Opteron 165 vs Opteron 170

[Vegitto]

Dear friends,

As many of you know, I have been trolling P) a lot of forums to compose the best possible system I can pay for. Monday will be the day. That'll be the day I will order the first batch of parts. The question in the thread-title isn't the only question, here. Please help me answer some of my questions.

Anyway, here's what the system will be:

AMD Opteron 165/170
Stock HSF
DFI LanParty Ultra-D
Don't know what vidcard, yet
Kingston or Corsair 2-2-x-x RAM (2 GB)
Don't know what case, yet
Don't know what PSU, yet
Current harddrive and stuff

The questions:
-Is there such a big difference between the Opteron 165 and the Opteron 170 for overclockers? I do plan on overclocking later on.
-What kind of videocard should I get? I'd like SM3.0 if possible, budget is ~?250 ($200-$300)
-I was thinking of getting an Antec P180. Would an OCZ ModStream be a problem, if that'd be my choice?
-Are there any known problems with Corsair/Kingston RAM with DFI mobo's?

That will be all. Thanks in advance, all .

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

165 has a maximum multiplier of 9
170 has a maximum multiplier of 10

If you're overclocking that's the only real difference.

an eVGA 7800GT would probably in your budget

Timings don't really mattter with an A64, so don't waste your money on premium or performance memory. Just grab a nice 2x1GB PC3200 kit. Such as this G. Skill set.

Grab a Sonata II and you fix both your case and power supply requirements.

DFI motherboards don't take well to certain lines of Corsair RAM (their value line in particular)

 

[Vegitto]

Originally posted by: JustAnAverageGuy
165 has a maximum multiplier of 9
170 has a maximum multiplier of 10

If you're overclocking that's the only real difference.

an eVGA 7800GT would probably in your budget

Timings don't really mattter with an A64, so don't waste your money on premium or performance memory. Just grab a nice 2x1GB PC3200 kit. Such as this G. Skill set.

Grab a Sonata II and you fix both your case and power supply requirements.

DFI motherboards don't take well to certain lines of Corsair RAM (their value line in particular)

I knew that bit about the multi's, but thanks anyway . The eVGA 7800GT is just a little too expensive for me, here, but I'll see what I can do . I thought that, for overclocking, you needed an A-brand PSU? I've never even heard of Sonata (II).. I'll look into the memory.

Thanks, man.

 

[Vegitto]

Bumping!

 

[davegraham]

well, as far as opterons go, i'd be more than happy to help you out. i'm torn between the 165 and 170, really...

dave

 

[Vegitto]

Originally posted by: davegraham
well, as far as opterons go, i'd be more than happy to help you out. i'm torn between the 165 and 170, really...

dave

I know you're specialized in Opterons, dave, but I'm in the Netherlands, and I'm very sure I can get one cheaper over here, with shipping and all... I mean, what would it cost for me to have one of your Opterons shipped to my home in Goes, Zeeland (The Netherlands)? A lot more than the ?5,99 that it costs here, I bet .

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

Originally posted by: Vegitto
I knew that bit about the multi's, but thanks anyway . The eVGA 7800GT is just a little too expensive for me, here, but I'll see what I can do . I thought that, for overclocking, you needed an A-brand PSU? I've never even heard of Sonata (II).. I'll look into the memory.

Thanks, man.

The higher multiplier just makes the mental math easier and it helps if your board is limited in its ability to attain higher HTT speeds. Your DFI board shouldn't have much of a problem with that though.

Video card wise, with the money you save on the memory, you could probably afford to up the budget allowance on your video card.

The Sonata II comes with a 450W Antec PSU.

 

[Vegitto]

Originally posted by: JustAnAverageGuy

Originally posted by: Vegitto
I knew that bit about the multi's, but thanks anyway . The eVGA 7800GT is just a little too expensive for me, here, but I'll see what I can do . I thought that, for overclocking, you needed an A-brand PSU? I've never even heard of Sonata (II).. I'll look into the memory.

Thanks, man.

The higher multiplier just makes the mental math easier and it helps if your board is limited in its ability to attain higher HTT speeds. Your DFI board shouldn't have much of a problem with that though.

Video card wise, with the money you save on the memory, you could probably afford to up the budget allowance on your video card.

The Sonata II comes with a 450W Antec PSU.

Would that PSU cut it? I mean, everyone here that gets some real results has an OCZ powersupply or something like that..

 

[TrevorRC]

Originally posted by: Vegitto

Originally posted by: davegraham
well, as far as opterons go, i'd be more than happy to help you out. i'm torn between the 165 and 170, really...

dave

I know you're specialized in Opterons, dave, but I'm in the Netherlands, and I'm very sure I can get one cheaper over here, with shipping and all... I mean, what would it cost for me to have one of your Opterons shipped to my home in Goes, Zeeland (The Netherlands)? A lot more than the ?5,99 that it costs here, I bet .

Actually, he'd probably get it to you for the same price .
Knowing Dave, he'd pull it off.

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

Originally posted by: Vegitto

Would that PSU cut it?

Unless you're trying to run quad-SLI 512MB 7800GTXs, a dual core pentium D @ 5GHz, and an 8 drive raid 5 array it'll do just fine

 

[stevty2889]

Originally posted by: Vegitto

Originally posted by: JustAnAverageGuy
165 has a maximum multiplier of 9
170 has a maximum multiplier of 10

If you're overclocking that's the only real difference.

an eVGA 7800GT would probably in your budget

Timings don't really mattter with an A64, so don't waste your money on premium or performance memory. Just grab a nice 2x1GB PC3200 kit. Such as this G. Skill set.

Grab a Sonata II and you fix both your case and power supply requirements.

DFI motherboards don't take well to certain lines of Corsair RAM (their value line in particular)

I knew that bit about the multi's, but thanks anyway . The eVGA 7800GT is just a little too expensive for me, here, but I'll see what I can do . I thought that, for overclocking, you needed an A-brand PSU? I've never even heard of Sonata (II).. I'll look into the memory.

Thanks, man.

The Sonata II is an Antec case, that comes with an Antec Smartpower 450w PSU, so it's a quality PSU. Thats what I am using for both of my dual core rigs, my X2 and my 920.

 

[keldog7]

The Sonata II *is* a nice case - a lot tighter to work in than the P180, but quiet and efficient in its own right. The included PSU is also of good quality - though in my Sonata rig, I swapped it out for a quieter Seasonic S12-430. As for the original Opteron question - it won't matter, except that the math will be easier with the 170, you'll spend a few extra coins, and you'll be guaranteed a slightly higher "baseline" processor speed.

 

[davegraham]

Originally posted by: TrevorRC

Originally posted by: Vegitto

Originally posted by: davegraham
well, as far as opterons go, i'd be more than happy to help you out. i'm torn between the 165 and 170, really...

dave

I know you're specialized in Opterons, dave, but I'm in the Netherlands, and I'm very sure I can get one cheaper over here, with shipping and all... I mean, what would it cost for me to have one of your Opterons shipped to my home in Goes, Zeeland (The Netherlands)? A lot more than the ?5,99 that it costs here, I bet .

Actually, he'd probably get it to you for the same price .
Knowing Dave, he'd pull it off.

i'm actually coming to LOVE shipping internationally...something really fulfilling in watching with nervous anticipation how 5 x 165 trays marked as 5.00 value a piece can sneak through customs in 3 minutes...

see here: http://www.flickerdown.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38

i know for the UK, my pricing is WELL under what most places are selling for and even with the 25.00 flat Global EMS rate, it's STILL under the pricing due to a high VAT rate.

dave

 

[jefbak]

How come the memory quality is not a big deal for amd overclocking?
I have options for 1T and 2T as well as voltage and all that on the EVGA motherboard. If I don't keep CPU around 230MHz with a 165 and 9X multiplier when overclocking I run into trouble. I am hoping new memory will let me bump this number up. Am I wrong?

 

[nealh]

Originally posted by: jefbak
How come the memory quality is not a big deal for amd overclocking?
I have options for 1T and 2T as well as voltage and all that on the EVGA motherboard. If I don't keep CPU around 230MHz with a 165 and 9X multiplier when overclocking I run into trouble. I am hoping new memory will let me bump this number up. Am I wrong?

I think it has to do with the mmeory controller on cpu die so the it is not bandwidth limited(anyone correct if I am wrong..I probably am,too)

I see no differences running most benches with looser and lower mhz on the ram if the cpu is maxed out

what type of ram do you have??

I would suggest finding max cpu speed first..set divider to 100 and ram to 3-3-3-10 for testing get a cpu max and go back and see what ram speed the 165 can handle at the oced speed

do not be surprised if the timing/ram speed need to be slightly lower than running cpu at lower speed..you are taxing the memory controller on the cpu with the overclock

also do you know what the max mhz is for the ram at 2.5-3-3-7????

 

[themusgrat]

Well, try a memory divider first. A64s don't take big hits from those, and remember that CPU speed always> RAM speed. And as long as you stay away from really cheap RAM with DFI boards, they will do just fine; most problems are caused by the original BIOS.

 

[ayabe]

Originally posted by: jefbak
How come the memory quality is not a big deal for amd overclocking?
I have options for 1T and 2T as well as voltage and all that on the EVGA motherboard. If I don't keep CPU around 230MHz with a 165 and 9X multiplier when overclocking I run into trouble. I am hoping new memory will let me bump this number up. Am I wrong?

It's possible or you could just run 230 with better timings. You should try and determine your max oc for the chip first, otherwise you could be dropping money for nothing.

 

[classy]

170's are supposedly slightly better overclockers.

 

[Stoneburner]

i'm actually coming to LOVE shipping internationally...something really fulfilling in watching with nervous anticipation how 5 x 165 trays marked as 5.00 value a piece can sneak through customs in 3 minutes...


dave

LMFAO!!!!!!

 

[Zim]

I sold my 170 for $450, bought a 165 for $300, and ended up with a better overclock. The only downside is that I have to run my HTT at 300 rather than 270. This didn't make a difference until I replaced the hsf on my northbridge with a Zalman fanless cooler. With the Zalman, my HTT maxes out at 280. Bummer! Back to the stock (and loud) hsf.