One final Upgrade....Socket 939

[Grub]

Well...The retirement (read: giving it to the kids) of my current system is coming quickly. I have a socket 939 MOBO with no PCI express slot (AGP), and straight DDR memory. It was all top notch 2 years ago, but with PC's...you might as well be burning money if you want to ALWAYS stay bleeding edge. Anywho...I have been contemplating one more processor upgrade befor I retire 'Old Reliable'. Currently, I am running an Athlon 64 3000 1.8 GHz. I have it clocked up to 2.4 GHz, which makes it tolerable for the video editing and rendering I do. However, recently, I have been editing so much that it has become a major frustration waiting for the rendering to complete, and general system response has been poor when large clips are being handled.

I have done some research and it looks like an Overclocked Opteron 165 Toledo core would be my best bang for the buck (priced at 155.00 at Newegg as of now). According to THG CPU charts, it outperforms the low end Core Duo (when Opteron OC'd and Core Duo not OC'd). I do not want to spend more than this, I'm not afraid to OC, and I do not want to change Motherboards right now.

Any input?

 

[sailer]

Personally, I'd look to the Opteron 170 or 175. But if you don't want to spend the increased money, then the Opty 165 is still a good cpu taht should give you a very noticable boost over the old 3000 that you currently have. It should be good for the kids for a couple more years.

 

[Sugarcane]

I'm interested in hearing opinions on this as well. I have a single core 3500+, x800xl agp card, and 4 sticks of 512mb pc3500 ddr ram.

If I upgrade to an E6400/6600 setup, I can't help but think that I'll pay $200 for 2gb of ram that I already have. And pci-e versions of video cards that are equivalent to what I have start at $160. So it's either $500+ for a C2D overhaul or $150 for something like what you propose, an Opteron or X2 processor upgrade.

 

[assassin103]

well guys i just upgraded from a 3500+ venice to a FX-60 and it is amazing the difference. and at the price of the fx right now its a damn good buy for what you get.

 

[clairvoyant129]

Well...The retirement (read: giving it to the kids) of my current system is coming quickly. I have a socket 939 MOBO with no PCI express slot (AGP), and straight DDR memory. It was all top notch 2 years ago, but with PC's...you might as well be burning money if you want to ALWAYS stay bleeding edge. Anywho...I have been contemplating one more processor upgrade befor I retire 'Old Reliable'. Currently, I am running an Athlon 64 3000 1.8 GHz. I have it clocked up to 2.4 GHz, which makes it tolerable for the video editing and rendering I do. However, recently, I have been editing so much that it has become a major frustration waiting for the rendering to complete, and general system response has been poor when large clips are being handled.

I have done some research and it looks like an Overclocked Opteron 165 Toledo core would be my best bang for the buck (priced at 155.00 at Newegg as of now). According to THG CPU charts, it outperforms the low end Core Duo (when Opteron OC'd and Core Duo not OC'd). I do not want to spend more than this, I'm not afraid to OC, and I do not want to change Motherboards right now.

Any input?

Time to upgrade. AMD is phasing out socket 939 CPUs, no reason to stay behind. Not to mention it's an AGP motherboard.

E6400/P5B + 2GB of memory is a perfect overhaul.

DivX performance is very strong with the new Core 2 processors, and it looks like it'll take K8L to restore AMD's competitiveness here. The E6300 performs like a 4600+ while the E6400 performs like a 5000+, but once overclocked there isn't an AMD CPU that can touch either one. Given that most current 90nm X2s top out at around 2.8 - 3.0GHz on air, there's not much hope here for AMD until 65nm.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2802&p=8

Once again we see that while the Core 2 Duo E6300 is slightly faster than the Athlon 64 X2 4200+, and once overclocked it's out of reach of even an FX-62. The E6400 is also an impressive little chip, offering performance around the X2 4600+ and X2 5000+ levels

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2802&p=7

But if your budget doesn't allow for a major overhaul, an Opteron 170 is perfectly fine.

 

[Grub]

Thanks Assassin for the input. Its always nice to hear from people who have done what you are thinking of doing.

Also, for the person who wants a core duo but doesnt want to give up his ram....There is a MOBO by ASROCK that can take DDR & DDR2, and has an AGP and PCIEx slot on it. I have no idea about its performance (the MOBO), but it seems like it could work for someone who wants to switch to Core Duo, but doesn't want to throw away all his old gear.

 

[purdueguy]

AMD FX-60 = $448

New core system

C2D E6300 = $181
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 = $141
pqi Turbo DDR2 667 2x1GB memory = $203

Total = $525

$77 more but well worth it. On top of that if you compare getting a final upgrade for an AGP card to a PCI-Express equivalent.

X1950Pro AGP = $299
X1950Pro PCI Express = $199

It ends up being $23 cheaper and you actually "future proof" your computer by getting an updated system to accept better CPU's and better video cards.

Considering an overclocked E6300 will beat an overclocked FX-60, the FX-60 is way overpriced. The FX-60 shouldn't cost more than $200-$250 to make it a viable last ditch upgrade for socket 939 systems.

 

[toasty2]

Get an Opteron. They can be overclocked great too.

 

[CompuTronix]

I have a socket 939 MOBO, I am running an Athlon 64 3000 1.8 GHz. I have it clocked up to 2.4 GHz. I have done some research and it looks like an Overclocked Opteron 165 Toledo core would be my best bang for the buck (priced at 155.00 at Newegg as of now). According to THG CPU charts, it outperforms the low end Core Duo (when Opteron OC'd and Core Duo not OC'd). I do not want to spend more than this, I'm not afraid to OC, and I do not want to change Motherboards right now.

Your research has led you to the correct conclusion. Purchase the Opteron 165 and overclock it. My only recommendation is that you consider the Opteron 170. It's available for $189.99, and is worth the additional $35.00 over the 165.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103586

I upgraded my previous rig from an X2 3800 to an Opteron 170, specifically because my research revealed the 170 is statistically a better overclocker than the 165. I was able to overclock my 170 to 3.0Ghz.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your selection.

 

[purdueguy]

Yes, this I do agree with. Get this Opty for $155 and overclock it to ~2.6-2.7 GHz.

This, I would say, would then be your last socket 939 upgrade.

 

[Grub]

Thanks everyone for the advice...and BTW Purdue man, I brew my own as well...love the sig! I got the Opty 165, I considered the 170 but $155.00 is already over the limit I set for myself.

Also, to the person comparing the FX-60 at $455.00 to a new intel system, its a bit misleading. Most people around here would know that the Opteron toledo core is pretty much the same as an FX-60. So use 155.00 instead of 455.00 in your comparison.

 

[CompuTronix]

You made a good choice. You'll be very happy with the Opty 165. It should get you to about 2.7 Ghz.

Good luck, and enjoy!

 

[notherdude]

on this subject - my son has a athlon 64 3200+ running, I think, near 2.3 on water. How much of a bang would upping him to the opty 170 offer?

 

[Rhinofart]

I thought the Opty 165, 170, 175 were the Denmark Core. I know it's the exact same architecture as Toledo, but hey who cares about the technical details. My 175 overclocked decently, but I know my mobo is holding it back. I can get to 2.65 on it and it's been 100% prime stable (running on both cores) since last Feb. The only time she reboots or anything is when I do windows updates or have to go into 32 Bit windows for something. Feel the love for the Opty.

 

[CompuTronix]

I thought the Opty 165, 170, 175 were the Denmark Core. I know it's the exact same architecture as Toledo, but hey who cares about the technical details.

The Opteron 165's thru 185's are marketed as Denmark cores, but If you run CPU-Z, it will identify your Opty 175 as a Toledo core.

 

[toasty2]

I just got an Opteron (socket AM2 though) and it's amazing. I was able to run it fine at 3.1Ghz, maybe I can goto 3.2. I keep it at 2.9 for everyday use though. Stays cool with the Scythe Infinity.

 

[nh484000]

I have a gerneral question on the same topic. I currently have and AMD 3500+ (939) and was wondering if switching to a AMD Opteron 170 Denmark is worth the money. I do alot to AVI to DVD transcoding. My 3500+ is running at 2.66 ghz.

I dont know if its worth the 190 dollars or if i should save it and put it to a new c2d system.. Money which i dont have alot of (poor college student). Any insight would be great.

 

[Schepsel]

If rendering video is what you do most on your rig is what you do most do the upgrade. The performance improvement isn't worth the costs of getting a E6000 rig. I went from a PIV 2.8.... to a 6600.... that did make a difference. Go for the Opteron...

 

[m25]

If rendering video is what you do most on your rig is what you do most do the upgrade. The performance improvement isn't worth the costs of getting a E6000 rig. I went from a PIV 2.8.... to a 6600.... that did make a difference. Go for the Opteron...

Yes, the opty is a heck of a chip; Nice OC-ing, 2M L2 ; still has some years of decent service ahead.

 

[toasty2]

Yeah, my Opteron is nice...running at 2.9Ghz with only about 1.32v (it fluctuates slightly), doesn't need a voltage bump until I goto 3Ghz, but then it only needs like 1.38v.

This is actually my first overclock ever, I took it in small steps and I began to understand overclocking within an hour...

 

[m25]

Yeah, my Opteron is nice...running at 2.9Ghz with only about 1.32v (it fluctuates slightly), doesn't need a voltage bump until I goto 3Ghz, but then it only needs like 1.38v.

This is actually my first overclock ever, I took it in small steps and I began to understand overclocking within an hour...

Actually, overclocking has become a game with the current hardware and solid CPU process; same for me, though my board does not allow me to go more than HTT 220, just waiting for my 4200+ to arrive and push it to 2.4G

 

[johnnyb0yvba]

what if i have a 939 athlon 3200+ and i don't wanna overclock. should i still go with opteron? i see the 4000+ for $80 on newegg. weren't those prettty fast?

 

[toasty2]

It depends on if you want to overclock very much. The Opterons overclock better generally.

 

[m25]

what if i have a 939 athlon 3200+ and i don't wanna overclock. should i still go with opteron? i see the 4000+ for $80 on newegg. weren't those prettty fast?

The 4000+ was one of the greatest chips for it's time, but remains a single core and with the increasingly growing number of multithreaded apps, you'll see much more advantages, even with the less powerful dual core.