Custom Building & AMD Athlon 64X2

[Pixellite]

Hello !

Just want to get some advice from people who know more about the upcoming dual-core CPU's than me.

I've been into 3D for a while, and recently decided to get serious about learning this stuff. Unfortunately, my current computer isn't up to the task:
PIII 866
ATI Radeon 7500
384 Mb. Generic RAM

Laugh all you want. It's old, I know, it's my dad's old business machine.

So, I go to build myself a new machine:
AMD Athlon 64 FX-55
ASUS AV8-E Deluxe
1 GB Corsair XMS PC3200 (2-2-2-5)
ATI FireGL V7100

....And then a friend tells me AMD is bringing dual-core CPUs out in June. Now what ? From what I've read, the current socket 939 mobos will support the dual-cores with a BIOS update. But I also heard that DDR2 (or something else) might be in the works for dual-core mobos.

Should I wait until June to build ? Considering Intel's stratospheric pricing of it's new 840 EE chip, I'm assuming AMD will be just as; if not more expensive. I thought about swapping the FX-55 for a Althon 64 3500 (Clawhammer core, about $550.00 cheaper) and just upgrading about October when the dual-core prices have stabilized a bit.

Any advice would be great !!

 

[milkrocks]

Hey!

A couple of things - these are opinion based - please dont get to excited.

I think the switch from DDR1 to DDR2 will not be a very large change. Assuming that the FSB of the processors do not change - which they are not going to for the initial 64 X2 chips as we know they will work with current MBs - the switch from DDR1 to DDR2 will not change the performance of the machines very much. The memory controller within the X2 chips is very likely to be almost identical to that of the current 939 chips as it must be designed to be backwards compatible with current boards (per AMD).

Along this logic it seems to me that the all intial X2 chips will only support DDR1. It would be unusal for a chip maker to change a major aspect of board design (to DDR2) without a change in CPU socket. I do think we will see dual core AMD chips that support DDR2 (or possibly skip DDR2 and go right to DDR3) but i do not think they will be in 2005 and most likely not socket 939 chips.

If you are planning on doing work with 3D apps i would recomend getting a fast MB, fast memry (with the highest possible bandwidth (BH-5 or VX), and a fast PCI-Express video card. I would buy an inexpensive chip now - 3200+, 3500+ - and wait for an affordable dual core chip in 6 months or so. The price of the the two chips will still be less than one FX-55 and a dual core will defenitly be faster in any multi-thread application than the FX-55. (two 2.2gig cores will kill an FX-55 in true multi-threaded apps)

I hope this helps!

-Christian

 

[MDE]

DDR2 won't come without a socket change because of AMD's on chip memory controller. I'd suggest an nForce4 board and a 3000+ or 3200+ and wait for dual core. You could also get cheaper RAM and save a boatload of cash there, I doubt you'd really notice the difference between low and "high" latency when you use the system. Also, look for reviews of FireGL and Quadro cards that use the programs you run so you can see which performs better. IIRC, Nvidia Quadros still have a hefty lead over FireGL cards in most workstation apps.

 

[imported_Kensai]

Originally posted by: MDE
DDR2 won't come without a socket change because of AMD's on chip memory controller. I'd suggest an nForce4 board and a 3000+ or 3200+ and wait for dual core. You could also get cheaper RAM and save a boatload of cash there, I doubt you'd really notice the difference between low and "high" latency when you use the system. Also, look for reviews of FireGL and Quadro cards that use the programs you run so you can see which performs better. IIRC, Nvidia Quadros still have a hefty lead over FireGL cards in most workstation apps.

Yaya.

 

[superkdogg]

If you're mainly looking at getting serious 3d game performance (that's how I took your OP) then invest in an incredible video card and a 3800+/4000+ or something that can OC up to those speeds. You'll come out way ahead on games.

Workstation/rendering wise I'd wait on the dual core launch for official prices and performance. I saw one leaked benchie of the DC Opteron that kept right up with a 2+2 Xeon setup-way ahead of everything that most currently use- on Cinebench I believe.

Yes, 939 boards will support dual core with bios updates. AMD using DDR2 is on the map, but I'll be surprised if they don't hold out for DDR3 due to the questionable value of DDR2 vs. DDR and the fact that it involves reworking the mem controller that currently rox because of the low latency it offers. DDR2's higher latencies don't match up well with current design, so like I said-I'll believe it when I see it.