AMD Opteron dual core question
 

I'm in the process of researching parts for an upgrade and have a question about the AMD Opteron dual core chip. AMD markets the chip as a server processor but I have read many reviews of people using it for everything but a server including gaming. Most of the reviews I've seen have basically stated that the Opteron chipset is superior to AMD's 'consumer' dual core option, the Athlon 64 X2 in just about every way (mainly due to it's 1MB L2 cache per core as opposed to the 256kb per core cache of the X2) and that if you can find one for a decent price to jump on it.

One piece of information I haven't been able to find is if the Opteron will run on a standard socket 939 motherboard. I have found an Opteron 165 Socket 939 Dual Core chip for an excellent price but the only mobo's I've been able to find that expressly state they support Opterons are either socket 940 or $700 server boards. I have of course found several standard 939 boards that support dual core and a 1000mhz FSB but none state anywhere in their specs if they support the Opteron chipset. One could assume that they would but I'd like to be sure before dropping that much cash on a CPU only to find out my assumptions were wrong and be stuck having to buy a $700 mobo.

So my question is, anyone here using an Opteron chip and if so what mobo are you running it on?

Well, AMD's gaming chip, the FX-xx series has gone to dual-core now with the introduction of the FX-60. So you get the benefits of having dual-cores and their gaming processor.

Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately the FX-60 is about $600 more than I am looking to spend. My overall budget for this upgrade is between $500 - $600 for a CPU, mobo and 1GB of RAM.

If I'm not mistaken newer Opteron CPUs are compatible with socket 939, so any decent AMD64 board should work with them. The older Opterons are socket 940 though, so it's doubtful they would work on a regular S939 board. (And if I'm wrong, correct me)

You may wanna contact a mb company like abit and ask them if the opteron is compatible with the 939 slot. I am not sure what the 3rd symbol there is and I wasnt able to find out anything on amd's site but if any mb is compatible with teh opteron cpu i would say the below one would be. also on amd's site they dont have a section about opteron workstations.

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/...8_8826,00.html

Any s939 mb that can house the X2 model should be able to run s939 opteron.

You should of course first consult the recent BIOS notes and the FAQ of your MB manufacturer.