cpu upgrade question

[dbox]

I have a socket 939 system that I would like to keep for a while longer (MSI K8N neo platinum 2)

I've been looking for the 4800 x2 (would like to have the 1 mb x2 cache) and they are rare. I also found the Opteron 180 dual core (very similarly priced) and they seem to be the same clock speed and level 2 cache. ( I have no interest in overclocking, just maxing out the old 939 for a while)

Am I reading this correctly and the Opteron is essentially the same cpu?

Should work in my motherboard, right?

Doesn't need ECC ram does it?

Any special bugaboos when installing on Opteron as opposed to a 4800?

Thx for your time,

dbox

 

[Mex]

There isn't really much difference between the s939 Opterons and the X2. The Opterons are simply the best of the best, and have stricter quality control standards than the desktop X2s. Since they use s939, they use standard DDR memory and in most cases are either drop-in compatible or need a BIOS update.

All that said, I tried to find your board to verify support and couldn't. You might want to look for yourself.
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/produ...mbd_cpu_support.php?kind=1&CHIP=Socket A&ID=2