754 vs 939

[bradams]

I can get a 754 3400+ 2.4Ghz for the same prices as a 3200+ 2.0Ghz

I'm new to O/Cing but iwll do my best... which is better? Or atleast why is everyone going 939 over 754

 

[F1shF4t]

Dual chanell ram, ability to get dual core.
If ur not planing on getting a dually EVER untill u get a new complete system, and dont care about dual chanell ram than there is no particular point to caring which socket u use.
The 3400+ would be faster than the 939 3200+ by quite a bit, although the 3200+ should hit 2.4ghz easy.

Up to u really.

 

[keeleysam]

I'd go the 754 route.

 

[Avalon]

The 754 2.4ghz chip will be much faster than the 2ghz 939 chip. Dual channel doesn't do diddly squat for performance...you're talking 5% or less performance in practically any given app. A64 chips don't need the bandwidth.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

If you don't need dual-core CPUs, stick with S-754 (unless you get a killer deal on S-939 stuff, eg. used parts, etc.)
Check out Valar (see sig). I'd wager it's as good as any single-core S-939 rig out there

 

[zizo]

If you can get a cheap 3000+ venice for 754 socket then it's fine. Otherwise I'll go with 939 venice. Newcastle 3400+ 754 doesn't overclock much and runs about 5-10 degrees hotter than venice.

Also if you go with 754, you'll mostly end up with an agp video card, which are more expensive than pcie cards. Unless if you find a 754 pcie motherobard.

 

[thescreensavers]

I'd get 939 hands down

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Originally posted by: zizo
Also if you go with 754, you'll mostly end up with an agp video card, which are more expensive than pcie cards. Unless if you find a 754 pcie motherobard.

Err... I thought that nForce4-based (ie. PCI-E) 754 boards aren't that hard to find? Heck, IINM there's even one or two SLI 754 boards.

BTW : I'll put in a solid vote for the ABIT NV8. Have 2 of them critters - one is in Valar, the other is in my bro's rig (OC'ed 3700+ ClawHammer). Been running beautifully 24/7 since 01/01/2006.

 

[CTrain]

Heres another question:

Why is the 3000+ 754 base is 2.0ghz while the 939 is 1.8 ??
From benchmarks, the 754 is faster.

So if you OC the 3000+ 939 to 2.0ghz and everything else remain constant, would they run at the same speed ???
If at 2.0ghz, the 939 is faster, WHY ?? What makes it faster ??

 

[Karaktu]

Check and see how much cache the chip has. AMD's "+" ratings vary by frequency and L2 cache size, those having 1 meg of L2 getting a higher "+" rating than a similarly clocked (GHz) chip with a 512k cache.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

For Athlon64/Sempy CPUs, try to stay >= 256KB L2 cache.
IINM, Anand or someone else had an article where OC'ing a 128KB L2 cache Sempron did help performance.
~512KB is the sweet spot. Of course, 1MB is better

 

[F1shF4t]

Originally posted by: CTrain
Heres another question:

Why is the 3000+ 754 base is 2.0ghz while the 939 is 1.8 ??
From benchmarks, the 754 is faster.

So if you OC the 3000+ 939 to 2.0ghz and everything else remain constant, would they run at the same speed ???
If at 2.0ghz, the 939 is faster, WHY ?? What makes it faster ??

dual chanell memory, thats how they justify giving the lower clocked 939 part with the same number. In fact ur right in most cases the 754 part will perform same if u look at ratings, but at same clock speeds the 939 parts will be slightly faster.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Go s754 and get a turion, you can have 754 dual core and it'll have a lower TDP than 939 dual cores and overclocks VERY similarly.

DFI 754 nf4 with Single Core Turion will be quite hella fast and leave the possibility to upgrade to a dual core turion when they are more avaible in the retail market.

/EOT

 

[BlvdKing]

Turion X2s are socket S1, not socket 754. Turion's don't have the heatspreader either, which makes them vulnerable to die cracking from the heatsink.

 

[pkme2]

I have both. Go with the 939 because of future expansion possibilities. My 2 latest builds were 939s and I'm happy to go this route. Many others have too.

 

[snor]

I remember hearing how the sempron's performance ratings are directly compared to the celeron's, while the A64's are compared to P4's.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: WhoBeDaPlaya

Originally posted by: zizo
Also if you go with 754, you'll mostly end up with an agp video card, which are more expensive than pcie cards. Unless if you find a 754 pcie motherobard.

Err... I thought that nForce4-based (ie. PCI-E) 754 boards aren't that hard to find? Heck, IINM there's even one or two SLI 754 boards.

Socket 754 PCI-E boards are extremely common. People who say they are not either don't know or are spreading FUD.

Originally posted by: snor
I remember hearing how the sempron's performance ratings are directly compared to the celeron's, while the A64's are compared to P4's.

Yup, kind of. That's why a 2GHz socket 939 chip is a 3200+ while a 2GHz Sempron is a 3400+ with half the cache. Still, I'd take a Sempron over a Celeron D any day. I've owned multiple examples of both and can confidently say that I've been happier with the Semprons.

Originally posted by: CTrain
Why is the 3000+ 754 base is 2.0ghz while the 939 is 1.8 ??

It's already been explained, but I'll give my opinion on clock speeds with AMD chips. IMO, clock speed is #1 for overall performance (not talking about cherry picked benchmarks). Lagging in #2 is amount of cache, and just behind in #3 is dual channel memory. That's why many people are so happy with their highly overclocked Semprons - I know my 2GHz Sempron clocked at 2.75GHz (give or take) doesn't give up anything in gaming to my overclocked Opterons and x2.

 

[firewolfsm]

Games show the most difference to more cache, the extra 512KB brings 4-8% (I think) improvement. Dual channel memory is good if you're running under DDR400 speeds. If you're running DDR500 it's almost pointless.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: BlvdKing
Turion X2s are socket S1, not socket 754. Turion's don't have the heatspreader either, which makes them vulnerable to die cracking from the heatsink.

hrm, thought the first few would make it to s754. Oh well, they're great overclockers and though dual core does remain as an advantage for 939, it's the only really significant one.