What would you do??

[DVD]

Ok I got a MSI Dual Opteron capable MOBO. Now I want to know your opinions on what would be the smart thing to do.
There are 4 CPUs I am looking at
2x opteron 242 (1.6Ghz) $491 AU EACH
2x Opteron 244 (1.8ghz) $740 AU EACH
2x Opteron 246 (2.0Ghz) $1089 AU EACH
2x Opteron 248 (2.2Ghz) $ $1,329 AU EACH

Now should I buy 2x 242 for less then the price of 1x the 246 hoping that buy the end of the year the 246 will be around $600 Ea, then I could sell my 242s and end up having 2x 246s for not much more the $1000.

Or should I just slap out the cash for 2x 246s , knowing that in 6 monthes time I would of wasted $1000 AU, but hey im getting dual 2.0Ghz performance and that’s gonna cost

Or should I go in between get 2x 244s thinking there is not much difference between the 244(1.8Ghz) and the 246(2.0Ghz) and it saves me some cash over the 2.0Ghz one and by the time the 2.6Ghz Opteron models come out I could them sell my 2x 244 (1.8ghz) and get a pair of 248s(2.2ghz) for very little loss

Then again I might get 1x 248 (2.2Ghz) at todays prices ($1,329 AU) knowing that I least get AMD 64 FX 51 performance for now, and then pick up another 248 when the price drops significantly.

I hope I did not confuse you and yer I got the money to do all these thing but I want to do the smart thing and not just waste $100s of dollars for nothing.

What would you do?

 

[LTR12101B]

Are you certain the expected workload will actually draw benefit from dual CPU?

The "bang for buck" decreases consistently as you go up the range, and from 1.6 to 2.0, it's only a 25% increase in raw CPU, and unless you're totally CPU-bound, that won't even translate to 25% real world improvement.

 

[Mr Snatcher]

Would do the 242, I just think your not going to see much of a difference between the 246 and 242. Actually couldnt you just use 2 fx-51's?

 

[DVD]

a AMD 64 FX 51 is basicly the same as a opteron 248 except i belive its not dual Capable hence the extra price of a opteron 288 compared to a FX 51 seeing exactly the same a apart from dual capable stuff

 

[DVD]

Are you certain the expected workload will actually draw benefit from dual CPU?

The "bang for buck" decreases consistently as you go up the range, and from 1.6 to 2.0, it's only a 25% increase in raw CPU, and unless you're totally CPU-bound, that won't even translate to 25% real world improvement.

Well i dont know i use photoshop, 3Dsmax, Solid Edge learning cold fusion, using the PC as a designated server sometimes. And just the Multi tasking benefit would be good!?
Its a hell of a lot cheaper then a G5 and i rekon it will give it a run for its money

 

[Mr Snatcher]

Yes your right DVD, I wasnt really thinking. I remember there was a slight difference between the two, but that was it.

 

[FortiTude]

i dont think the cpu is that important, my athlon xp 3000+ is enough and i use 3dsmax too (and a lot of multitasking ...)
it doesnt really matter if it takes 4 or 5 mins for an image and when rendering a video i let it run over night

more important is a lot of ram, i'd say 1 GB is the minimum if your working a lot with 3dsmax and photoshop, especially if both at the same time ...
after several hours excessive 3dsmax usage it can use more than 1 gig

if i got the money i would upgrade my 1 gb to 1.5 or 2 gb ...

forti

 

[catachresis]

" What would you do??"

Just ask yourself, "What would Jesus do?"



-- My heart tells me that he'd wait til they introduce the AMD 64 3500 in early April, and then buy a discounted 64 3200+ with an updated 754 socket mobo. And then he would bring Peace.

 

[weboneando]

... buy 2x 242 for less then the price of 1x the 246 hoping that buy the end of the year the 246 will be around $600 Ea, then I could sell my 242s and end up having 2x 246s for not much more the $1000.

I´ld take this option and with the money saved load the system with 2gb of ram.

I´m not an AMD user so my advice is just based on the money aspect, the difference between the top of the line doesn´t seem much and by adding a lot of of ram it is much possible that you can get a better perfomance in the apps that you´re using.

 

[DVD]

thx guys i ended up going with 2x 244 (1.8Ghz)
and 1Gb of Corsair CMX512RE-3200LL
(2x512Mb) registered ECC DDR RAM, 2x 10.000RPM WD Raptors 36Gb, 128Mb 9800Pro