shbullets

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Jul 26, 2006
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Is it possible? Is it better then Athlon dual core and conroe? 0.O kind of awkward using a server cpu for gaming eh? How about gaming/video editing.. I'm kind of unsure on whether to get a opteron 165 or a conroe.
 

Grimmy

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Feb 20, 2006
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Opteron for gaming... yes. There are a few guys around here that run an Opteron rig on 939 MB.

I myself would go for a Conroe system, but from what I read on Opty systems, those people are happy with their rigs.
 

Newf

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I agree, go with Conroe. E6600 especially.
Optys are fine procs, but did not get the drastic price drops that the desktop line models did. Now they are not a good bang for the $.
 

DaveUK

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Before C2D, the Opteron series (namely 165) was popular amongst the overclocking community for all applications including gaming. Monster overclocks have been obtained by some people (particuarly with water cooling) which gives great results in any application (gaming, video editing etc).

The Opty series also have more cache than the earlier 'standard' (eg X2) dual core Athlon's which lends itself to better performance at the same clock speed. AFAIK aside from more stringent testing there is little more difference between the architectures of the two chip product lines.

If you already have a watercooling setup and a 939 motherboard, and you want to get good performance by a large overclock then the Opty 165 would be a good choice.

If, however, you want a great games machine and are looking to get a Motherboard/CPU combo then its DEFINITELY Conroe FTW. I'd recommend an E6600 w/ comparable motherboard. It has more cache than the E6400 and below (outpacing the lesser CPU's by a fair margin), offers very good value for money and can be easily overclocked to E6700 speeds and much further. The E6700 / X6800 are more expensive and yet don't offer performance gains to warrant the pricetag over the E6600 in my opinion.

Also, Intel CPU's have classically performed very well in video editing applications (e.g compressing a video in DivX). The Conroe is no exception - demolishing even the heaviest overclocked Athlon CPU's in both gaming and Video Editing.

For me, it would be an easy choice. Plus, the Core 2 Duo will run cooler and consume less power than any AMD CPU, particularly the FX series, and even an Opteron. As you overclock, this difference would widen significantly.
 

Dahak

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opterons work very well for gaming and even crank out well in video editing.so yes they are good.my next system will be done with opterons.i'm building a server though so it will be for the purpose of which it was designed for.


Dahak


EVGA NF4 SLI READY MB
2X1GIG DDR400 IN DC MODE(128BIT)
2 7800GT'S IN SLI MODE
WD300GIG HD @ 7200RPM
X2 4400+@2.4 S-939
520WATT PSU
EXTREME 19IN.MONITOR
 

DaveUK

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Read this thread

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=185555

That should tell you everything you need to know!

A couple of examples:

Super PI 1M:

Opteron 165 @ 3GHz: 29.156s

Conroe @ 3GHz: 17.015s


****

FEAR
1600x1200, 4xAA 16xAF, all max:
Opteron 165 @ 3GHz: Min 25 | Avg 43 | Max 172

Conroe @ 3GHz: Min 53 | Avg 86 | Max 310


*****

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
1600x1200, Full HDR, 8xAF, Everything Maximum
This FRAPS run was taken from the very beginning of the game, up until the time that the king leaves you.

Opteron 165 @ 3GHz: Min 15 | Avg 83.993 | Max 689

Conroe @ 3GHz: Min 29 | Avg 132.776 | Max 1546


*****

MPG to XViD using VirtualDub
5min Video of COD2 recorded with FRAPS

Opteron 165 @ 3GHz: 13min 40sec

Conroe @ 3GHz: 10min 1sec



*watches all the Opteron lovers place their heads in their hands*