Newcastle vs. ClawHammer - SFF!

Z

Zok

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 5, 2003
Messages
193
I've been doing my reseach on the Newcastle vs. ClawHammer cores, 3400+ to be specific, and all I have really gotten out of it is that the Newcastle seems to be a better overclocker because its smaller cache, but otherwise they have almost identical performance. If this is incorrect please correct me. I was wondering, should the above be true, wouldn't it be better to install a ClawHammer into a SFF (Shuttle SN85G4) due to its lower operating speed, and thus temperature and indirectly noise? Also, I would have to assume the overclocking abilities of a SFF would be somewhat limited and thus rules out overclocking on a major scale, but I would be very willing to bet it could do some minor adjustments if the performance difference between these CPUs is as little as I've been hearing.

Thanks in advance.
 
i have bought the 3400 clawhammer and really enjoy this processor.
 
As per your sig you're not running a SFF, which is OK,but just wondering what were your temps at stock? Anyone know what an average Newcastle's temp would be in comparison?
 
with a venus 12 i get about 36c up to 45c under load or so give or take a 2-3c each way. depends on day.
 
Most newcastles are now a newer CG core, whereas the clawhammers are usually a CO core. the CG overclocks a bit better becuase it puts out less heat than the old one did, so if your primary concern is heat, get a newcastle.
 
Is the new stepping that more efficent that it makes up for 200 MHz of heat?
 
I really dont think you'll notice 200mhz of heat anyway... What are we talking? 1 degree C more?
 
No, it could be up to 5C - remember this is a SFF and I would prefer to have it quiet as possible.
 
i really dont see heat being an issue. but then again i dont recoomend o/c in a SSF
 
Ugh, yes I know it is not an "issue," all I wanted to know is if the ClawHammer possibly had lower temperatures then the Newcastle (factoring in the 200 MHz bump in speed on the Newcastle, but the better stepping - thanks MetsFan978). I just want to know this for the sake of noise and possibly a bit of overclocking which otherwise wouldn't be available.
 
dont think the 200mhz is even going to raise it that you would even notice it.
 
Perfect, thank you. See what I was getting at... if it did raise temps then I would spring for a Clawhammer and OC it to Newcastle specs with the additional cache and relatively same temerature and achieve greater performance within the same temperature envelope.
 
Any reasoning? I just got a reccomendation for Newcastle and you're saying ClawHammer, could you please give me some support?
 
i went with the 3400+ clawhammer for my system because of the 1 meg cache. i have the sn85g4v2 case and running at full tilt w/ 6800gt & 2 x 250gb hdds & 1gb ram i have no issues at all. the temp never gets high enough to kick the fan speed up even when it's 95+ degrees outside. i have it sent to quiet mode in the bios but i'm not sure that would make much of a difference as you can adjust the temp at which the fan kicks up the rpm anyway. thing is these processors do run hot (compared to axp 2500+ & p4 2.4) and i get "dragon breath" coming out of the back of the case. but still, at stock speeds, neither my vid card nor my cpu fan kick up while playing games for hours on end. this combo has been a stellar performer too, though far cry can still bog it down in places (i game at 1600x1200 w/ aa/af).

temp wise, i don't see that extra 200mhz making a difference. i felt going with the larger cache would be more beneficial than the extra speed because it is only single channel memory and i thought that the extra cache would help. i'm not oc'ing this system at all as it runs everything i throw at it without problems, so i see no need to push it. of course once i get home (deployed right now) i'm going to switch back to a larger system and water anyway so bring on the heat.
 
Newcastle less finicky about RAM, I don't know if there are any CG clawhammers...
 
Filter,

What are your benches on your CG Clawhammer? I see you are running it at 2.475 ... I would think that you would be getting FX-53 performace or at least pretty damn close.
 
i also have a cg rev. clawhammer.. one thing to remember with the a64's is that if you wanna keep temps down a bit, you can enable cool & quiet... i have my 3200+ set to 240x10 @ 1.6v, it idles around 30-32c with a zalman heatsink. full load gets a bit hot, around 48c, but that's also with a 6800gt heating up the air too (damn, those things run hot...)

my vote? get a clawhammer from newegg, it'll be a cg core
 
Zok said:
Any reasoning? I just got a reccomendation for Newcastle and you're saying ClawHammer, could you please give me some support?
Click to expand...

Double the cache so double more done per cycle. So you get better performance overall. Actually the difference is probably negligible but I will take the larger cache nearly everytime. Get what you feel comfortable with though, I was only offering my opinion.
 
I vote Clawhammer as well. More Cache is always nice from past experiences but I don't have either chip so this is just an observation. Besides, Claw[H]ammer sounds much more [H]ard than NewCastle. ;) :D
 
Wonderful. Thank you all! This thread certainly picked up! I was about to go ClawHammer 3400+ and OC is a bit to make it around a 3700+, but unfortunately I just noticed that NewEgg has just pulled out all their stock of ClawHammer processors, save for the DTR model and the 3700+. Looks like they have just made my decision for me. :( That is unless I can find a CG Clawhammer somewhere else or find some sort of shim to fit the DTR model. :(
 
hmm, i suppose this is too late, but i got a clawhammer from zipzoomfly.com without any troubles. how do i check the stepping or whatever...and why exactly is it important?
 
zapf said:
hmm, i suppose this is too late, but i got a clawhammer from zipzoomfly.com without any troubles. how do i check the stepping or whatever...and why exactly is it important?
Click to expand...

Thats what i want to know. what is with the steppings and stuff and why s it importan.
 
Here is a link that breaks down the OPN number on your proc so you can decipher what you have exactly: http://www.ocforums.com/showpost.php?p=2760601

Basically you want a CG rev of the Clawhammer if you are searching for one with the 1 meg cache. The updatd memory controller/improved stepping of the CG over the CO allows for better overclocks and heat management as I understand it. That's about it in a nutshell.
 
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