The Results - Opteron 165 CCBWE 0551 WPMW

Melkorus · 07-03-2006, 07:00 PM

After almost a week of tweaking on my new machine, here are the results.

Opteron 165

G.Skill Extreme Series DDR500 2GB (2x1Gb) Dual Chnl Memory Kit

Asus A8N32-Sli Deluxe

OCZ GameXstreme 700W Quad 12v rails

2x WD 80GB 7200 RPM SATA II Hardrive

iStarUSA Nitro Ax Full Tower Aluminum ATX Case

Processor:
Dual Core AMD Opteron 165 (stepping CCBWE 0551 WPMW, which is said to be very poor stepping) 1.8Ghz stock overclocked to 2.6GHz @ 1.4v. This is equivalent of one of AMD's fastest CUPs FX60 that costs about 3 times as much.
I'm not too happy with temperatures, they run as high as 55C after hours of full load. Will eventually get better heatsink or even switch to water cooling. I was able to boot into windows at 2.8Ghz, but it was not stable. Core 1 was stable at 2.7Ghz, but Core 0 can't do higher then 2.6Ghz. Overall, I am IMPRESSED, 800Mhz total overclock on each core is some serious improvement. If I received good stepping, I would probably be running it at 2.8Ghz. Nevertheless, 2.6GHz AMD dual core CPU just owns everything w/out ever seeing any hickups or slowing down.

RAM:
I had little trouble with this one. Apperantly ASUS boards and G.Skill RAM are not fully compatible (should have done my homework). However, I finally managed to find somewhat a sweet spot. I'm running it as DDR520 @ 2.7v with timings 3-5-5-10 1T. Timings are very loose, not too good, however, 1T command rate makes up for some of that as well as running it at 260MHz frequency. In SisSoftware Sandra 2007 my RAM bandwidth is around 7200, which is far more then I expected.

HDs:
Two WD HDs are running in RAID 0, very smooth. It benchmarks at 104MB/s, which is twice as much as my single SATA 150 HD that reached 50MB/s. Runs extremely smooth at everything.

This build has been tested with Prime95 and Memtest86 for hours and hours, fully stable.

I have Windows XP Pro Service Pack 2 with ALL hotfixes up to June 2006, and it shuts down in 9 secs (from the moment I press the button to time where screen turns blank), and it loads in 7 secs (from time when windows xp logo appears first time, to time when my desktop is shown).

In conclusion, I'm very happy and satisfied with this machine. It cost me some $1200 and it's worth every penny and then some. I can't even express how fast 2.6GHz AMD Dual Core CPU is. I defenitly recommand all these parts to anybody else. Now I'm just waiting for the right time to get new Video card.

Molloch · 07-03-2006, 07:11 PM

Well sir... I understood The and As, but thats about it. Im gonna get a new machine towords the end of the summer probably, but i wouldn't trust my self to put it together. I may get Hellrazor to help me out if i do decide to build one, but more then likely, i will get a stock alienware(if it can be called stock) or xps. It all sounds pretty sweet though. You could most deffinately impress some geeky chicks with the lingo.

Arione · 07-03-2006, 07:21 PM

Nice, Drv. ^^

My 4-5 year old dell is still going strong which is 1.8ghz with 512 ram and geforce 6400. Man this thing seems dated now

I bet it would have trouble running AoC smoothly. I think I'll have to splurge on a new one once AoC comes out.

Torr · 07-03-2006, 07:34 PM

Nice Mel, that's great.. I'm jealous. I would love to upgrade my board and add a dual core to my set up. My weakness is definitely my CPU. Glad to see your happy with the RAID setup too... now you know why I always try to convince people to set up a RAID config. Fast data access is at the core of performance. Now in the future, when you pop in your real video card, you'll have a great and up to date system. Congrats!

Molloch · 07-03-2006, 07:45 PM

Up to date for a month maybe. Capitalist Pigs!!

Melkorus · 07-03-2006, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Molloch

Up to date for a month maybe. Capitalist Pigs!!

Hehe, yeah I know what you mean lol, shit keeps coming out and it's just impossible to keep up for average joe. However, I do plan for this system to last at least 5 years. My last one (still using it) did good enough for 3 years and my parts at the time of purchase were below average. So top notch parts right now should last me 5 years I figure, it better lol coz I don't think I'll be upgrading it any sooner. Also, if you shop around at www.newegg.com for a while and read people's review, it is easy to educate yourself on "geeky lingo"

hehe. I'm far from expert on such things, but I do understand their basic functions which is enough for me. All you have to know is "in what case is smaller better and in what case is smaller worse", that's all

Also, I defentily recommand you go with XPS. Alienware is way overpriced.
I was lurking around their website just to get the idea, and their somewhat equivalent (after overclocking) build would have cost me over $4000. If you could get somebody to help you build a PC, I say that is your best option. Otherwise go with XPS, or if you are one rich Joe, Alienware for the win.

-Mel

Torr · 07-03-2006, 08:19 PM

Heh heh I have a very relaxed idea of the term "up to date" when it comes to computers. You could update your computer every month if you wanted to. To me any computer you could have paid 2000 dollars for new about a year ago is up to date for me. Otherwise I would be poor trying to keep up with the newest thing.

Molloch · 07-03-2006, 08:24 PM

If i were truly goin for alienware, it would probably be more because it looks like somekind of beautiful thanksgiving centerpiece for the average gamer like me. XPS has always been my top choice. Im gonna wait until they offer the 7.1 surround before i get one though.

BTW does my sig hang off the side on yalls screens? it does on mine. a bit too big.

Torr · 07-03-2006, 08:29 PM

I run at 1280 by 1024 because it's my LCD's native resolution. It looks perfectly fine on my monitor.

Molloch · 07-03-2006, 08:42 PM

What is all this "overclocking business"?

07-03-2006, 07:00 PM	#1 (permalink)
Melkorus The Old Timer Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: St. Louis Posts: 4,185	The Results - Opteron 165 CCBWE 0551 WPMW After almost a week of tweaking on my new machine, here are the results. Opteron 165 G.Skill Extreme Series DDR500 2GB (2x1Gb) Dual Chnl Memory Kit Asus A8N32-Sli Deluxe OCZ GameXstreme 700W Quad 12v rails 2x WD 80GB 7200 RPM SATA II Hardrive iStarUSA Nitro Ax Full Tower Aluminum ATX Case Processor: Dual Core AMD Opteron 165 (stepping CCBWE 0551 WPMW, which is said to be very poor stepping) 1.8Ghz stock overclocked to 2.6GHz @ 1.4v. This is equivalent of one of AMD's fastest CUPs FX60 that costs about 3 times as much. I'm not too happy with temperatures, they run as high as 55C after hours of full load. Will eventually get better heatsink or even switch to water cooling. I was able to boot into windows at 2.8Ghz, but it was not stable. Core 1 was stable at 2.7Ghz, but Core 0 can't do higher then 2.6Ghz. Overall, I am IMPRESSED, 800Mhz total overclock on each core is some serious improvement. If I received good stepping, I would probably be running it at 2.8Ghz. Nevertheless, 2.6GHz AMD dual core CPU just owns everything w/out ever seeing any hickups or slowing down. RAM: I had little trouble with this one. Apperantly ASUS boards and G.Skill RAM are not fully compatible (should have done my homework). However, I finally managed to find somewhat a sweet spot. I'm running it as DDR520 @ 2.7v with timings 3-5-5-10 1T. Timings are very loose, not too good, however, 1T command rate makes up for some of that as well as running it at 260MHz frequency. In SisSoftware Sandra 2007 my RAM bandwidth is around 7200, which is far more then I expected. HDs: Two WD HDs are running in RAID 0, very smooth. It benchmarks at 104MB/s, which is twice as much as my single SATA 150 HD that reached 50MB/s. Runs extremely smooth at everything. This build has been tested with Prime95 and Memtest86 for hours and hours, fully stable. I have Windows XP Pro Service Pack 2 with ALL hotfixes up to June 2006, and it shuts down in 9 secs (from the moment I press the button to time where screen turns blank), and it loads in 7 secs (from time when windows xp logo appears first time, to time when my desktop is shown). In conclusion, I'm very happy and satisfied with this machine. It cost me some $1200 and it's worth every penny and then some. I can't even express how fast 2.6GHz AMD Dual Core CPU is. I defenitly recommand all these parts to anybody else. Now I'm just waiting for the right time to get new Video card. __________________

07-03-2006, 07:11 PM	#2 (permalink)
Molloch Registered User Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bandera, Texas Posts: 128	Well sir... I understood The and As, but thats about it. Im gonna get a new machine towords the end of the summer probably, but i wouldn't trust my self to put it together. I may get Hellrazor to help me out if i do decide to build one, but more then likely, i will get a stock alienware(if it can be called stock) or xps. It all sounds pretty sweet though. You could most deffinately impress some geeky chicks with the lingo. __________________ Level 0 Herald of Xotli

07-03-2006, 07:34 PM	#4 (permalink)
Torr Relax... Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Philadelphia, PA, USA Posts: 2,564	Nice Mel, that's great.. I'm jealous. I would love to upgrade my board and add a dual core to my set up. My weakness is definitely my CPU. Glad to see your happy with the RAID setup too... now you know why I always try to convince people to set up a RAID config. Fast data access is at the core of performance. Now in the future, when you pop in your real video card, you'll have a great and up to date system. Congrats! __________________

07-03-2006, 07:45 PM	#5 (permalink)
Molloch Registered User Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bandera, Texas Posts: 128	Up to date for a month maybe. Capitalist Pigs!! __________________ Level 0 Herald of Xotli

07-03-2006, 08:19 PM	#7 (permalink)
Torr Relax... Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Philadelphia, PA, USA Posts: 2,564	Heh heh I have a very relaxed idea of the term "up to date" when it comes to computers. You could update your computer every month if you wanted to. To me any computer you could have paid 2000 dollars for new about a year ago is up to date for me. Otherwise I would be poor trying to keep up with the newest thing. __________________

07-03-2006, 07:21 PM	#3 (permalink)
Arione Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 915	Nice, Drv. ^^ My 4-5 year old dell is still going strong which is 1.8ghz with 512 ram and geforce 6400. Man this thing seems dated now I bet it would have trouble running AoC smoothly. I think I'll have to splurge on a new one once AoC comes out.

07-03-2006, 08:24 PM	#8 (permalink)
Molloch Registered User Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bandera, Texas Posts: 128	If i were truly goin for alienware, it would probably be more because it looks like somekind of beautiful thanksgiving centerpiece for the average gamer like me. XPS has always been my top choice. Im gonna wait until they offer the 7.1 surround before i get one though. BTW does my sig hang off the side on yalls screens? it does on mine. a bit too big. __________________ Level 0 Herald of Xotli

07-03-2006, 08:29 PM	#9 (permalink)
Torr Relax... Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Philadelphia, PA, USA Posts: 2,564	I run at 1280 by 1024 because it's my LCD's native resolution. It looks perfectly fine on my monitor. __________________

07-03-2006, 08:42 PM	#10 (permalink)
Molloch Registered User Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bandera, Texas Posts: 128	What is all this "overclocking business"? __________________ Level 0 Herald of Xotli

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