Opteron S939 1xx series on ASUS A8N-SLi Premium

R

Rixx

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Hi guys,

Ive been browsing the forums and have noticed there is a bit of hype concerning the "Opteron 1xx S939" processors (even though they arent readily available at the moment! I have to admit, I want to take the plunge lol.

My only problem is, I have no idea if these will be compatable with the ASUS A8N-SLi Premium motherboards? Maybe someone has tried it or knows?

I'm pretty sure the DFI LanParty UT NF4 Ultra-D motherboard is oki but I have Corsair ValueSelect 1gb Memory Module (part no: VS1GB400C3) and am worried if it will work on it!

Id welcome any opinion or advice anyone can give me. Its been quite a conquest organising a new system upgrade and it seems the more I read, the more confused I get! Thanks for reading.

Rixx
 
the only way to find out is to test it yourself or email asus about it, as it's a combination i haven't seen before and probably won't for a while ;)
 
Hi Eclipse! Thanks for the reply.

I have posted all over the place and was beginning to doubt whether there was life on Hard OCP! Thanks to you, my suspicions have been cured :D

Im the kinda guy where when something gets into my head, I have to know NOW! And I need to find all reasons associated with it so as to validate what I know "now" is true! lol. I have been up many hours researching and researching a AMD PC Spec that will be good, affordable and well thought out! I was going to go for the 3500 A64 only to realise a 3200 or even 3000 A64 could be overclocked and run stable! So this was the plan. Then I had all sorts of issues as to what motherboard to get. The [H]ard OCP review section is great but had something bad to say about all AMD A64 motherboard solutions - Apart from the MSI Neo4 Platinum MB. But then I found a paragraph riiight at the end which outlined that there were issues with the motherboard and to choose another.

This then left me back at square 1. I then looked into the DFI Lanparty Nforce4 Ultra-D Motherboard. This had mixed responses from people but I was still going to go for it. BUT I have Value Select 1GB Dimm Corsair Memory Module! I heard that maybe the DFI would run into problems with this RAM - So this was scrapped!

Then I slowly but "FInally" came to the ASUS A8N SLI, nForce 4 SLI motherboard. I heard mixed reviews about this in AMD systems as well, but it seems too many people have this card, so it cant be all bad. And with the right Bios version, problems are usually rectified. So Waheyey! A conclusion. HOWEVER, amongst travelling throught my motherboard research I stumbled upon the OPTERON.

A New Decision

I read and read and read and found this amongst many others :

http://www.svethardware.cz/art_doc-BDD167651B03962DC1257072003E90F1.html
(this is in czech.. but just look at the graphs! PS Dont be fooled, its not a 940 Opteron, it is a 939 Opteron! Bios isnt quite up to scratch in identifying the correct ID, thats all).

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=404211&page=3&pp=30
(This is a bit more in depth, where the adventure kinda begins - in english!)


Conclusion

Get an Opteron 144 and overclock the hell out of it (within reason of course to achieve stability).

Hence Eclipse (sorry to go on very long!) I asked whether an Opteron S939 can be used with the ASUS. If you looked closely at the czech article above, you will find that it was the ASUS that was actually used to benchmark the Opteron 144 and AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Venice core.

So this is quite amazing stuff (which is why I have created such an in depth post - I need to report my findings to someone!! lol. )

So In conclusion, I found the answer to my question. Yes it can be used with the ASUS (providing you use the correct bios). The only issue is that the "PowerNow" doesnt work properly. But that shouldnt be a problem.

If you are still with me, perhaps yourself or anyone else who has bothered to read my post can enlighten me as to whether the corsair 1GB Value Select RAM will be ok on the ASUS? That would really be great! I am getting so tired of trying to make the wisest decision! lol.

Thanks to everyone that is reading this sentance! As you are still with me.


RickyS
 
I don't see a reason why the corsair value ram wouldnt work on the asus board.

gosh after you signed your name i expected to see a "p.s. Thanks for sticking with me this long" again
 
From the links in my previous post (the second link -in english), you will find that the Opteron is actually a rebranded San Diego core! i.e. an L2 Cache of 1MB opposed to 512KB. This has implications on overclocking performace and overall system output. All good im sure you can agree :D

The real clever part is this - the 144 Opteron costs less than a 3000+ A64 and clocks upto a 3700+ A64 (and beyond) WITH A 1MB L2 CACHE!

This is what I have found to be true so far and from the czech article by Petr, this is proven. The price/performance ratio in this setup is staggering! I am still researching tho. :D

-I am very new in the AMD world let alone overclocking. And all the experience I have to go on so far is "theory" hehe. Once I know what bits I want and build my rig, I will be an active OC'er (i hope a successful one :))
 
From the links in my previous post (the second link -in english), you will find that the Opteron is actually a rebranded San Diego core! i.e. an L2 Cache of 1MB opposed to 512KB. This has implications on overclocking performace and overall system output. All good im sure you can agree :D
Click to expand...
of course it is, lol

i just wanna know why AMD is moving the 1xx series of opterons to s939. its awesome any way you cut it, maybe ill keep my neo2 for this after all...
 
Ahh I came across this information aswell!

Apparantly AMD is trying to streamline their operations and attract a wider market to a single Processor server model. They want to make more money and cut costs! As Opterons need ECC registered ram (which is expensive), making the move to Socket 939 allows opterons to run with NON-ECC registered ram hence, cheaper. There are also other reasons, but I cant remember lol - its been a long night!

AMD, just after their release of the socket 939 Opterons, quickly realised that overclockers were getting wind of the Opteron as being a rebranded "San Diego". As a result, they increased the price of some of their dual core and FX A64 chip equivelants dramatically..

Want an example?

The Opteron 154 (I think its this one) was increased in price by 91% (yep ninety one percent) over night!

Good news is tho, the Opteron 144 (at stock speed runs at 1.8GHz - equivelant to a 3000+ A64) and Opteron 146 (at stock speed runs at 2.0Ghz - equivelant to a 3200+ A64) are cheaper than the Venice Athlon 64 Processors! (or should be according to their site) - BUT availability is scarce at the moment.

Im researching into purchasing an Opteron 144 and leave it at 1.8Ghz stock speed -YEAA RITE!! hehe

PS- read the czech link here for proven results by Petr:
http://www.svethardware.cz/art_doc-76700DD756526F91C1257072003DE6F7.html

read the technical on going findings in this thread :
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=404211&page=3&pp=30

:D
 
tsuehpsyde said:
Linkage, powered be EOC of course. ;)

http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/opteron/details.aspx?opn=OSA144BNBOX

I can't wait for mine. :D
Click to expand...

Hi tsuehpsyde!

I just had a look at your setup and it looks great from a 3000+ A64 Venice core! Is that stable? Also do you use water or air cooling? Ive got Corsair Valueselect memory 1GB Dimm and preferably wanted to use this with a DFI Lanparty motherboard, but have heard that there are issues with this :(

Any ideas?

Thanks
 
Rixx said:
Hi tsuehpsyde!

I just had a look at your setup and it looks great from a 3000+ A64 Venice core! Is that stable? Also do you use water or air cooling? Ive got Corsair Valueselect memory 1GB Dimm and preferably wanted to use this with a DFI Lanparty motherboard, but have heard that there are issues with this :(

Any ideas?

Thanks
Click to expand...

You tell me. Click on the image for full sized.



That's on an X2 stock cooler, which has a copper base and heatpipes as opposed to the stock A64 cooler, which is all aluminum with no heatpipes....loads at about 40C at the speed you're looking at.
 
where did you pick this up at robberbaron. i'd like one. after reading that article these opteron's get 300+ FSB!

edit: what are the advantages of running the 939 opteron other then the 1mb L2 cache at the lower clock speeds. the 1xx series is a one way cpu, from what i've read.

thanks for any info. i'm still learning about opteron's :p
 
Custom ordered them directly through AMD :\

Opteron is cool because its

90nm
1mb L2 Cache
Pre-Underclocked
$150
 
lithium726 said:
how?

i want in on that shit.. lol
Click to expand...

that's what i'd like to know... :cool:

let's start a group buy! lol

edit: So what are the advantages of running an opteron 144 oc'd to, theorhetically say, a sandy 3700+ at equivalent speeds?
 
Yeah, AMD underrates the Opterons in order to further exted their already amazing reliability. It's a chip that will simply not die in normal conditions. My Opteron will probably never see normal conditions.

You could try ordering from these guys
http://www.sparco.com/cgi-bin/wfind2?spn=H265343
None in stock but they might order some to meet demand. I didn't order from them, though.
 
robberbaron said:
Custom ordered them directly through AMD :\

Opteron is cool because its

90nm
1mb L2 Cache
Pre-Underclocked
$150
Click to expand...

The 1xx series would only be comparable to Sandy's 3700+/4000+ then if I'm not mistaken, and cannot be compared to x2's even though these are mainstream server chips.
 
asianguy80 said:
The 1xx series would only be comparable to Sandy's 3700+/4000+ then if I'm not mistaken, and cannot be compared to x2's even though these are mainstream server chips.
Click to expand...

Well, their core is Venus. Similar to San Diego. I wasn't aware anyone tried to compare them to X2's :confused:
 
robberbaron said:
Well, their core is Venus. Similar to San Diego. I wasn't aware anyone tried to compare them to X2's :confused:
Click to expand...


Well I'm not saying compare them to X2's. I realized after reading your comment that they are in two different categories.

Keep all of us updated on how these chips perform. I might switch over to save me some money over my 3700+. They should perform on par with 3700+'s right, if oc'd properly?
 
er.. the 3700+ is 2.2ghz. i'm expecting these do do >2.7ghz :)

and you can be assured we'll have a nice writeup on them when everythign is said and done
 
Im sure they are gonna do >2.7 a couple so far hit 3.0 with one at 1.5V so its looking good. They are getting them in Japan now so im not sure WTH we arent seeing any yet :mad:
 
lithium726 said:
s939 opterons? why? linkage?
Click to expand...

I don't get it either. Socket 940 Opteron 1xx series makes SOME sense as it could be used for uni-processor workstations and lower end servers requiring ECC ram. But taking away the ECC Registered ram requirement and making it uni-processor essentially turns it into an A64. Thus, all a S939 Opteron serves to do is create confusion.
 
PaHick said:
Im sure they are gonna do >2.7 a couple so far hit 3.0 with one at 1.5V so its looking good. They are getting them in Japan now so im not sure WTH we arent seeing any yet :mad:
Click to expand...
i should have one on wednesday or thursday :D
 
Sir-Fragalot said:
I don't get it either. Socket 940 Opteron 1xx series makes SOME sense as it could be used for uni-processor workstations and lower end servers requiring ECC ram. But taking away the ECC Registered ram requirement and making it uni-processor essentially turns it into an A64. Thus, all a S939 Opteron serves to do is create confusion.
Click to expand...

I guess what this essentially is is the modern equivalent to the whole trick of sticking an Athlon XP mobile in a desktop system and watching it fly.

BTW, if some of those ARE really based on almost the same core as the san diego, I can personally attest to the fact that they will indeed do 300+ FSB. Too bad my particular chip doesn't seem to want to oc much (2.4 may be max, but, 2.5 might be possible -- in testing right now. 2.6+ appear to be out.) Seems like the main limit on FSB is the motherboard really.
 
mine's a different stepping then normal san diegos: CABNE instead of CABGE or CABHE :cool:

ah has probably already been stated, the core's real name is venus. i dunno what the difference between venus and san diego are, but it's there :p
 
Bear in mind that you can still use ECC ram on a 939 board and chip. Opterons are also the last chip you'd ever find to be DOA, as they are put under a higher standard of stress testing than an Athlon 64.
 
robberbaron said:
Bear in mind that you can still use ECC ram on a 939 board and chip. Opterons are also the last chip you'd ever find to be DOA, as they are put under a higher standard of stress testing than an Athlon 64.
Click to expand...

I am pretty sure you can't use ECC Registered ram like the normal S940 Opteron does on a board like the A8N-SLi Premium.
 
Sir-Fragalot said:
I am pretty sure you can't use ECC Registered ram like the normal S940 Opteron does on a board like the A8N-SLi Premium.
Click to expand...


ECC != Registered.

There is unbuffered ECC ram available, and 939 boards can take it
 
robberbaron said:
ECC != Registered.

There is unbuffered ECC ram available, and 939 boards can take it
Click to expand...

ECC is not necessarily registered. I know standard ECC may be acceptable to a S939 board, but Registered ECC ram such as what's in my Opteron rig will NOT work in a S939 Asus board.
 
Sir-Fragalot said:
ECC is not necessarily registered. I know standard ECC may be acceptable to a S939 board, but Registered ECC ram such as what's in my Opteron rig will NOT work in a S939 Asus board.
Click to expand...
isn't that what he tried to say? plus, he read my memory guide where i touch on ecc and buffered ram compatibility, so he should know this stuff :D
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=952359
 
Sir-Fragalot said:
ECC is not necessarily registered. I know standard ECC may be acceptable to a S939 board, but Registered ECC ram such as what's in my Opteron rig will NOT work in a S939 Asus board.
Click to expand...

Uhhh, that's what baron just said. != stands for "does not equal". :p
 
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