socket 939 choices... this Denmark Opteron vs. Manchester

[thecleeze]

Socket 939 - 3 CPU choices (by core type): San Diego, Manchester X2, and Denmark X2.

The advantages/disadvantages of the first seem relatively clear given the single vs. dual core option, but I'm having trouble comparing the second two - though it seems they can be had for around the same price ($350<CPU<$450). At this point, it looks to me as though the primary physical difference is the L2 cache (512kx2 vs. 1mbx2), but maybe I'm confused/missing something.

If I can get an Athlon XP X2 4200+ 2.2 GHz with the Manchester core for the same price (roughly) as the AMD Opteron 170 2GHz with the Denmark core (both dual core processors, both Socket 939 processors), which is better? Any advice/data/resources?

The Cleeze

 

[dvdpiddy]

well the opty will run cooler but the x2 is cheaper.But if you oc its the opty just for general use go for the x2 my choice would be the opty and dude denmark and manchester are cores for the procs denmark is all opty dual core 939 and manchester and toledo are all x2 the manchester has half the cache of the toledo and denmark

 

[LithiumSunset]

Its all about the cache. The Denmark core seems to be the core of choice when it comes to Opterons. Then again, what do I know, I use Intel

 

[thecleeze]

Thanks for the info. Okay, to further my question, I just checked Newegg and I could get a:
'AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 1GHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA4400CDBOX - Retail ',
OR a:
'AMD Opteron 175 Denmark 1GHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model OSA175CDBOX - Retail '.

Both are 2.2 GHz, both Dual Core, both are the same 90nm process, socket 939, etc. The only technical difference I see is that the voltage of the former is 1.35-1.4, and the latter is 1.3/1.35. Price is close enough to be negligable for my purposes.

After reading the 'key features' section of AMD's website, there seems to be a difference in the number of Hyper Transport links (3 for the opteron, 1 for the X2). Some concerns are things like 'would the ECC cache feature of the Opteron slow down the real world performance?', etc... all of which come down to:

In the real world, primarily in Applications, DiVX encoding, and situations where large database files are open while photoshop and indesign are being used, (in a system where everything else is the same), which processor will perform better?

any thoughts?

 

[ThunderGodThor]

No ECC on the 939. AKA all 1xx optys. The ECC is used in the 2xx and up and uses a 940.

 

[dvdpiddy]

dont you mean registered ram? ecc is supported on s939 opty's

 

[thecleeze]

I'm referring to this line from the 'key features' section on the AMD site:
"ECC (Error Correcting Code) protection for L1 cache data, L2 cache data and tags"

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_8826_8805,00.html

Maybe I'm confused about what that means - Basically though, I don't think I've ever seen a side by side comparison/battle with the X2 S939 versus the Opteron S939.

I'll probably build a system soon which has:
mobo - ASUS A8N-SLI
vid - MSI Geforce 6200 TC pciexpress
power - 450 watt (Antec case - don't know the brand of the power supply)
ram - 1gig corsair valueselect unbufferred non-ECC

Given that basic system, I'd really like to see which CPU will deliver the best 'bang for the buck', and also how big a difference there is in real world performance. I like the idea of the Opteron because in theory it's designed as a higher grade component, but I want to see it beat down someone (you know, like Royce Gracie or something).

 

[gOJDO]

After reading the 'key features' section of AMD's website, there seems to be a difference in the number of Hyper Transport links (3 for the opteron, 1 for the X2).
Some concerns are things like 'would the ECC cache feature of the Opteron slow down the real world performance?', etc... all of which come down to

This is a part of the AMD FAQs on its website(http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_8796_8806~85257,00.html#85258):
"...Does the new AMD Opteron 100 Series processor with ECC unbuffered memory support include additional features that were previously unavailable?
A: ECC unbuffered memory support is new to all AMD Opteron 100 Series processors offered in a 939-pin package. ECC unbuffered memory support is significant in that in can greatly reduce the overall solution cost of 1P servers and workstations based on these processors.

All AMD Opteron 100 Series processors with unbuffered memory support include performance enhancing features such as SSE3 software instructions as well as a 1GHz HyperTransport™ technology bus (offering up to 8.0GB/s throughput)..."

Believe it or not the Denmark core is exactly same as Toledo.
One has been named differently due to the higher quality binning process to pick out ones for Opteron.

Wusy, that is the correct answer.
The cores are identical, only the ECC unbuffered memory support is availabe on the Opteron 100, but only on a few motherboards is implemented. Same clocked are performing same, but the Opteron is more overclockable and will run stable with a minor voltage addition.

 

[thecleeze]

awesome. thanks for the info.

 

[pengwin]

yup go for opteron