S754 - S939 worth it?

[Night Blade]

Ok, here's my dilema, currently running.

Albatron K8X800 Pro (Via K8T800) S754
Athlon 64 3000+ S754 @ 3200+ (ClawHammer)
2x512MB Generic 2.5ns
Radeon 9700 Pro

If I could sell all this, it would cost around $100 - $150 CDN to upgrade to this.

Gigabyte GA-K8NF-9 (NF4 4X)
Athlon 64 3000+ S939 @ ?
2x512MB Generic 2.5ns (same)
eVGA 6600GT PCI-E

Is it really worth it? From reading reviews my old S754 Athlon 64 compares well with the newer S939 counterparts, but with the potential of the newer 64's for a good overclock to atleast 3500+ speeds the upgrade would be nice I take it. But it's not something i'd actually see I think, my current rig runs damn fast as is, I really wonder if going S939 with DC memory support + the overclock will show any real performance gains?

How about the video card? Couldn't find any 6600GT PCI-E to 9700P AGP comparisons of course, but how would the 6600GT run say CS:S at 1280x1024 over the 9700P? More frames, or just more eye candy?

As an avid upgrader i'm cautious for some reason about this one, is it worth it?

 

[flamingspinach]

There really isn't much difference between s939 and s754 right now. Once the faster chips come out, they won't be made in s754, but if you're planning on getting a s754 3000+ vs. a s939 3000+, especially since you already have the s754, I'd just stick with that.

The 6600GT would definitely be quite a step up from the 9700.

-fs

 

[Brian48]

I just upgraded from a 3400+ Clawhammer to a 3500+ Winchester. The increase was minimal, but I expected that. Main reason for the upgrade was that I wanted the overclocking headroom. The 3400+ Clawhammer was pretty much MAX'd out at default. The 3500+ appears to have a much more potential. Unless you're planning on overclocking more than what you have now, I wouldn't bother.

 

[Tarrant64]

IF you wanted to OC a bit more, you could also just get a new mobo for the s754 for aboug $109(DFI NF3 board). It's the best s754 mobo out right now and runs like a champ. I hope to pick one up here very soon(curse student bills).

spinach is right though, you won't see too much of a difference between the two until the newer chips come out. 754 is still a great performer and upgrading I don't think will be worth the trouble right now. Either upgrade to a better mobo or save your cash and when the time comes, just purchase a new 939 system all together with pci-e and all that other good stuff.

Good luck!

 

[Cook1]

Honestly, I really don't see a huge reason to just switch to S939 from 754.

 

[MTSteel]

Nope, if you have a s754 setup now, i would not spend the $$$$. I was debating for quite some time between the 754 and 939 because I have a 9800Pro in a KT266a board and need an upgrade. I found someone to buy my 9800Pro for the same price I can pick up a 6600GT PCIe(these things are like $50 cheaper than the 9800Pro). So I have made up my mind on platform, but cant decide on motherboard! Damn new technology and all the bugs!!! Makes me think I should have just went with a 754 option
The next problem I have is finding a PCIe board! Slim pickings!!

 

[Amaroque]

Don't upgrade the CPU & MB rite now. You'll be dissapointed. Your money would be better spent waiting until 2c CPU's are available to upgrade.

 

[CalvinHobbs]

with skt939 you can switch to dual core with a bios update only

 

[Night Blade]

Thanks a bunch for the replies, I like to have the latest overclocking champ but your all right, it's just not worth it right now.

Now, if I could find a cheap AGP 6600GT cheap i'd be set .

 

[RussianSensation]

I agree with what everyone told you in that you wont notice an amazing performance improvement.

However, if you are sure you can sell your stuff for the value you have in mind and it'll cost you $100-150 cdn to upgrade, you are essentially getting a socket thats upgradable to dual core and pcie upgrades for the videocard. Now I live in Canada and I am sure that an Nforce 4 pci mobo is more than $150 cdn. So now lets assume you do have to decide to upgrade later, you'll still have to pay $150 for that new motherboard.

Imagine you buy that motherboard now for $150cdn (i m assuming that you estimated well so your upgrade cost is $150 - i guess you are getting a good deal selling your parts). But based on what you said you get a better overclockable cpu and a faster videocard. So why wouldn't it be worth it to upgrade now? It would be a different story for P4 since 925XE chipset might be replaced for dual core. However, socket 939 is as futureproof as it gets. Until the next generation of processors, it should take A64 till end of its life (I'd say the mobos will be replaced by late 2006 or later). So if you decide to upgrade then, you wont win anything since everything you will be able to get then, you can already get now. There will be no DDRII for A64 or BTX form format until that time. Also lets take the high end cost of $150cdn, or about $120US it'll cost you to upgrade...a 6600GT already costs more than that. So you get a futureproof mobo, better videocard for cheaper than retail, and a better overclocking processor. Also the longer you wait to sell your old stuff, the more its value will drop (as ppl will not want to get AGP once the mainstream transition of PCIe starts to take place).

 

[Regs]

I did and I did have a good performance boost thanks to 939's and 90nm overclocking.

I went from a Newcastle 754 on a K8T800 with no AGP lock to a 3200 939 Winchester. I managed to overclock it with stock cooling to about 2.5-2.6 GHz. So I went to a 3000 single channel 2.0 GHz to a 3800 Winchester in dual channel costing me about 100 dollars more after I sold my 754 set up.

 

[aatf510]

I don't think it's worth it to upgrade to a 6600GT right now for CS:S.
Consider that a 6600GT is not that much faster than a 9800Pro especially in HL2 base-games, and a 9700Pro is not really that much slower than a 9800Pro.
Saved up a little and wait a little, you are not too far off from a 6800GT or x800xl which would give you a real boost.

 

[Wadded Beef]

can't overclock much with generic ram. if you upgrade do get some pc3500+ corsair/hyperx/other high end stuff