Official Athlon 64 X2 preorder/instock thread...

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: jdogg707
Ordered 4400+ rom Monarch, along with 2GB of the Platinum OCZ memory to overclock with. I would have ordered from Tank Guys, but they don't accept Amex, and I really wanted to get some points out of the deal!

BTW, Are these still on target for the 16th Joe?

He commented on another page of this thread:

Originally posted by: MonarchJoe
Well, latest update from my AMD rep.

We're to expect the X2 OEM chips a bit sooner than expected, but without tracking I don't want to say exactly when until this is provided to us. Retail box versions are to follow in the next couple of weeks.

In another thread, I saw someone say that they had received an email (yesterday, I think) from Monarch stating that their X2 would ship in one to two days. I have not received a similar email, though I don't know if I didn't get in early enough, or if this person had specifically emailed them to ask.

 

[composer777]

I saw that post too, where the guy commented on receiving an email from Monarch. I got excited, and then realized that the guy who posted just doesn't know how to read. I got the same email from Monarch saying that they submitted the order to the warehouse last week. Later in the same email they say that it USUALLY takes 1-2 days to ship if the order IS IN STOCK. However, since we are pre ordering, the order is not in stock, (duh). Monarch also charged my credit card on June 3rd, so I think that whoever it was that posted that Monarch is shipping just misread the email and hasn't come back to correct their post.

Maybe they'll get the shipment a couple of days early, but I wouldn't get excited just yet. I PM'd MonarchJoe a couple of days ago about this, since I'm on vacation next week, and haven't heard anything back yet.

Jon

PS. Sorry for the CAPS, but this rumor of Monarch shipping this week needs to be nipped in the bud.

Originally posted by: ProviaFan

Originally posted by: jdogg707
Ordered 4400+ rom Monarch, along with 2GB of the Platinum OCZ memory to overclock with. I would have ordered from Tank Guys, but they don't accept Amex, and I really wanted to get some points out of the deal!

BTW, Are these still on target for the 16th Joe?

He commented on another page of this thread:

Originally posted by: MonarchJoe
Well, latest update from my AMD rep.

We're to expect the X2 OEM chips a bit sooner than expected, but without tracking I don't want to say exactly when until this is provided to us. Retail box versions are to follow in the next couple of weeks.

In another thread, I saw someone say that they had received an email (yesterday, I think) from Monarch stating that their X2 would ship in one to two days. I have not received a similar email, though I don't know if I didn't get in early enough, or if this person had specifically emailed them to ask.

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: composer777
I saw that post too, where the guy commented on receiving an email from Monarch. I got excited, and then realized that the guy who posted just doesn't know how to read. I got the same email from Monarch saying that they submitted the order to the warehouse last week. Later in the same email they say that it USUALLY takes 1-2 days to ship if the order IS IN STOCK. However, since we are pre ordering, the order is not in stock, (duh). Monarch also charged my credit card on June 3rd, so I think that whoever it was that posted that Monarch is shipping just misread the email and hasn't come back to correct their post.

Maybe they'll get the shipment a couple of days early, but I wouldn't get excited just yet. I PM'd MonarchJoe a couple of days ago about this, since I'm on vacation next week, and haven't heard anything back yet.

Jon

I didn't think of the possibility that he could have just misread the standard email. Thanks for clarifying that. :thumbsup:

 

[TankGuys]

Originally posted by: jdogg707
Ordered 4400+ rom Monarch, along with 2GB of the Platinum OCZ memory to overclock with. I would have ordered from Tank Guys, but they don't accept Amex, and I really wanted to get some points out of the deal!

BTW, Are these still on target for the 16th Joe?

It's weird, we actually do accept amex, but for some reason it hasn't been working correctly lately. So we took it off as a payment option, but I've got some people working in it.

 

[composer777]

No problem. Yeah, I was kind of annoyed (I'm sure you can tell) when I figured out that the guy just misread the standard email. I don't want anyone else to go through the same thing I did on Monday afternoon. I was checking my email all Monday afternoon after I read his post, and then I realized that he had just misread the standard email.

As far as it shipping a couple of days early, that sounds plausible. I imagine it might happen since MonarchJoe probably has as good of an idea as anyone of when they will get the processor in stock. Unfortunately for me, I won't be getting back in town until the 18th, so hopefully it won't ship TOO early.

Jon

Originally posted by: ProviaFan

Originally posted by: composer777
I saw that post too, where the guy commented on receiving an email from Monarch. I got excited, and then realized that the guy who posted just doesn't know how to read. I got the same email from Monarch saying that they submitted the order to the warehouse last week. Later in the same email they say that it USUALLY takes 1-2 days to ship if the order IS IN STOCK. However, since we are pre ordering, the order is not in stock, (duh). Monarch also charged my credit card on June 3rd, so I think that whoever it was that posted that Monarch is shipping just misread the email and hasn't come back to correct their post.

Maybe they'll get the shipment a couple of days early, but I wouldn't get excited just yet. I PM'd MonarchJoe a couple of days ago about this, since I'm on vacation next week, and haven't heard anything back yet.

Jon

I didn't think of the possibility that he could have just misread the standard email. Thanks for clarifying that. :thumbsup:

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: TankGuys

Originally posted by: jdogg707
Ordered 4400+ rom Monarch, along with 2GB of the Platinum OCZ memory to overclock with. I would have ordered from Tank Guys, but they don't accept Amex, and I really wanted to get some points out of the deal!

BTW, Are these still on target for the 16th Joe?

It's weird, we actually do accept amex, but for some reason it hasn't been working correctly lately. So we took it off as a payment option, but I've got some people working in it.

Also, I noticed the PayPal logo is gone from your site. You guys stop accepting that?

 

[TankGuys]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Also, I noticed the PayPal logo is gone from your site. You guys stop accepting that?

We had setup PayPal "Instant payment notification" because stanard paypal payments are very easy to spoof. It was working all well and good, but then we moved our store location on our web server, and we also changed our SSL certificate provider.

When we did that, our PayPal IPN stopped working. I have to try and dig through the documentation and try and sort that out; they don't provide a whole lot of help with the matter. So for now yes, we stopped accepting PayPal. I would like to get it going again though, it's just not a high priority at the moment.

We also considered accepting Discover cards. However, the charges that retailers must pay are painful. For those that don't know, we retailers pay a flat fee for each CC transaction, and on top of that, we pay a percentage of the sale. Our Visa / Mastercard charge is 2.18% of the sale I think, off the top of my head. For discover card, those charges shoot up to like 3.5%. Consider that our average sale is ~$750 or so, that costs us an extra $7.50 or so. So we'd either have to raise our prices across the board to compensate, or lose money on all our Discover sales. Neither of those sounds like a very nice answer!

 

[jdogg707]

Originally posted by: TankGuys

Originally posted by: jdogg707
Ordered 4400+ rom Monarch, along with 2GB of the Platinum OCZ memory to overclock with. I would have ordered from Tank Guys, but they don't accept Amex, and I really wanted to get some points out of the deal!

BTW, Are these still on target for the 16th Joe?

It's weird, we actually do accept amex, but for some reason it hasn't been working correctly lately. So we took it off as a payment option, but I've got some people working in it.

Hmmm, let me know if you get it working again, as I would cancel my order at Monarch and use Tank Guys, since I can get the retail chips for less money.

 

[TankGuys]

Originally posted by: jdogg707

Hmmm, let me know if you get it working again, as I would cancel my order at Monarch and use Tank Guys, since I can get the retail chips for less money.

Will do. The other co-owner is going to make some phone calls tonight to our merchant account provider and try to get this resolved.

I don't blame you for wanting the points... a nice ~$600 purchase is always nice to make on rewards cards!

 

[killer8]

I'd like to pre-order a 4400+ but I have no confirmation that my MSI Neo2 (K8N) will actually run it. Sure, it should, but there's no BIOS updates from MSI indicating such.

What should I do?

 

[TankGuys]

Originally posted by: killer8
I'd like to pre-order a 4400+ but I have no confirmation that my MSI Neo2 (K8N) will actually run it. Sure, it should, but there's no BIOS updates from MSI indicating such.

What should I do?

I would contact MSI directly. You wouldn't want to have to buy a processor, only to find out your mobo doesn't run it, because the re-stock fees on the X2's from anyone would be like $50-$60, which would be a shame.

It could also be that some motherboard manufacturers are just waiting to post BIOS updates until the X2's are widely available... I'm not sure. In any case, you ought to take it up with them to be safe.

 

[imported_Starman]

MSI has been having problems with X2 running on their Neo2 boards. The compatibility status has been scaled back to "under testing".

 

[killer8]

Hi Starman.. do you have any references/links where I can get more info on the status of MSI motherboards and X2 compatibility?

 

[composer777]

Just a small correction. The compatibility hasn't been scaled back, they don't mention the X2 on their K8N Neo2 support page and they never have, so scaled back might not be the right way to describe the support situation.
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/...detail.php?UID=607&NAME=MS-7025&kind=1

I've heard conflicting reports. Some people say that you can drop it in without a bios update, others say that you will need to wait until the end of June when MSI is reported to release their next bios. I heard directly from MSI's tech support that they are testing right now and that I should expect a new bios at the end of June. As far as why it is taking until the end of June, I've heard everything from "MSI is slow" to "They need to rewrite the bios". If the first rumor is true, and they are just slow, then it might run without an "official" bios. If the second rumor is true, and they are really having issues that are forcing a rewrite of the bios code, then we might need to wait until the end of June, or there is a chance that it might not work at all.

I'm going to take the following approach:
Attempt to install the chip when I get it on the 20th, if it doesn't work, then wait until the end of June for the bios update. If MSI doesn't get their act together, then dump MSI, sell the board and Geforce 6800 GT, and buy a PCI express board and card that has proper X2 support. At most, I will wait until the end of June for MSI to properly support their motherboard.

P.S. Starman, do you have any extra sources of info on this issue? If you have any more info, please let us know.

Originally posted by: Starman
MSI has been having problems with X2 running on their Neo2 boards. The compatibility status has been scaled back to "under testing".

 

[imported_Starman]

I'll try and dig up some information later tonight when I have time. FYI, I was actually informed of the Neo2 issue with the X2 on this forum so it ought to be buried in another thread around here somewhere.

 

[TankGuys]

Well, we have offically sold our last X2 from our pre-order quantity. FYI, any orders placed now will go onto the second batch, which will be about 3 days behind. Not a huge delay, but wanted to make sure you all knew so that you didn't get a rude shock if you tried to order now!

 

[composer777]

Thanks for the info, Starman. I'll take a look around later tonight.

I saw your post recommending that people not buy MSI and I couldn't agree more. Like many MSI customers, I'm very annoyed with MSI. My board is only 6 months old, and not even off of store shelves and they're already having trouble supporting it. I wouldn't have minded if this was a cheap board, but at the time I bought it, it got rave reviews, had a huge featureset, and was one of the most expensive single proc boards out at the time. You would think that they would do a better job of supporting their high end customers.

I've also never had a motherboard with more quirks and idiosynchrosies than this board. When I first installed it, it would only boot about every other time I turned the machine on. (turns out that it is caused by the fact that they overclock the hypertransport by default, turning it down to 4x fixed this). It still has issues with not always recognizing the windows boot drive. I have to perform some voodoo everytime I upgrade the bios where I first disable the hard drive controller for the linux drive in the bios, and then only after that does it pick up SATA windows drive, even though I have my windows drive first in the boot order. Very weird..

Originally posted by: Starman
I'll try and dig up some information later tonight when I have time. FYI, I was actually informed of the Neo2 issue with the X2 on this forum so it ought to be buried in another thread around here somewhere.

 

[imported_Starman]

Originally posted by: composer777
Thanks for the info, Starman. I'll take a look around later tonight.

I saw your post recommending that people not buy MSI and I couldn't agree more. Like many MSI customers, I'm very annoyed with MSI. My board is only 6 months old, and not even off of store shelves and they're already having trouble supporting it. I wouldn't have minded if this was a cheap board, but at the time I bought it, it got rave reviews, had a huge featureset, and was one of the most expensive single proc boards out at the time. You would think that they would do a better job of supporting their high end customers.

I've also never had a motherboard with more quirks and idiosynchrosies than this board. When I first installed it, it would only boot about every other time I turned the machine on. (turns out that it is caused by the fact that they overclock the hypertransport by default, turning it down to 4x fixed this). It still has issues with not always recognizing the windows boot drive. I have to perform some voodoo everytime I upgrade the bios where I first disable the hard drive controller for the linux drive in the bios, and then only after that does it pick up SATA windows drive, even though I have my windows drive first in the boot order. Very weird..

I hear stories like yours all the time which is why I avoid the Neo2 and recommend against it. Sorry to hear you were affected by the many quirks it's known to dish out

 

[ProviaFan]

Bump for an update from Monarch!

 

[TankGuys]

Originally posted by: ProviaFan
Bump for an update from Monarch!

That reminds me to post an update of my own.

I made some phone calls today and we are still looking like the 15th for all of our customers. As usual, I'll keep everyone posted!

 

[ryanv12]

I took a quick look at ebay to see what they were doing with the X2's

http://search.ebay.com/athlon-x2_W0QQfromZR8QQpqryZathalonQ20X2

look at that markup! about $100. I wonder if anyone is biting on these. I guess that's the price you pay to get one 2 days before Johnny does.

 

[Pabster]

Only $100? What a bargain!

Now I wonder if any of those sellers actually have them in stock to ship?

 

[ryanv12]

Originally posted by: Pabster
Only $100? What a bargain!

Now I wonder if any of those sellers actually have them in stock to ship?

Probably not...I'm guessing they preordered and are going to sell it to whoever buys their stuff once they get it. Ebay is the marketplace of the devil.

 

[Romir]

Originally posted by: ProviaFan
Bump for an update from Monarch!

This has been a very long two months... come on AMD, get these to Monarch!

 

[TankGuys]

Originally posted by: Romir

Originally posted by: ProviaFan
Bump for an update from Monarch!

This has been a very long two months... come on AMD, get these to Monarch!

Indeed, it would be nice if AMD would get them to anyone. They are really holding up the show right now.

I've been keeping tabs, and it doesn't look like anyone is getting thier retail boxed units when they were promised. I'd read that TD has them in, but I don't think they do.

OEM's are out now I beleive, but we're all still waiting on AMD to get those retail units out.