AMD and Intel Server CPUs
We'll close off our CPU Price Guide as usual with the server/enterprise parts. Prices are substantially higher on the majority of these chips, but price is rarely a major concern when you're looking at building 4-way and 8-way servers.
Not counting the Opteron 939 offerings, the best price/performance Opteron server product would be the Opteron 270 [RTPE: OSA270CBBOX] ($448 OEM/$471 retail). If what you need is maximum performance with four or more processors, however, look no further than the Opteron 885 [RTPE: OSA885FAA6CC] ($2089 OEM). With a clock speed of 2.6 GHz, dual cores, and support for up to 8-way configurations, the Opteron 880 is currently the fastest shipping server processor. The launch of Woodcrest may change things, of course, but that hasn't officially happened.
Most businesses tend to purchase servers with all of the CPU sockets already occupied, of course, but if you need another Xeon processor there's your list. The highest performing option we're currently tracking is likely the Xeon 3.6 GHz 800FSB 2MB [RTPE: BX80546KG3600F] ($708).
Conclusion
That takes care of this month's CPU Price Guide. Now may not be the best time to upgrade processors unless you're in a really big hurry, as we should see retail availability of Intel's new processors in the next month or so. What will availability be like, and how much will they cost? Those are both good questions, and the best way to find out is to wait. However, time is money, so if you find yourself in need of a new processor and can't wait, hopefully we've been able to provide you with some useful advice. We'll be taking a look at the motherboard sector in the near future, so if you need advice on a home for your processor as well, we'll be covering that next week.
We'll close off our CPU Price Guide as usual with the server/enterprise parts. Prices are substantially higher on the majority of these chips, but price is rarely a major concern when you're looking at building 4-way and 8-way servers.
Conclusion
That takes care of this month's CPU Price Guide. Now may not be the best time to upgrade processors unless you're in a really big hurry, as we should see retail availability of Intel's new processors in the next month or so. What will availability be like, and how much will they cost? Those are both good questions, and the best way to find out is to wait. However, time is money, so if you find yourself in need of a new processor and can't wait, hopefully we've been able to provide you with some useful advice. We'll be taking a look at the motherboard sector in the near future, so if you need advice on a home for your processor as well, we'll be covering that next week.
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GTVic - Monday, June 19, 2006 - link
The 930 is the same except for double the cache. Why is it so much cheaper????Robberbaron12 - Monday, June 19, 2006 - link
Intel are dumping the 65nm netburst processors as fast as possible, so thats why they are so cheap. The 90nm smithfields are now out of production all together except for the 805 (so I hear). I assume the 65nm netburst must be being shunted to the side to make room for all those Woodcrests and Conroes on the same production lines.JarredWalton - Monday, June 19, 2006 - link
I think Intel is probably about ready to halt all NetBurst production, and they have a ton of inventory to clear I would guess. Anyway, *all* of the Pentium D prices are quite nice. $140 for the 820 isn't bad either, as it will then get the faster FSB relative to the 805 for only $30 more. The 9xx series is good as well, but they all seem to OC into the 3.9-4.1 GHz range, so you might as well grab the cheapest one (930).eetnoyer - Tuesday, June 20, 2006 - link
I doubt that Intel is "about ready" to stop producing netburst chips, considering that current predictions are for ~30% of shipments being C/M/W exiting the year. Unless, of course, they want to lose a bunch more market share. I'm more inclined to believe that they are flooding the market with cheap netburst chips in an attempt to hold unit share at any cost. Their gross margins for Q2 are going to be horrendous.By the way, would it be so hard to include clock speeds in these articles? The model numbers in many cases are almost meaningless to alot of people anymore, and will only get worse going forward. I'm pretty sure that the average reader here is more than capable of understanding the IPC differences.
bamacre - Monday, June 19, 2006 - link
I don't agree that the Pentium 805 is the most interesting Intel cpu, even with it's low price. The 940, which runs cooler and uses less power, is simply awesome at roughly $75 cheaper than the X2 3800+, and running very close to it's speeds in gaming, and beating it in almost everything else. Easily, IMO, the best bang for your buck dual core cpu.JarredWalton - Monday, June 19, 2006 - link
I don't know... overclocked 920 at 4.0 GHz doesn't match an overclocked X2 3800+ at 2.6 GHz, so at least to me AMD X2 still comes out ahead in gaming performance. However, price is definitely in favor of Intel right now. I guess "most interesting" is all a matter of personal preference - for some people, FX-62 and Core 2 Extreme are probably the "most interesting". :)JarredWalton - Monday, June 19, 2006 - link
I think single core will stick around, but all the 1024KB chips are going away. The question is whether Sempron chips are going to be different cores, or just Orleans with some of the L2 disabled. I wouldn't be surprised if AMD goes the disabled cache route.gerf - Monday, June 19, 2006 - link
754 outlive 939? I remember some build reviews where 939 was only to be used because of "future upgrade choices." Ouch.What I wonder, is if my Averatec 6235's mobile A64 (754) can be swapped with a new Turion.
JarredWalton - Monday, June 19, 2006 - link
Your best bet is to ask Averatec; there's a reasonable chance you will need a new BIOS version, but other than that it should be capable of supporting the Turion. Turion is also built using and 90 nm process where is the socket 754 Athlon 64 Mobile chips are 130 nm, so even at the same clock speed Turion should run cooler.gerf - Tuesday, June 20, 2006 - link
Well, Averatec doesn't apparantly do bios updates. I'd have to check the chipset type, and find something more oem