best/fastest CPU for socket 939?

YO_KID37

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It's listed in order from best Chip to lowest quality to highest.

-AMD Athlon FX-60 Dual Core @ 2.6Ghz
-AMD Opteron 185 Dual Core @ 2.6Ghz (best Overclocker @ ~3.2ghz)
 

spanner_razor

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I would say the FX60 would probably be the fastest that you can run, but you're going to be paying a hell of a lot for one, socket 939 chips cost a lot more than their am2 counterparts as it's almost completely phased out.
I'd reccomend that you get a core2 duo and i'm not a fan of intel really, it's just that the core2 duo chips shit on everything that the 939 platform can use.
In addition it would cost you around 350 quid for an FX60 or 140 quid for a 6400 core 2 duo which will run almost everything faster.
Don't bother upgrading a 939 chip, wait until you have enough cash to change to core 2.
 

mpjesse

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i think the reason he's asking is because he doesn't want to upgrade his motherboard and RAM.

i do agree that upgrading to an FX60 is a waste of money though.
 

LAN_deRf_HA

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newegg just doubled their prices on the 939 opterons, right now the cheapest is also the highest performing (185 @ $335 vs. 180 @ $646 wtf) My guess is this is just a stock related issue, as in get it now... or its just the retard shift of price adjusters working today.... zipzoom fly has the 180 for $270.
 

spanner_razor

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Yeah the stock is really being nerfed, I tried to buy a 4600 from dabs, first they repriced it when it was out of stock, so i cancelled then reordered, then they completely cancelled the order with no alternative given. Bottom line you aren't gonna be able to get the fx60 anywhere but ebay.
Sorry for being negative, but I feel a bit cheated by amd really, bought a 4600 and yeah it's ok but it's nowhere near as good as a 6400 and plus games like bf2142 rely more on graphics.
 

LAN_deRf_HA

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I just oc'd my opty 170 to 3 GHz, that should tide me over for awhile as it ties with the e6600 in most benchmarks.... of course only if the 66 isn't oc'd.
 

CaptRobertApril

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newegg just doubled their prices on the 939 opterons, right now the cheapest is also the highest performing (185 @ $335 vs. 180 @ $646 wtf) My guess is this is just a stock related issue, as in get it now... or its just the retard shift of price adjusters working today.... zipzoom fly has the 180 for $270.

What is NewEgg smokin'? Who is stupid enough to buy a 180 for $646?
 

mad_murdock

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I got lucky and bought what looks to be the last of the 939 X2-4800+ off newegg, when they had the $250 OEM version. For the money and the performance difference, I'd look for a 4800+. I'm not sure the FX60 will ever pay out in performance. $600 vs 250.

If you were going to spend $600 on the FX60, it would make more sense to go with a Core 2 DUO, Mobo and RAM. The $240 E6600 man handles the FX60, Yu coudl spend the same (or close to it) money on a Intel config that is currently top dog.

But realistically, I think you're looking at grabbing a 4600+, which is around $219 on newegg. Maybe a FX57, for $289 or an Opetron 148 for $248
 

tool_462

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Someone is. When they only have a few of an item left, crank the price up and make as large a profit as they can without having to take up any warehouse space.
 

LAN_deRf_HA

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But realistically, I think you're looking at grabbing a 4600+, which is around $219 on newegg. Maybe a FX57, for $289 or an Opetron 148 for $248

The 4600+ would be good, but for the overclocking and cache i'd get this opty 180 for $270.... i'd also get it today, i'm betting it will be gone very fast.
 

CaptRobertApril

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Someone is. When they only have a few of an item left, crank the price up and make as large a profit as they can without having to take up any warehouse space.

That does it. I've been thinking about this for years, but now I'm gonna take the plunge.

Presenting:

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When you're contemplating a major purchase, call Captain April first and save hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars. Captain April will call upon his decades of experience in top-level negotiations and get you a much better price than you could ever get yourself. Even after the Captain collects his commission you will still be far ahead! So before you drop your hard earned cash on a major purchase, call the Captain: 1-800-4KVETCH! Do it today!
 

robmurphy

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I just bought a few Athlon X2 4600 OEMs for about £124 each inc vat. I got them from Overclockers UK. I purchased them as they were on offer and I have several S939 machines. I was considering the Opterons, but was not sure that the BIOS on my machines (all HP) would support them. As it was the X2 4600s came out cheaper than the opterons with a lower core speed (2.2 Gig for the Opteron, 2.4 Gig for the 4600).

The opterons I was looking at are still available see:
http://www.ballicom.co.uk/detail.php?id=1177503&cat_id=14865&subcat_id=15119

The 4600s have gone back up in price. It would seem that there are some 4600s around for socket 939, but the 4800s are like golddust now.

I've checked using the PSU calculator and all the machines will cope with the extra power needed.

I will have a very good look at the existing cpu coolers. From memory they were on the large to very large size. Being the cheepskate that I am I will probably see how the CPU's perform with the existing coolers. I will watch the CPU core temp like a hawk, and then try loading one of them up to 100% cpu occupency. Extracting some very large RAR archives, local disk to local disk should do this. The previous CPUs were an old 3200, and a newer 3800+. Both of these look like thay have a TDP of 89W and the 4600 has a TDP of 110. As these are HP machines the bios will prevent any overclocking, so not being able to do that on the existing PSU and CPU cooler is not a problem for me.

I let the panel know how this goes.

Rob Murphy
 

halbhh

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Overclocking the *cheapest* dual core opteron is a good strategy if you want a 9 month or 1 year solution as a temporary way to update your 939. Then you could buy a new board, say in 9 months or a year, and get the latest type of motherboard for AMD or Intel, since both will have significant changes by then. AMD will have a big boost with the new barcelona type cpu, which is to outperform the C2duos. Also, note that you can overclock a X2 3800 ($145 Newegg) some, or even just run it stock, and it's decent performance.

{edit: but better than buying a cpu is to overclock for now, and build later this year, as in a post below}
 

Colonel_Curly

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DON'T BUY THE FX 60

Get the 4800 an oc to 2.6 an beyond. Got mine at 2.74Ghz on the stock without increasing voltage much.

I heard you can't really oc the FX60 anyway, waste of money.

Go for the 4800 or one of the optys
 

reaper87

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Instead of dropping money into a dead-end-socket-CPU. A better idea might be to grab a better cooler(either air or water) and OC your 3800x2 higher. Then when u upgrade down the road, u can reuse the cooler that you choose on the new socket.
 

CaptRobertApril

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Instead of dropping money into a dead-end-socket-CPU. A better idea might be to grab a better cooler(either air or water) and OC your 3800x2 higher. Then when u upgrade down the road, u can reuse the cooler that you choose on the new socket.
\

I second that suggestion. Good thinkin', reap!
 

velocci

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what is the difference between epteron dual core and FX60 dual core CPUs?

"YO_KID37" said:
It's listed in order from best Chip to lowest quality to highest.

-AMD Athlon FX-60 Dual Core @ 2.6Ghz
-AMD Opteron 185 Dual Core @ 2.6Ghz (best Overclocker @ ~3.2ghz)
 

LAN_deRf_HA

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I hope he actually has a use for all these other ideas we're giving him... technically all he asked about was what processor is the best performing for 939, which was answered right away.
 

YO_KID37

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Same Chip
Opteron is PREMIUM Quality CPU (But Locked Multiplier, made for 24/7 operation)
FX-60 is High Quality CPU(Unlocked Multiplier, made for short but sweet Runs for a few hours a day Over clocked or Base)
 

halbhh

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Instead of dropping money into a dead-end-socket-CPU. A better idea might be to grab a better cooler(either air or water) and OC your 3800x2 higher. Then when u upgrade down the road, u can reuse the cooler that you choose on the new socket.

Yeah, this is a good idea, with a plan to build later this year with a new motherboard.
 

HA_ZEE

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The best and fastest are the FX60 and the Opty 185 (only difference is FX60 has unlocked multiplier). They are not that cost effective now that the prices are going back up due to lack of inventory. A cost effective solution that can hit the same speeds (with some overclocking) would be this (I would not spend too much on this socket as the gains are not that much more):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103045


The Opty 185 is still available for $335 if you must have it:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103002

The FX60 in OEM form is $350 if you must have it:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2792677&CatId=1947

Here is an interesting combo deal on a FX60 OEM and a 8800 GTS ($669):
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2864054&CatId=1947
 

CaptRobertApril

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Yea wtf is with opty prices? Last night I think they were still priced about the same as they have been for about the past month or so. Now they have all jumped up big time. I mean come on a 170 opty for almost $300? That is nuts. Looks like my decision was made for me on my upgrade. Going AM2 it looks like since my budget will not allow core 2.

Who the hell knows? Maybe with the Opty being a popular server CPU and the word on the street that nothing new is coming out of AMD for the foreseeable future, (until the Paella tour of Catalonia) a bunch of IT managers are deciding to take the leap now. I know that theory is full of holes but it's the only one I can think of.

I hope he actually has a use for all these other ideas we're giving him... technically all he asked about was what processor is the best performing for 939, which was answered right away.

I'm sure the OP will sift through all this wealth of knowledge and come up with the best solution that fits. :D