2 Dual Core Opterons a good solution?

jtsanda

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Hi all, I'm back with another hardware related question, and I'm hoping someone could shed some light on this for me. I have found a new socket 940 server motherboard with support for 2 dual core opterons running simultaneously as well as support for up to 32gb of ram and pci-e x16. I was basically wondering what the performance would be like if i purchased this board and 2 dual core opterons running at 2.2 ghz. Would it be worth the price? ($46.99 total!!! :bounce: ) and one final question would it be faster than my AMD Athlon 64 5200+ x2 (Brisbane model)?

The motherboard is an ASUS k8n-dre
The 2 processors are Dual Core Opteron 275's
all the rest of my system specs would remain the same.

(8gb's of ddr pc3200, Ati Radeon hd 4870, 320gb SATA 5200 rpm hard drive, 650 wtt psu)
 
Solution
For gaming Athlon 64 5200+ x2 is the better option.
Running a database server or heavy audio/video encoding the twin Dual Core Opteron 275's might - might - be the better option.
ASUS K8N-DRE-2GBL motherboard requires ECC RAM - add about $256 for 8GB.
For gaming Athlon 64 5200+ x2 is the better option.
Running a database server or heavy audio/video encoding the twin Dual Core Opteron 275's might - might - be the better option.
ASUS K8N-DRE-2GBL motherboard requires ECC RAM - add about $256 for 8GB.
 
Solution
Server boards are designed around their intended function.

Even if you found a "deal" on the board, i agree that it's not the way to go.

The following is by far the best value you'll find:

1) suitable 1156 Motherboard
2) i5-750 Intel CPU
3) 4GB DDR3 RAM (1600MHz or 1333MHz)
4) HD5850 1GB
5) Windows 7 x64 OEM

Now I STRONGLY suggest you wait until NVidia has their DX11 cards out and supply for both can keep up with demand. The HD5850 cards will drop in price when NVidia's cards come to market and you can add a second one in the future as needed in CROSSFIRE.

Another thing to check out is the new Lucid Logix chip first available in the MSI "Big Bang" board. Reviews should start trickling in near the end of November. This new chip is on the motherboard and interprets command to and from the CPU and graphics cards. It elminates the need for Crossfire completely and doesn't require two identical cards. It sounds like it will work in scenarios where normally only one card was supported so it's VERY interesting and rumours sound like it will work as advertised. If so, expect to see a lot of motherboards in 2010 using this chip.
 

jtsanda

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Wow thats very interesting about the new Lucid Logix chips. Another thing I'm interested in is Intel's Larrabee. I've heard that Sony's new console is likely to incorporate its chipset in some form or fashion. When will it come out, and do you think it will eliminate the need for a pricey dedicated gpu?

As for the server board, I'm just curious if I actually spend the $50 will it provide an performance gains over my current Athlon dual core.
 

jtsanda

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I already have the ECC ram in my old Alienware tower. It's virtually useless so I figured if I actually did buy the server board I would just swap the ram into it. I have no need for an actualy server though, so if I won't experience any performance gains in gaming than I'll put the money back towards a smarter investment. Thanks for the advice. :D