I'm trying to decide which AMD processor to buy as NEWEGG.COM sells both the Venice and Clawhammer 3500+ core chips for the same price. Now from my perspective they would seem the same but seeing as how the Venice is more popular I would default to that, but I would like a second opinion. As a side note this is my first step into dealing with AMD systems as I finally made switch from intel for my latest comp, and I'm curious as to if I should go for a faster processor. And why do people keep saying the Opteron processors are in short supply?
I have a Venice core 3500+ and I love it. Was running a P4 3gighz. As for Opertrons they are more less for servers. As for faster speed depends on how much you want to spend. I was going to upgrade here real soon, but im gona wait until AMD's new chips that come out next year that support DDR2. *update* Well I just read that AMD stopped producing 939 Opertrons and also 3000+ , 3200+ , and 3500+ processors.
AMD have stopped producing 940 pin Opterons and now only make 939 pin versions. The main differnces for me would be L2 Cache and core architecture, the Clawhammer has a 130nm core and 1MB L2 cache as opposed to the Venice's 90nm core 512KB Cache. The latter therefore being easier to overclock as far as heat goes, as it runs on less power, produces less heat and thus runs cooler to start with. It does have the lower L2 Cache which will slow it down compared to the Clawhammer. I would base the decision on your intention to overclock.
1. I don't believe that AMD has stopped production of socket 940 Opteron's, but socket 940 boards where designed as SERVER boards from the start. 2. AMD just introduced socket 939 Athlon64 chips. Because AMD intended these for SERVER chips they had a much higher level of quality control and production values. People immediately found out that many of these chips OVERCLOCKED to extreme levels with standard air cooling. The 1.8 GHz Opty was routinely being OC'd to 3GHz and above, ergo better performance than the AMD FX chips for a fifth of the cost. Once the word got out demand went through the roof for socket 939 Opterons of all varieties. Retailers like newegg.com monarchcomputer.com and others all jacked the prices up and they still sold out. 3. AMD did not really intend that people buy the socket 939 Opty's for desktop use. AMD felt that it was leaving $$$$ on the table by allowing sales of these chips at such low prices, but at the same time they needed to be price competitive with Intel on server chips. So a rumor comes out that AMD is going to CEASE sales of boxed socket 939 Opterons and only sell them to server manufacturers. Don't know if they are going to do this, but if they do expect to see a thriving grey market in socket 939 Opterons. As far as buying any AMD chip ALWAYS go with the newest version, this is usually the best advice. I believe that the Venice core is newer than Clawhammer (though Clawhammer is a "cooler" name ).
Okay so let me get this straight the Clawhammer is more overclockable but the Venice is newer and hence a safer buy? Anyone wanna elaborate?
