AM2 or 939

[The Conanza]

I finally have the money for my first build. Should I take the risk of problems and go with the new technology, or stick with what I know works, at the cost of upgradeability?

 

[bob4432]

what do you have now?

if you are thinking about am2 and you can wait, i would go conroe. intel is going to be back on top in price and performance. i am not a fanboy towards anybody/anything other than my wallet.

 

[Bateluer]

Buying s939 would be a waste, as it would lack any upgrade path. AM2 has its risks, but you know exactly where you stand on the performance front. Conroe's performance is speculative, as it hasn't been released yet.

I just bought all the parts to put together an AM2 based system. An MSI K9N-SLI Platinum, an X2 4200, and 2GB of DDR2-800 RAM will form the heart of the system.

 

[Never Knows Best]

Wait for am2 and use that time to save up an extra 200 bucks for memory if your going for 2 gigs cause 2 gigs of pc8000 cost around 200 more then pc3200 ram with fast timings.

 

[w00t]

Originally posted by: bob4432
what do you have now?

if you are thinking about am2 and you can wait, i would go conroe. intel is going to be back on top in price and performance. i am not a fanboy towards anybody/anything other than my wallet.

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=31994

idk but I have a feeling AMD has something up there sleeve.

AM2 is a waste of money for the performance It's basically S939 with DDR-2 check out the benchmarks very similar performance compared to S939.

 

[Ichigo]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
Buying s939 would be a waste, as it would lack any upgrade path. AM2 has its risks, but you know exactly where you stand on the performance front. Conroe's performance is speculative, as it hasn't been released yet.

I just bought all the parts to put together an AM2 based system. An MSI K9N-SLI Platinum, an X2 4200, and 2GB of DDR2-800 RAM will form the heart of the system.

You're going to regret that.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: w00t

Originally posted by: bob4432
what do you have now?

if you are thinking about am2 and you can wait, i would go conroe. intel is going to be back on top in price and performance. i am not a fanboy towards anybody/anything other than my wallet.

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=31994

idk but I have a feeling AMD has something up there sleeve.

AM2 is a waste of money for the performance It's basically S939 with DDR-2 check out the benchmarks very similar performance compared to S939.

all this speculation about amd having something up there sleeves is beginning to sound like wishful thinking. i would think they would have put something out by now, but all of their stuff is going to be years away.

 

[Ranulf]

I'm tempted by AM2 and Conroe but I'm very anti-early adoption of new tech.

 

[imported_Imp]

Lucky I just upgraded to a 939 during Christmas so I can sit this one out.

 

[chusteczka]

The AMD64 socket 939 has the best price/performance ratio and still provides upgradeability options.

 

[w00t]

Originally posted by: bob4432

Originally posted by: w00t

Originally posted by: bob4432
what do you have now?

if you are thinking about am2 and you can wait, i would go conroe. intel is going to be back on top in price and performance. i am not a fanboy towards anybody/anything other than my wallet.

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=31994

idk but I have a feeling AMD has something up there sleeve.

AM2 is a waste of money for the performance It's basically S939 with DDR-2 check out the benchmarks very similar performance compared to S939.

all this speculation about amd having something up there sleeves is beginning to sound like wishful thinking. i would think they would have put something out by now, but all of their stuff is going to be years away.

why do they need to release anything new there already on top don't you think it'd be a good idea for conroe to come out and than release something that is better than that. AMD had alot more time than Intel did I have a hard time beliving AM2 is what they were working on the whole time.

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: Ichigo

Originally posted by: Bateluer
Buying s939 would be a waste, as it would lack any upgrade path. AM2 has its risks, but you know exactly where you stand on the performance front. Conroe's performance is speculative, as it hasn't been released yet.

I just bought all the parts to put together an AM2 based system. An MSI K9N-SLI Platinum, an X2 4200, and 2GB of DDR2-800 RAM will form the heart of the system.

You're going to regret that.

Not likely. 'll be able to drop in faster A64X2s next year, as well as faster PCIe video cards when the time comes.

Originally posted by: chusteczka
The AMD64 socket 939 has the best price/performance ratio and still provides upgradeability options.

It provides no upgradeability. The FX-60 is going to be the fastest chip you can put in there.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: Bateluer

Originally posted by: Ichigo

Originally posted by: Bateluer
Buying s939 would be a waste, as it would lack any upgrade path. AM2 has its risks, but you know exactly where you stand on the performance front. Conroe's performance is speculative, as it hasn't been released yet.

I just bought all the parts to put together an AM2 based system. An MSI K9N-SLI Platinum, an X2 4200, and 2GB of DDR2-800 RAM will form the heart of the system.

You're going to regret that.

Not likely. 'll be able to drop in faster A64X2s next year, as well as faster PCIe video cards when the time comes.

Originally posted by: chusteczka
The AMD64 socket 939 has the best price/performance ratio and still provides upgradeability options.

It provides no upgradeability. The FX-60 is going to be the fastest chip you can put in there.

what video cards are you speaking of? it is shown that a pci-e 16 can already do 2 7900gtx cores

 

[Patrick Wolf]

Originally posted by: Bateluer

Originally posted by: Ichigo

Originally posted by: Bateluer
Buying s939 would be a waste, as it would lack any upgrade path. AM2 has its risks, but you know exactly where you stand on the performance front. Conroe's performance is speculative, as it hasn't been released yet.

I just bought all the parts to put together an AM2 based system. An MSI K9N-SLI Platinum, an X2 4200, and 2GB of DDR2-800 RAM will form the heart of the system.

You're going to regret that.

Not likely. 'll be able to drop in faster A64X2s next year, as well as faster PCIe video cards when the time comes.

Originally posted by: chusteczka
The AMD64 socket 939 has the best price/performance ratio and still provides upgradeability options.

It provides no upgradeability. The FX-60 is going to be the fastest chip you can put in there.

And how many people are actually going to go as high as an FX-60? The 3500+ is plenty fast as-is.

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: bob4432

what video cards are you speaking of? it is shown that a pci-e 16 can already do 2 7900gtx cores

I was refering to next gen chips, R600, G80, etc. They'll all be PCIe.

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: Patrick Wolf


And how many people are actually going to go as high as an FX-60? The 3500+ is plenty fast as-is.

AM2 is going to be AMD's primary socket for the foreseeable future. The single core A64 3500 isn't that fast of a chip to begin with. The FX-60 is always going to be an expensive chip, which only further limits s939's viability.

If you've already got an s939 system, then there is no point in upgrading to it. But, if you're running older hardware, such as an AXP system, AM2 will be a good platform for those who want to remain with AMD. Upgrading from s754 is debatable though, it depends on what you use your machine for.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

Originally posted by: Bateluer

Originally posted by: Patrick Wolf


And how many people are actually going to go as high as an FX-60? The 3500+ is plenty fast as-is.

AM2 is going to be AMD's primary socket for the foreseeable future. The single core A64 3500 isn't that fast of a chip to begin with. The FX-60 is always going to be an expensive chip, which only further limits s939's viability.

If you've already got an s939 system, then there is no point in upgrading to it. But, if you're running older hardware, such as an AXP system, AM2 will be a good platform for those who want to remain with AMD. Upgrading from s754 is debatable though, it depends on what you use your machine for.

Oh, I see where your coming from now.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: Patrick Wolf

Originally posted by: Bateluer

Originally posted by: Patrick Wolf


And how many people are actually going to go as high as an FX-60? The 3500+ is plenty fast as-is.

AM2 is going to be AMD's primary socket for the foreseeable future. The single core A64 3500 isn't that fast of a chip to begin with. The FX-60 is always going to be an expensive chip, which only further limits s939's viability.

If you've already got an s939 system, then there is no point in upgrading to it. But, if you're running older hardware, such as an AXP system, AM2 will be a good platform for those who want to remain with AMD. Upgrading from s754 is debatable though, it depends on what you use your machine for.

Oh, I see where your coming from now.

me too, i was thinking you were talking about 939->am2

 

[chusteczka]

Originally posted by: Bateluer

Originally posted by: chusteczka
The AMD64 socket 939 has the best price/performance ratio and still provides upgradeability options.

It provides no upgradeability. The FX-60 is going to be the fastest chip you can put in there.

I meant from the perspective of someone currently not willing to pay the high price of anything larger than an AMD3500+ or a $100 video card, the prices of the more expensive components will decrease over the next two years. Thereby providing upgradeability.

Not so much upgradeability for what has not yet come out but upgradeability for those components currently deemed too expensive to purchase.

For example, for someone purchasing an AMD64 3000+, 3200+, or 3500+ now, they should be able to replace this with a dual core 4400+ X2 in two or three years at a reduced price.

I see the current AMD64 s939 as being useful for the next 5-6 years easily. Especially since I recently upgraded to an AMD64 3000+ s939 from a PIII 733MHz system that I put together in 2000.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: chusteczka

Originally posted by: Bateluer

Originally posted by: chusteczka
The AMD64 socket 939 has the best price/performance ratio and still provides upgradeability options.

It provides no upgradeability. The FX-60 is going to be the fastest chip you can put in there.

I meant from the perspective of someone currently not willing to pay the high price of anything larger than an AMD3500+ or a $100 video card, the prices of the more expensive components will decrease over the next two years. Thereby providing upgradeability.

Not so much upgradeability for what has not yet come out but upgradeability for those components currently deemed too expensive to purchase.

For example, for someone purchasing an AMD64 3000+, 3200+, or 3500+ now, they should be able to replace this with a dual core 4400+ X2 in two or three years at a reduced price.

I see the current AMD64 s939 as being useful for the next 5-6 years easily. Especially since I recently upgraded to an AMD64 3000+ s939 from a PIII 733MHz system that I put together in 2000.

i am thinking my next upgrade will be just moving to a pci-e nf4 m/b, then if needed some flavor of a dc opty, and then in a couple years if need a whole new platform, so i may miss the whole am2/conroe deal

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: chusteczka


I meant from the perspective of someone currently not willing to pay the high price of anything larger than an AMD3500+ or a $100 video card, the prices of the more expensive components will decrease over the next two years. Thereby providing upgradeability.

Not so much upgradeability for what has not yet come out but upgradeability for those components currently deemed too expensive to purchase.

For example, for someone purchasing an AMD64 3000+, 3200+, or 3500+ now, they should be able to replace this with a dual core 4400+ X2 in two or three years at a reduced price.

I see the current AMD64 s939 as being useful for the next 5-6 years easily. Especially since I recently upgraded to an AMD64 3000+ s939 from a PIII 733MHz system that I put together in 2000.

Wow . . . you're a thrifty one, aren't ya? I guess if all you do in type and check email, then you'll be fine. For those who demand a little more from their systems, thats unacceptable.

A 100 video card is next to useless by today's standards, to say nothing of its usefullness in a few years. I don't consider a 400 dollar video card or CPU as being overly expensive, provided they deliver the performance they promise.

AMD is discontinuing those lower speed A64s, and eventually all single core A64s. In 3 years, they'll be very hard to come by. In 3 years, technology will have progressed quite a bit, making that 4400 X2 useless.

An A64 3000 is already useless for my purposes. In 5 or 6 years, s939, AM2, Socket F, and most likely AM3 will all be retired hardware and not in production.


Incidentally, try to purchase a s370 motherboard or CPU today, or a s423 motherboard or CPU today.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: The Conanza
I finally have the money for my first build. Should I take the risk of problems and go with the new technology, or stick with what I know works, at the cost of upgradeability?

AM2 CPU's are cheap. You can get one for as little as $67 at newegg.com then later on upgrade when you can get a dual core 4800+ for cheap.

 

[Twsmit]

I think Conroe will blow AMD out of the water, until mid 2007, that being said there is nothing wrong with AM2. In fact I would recommend going with either Intel or AMD DDR2 based systems if your buying soon.

S939 was great, but your buying into an obsolete platform.The ram/mobo/cpu combo cannot be transfered down the line, and you will be stuck with older stuff.

 

[chusteczka]

Originally posted by: Bateluer

Originally posted by: chusteczka
I meant from the perspective of someone currently not willing to pay the high price of anything larger than an AMD3500+ or a $100 video card, the prices of the more expensive components will decrease over the next two years. Thereby providing upgradeability.

Not so much upgradeability for what has not yet come out but upgradeability for those components currently deemed too expensive to purchase.

For example, for someone purchasing an AMD64 3000+, 3200+, or 3500+ now, they should be able to replace this with a dual core 4400+ X2 in two or three years at a reduced price.

I see the current AMD64 s939 as being useful for the next 5-6 years easily. Especially since I recently upgraded to an AMD64 3000+ s939 from a PIII 733MHz system that I put together in 2000.

Wow . . . you're a thrifty one, aren't ya? I guess if all you do in type and check email, then you'll be fine. For those who demand a little more from their systems, thats unacceptable.

A 100 video card is next to useless by today's standards, to say nothing of its usefullness in a few years. I don't consider a 400 dollar video card or CPU as being overly expensive, provided they deliver the performance they promise.

AMD is discontinuing those lower speed A64s, and eventually all single core A64s. In 3 years, they'll be very hard to come by. In 3 years, technology will have progressed quite a bit, making that 4400 X2 useless.

An A64 3000 is already useless for my purposes. In 5 or 6 years, s939, AM2, Socket F, and most likely AM3 will all be retired hardware and not in production.


Incidentally, try to purchase a s370 motherboard or CPU today, or a s423 motherboard or CPU today.

These are some good points, especially considering the availability of parts after two years or so. I will have to watch carefully and possibly purchase the best affordable option before they are discontinued.

I may not be as thrifty as I came across since that PIII system lasted through college and my current AMD64 3000+ system will probably be given to a family member before the year ends, so I may upgrade soon. I do not play games, edit video, compile software, or install any resource heavy applications on this home computer so my home needs are relatively modest. Basically, all I currently need is something strong enough to connect to my work's network on the days I work from home, using Citrix.

As far as staying on topic for the original poster, his decision really depends on how he plans to use his new computer. Hopefully, I have provided some insight into a less expensive route in case his needs are not that extensive.

 

[Polish3d]

Originally posted by: bob4432
what do you have now?

if you are thinking about am2 and you can wait, i would go conroe. intel is going to be back on top in price and performance. i am not a fanboy towards anybody/anything other than my wallet.

Agreed