Planning for Socket AM2 Build

[soydios]

So, Socket AM2 comes out in two and a half weeks. Having built several computers for friends, I've been slowly but surely saving up for a high-end custom rig of my own for about a year now. Well, I have enough money now, and Socket AM2 comes out soon, and I would like to have a shiny-new high-performance machine for the summer. My budget is between $2000 and $2500. I have some questions, both general and specific, about the AM2 transition and such.

General Socket AM2 Questions
- Is it better to build a new system on AM2 instead of Socket 939 (my guess is yes)?
- How good will all the first-generation parts be (i.e. is it safe/advisable being an early adopter)?
- Will all the parts be available for purchase and delivery a week following the launch (see specific questions below for aftermarket CPU heatsink)?
- Will Socket AM2 memory controllers finally be able to run four 1GB double-sided DIMMs at 1T command rate (more of a curiosity thing)?

Specific Questions
- What Processor?
When configuring my Socket 939 build, I always used the AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+. I'm assuming that this would still be a good choice for Socket AM2. I always figured that if I want more speed, I would push it to a slight overclock, because I just do not see why it is necessary to spend $200 to upgrade to an X2 4600+ that is only 200MHz faster on each core.

- What Memory?
When confiiguring my Socket 939 build, I always used OCZ DDR400 2GB(2x1GB) memory. What memory should I get for Socket AM2: DDR2-667 or DDR2-800? Here's what I'm thinking right now for DDR2: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227089
I would prefer to stick with OCZ, as they have always produced top notch memory and backed them up with top notch support in my experience. And which is more advisable, solid heatspreaders or the mesh heatspreaders?

- What Motherboard?
When configuring my Socket 939 build, I always used the Asus A8R32-MVP. Which motherboard for ATi Xpress 3200 should I use for AM2: the sequel to the Asus A8R32-MVP or the sequel to the DFI CFX3200-DR? My personal preference is Asus, as I've used their motherboards in all the computers I've built, but I'm open to DFI if that's clearly better. And what's going on in nVidia-land with the nForce5 chipset?

- Will Aftermarket Cooling Be Ready?
Will a counterpart to the Zalman CNPS-9500 be available for the new Socket AM2 mounting hardware, and if so, how soon? If not, I'm assuming that I could run on the stock heatsink (using Arctic Silver 5 instead of the stock thermal pad) until an AM2-compatible high-end Zalman heatsink comes out.

- Graphics Cards
What's going on in the world of graphics cards? When configuring my Socket 939 build, I always used the ATi X1900 XT. Is there anything new and special coming up soon that would be good to wait for, like R6xx? I'm pretty much set on getting the X1900 XT, although I am curious to see benchmarks of the X1900 GT. I am leaving the CrossFire upgrade path open for myself. I plan on cooling the graphics card with a Zalman VF900-Cu.

- Physics Card?
I think I'll wait and see what happens as far as Physics Accelerators are concerned.

Other Info for the Curious
I have decided upon the Antec P160 for my case and the Antec TruePower 2.0 550W for my power supply. I will be getting a pair of Western Digital 250GB Caviar SE16 SATA3.0GB/s hard drivers (one for system files, one for general storage; no RAID configuration). If there's anything I should know about any of the previously mentioned components, please feel free to inform me. Also, I am aware that I will be paying a price premium for being an early adopter, but I plan to order the parts from Newegg during the last week of school, so I can build the computer right after school ends.

Thanks for any help you give!

 

[Hepafleb]

Keep the x1900 for your next build. No real news in the GPU world has happened so far.
Directx 10 cards wont be out till end of the year or beginning of next supposedly.

 

[bamacre]

Why wait for AM2 when you can wait for Conroe (Core 2 Duo)?

 

[Ichigo]

AM2 = NAY

Conroe = YAY

 

[soydios]

Originally posted by: soydios
I would like to have a shiny-new high-performance machine for the summer.

That means Socket AM2.

 

[Twsmit]

I would seriously wait for AM2 and Conroe to be released, give them a month to evaluate then buy. I'm seriously thinking that Conroe is going to be the better performer. Both will use PCIe, and DDR2, and of course everything else will be compatible, I would wait and see.

Right now AM2 looks to perform within 0-5% of s939 for the most part. Its not faster and sometimes even slower.

 

[Chris2wire]

Its not bad to go for AM2. We can't be sure Conroe will be THAT great. Yes, its clear it will be better than anything now, including AM2, but theres no telling if it will be as insanely dominant as it seems.

With AM2 you get a system that uses DDR2, so if Conroe ends up being awesome then you can just sell the mobo and cpu here on anandtech and get Conroe.

Additionally, AM2 may support the new processors in 2007 which, in my opinion, will probably be awesome processors judging on how long its been since AMD has come out with a completely different design.

Either way AM2 is a good choice since you can move to Conroe or stay for better AMD processors in the future.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Originally posted by: Twsmit
I would seriously wait for AM2 and Conroe to be released, give them a month to evaluate then buy. I'm seriously thinking that Conroe is going to be the better performer. Both will use PCIe, and DDR2, and of course everything else will be compatible, I would wait and see.

Right now AM2 looks to perform within 0-5% of s939 for the most part. Its not faster and sometimes even slower.

agreed, wait for both to be out for a bit before deciding.

 

[soydios]

Originally posted by: soydios

Originally posted by: soydios
I would like to have a shiny-new high-performance machine for the summer.

That means Socket AM2.

Clarification: that means Socket AM2 hopefully sometime in the last week of May or the first two weeks of June.

 

[Crescent13]

Originally posted by: soydios

Originally posted by: soydios

Originally posted by: soydios
I would like to have a shiny-new high-performance machine for the summer.

That means Socket AM2.

Clarification: that means Socket AM2 hopefully sometime in the last week of May or the first two weeks of June.

1. Stop quoting your own posts. There is something called an edit button.


2. wait for AM2 and conroe to come out before you decide.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Eh, Conroe will stomp all over any Socket AM2 CPU. There's almost no performance benefit from the current Socket 939, so Conroe is the way to go.

 

[alimoalem]

Originally posted by: Crescent13
1. Stop quoting your own posts. There is something called an edit button.


2. wait for AM2 and conroe to come out before you decide.

agreed, on both points.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb
Eh, Conroe will stomp all over any Socket AM2 CPU. There's almost no performance benefit from the current Socket 939, so Conroe is the way to go.

From what it looks like right now, maybe so. But they aren't out yet is the point, so it isn't definite whether or not conroe will be as good as it sounds, or AM2 as bad as it sounds. It is very possible that they could switch and AM2 stomp conroe, or that they both be about the same, or whatever. It isn't definite yet.

Patience is the way to go. Wait and see who wins, then buy the winner.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

How could AM2 offer any more performance increase? There's pretty much no new change in architecture, and the benchmarks have shown it to be not much better than Socket 939 offerings.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb
How could AM2 offer any more performance increase? There's pretty much no new change in architecture, and the benchmarks have shown it to be not much better than Socket 939 offerings.

not sure yet. But considering it isn't released yet there is speculation. Same with conroe, everyone expects it to be massively powerful but since it isn't out yet there is some speculation.

I just try to make it a rule for myself to not buy something based on pre-release info. I wait until stuff has been out for a bit before buying it, that way I have a better idea of what it will actually be like.

 

[Ichigo]

Of course there's speculation, but benchmarks are SOMETHING. Conroe has the upperhand, so it makes sense to plan a Conroe system and see if AM2 can out-do it than the other way around.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Plan for a Conroe build instead....