Dual cores and 939 boards?

[Shish]

Soon as I`m mobile again (with or without a wheelchair ) I`m looking at dual core A64`s and non SLI boards (AGP8x). I`m hoping the new ULI chipset ones are on the market by then as I`ve heard good things on them but any reccomendations for socket 939 and A64 would be welcome.
These (2 or 3 boards) will be replacing my current dual Asus A7M-266D`s which will go on crunching from another location (probably one of the son`s pubs) so I`ll be expanding my farm again.
Much prefer duals so hoping the dual core will give me at least similar performance though I may look at a dual Xeon (lot cheaper than the Opterons) as well.

[Bok]

I wish I did have experience of them, but sadly I have no 939 boards at this time. Still I've never gone wrong with Asus boards, so those are usually the first I look at.

Bok

[PCZ]

I have an ABIT AN8 and am very pleased with it.

[willebenn]

Just noticed this on Monarch's site.

AMD 3800+ X2 dual core, 2.0Ghz 512K each cpu
retail box with HS/fan $399(yikes) available Aug 12

Now if only the price drops a little after the initial introduction it will be time to upgrade a few systems to dual core goodness :D

[Shish]

There are supposed to be some slower/cheaper versions coming out August and price revisions then but I want 1meg cache 2.4s for around a hundred £.
Guess I`ll have to wait a while or sell the wife.:scared:

[Bok]

I think I'll be getting a 4400+ next month and overclocking it :) Can't resist any longer....

Bok

[willebenn]

That 3800+ X2 IS one of the low cost chips coming in Aug and one can only hope that by Sept/Oct the price/pain will be less to the wallet.
The 4400+ X2 is on my list for the main system upgrade, but at $650+ each for several crunching only systems it would cause coronary wallet failure.
If only the Intel dual core chips didn't use such massive power, I might be lured to the dark side. :help:

[Bok]

I almost bought a dual core P4 this week until I realised the only board they had in the store needed a 24pin PSU and DDR2. Just wasn't worth it to have to buy a whole new machine..

Bok

[IronBits]

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ 2.2GHz 2 x 1MB Socket 939 CPU - Stepping E6 (Retail)
$625 http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/simprod.asp?pid=11409

REFURBISHED: ASUS A8N-SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - OEM
$105 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131524R

[Shish]

I`m looking at one to build now with the 1Mb cache cores but I don`t want to have to go SLI etc as I`m quite happy with my 9800Pro AIW.
I`m not too interetsted in the Intel dual cores cos they seem much less efficient. Maybe this may change when they bring out the next version based on the notebook chip but I`ve not looked too close at the next offering s from Intel.
Running 3 dual AMDs just now is beginning to hurt with the way power prices are going up so I may just keep the best 2.4Ghz Barton based one and sell off the other 2 Asus boards as well as an original MSI when I get round to repairing a holed cap on it and maybe also some of the older PIII Xeon stuff (think I`ve got 3 pairs between 550Mhz and 900Mhz on Supermicro/Iwill DCA etc as well as an old Tiger 133 with dual PIII 933Mhz) and see if I can finance a pair of AMD dual cores to cover my present needs.
I`m also waiting to see when they get the notebook one out as I definitely want a dual core notebook but I guess that`ll wait for now.

Have to get organised before Xmas though as after my next op I`ll be immobile for a good few months again.

Guess it`s time for a clearout and maybe figure out how Fleabay works cos I`ve never used it yet.

[IronBits]

Watch for AMD's new pricing lists for Athlon 64 X2s, and the 3400+ Sempron...
AMD will also cut processor prices on Monday, a spokeswoman said.

Sempron 3300+ 64-bit $126
Sempron 3400+ $134
X2 3800+ $354 (ETA 8/12) Manchester core w/ 512kb L2 cache (2GHz?)
X2 4200+ $482
X2 4400+ $537
X2 4600+ $704
X2 4800+ $902

[willebenn]

WOW the 3800+ X2 was released today and the WEB is full of reviews of it.
A lot of people are waiting for affordable dual core AMD chips I would bet.
Here are a couple of review sites

AMDzone
xbitlabs
HotHardware

The TechReport review has some power usage charts that are very nice, that 3800X2 is sweet.
Techreport (http://www.techreport.com)

The xbitlabs review also is very good.
xbitlabs (http://www.xbitlabs.com)

The power usage of the 3800X2 is amazing
NOOOOooooooo, must...resist...put...credit...card...back...in...wallet.

[FluffyChicken]

.... type Card details onto screen so everyone may use them .... type Card details onto screen so everyone may use them .... type Card details onto screen so everyone may use them .... type Card details onto screen so everyone may use them .... type Card details onto screen so everyone may use them .... type Card details onto screen so everyone may use them ....

[willebenn]

Sorry you got your feathers all ruffled but
What are you talking about???? Card what card????
I'm talking about dual core CPU's and some reviews of said cpu's.
:confused: :confused:

[FluffyChicken]

Originally posted by willebenn
....

The power usage of the 3800X2 is amazing
NOOOOooooooo, must...resist...put...credit...card...back...in...wallet.

[willebenn]

HAH, now I get it. :rotfl:
I would send them to you in a PM but then would have to shot you and have fried chicken. :D

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by Shish
...or sell the wife.

can you provide a tutorial or detailed instructions on how to do that?

thanks






j/k
:looney:

[Scoofy12]

speaking of dual-core, anyone want to bet on the FAD output of this beast?
http://store.sun.com/CMTemplate/CEServlet?process=SunStore&cmdStartWebConfig_CP&familyCode=SFV40Z&baseSelected=3

for those not wanting to click through, here are specs:

Sun Fire V40z Server
4 AMD Opteron Model 875 (Dual Core) Processors
16-GB Memory
2 73-GB 10000 RPM Ultra320 SCSI Disk Drives
1 DVD-ROM/Floppy Drive
2 10/100/1000 Ethernet Ports
1 USB Port
1 Serial Port
Lights Out Management (LOM) Software
Runs Solaris, Linux & Windows Operating Systems

my prof is thinking of buying one (or one like it from another vendor) for our research... and guess who would likely get to maintain it.... <evil grin>

say, why dont we have an evil grin/muaahahaha smiley?
and why are rock and metal the same?

[Shish]

Originally posted by FoBoT
can you provide a tutorial or detailed instructions on how to do that?

thanks






j/k
:looney:


Well you need a lot of gaffer tape and a large trunk plus tickets to Turkey or some Gulf Kingdom as you need an exceptionally wealthy oil billionaire to maintain the credit card feeding habits of the female sex.
You also need nerves of steel and a lot of luck or a few miracles.
I was offered a good price in Qatar for the wife but I said to the guy that the state treasury was not liquid enough to support her as they only had 68 tons of gold bar in stock then. :help:

[PCZ]

speaking of dual-core, anyone want to bet on the FAD output of this beast?

http://store.sun.com/CMTemplate/CEServlet?process=SunStore&cmdStartWebConfig_CP&familyCode=SFV40Z&baseSelected=3

Windows 38.400 Points a day
Linux 44.200 Points a day

If you were buying it with the sole intention of crunching FAD then it would be very poor bang for the buck.

A64's score less than XP's clock for clock.
I find that a little odd but true none the less.

[Biggles]

Originally posted by Scoofy12
speaking of dual-core, anyone want to bet on the FAD output of this beast?
http://store.sun.com/CMTemplate/CEServlet?process=SunStore&cmdStartWebConfig_CP&familyCode=SFV40Z&baseSelected=3

for those not wanting to click through, here are specs:

Sun Fire V40z Server
4 AMD Opteron Model 875 (Dual Core) Processors
16-GB Memory
2 73-GB 10000 RPM Ultra320 SCSI Disk Drives
1 DVD-ROM/Floppy Drive
2 10/100/1000 Ethernet Ports
1 USB Port
1 Serial Port
Lights Out Management (LOM) Software
Runs Solaris, Linux & Windows Operating Systems

my prof is thinking of buying one (or one like it from another vendor) for our research... and guess who would likely get to maintain it.... <evil grin>

say, why dont we have an evil grin/muaahahaha smiley?
and why are rock and metal the same?

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=5287359&postcount=55

Don't know what price you would have been paying for it, but I'm sure you'd save something by buying the same server minus the Sun badge.

*waves at Shisco*

[Scoofy12]

@PCZ: yes, you are of course right about bang for the buck. however we're buying it specifically to get a bunch of dual-core processors, and not for FAD :)

and yeah, Biggles is also correct; however we have a very nice academic discount from Sun and would pay a lot less than the price listed there. we are looking at other vendors as well, but on the other hand, the Sun box will probably be more reliable than, say a similarly-equipped system (http://www.pcsforeveryone.com/product_info.php?cPath=1967&products_id=13467&customize=true) from someone i've never heard of. actually, our academic price for Sun is about the same as the one listed above for the same hardware.

[Scoofy12]

actually, bang for the buck is pretty good, if you consider the relevant factors. you can't really compare it to a homebrew system, since it's a server-class machine, with server-class parts (SCSI, PCI-X, etc). so yeah, its way overkill if you just want FAD output (way more memory than needed too). but consider the fact that the performance is about as good as 4 dual-cpu servers (especially since theres no memory bottleneck at a northbridge) which would probably cost at least $5k if you were to buy them separately.academic discount puts that machine at about $20k so its quite comparable, but then add the fact that it only takes 3U of rack space, and only requires one power supply, its a pretty good bang for the buck. assuming you need a real server, of course.

[Bok]

Originally posted by IronBits
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ 2.2GHz 2 x 1MB Socket 939 CPU - Stepping E6 (Retail)
$625 http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/simprod.asp?pid=11409

REFURBISHED: ASUS A8N-SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - OEM
$105 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131524R

Athlon 64 4200+ $529

Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe $164

ordered, hopefully here by friday :)

Bok

[willebenn]

Way to go, keep us updated.
Just one comment though, the sli delux had some problems with the north bridge fan, so keep a eye(really an ear) on it.
What else is going into the system?

[Bok]

Don't know yet. Got an EN6800 PCI-E vid card sitting here care of IB :thumbs: 1Gb of PC3500 Ram, a 200Gb SATA drive.

May make it another cruncher or I might dual boot it and replace one of my desktops..

Bok

[IronBits]

Originally posted by willebenn
Way to go, keep us updated.
Just one comment though, the sli delux had some problems with the north bridge fan, so keep a eye(really an ear) on it.
What else is going into the system? Yes it does! :( I ripped it off and put a quiet blower fan on it instead :)

[willebenn]

The egg has 3800x2's in stock, retail box $405 :eek: :(
Mwave has them for $388, so there is hope :)

[Bok]

Go on, you know you want one.....

:jester:

Bok

[IronBits]

I heard they OC to 2.4GHz quite nicely.

[Bok]

We'll soon find out :p

[PCZ]

Must resist !!

UK Prices (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/AMD_64_X2.html)

[Bok]

Resistance is futile with that power consumption...:borg:

I even added a new smilie for you :p

Bok

[IronBits]

http://www.buyxg.com/store/item.asp?key=CU-182-102
X2 4400 $536 !!! This is the 1 meg cache type :)

[gopher_yarrowzoo]

PCZ yeah - MUST RESIST!!! RESIST.. I suppose I could spring for an upgrade on this proc - No must Resist will all my might..

[Bok]

The 4200+ has arrived along with the Asus A8N-Sli :)

I went out and bought a replacement HS/Fan for the EN6800 PCI-E Graphics card, got that on, put the cpu and HS/fan on the mobo, but have just realised that the board needs a 24 pin PSU :( The only ones I have are powering the dual xeons and they are EPS..

DASM :bang: :swear:

So, it'll have to wait until tomorrow, I'm not driving back down into Raleigh tonight...

Bok

[Bok]

*UPDATE*

Can't get the thing to post :(

Everything spins up ok, all fans going, green light on the mobo, no beeps nothing.

Tried a different PSU, same thing.

I imagine it's either shorted somehow, or it's the mobo or the cpu.

Unfortunately I don't have another 939 board or cpu to test, so I dropped it off at a local computer store who will look at it on monday...

:cry:

Bok

[Bok]

*UPDATE*

Store just called to tell me that the CPU actually has a bent pin :(

Anyone know whether newegg will replace in this circumstance or AMD ?

Bok

[PCZ]

That will be a bit tricky.
Customer damaged CPU goodbye warranty.

BTW
Although the board has a 24 pin ATX socket you can use a 20 pin plug.
There is a bit in the manual about it.

I use a 20 pin ATX plug with my AN8.

[Bok]

Yeah,

unless I can bend the pin back, I think it's going to be an expensive paperweight :(

I feel like switching everything off right about now and selling it all

Bok

[jasong]

@Bok:

The term "sucking up" comes to mind, if you know what I mean.

Now might be a good time to figure out how much money you've thrown Newegg's and AMD's way in the past. They MIGHT give you a break.

[IronBits]

Originally posted by Bok
Yeah,

unless I can bend the pin back, I think it's going to be an expensive paperweight :(

I feel like switching everything off right about now and selling it all

Bok I have fixed bent pins several times before.
You must have PUSHED it into the socket.
Granted, 939 pins is a tad more difficult to just slip in, but still...

Unless you crimped it a full 90 degrees and it cracked it, you should be able to warm it up some so it's more flexible and slowly straighten it...
You'll need a magnifyer to see it...
And it wouldn't hurt to call AMD and explain your situation as jasong mentioned, before you do it to see if there is something they can do for you...

You could send it to me and I'll give it a go... send me the mobo to, because if I get it in there, I'm not sure you would be able to remove it once it's seated.

[Shish]

I`ve corrected a few bent pins on Athlons before and I think my score is 3 successful, 2 abysmal failure.
As long as it`s not gone right angle you need one of those plastic tube spouts off a spray aerosol pack (narrow, hard plastic tube) and a lot of care and patience.
Doing a 939 is a real bummer.
I`d be doing some ranting and railing at NewEgg and a spot of blackmail but I already know from the couple of oem Opteron 940 pin jobs I`ve upgraded that they`re really delicate and need a very careful fitting as they seem to have a fair amount of friction on the socket and don`t drop in like the Athlons.
Was it a retail by any chance? More hope with them as AMD tend to be a bit kinder.

[Bok]

Ok,

I bent the pin back and it seems straight enough to me. Dropped it into the socket where it seems to fit just fine. Connected everything up and now I just get continuous beeps (which means at least it's trying to post I suppose, better than before)

Starts after about 10 seconds, beeps for a second, pause for 2 seconds, beeps for a second. Continuous loop.

I tried two different sets of memory, same thing.

These Asus boards are supposed to have the Speech reporter on board. How do you get that to work ????

Bok

[IronBits]

Does it have the latest BIOS?
There is a new BIOS for X2 procs...
Still looking...
Did you get an A8N-SLI Deluxe?
EZ selector card between both PCI-Express slots is set to Single Mode as a default?

[Fozzie]

but I'll say it anyway.

You are trying first with just the CPU?

Do the beeps stay the same irrespective of having CPU, then CPU + mem, and finally CPU, mem and GFX?

[PCZ]

Bok

Plug in a speaker.
The Bios will speak in a girls voice and tell you what it thinks the problem is.

[Bok]

I thought it just used the speaker on board a case ? Which is plugged in..

no matter...

IT LIVES!!

IT says in the manual that if you only have one piece of memory it should be in B1 (not the obvious one) so I tried that and it posted ok. Installing win xp now, dual booting with Gentoo later and I'll mess about with the other memory sticks later as well..

Woohoo!!!!

Bok

[PS2pcGAMER]

Awesome news! :thumbs:

[IronBits]

Originally posted by Bok
if you only have one piece of memory it should be in B1
Bok You've crippled the Dual channel by only installing one stick :spank:

But, it's running! :woot:

[Shish]

That`s excellent news.
I remember my first dual Asus when I crippled it doing multiple swaps of CPU because it wouldn`t fire up and eventually a slip of the screwdriver (those god awful Volcanoe heatsinks) killed a sm cap. That was bad enough but when I eventually found out it wouldn`t fire up because of the bios dislike of my new 8500DV AIW I was really sick to the stomach.

Still, you live and learn.
Now get it into dual channel and give it some stick.

[Bok]

hehe,

well its kicking some ass right now in LHC

Tomorrow, maybe the day after I'll dual boot it with gentoo :p

Bok

[gopher_yarrowzoo]

Smoking nice one Bok :) Sounded like it had gone a bit 'Pete Tong' / FUBAR! not good but you got it working, now if only i could find kind sponser to upgrade this machine to dual and put XP on it, I've never O/C'd before so I ain't gonna attempt it this thing runs hot as it is (I would get one of the few XP2600+'s that run hot)
:notworthy
:borg: I will Resist getting a new X2

[Shish]

Well, I`ve settled on, probably, an Nforce 3 board for the first one and likely a 3800x2.

But still not sure which board as I want enough features and overclockability to run server class stuff on including Gig-E (maybe 2 out if possible) as well as mostly pci slots.
Not heard when the new M1695/M1567 ULI chipsets will be out on the big boys but I may wait for that as the option of either AGP or SLI looks to be perfect and the test boards have done really well.

Just hope Asus/Abit/DFI etc take up this chipset as early results are as good as NF4.

Then of course, I`ve got to see if I can afford a dual Opteron for some real server work.
What I need is to go back to work or take my other three pensions which is , unfortunately not a good option for the next 3 years or maybe 8, at least.

Then of course I may win one of the Euro jacpot rollovers this week which will solve all the problems except how to spend it and where I can buy a whole body transplant. :neener: :crazy:

[Jkusuda]

4800 x2 on the way. Should be brought online later this week.

[willebenn]

WHOA BABY, that is the big one :thumbs: :thumbs:

[Bok]

Nice one jkusuda,

Looking forward to seeing the output on that.. What mobo ?

Oh and I just got an email from Mwave (http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?SCriteria=ba21810&CartID=done&nextloc=)

3800+ for $375, so they are coming down..

Bok

[Jkusuda]

Asus A8N

[Shish]

Well, I just picked up an MSI K8N Neo 2 Platinum for one third of list as a returned unwanted, ordered by mistake :D

Now I want the Asrock with the Uli chipset and a few other bits.......:confused:
Anybody got any spare 3200 memory (about 2 Gig) and a couple 3800x2s they don`t want :jester:

[Jkusuda]

Will be bringing the 4800 x2 online soon. Any suggestions for a first project to benchmark it with?

[Bok]

jkusuda,

did you get it online ok?

I've found the BOINC stuff and SoB are running very well on mine..

as an aside, #2 is ordered :)

Bok

[Shish]

I think I`m going to need some more memory to get my MSI 939 board running properly (when I can afford the x2 of course) but in the meantime, I need some more decent memory anyway to get some more virtual machines online on my second dual Asus as it`s down to 768M after one of my 512M Corsair sticks pooped out with memory errors.
Don`t really want to start selling the 3 dual Asus boards off till I get at least the MSI 939 going but funds are very short just now and I may wait till I do a full clearout of the older PII andPIII Xeon boards and procs and do them all together.
So it`s slow going getting my upgrades off the ground.
Guess the first priority is a gig of decent 3200 or better. Seems there`s lots of different companies doing it now and may desert my Geil for Crucial Ballistix as Corsair is now very expensive and their limited warranty ain`t always very good.

[Jkusuda]

4800 x2 didn't survive the burn in test. The video card burnt out. It ran through the 3dmark test and posted a top 20 score though. Should be fully online next week for full testing.

[the-mk]

A question: does a X2 CPU start with a motherboard (i.e. Asus A8N SLI), which has not the necessary BIOS version flashed?

So if I buy a AMD Athlon 64 3800+ X2 CPU and I'll put it into the motherboard (bought in February 2005)with "old" BIOS version, will it start up, so that I have the possibilty to flash the newest BIOS to "implement" the support for the X2 features?

I don't want to disassemble my barebone to get the 3000+ winchester out to be able to flush the Asus A8N :rolleyes:

:Pokes: What do the experts say?

[Shish]

Some will, some won`t. Was reading about it somewhere, maybe at TechReport or similar.
I think the Asus will boot up if it`s the older bios on an X2 to allow reflashing but some boards require a single core to do it.
Might have been Anandtech I saw it cos I`ve been looking at a lot of 939 reviews recently.
Give me an X2 and I`ll try it ;)

[Thor]

@ Sish
As long as you are not overclocking too hard, see if MDT RAM is available and try it. I run a twin kit (2x512MB DDR 400 ) @ 220Mhz FSB at stock voltage for some months now.
They are supposed to be very reliable and cheap. a twin kit of 2x 512MB DDR 400 Cl2,5 costs about 87 Euros for doublesided and 106 Euros singlesided.

But if you need ECC ram you have to look somewhere else ...

Greets Thor

[willebenn]

From what I gather the cpu support saga is

-If the MB won't boot a Venice/E3 class cpu it won't boot an X2.
You would need an older cpu.
-If it boots a Venice/E3 it should boot an X2 but may not see the second cpu.
This should allow you to at least update the bios.

At least you have the older winchester to use if needed.

[Shish]

Thanks Thor.
I`m shopping around at the moment and I may go with either some more Geil (good if you get the right sticks) or maybe invest in some Crucial Twister as I can get both at a reasonable price just now.
Just missed some Twinmoss with the BH5 chips which is very cheap but amazing for overclocking especially as the newer cpu`s and systems don`t suffer too much for relaxing the timings.
Just taking my time but I`ve already had some quite good times out of the present pair of Geil Golden Dragon Value 3200 sticks where upping the volts a bit and relaxing the latency to 3 can get them to 250`ish.

[Thor]

@Sish

What I hear about high overclocking and realtivly cheap RAM are mostly two names: Twinmos and the BH-5 (which need a lot of Voltage) or A-Data...

Chose your favourite, but I would never be willing to pay the prizes of Geil, Corsair or OCZ rams...


@ all I know it is a little:|ot|: ;)

Greets Thor

[Jkusuda]

4800 x2 finally online. It's running DPAD at the moment. Does anyone know a way to monitor it's output?

[Bok]

http://www.lennytheboxer.com/pics/temp-stats.png

This is the 3800+ x2 of mine that Jeff is playing with right now..

2.5 on the stock cooler, stock vcore , 45C under load :)

Sweet!!

Thanks Jeff! :cheers:

Bok

[willebenn]

What is that monitor util called and where is it available? Is it for Linux (I hope). It looks real nice.
I'm typing this on my 3800 X2 by the way, just could not hold off any longer :D
Details are
Epox 9npa+Ultra
3800 X2
1gb Patriot memory
X800GT
Hitachi 160gb sataII hd
running Fedora core 4 with 2.6.12 smp kernel (i686, not amd64 yet)

[Bok]

sweet! Everyone should get one based on this..

have you overlclocked it? What is the mobo like? I'm looking for some basic mobo's. Nothing but crunching..

I just did a quick google search for webtemp and found this (http://www.coolhardware.de/)

Looks like windows only though...I've not used it myself

Bok :D

[willebenn]

Thanks for the info, sure will try it for my windows install.
Hah no I haven't tried OCing it yet as I just got it this afternoon and did a quick Fedora install to test it out, but they seem to OC so easy I can see it coming.
The Epox mb is very nice (about $105us), I didn't want SLI and also wanted something less expensive than Asus and DFI etc. But what is really nice with this board is the placement of the chipset and cooler/fan, it is NOT under the graphics card so it could be changed. It has nice bios settings and seems well made.

[Jeff]

Athlon 64 X2 3800+ & ECS NFORCE4-A939 Motherboard
http://shop1.outpost.com/product/4559957
$379.99 plus shipping!

Don't know anything about that motherboard but I just paid $374 for a X2 3800+ by itself!!!

If they accepted PayPal I would have been all over one of these just to try. But you did say "basic" Bok so I don't know how much more basic you're going to get for a ~$15 motherboard. :D

BTW, you can get the 9NPA+ Ultra for $95 from NewEgg.com right now. They are having a "$10 instant off" special on it.

[Jeff]

Originally posted by Bok
http://www.lennytheboxer.com/pics/temp-stats.png

This is the 3800+ x2 of mine that Jeff is playing with right now..

2.5 on the stock cooler, stock vcore , 45C under load :)

Sweet!!

Thanks Jeff! :cheers:

Bok

:Pokes: It will run to ~2540MHz before it craps out with the current Vcore. :)

[Bok]

Nice,

even if the mobo is crap (read no overclocking) it's worth it... oops I just ordered one should be here monday! :help:

So, that's x2 #3 :spank:

Bok :D

[Shish]

Originally posted by willebenn
Thanks for the info, sure will try it for my windows install.
Hah no I haven't tried OCing it yet as I just got it this afternoon and did a quick Fedora install to test it out, but they seem to OC so easy I can see it coming.
The Epox mb is very nice (about $105us), I didn't want SLI and also wanted something less expensive than Asus and DFI etc. But what is really nice with this board is the placement of the chipset and cooler/fan, it is NOT under the graphics card so it could be changed. It has nice bios settings and seems well made.

Willebenn.

You should look on www.overclockers.co.uk in their B goods section.
Very cheap MSI and Gigabyte boards there (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/BGrade_Motherboards.html) .
I just bought 2 Msi NF3 and a Gigabyte for £29.99 each. They may be listed as B stock but they`re brand new and complete in their boxes with all the leads and software etc.
Also got some cracking Corsair memory for under a £100 and some more Geil 4300.
Now all I gotta do is sell the wife (25% discount available....anybody????) who is a luxury item so I can buy the essential x2 3800s
:jester:

[willebenn]

Whoa, that is a nice price for cpu & mb. :cool:
Got this puppy just in time, I see orbit@home has work so it should be the perfect burn in tool. :D

[Jeff]

Ahh... a little payback Mr. Bok. :D Now let your wife do the same to you that my wife did to me. :lol:

BTW, my 3800X2+ setup just arrived! :woot: Can't wait for some free time to put her together and see what she does.

[Bok]

Originally posted by Bok
Nice,

even if the mobo is crap (read no overclocking) it's worth it... oops I just ordered one should be here monday! :help:

So, that's x2 #3 :spank:

Bok :D

Typical... just got this from Fry's

Thank you for your order! We apologize but the item(s) you
ordered is currently out of stock and we are unable to provide a
definite ship date at this time. However, we continually receive
new merchandise in our warehouse and we hope to fulfill your
order within the next thirty days or sooner if possible.

Bok
:mad:

[Jeff]

Oh man, that sucks. :(

I wonder how many combos they went through? They probably sold out pretty quickly.

Sorry for getting your hopes up.

[willebenn]

Ah man I was going to order one myself. They probably only had a few and they were gone in a flash at that price. :cry:

[Bok]

Well,

it says they will fulfill the order, so I guess patience helps..

Bok

[Jeff]

Originally posted by Bok
...so I guess patience helps..

WTH is that? :confused: I want my crap NOW!!! :Pokes:


:neener: :harhar: :looney:

[Bok]

Patience has paid off, they shipped this yesterday.

So X2 #3 is on it's way $391 including mobo and shipping is not a bad deal..

Bok

[Jeff]

Not bad at all. :cheers:

Did you see they have a 4200x2 combo for ~$500? :Pokes: :)

[Jeff]

Originally posted by Bok
Patience has paid off, they shipped this yesterday.

So X2 #3 is on it's way $391 including mobo and shipping is not a bad deal..

Bok

So, how does it run? Any overclocking options in the BIOS at all? Any voltage options in the BIOS? If not, is there any software overclocking utilities included with the motherboard? Maybe ClockGen?

They have these instock right now and I'm thinking of picking one up for the wifey's computer... I'm betting I can upgrade it without her even knowing. :D

[Bok]

Not arrived yet :( Should be here monday....

My wife has the 3800+ you played with as her machine now, just finished putting everything on for her today :)

I'll let you know when I get the new one up and running on monday.

Bok

[Jeff]

Ahh... back to that patience thingy. ;)

BTW, that "crappy" 3800x2 I had has gotten a bit better with time. It's running 2.5GHz now with 1.52v... but the temperature has gone all the way up to 66c full-load. I'm getting a better heatsink for it from NewEgg.com but I have a feeling the core isn't making good contact with the IHS. After I try a new heatsink I may do a little surgery and get some Ceramique in there.

Can't wait to hear how that under $400 setup runs. :D

[LAURENU2]

Can you have two or more Dual cores running on one motherboard:neener:

[Bok]

Yes, there are opteron mobos that will take two dual core chips I think.

Bok

[Scoofy12]

Originally posted by LAURENU2
Can you have two or more Dual cores running on one motherboard:neener:

yes, for the opterons at least, the first digit of the model number is how many chips you can have on one board. for example Opteron 275 is a dual core allowing 2 chips (4 cores) per board. you can also buy Opteron 875s and have an 8-chip 16-way system. yum!

i dont know if the dual-core Athlons allow this though, they may have some of their hypertransport links missing or disabled.

we have a server with 2 opteron 270s (2.0GHz version), and according to my benchmarks, its a screamer on FAD.

[Digital Parasite]

I guys,

Some questions for you folks with dual-core boxes. Its an obvious increase in production going from a 2.2GHz Athlon to a 2.2GHz A64 X2 since you get another core and a chance to have 2 clients running at the same time.

I'm in a slightly different camp though, I have a dual MP-2600+ system which runs at 2.1GHz.

Now for me, going from 2x 2.1GHz Athlon to 2x 2.2GHz AMD64 doesn't seem like a huge step up considering the price. I realise that the AM64 has an on-die memory controller and you can use faster dual-channel RAM than my Athlon box but with the AMD friendly DC projects, would such an upgrade actually make any sense?

Maybe I should consider getting a dual-opteron mobo with one dual-core opteron CPU for now, and get a second dual-core CPU later on to have a 4-way box. Too bad those mobos and Registered RAM is so damn expensive.

Some of the new upgrades of software I use require SSE2 instructions so I'm blocked with my MP-2600+ box but I don't really want to spend a lot of $$ to upgrade my machine if its not going to be much faster than what I bought a few years ago... ;(

[Bok]

As an upgrade, possibly not, though they overclock a lot better. You'd have less power consumption than your dual MP though..

Relegate the dual-MP to be a cruncher only :)

Bok

[Shish]

Likely get 2.4/2.5Ghz out of the x2 plus it`s better memory controller is a benefit on some projects but main thing for me is going from 3 dual Bartons (1x2.2, 2x2.4) is about half the power consumption and that counts for a lot in these days of skyrocketing energy prices.

[Digital Parasite]

I would keep the Dual MP and give it to my wife to use, but that wouldn't save me any power since it would still be on 24/7. :|party|:

I guess I will wait and see how long I can last, at that point things will at least be cheaper than today.

[Shish]

Hmmm.
Dual core Opties are tempting but XXXXing expensive.
They also need ECC/REG memory, again, expensive, and boards aren`t too cheap either.
I`d love to do a couple servers with dual duals but they`re still beyond the pale for now as on the exchange rate calculated by my better half, it`d cost me a new house and probably a holiday bungalow somewhere very expensive for a pair of servers.
I can sneek a couple x2 3800s in for free and I`ve just been reading some reports which say they`re pretty damn efficient on both 32bit and 64bit stuff.
Already got 2 MSI K8 Plat boards for next to nowt and 4 sticks of Geil Ultra 4400 just ordered with the first of the x2 3800s next week.
Anyway, No1 will have to be online soon as one of my dual Bartons has a dodgy clock chip and though it runs happy at 132FSB at 2179ish, when I put it up to 133 straight it jumps up to around 2260 which is too much for the mismatched cores at standard volts and I don`t really want to run them at the other available volts of 1.8v cos they get V.B. HOT. and I like to stay below 50C and keep the noise reasonable.