X2 -vs- 939 socket Opterons

The X2 4800 oc's alot I am oced 300 and I idle @ 35c with liquid cooling. I can easy get more.

Quote: Originally Posted by Peter M
I said "qualified for" not "usable with". Sure you can use ECC DIMMs with Athlon-64, I have done that myself - but you will find that ECC mode will not actually enable, at least not on the mainboards I've tried.
Really??? I wasn't aware of that. Is that a function of the CPU not using the ECC capability or is it the implementation by the motherboard manufacturer?

What about Opterons? Being billed and marketed as server-class CPUs, I'd have to assume that they can fully utilize ECC. Then again, if it's a motherboard limitation, would it be the same on a socket 939 board as on a socket 940?

I haven't analyzed further, but the fact that BIOSes don't bother enable ECC with Athlons and Semprons is for sure, at least with any board I've tried. Whether or not these processors are enabled to use ECC RAM at all, I don't know.

It is thinkable that certain board designs don't even run the extra set of traces to the DIMM slots - although that is a rather pointless move, saves next to no money.

The Opteron branded processors are qualified for ECC, and can be used with or without - on boards that support it, of course. Ask your favorite mainboard maker ...

Are there any "server specific" S939 boards at all? I thought all of the current offerings were desktop boards, in which case the ECC support on the CPU is somewhat pointless if the motherboard & BIOS doesn't support it.