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Should I upgrade or wait?


gplracer

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I have my system in the signature. It would real easy and a lot cheaper to get a dual core 939 opteron and overclock it. The alternative would be a core duo 6600, new ram, and a new motherboard. Do you think the upgrade to an intel based system would be worth it or not?

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The system specs in your sig doesn't indicate the type or how much memory you have. Assuming you have 2x1GB of memory, for gaming with the monitor you have the biggest improvement is going to be a video card.

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I have my system in the signature. It would real easy and a lot cheaper to get a dual core 939 opteron and overclock it. The alternative would be a core duo 6600, new ram, and a new motherboard. Do you think the upgrade to an intel based system would be worth it or not?

 

If its gaming you do most then getting a 8800GTX would be the best upgrade, but the C2D is a worthy upgrade if you can get good money for your old stuff, I was lucky as I got £600 for my old Mobo CPU and ram, and it only cost me £500 for my mobo cpu and ram, but thats eBay for ya! The overall difference is unreal, my setup can match an FX60 with 8800GTX in any benchie that i have run so far so there is quiet a difference in the CPUs, but I have to say if you run @ higher resolutions then the difference in the cards will be more obvious, so as you have a 24" Dell then a Conroe and 8800GTX would be the Ideal setup!

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I'm a pretty hard-core AMD fanboy so I would go with the opteron. That overclock you have right now is pretty solid though and I've been hearing the new opteron 165s don't OC as well as the old ones did so you might end up losing a bit in the upgrade. (haven't had a chance to OC mine yet- stupid thermalright heatsink is on backorder)

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Thanks for the suggestions. It sounds like an upgrade to a new 6600 would not be the best choice. Also, for gaming i am not sure a dual core would be the best. I wonder how the 8800gts performs with the single core amd cpu compared to the dual core amd cpu.

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I've been hearing the new opteron 165s don't OC as well as the old ones

I don't know where you heard this but the newer steppings are making the old ones look crappy. Most of the CCBBE steppings are really good.

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Upgrading to a dual core would be a nice cheap solution. Starting @ x2 3800, x2 4400, Opty 165 or 175.

 

Upgrading from Single to a Dual core needs some prep work. BACKUP your data!!! If you fail at changing out the x2 CPU you will most likely need to re-install the OS. I’ve change out many of CPU’s you just need to follow a plan.

 

Your BIOS will need to be at 2005/06/23 or higher to support dual core.

 

Clear the CMOS, Load Optimized Defaults and get to a stable stock point.

 

Check out Wevsspot thread. He had great success in upgrading from a single core to dual core. Check his post here.

 

Then install the latest X2 processor driver and Dual Core Optimizer. AMD Dual-Core Optimizer

 

Prime95 dual core setup check this link; an X2 CPU for dual Prime95 stability testing.

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I don't know where you heard this but the newer steppings are making the old ones look crappy. Most of the CCBBE steppings are really good.

 

Really? Hmm sorry about that then. Hopefully you haven't made your decision yet gplracer!

 

Still though I thought someone said something like

 

"if you're looking for a 165 try and find a used one or an OEM one, you'll pay more but the new retail box steppings are not doing so hot"

 

recently, and I was a little sad because mine is a new one from a retail box. Maybe I'll peel my HSF off, check my stepping, and see what happens (mine is a november baby)

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I was looking at either the 165 or the 170 at newegg. Basically same overclocking potential. It just appears that everyone who bought the 170 got a a good stepping and almost all who bought the 165 got a good stepping. The difference is about $30.

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I was looking at either the 165 or the 170 at newegg

I didn't see any memory listed in your sig. If you are using PC4000 either processor will be fine. If you have PC3200 stick with the 170 because of the 10x multiplier.

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