll be a Socket 939 CPU.
So far, this is a list of the components... admittedly it's a work in progress... no CPU and no video card(s) listed. Hoping to see a water cooled Sapphire 1900 XTX Toxic released any day now... that's what this guy wants for video and I can't argue with that... mainly for noise reasons. Please don't be overly critical... nothing is set in stone.
I agree Abit had some rough times, but that was the first ATI based board I could find that didn't have a dated south bridge. I know I don't HAVE to go with ATI, but that particular board was rated highly by people who owned it (mainly people posting on NewEgg)
You might want to reconsider the water cooling. And yes, I'd go with the ASUS or DFI 32x PCI-E board for OC'ing.
Well, if not a BigWater 745... what?
I own it and it does fine for me... low noise and I've already installed one... in no way would I consider it the best, but for $150... I just don't know of anything better.
I agree Abit had some rough times, but that was the first ATI based board I could find that didn't have a dated south bridge. I know I don't HAVE to go with ATI, but that particular board was rated highly by people who owned it (mainly people posting on NewEgg)
Before trusting Newegg ratings, you must acknoledge that most people are idiots.
You might want to reconsider the water cooling. And yes, I'd go with the ASUS or DFI 32x PCI-E board for OC'ing.
Well, if not a BigWater 745... what?
I own it and it does fine for me... low noise and I've already installed one... in no way would I consider it the best, but for $150... I just don't know of anything better.
For price it is good, I will admit. However, custom designing your own water cooling is always a far more powerful solution.
So far, this is a list of the components... admittedly it's a work in progress... no CPU and no video card(s) listed. Hoping to see a water cooled Sapphire 1900 XTX Toxic released any day now... that's what this guy wants for video and I can't argue with that... mainly for noise reasons. Please don't be overly critical... nothing is set in stone.
