Questions about the 939 AMD 64

[afropuff]

Hi all,

I am thinking about going from a 2.4B Intel processor to a AMD64 3000 939 CPU. What do you all think of this choice? I was also wondering if the parts that I have now are going to be compatible/good for the new AMD. All my parts are listed below. Do I "need" PC3200 to run the 939's at stock speeds? My PSU came w/my Cheiftec case, it is a TruePower 420W or something, stats on it are not too bad though, is this going to be enough power for the 3000+ ?

What about the HSF?? Is the retail good enough or should i get a custom one + OEM? I do not like really loud fans and if possible I would like to get a HSF combo that is about as quiet as my Intel Retail fan.

Also for the MSI boards, what is the difference between the K8T(VIA K8T800 + VT8237) and K8N(nforce 3 ULTRA) ? Is the K8N board more stable and overclockable or is it just the features?? I do not care too much about features. I just want a board that can overclock and is stable.

Thanks!!!!!
__________________
GA-8INXP mobo
256 x 2 = 512 mb PC2700 Samsung
SB Audigy
9800 pro
60GB Maxtor HD
P4 2.4B @ 2.82

 

[joelslaw]

good call. a 3000+ will perform (at least) on par with a P4 3.0 (or better than it in most games) You do not NEED pc3200, and all your other components listed should work fine. I'm not really familiar with the diff between the VIA and nforce chipsets you mentioned, but rest assured, it's disscused in here somewhere, just look around. Hope all goes well!!!

 

[afropuff]

Originally posted by: joelslaw
good call. a 3000+ will perform (at least) on par with a P4 3.0 (or better than it in most games) You do not NEED pc3200, and all your other components listed should work fine. I'm not really familiar with the diff between the VIA and nforce chipsets you mentioned, but rest assured, it's disscused in here somewhere, just look around. Hope all goes well!!!

so the PC2700 will work and post on the 939 ?

 

[ChineseDemocracyGNR]

Yes, and PC2100 too.

 

[afropuff]

hmmm I see, I guess it just won't be as fast. I plan on upgrading the memory soon but just need a stable system to take back to college w/me and once I get more $$ I'll get the memory.

I decided to go w/the MSI neo2 and the 3000+ - this is my first AMD system.

Thanks for the help!

 

[imported_Underpar]

welcome to the good side

 

[Ryland]

Go with the Zalman CNPS7000B-AlCu for your HSF. It will keep your system amazingly cool and extemely quiet.

 

[eas]

The upgrade is going to get you what, maybe 30% better performance, for what, $280 bucks, or more once you upgrade the memory. What's the rush?

 

[gobucks]

well, i think that AMD is definitely the way to go right now for the best value, and likely will be for most if not all of 2005 as well (Intel won't be competitive while it still uses the netbust architecture), so i imagine your next upgrade should be from AMD. However, i kinda have to agree with EAS, it will be faster, but since you have to buy a new CPU and mobo, plus eventually the memory, you're not looking at a huge performance boost for all that money. I would personally wait and see what happens in a few months. If you're gonna spend all that money to change platforms, you should at least change to a platform with forward-looking technologies. nForce4 is going to be the motherboard chipset to beat this coming year, with all its new goodies like PCI-express and SATA-II. In a few months the selection of these boards will be much better, and probably more refined, than they are now. Dual Core CPUs will also start making an appearance, which should make for a more compelling upgrade from your current CPU, DDR2 may show up on the AMD camp (but maybe not), and AMD will have every useful feature that the P4 has, with the inclusion of SSE3 into the next E0 stepping of the A64. Later on in the year, when you have an idea of where things are going, you can look into maybe upgrading your entire PC, since by then the 9800 pro will be looking pretty slow compared to a $200 6800GT or X800XL, and DDR400 should be nice and cheap.

 

[afropuff]

The reason I had to get one soon was because my 8INXP board is dead and the RMA could take a while because I have to go directly through Gigabyte and from what I hear it can be a pain. I'm leaving back to college next week and need a computer. My intel 2.4 was also one of the early revisions and could not get it over 2.8 and be stable. So I was looking around for a good board to get and figured the 939 boards were the best in terms of future upgrades. I wasn't planning on upgrading for at least another 6 months, but things happen.

Once I get my 8INXP board back I'm going to sell it.

 

[MajorPayne]

Originally posted by: joelslaw
good call. a 3000+ will perform (at least) on par with a P4 3.0 (or better than it in most games) You do not NEED pc3200, and all your other components listed should work fine. I'm not really familiar with the diff between the VIA and nforce chipsets you mentioned, but rest assured, it's disscused in here somewhere, just look around. Hope all goes well!!!

Yeah, a lower clocked A64 chip will dust a higher clocked P4 in almost all circumstances (there are some software programs optimized for P4 though, and these you will not top a P4 on). I had a P4 3.2 GHZ 800MHZ FSB with HyperThreading, and my S754 A64 3000+ at 2GHZ beat it every time (by quite a bit too!). Now, I have a S939 A64 3000+ at 1.8GHZ which beats the old S754 3000+ at 1.8 GHZ!!! Megahertz is definitely NOT all there is to a processor, and I think this has had a lot to do with Intel de-emphasizing clockspeed over processor features. If you DO go with an A64, I have found the S939 processors to be comperable cost (although clocked slower for comperable model #'s), but still run faster at the lower clock! So if you can go to a 939, I would recommend it. You will also have more new motherboards to choose from, and a large selection (although not large enough) of PCI-E boards to go with too.

 

[joelslaw]

Originally posted by: gobucks
DDR2 may show up on the AMD camp (but maybe not)

haven't I read that since the A64 mem controler is on the chip, moving to DDR2 is impossible with the current architecture? Or did I misunderstand?