Would you buy AM2?

[Dainas]

Originally posted by: Furen
Huh? Just how should AMD have made AM2 and 939 "cross compatible"? The only way to have possibly done this would be to have thrown 100+ extra pins on socket 939 back when it came out

Um excuse me, The current design doesnt nearly use all its pins.. and beside all hints devulged so far say that AM2 will be another 940 layout(incompatible with the orginal ofcorse).

Originally posted by: RichUK
I don?t think there was a physical constraint or a necessity for AMD to add an extra pin for AM2 functionality over the current s939. As about ~20% of the pins in the current s939 K8?s are redundant (they were there to allow for future expansion, DDR2? Well not anymore because of the introduction of s940 AM2). .

AM2 as far as I am aware is supposed to support a vast array of future expansion options. I cant see that extra pin counting for much, except for forced incompatibility with current s939 motherboards.

Some people don?t understand that the chipsets for example NF4 used on today?s s939 motherboards are literally just hubs, which allow all the motherboards I/O devices to communicate down one HTT tunnel. Which then allows for a more efficient motherboard design, and future designs for that matter, as PCB layers, tracers and electrical noise is reduced.

What I'm was trying to figure out is why AMD cannot give their memory controller slightly more flexability, I'm willing to bet that in 2 years we will have another socket change for DDR3 or what happens to be the next best ram standard then. Sure 939 was alot better than 940/754, but still one can fantasize that there will be another Socket 370 standard i guess.

 

[the Chase]

What Dainas said above. With DDR3 coming soon socket AM2 is going to have a short life. I hope to stretch my 939 system long enough to jump to DDR3 and socket xyz.

 

[Hard Ball]

Probably not at this point; unless I stumble upon a really good deal.

It doesn't look like AM2 will offer large improvement from S939/940, so getting rid of one's CPU, mobo, RAM all at the same time for a small improvement is not wise.

AM2 may support Quad core; but I already have four cores in my current system; no need to spend extra.

Socket F will be the platform to look forward to , greater bandwidth, lower latency probably with LGA, possibily FBDimm or PCIE controller.

 

[JAG87]

I am buying an AM2 platform. going from socket A, I think im entitled.
If I had 939 thou, I would not. 939 will be good for another yaer or two at least.

 

[pctwo]

Originally posted by: cr0ssfire
M2? Nah, I think I'll stick with what I've got. I picked up an X2 3800+ for $248 and once I've got that, I'll be set for a while. Dual cores seem nice, but quad cores seem really unnecessary. I just can't see anyone but the most extreme multitaskers needing that much sheer power.

how did you get x2 3800+ for $248? I just got one (retail) for $300 shipped.

 

[MegaWorks]

Maybe. You need a poll.

 

[nyker96]

I might get it instead of 939 depend on price if I'm gonna upgrade my current rig to duel core. However, if it offers nothing over 939 then no.

 

[RussianSensation]

I am thinking of upgrading P4 S478 AGP to AM2. DDR2 prices are really cheap now ($130-140 for 2x1gig PC4200 sticks and you can even get PC5300 for 145). As long as the motherboards are within $100-120 I dont see a reason with buying S939 for those who are upgrading to PCIe from AGP. On the other hand, the rumours of AM2 being delayed until June are not so encouraging.

Also, quad-core support is nice, but we have yet to see any game besides Quake 4 taking advantage of dual-cores, nevermind quad-cores. Software is where it counts and so far developers have not even tapped into dual-core advantages.

 

[DrMrLordX]

If AM2 proves to be an anemic overclocking platform, count me out. I'll take s939 any day of the week.

 

[BOLt]

4 cores? enough is too much....

 

[Jeff7181]

I might get an M2 setup later this year just to keep up with the video card advancements. Right now I have a 939 AGP motherboard... would be kinda silly to upgrade the motherboard to accomodate the new PCI Express video cards and get something that's being replaced in just a few months.

 

[IlllI]

m2 = home/consumer ?

f = business/servers ?

 

[theMan]

i will be skipping AM2 since is almost exactly the same as 939.

 

[sandorski]

My mobo, Asrock Dual SATA, has a slot for an M2 Socket expansion card, so eventually I might go M2. It won't be for awhile though as my X2 3800 will likely last 3-4 years.

 

[starwars7]

Originally posted by: Dainas

What I'm was trying to figure out is why AMD cannot give their memory controller slightly more flexability, I'm willing to bet that in 2 years we will have another socket change for DDR3 or what happens to be the next best ram standard then. Sure 939 was alot better than 940/754, but still one can fantasize that there will be another Socket 370 standard i guess.
[/quote]

The DDR3 point is very important. And for that reason I'm hoping to make my build this summer a 939 build, and I'll skip AM2 and go straight to the next chipset that comes after it.

 

[starwars7]

Originally posted by: sandorski
My mobo, Asrock Dual SATA, has a slot for an M2 Socket expansion card, so eventually I might go M2. It won't be for awhile though as my X2 3800 will likely last 3-4 years.

What, some mobo's can support both 939 and AM2 ?

 

[Hard Ball]

It's pretty reasonable to assume at this point that Socket AM2/M2 will have the same fate as that of S754. It will not support FBDimm and could very well be replaced within 9 months of inception. AMD will probably come out with a Socket F derivative for the Enthusiast/High-end_mainstream segment, akin to S939 was to S940, slightly tweaked. Maybe we will be seeing a Socket 1206 before too long.

 

[DrMrLordX]

I don't care whether or not socket AM2 supports FBDIMMs or not. I want DDR3 support.

Don't FBDIMMs run hot and require active cooling? If so, that is a step in the wrong direction when it comes to memory technology. We're supposed to be moving in the direction of less heat/less power consumption.

 

[Viditor]

Originally posted by: Hard Ball
It's pretty reasonable to assume at this point that Socket AM2/M2 will have the same fate as that of S754. It will not support FBDimm and could very well be replaced within 9 months of inception. AMD will probably come out with a Socket F derivative for the Enthusiast/High-end_mainstream segment, akin to S939 was to S940, slightly tweaked. Maybe we will be seeing a Socket 1206 before too long.

Sorry mate, not a chance.
1. FBDIMMs would be stupid for even the enthusiast market...they require active cooling and will cost more than twice as much.
2. Socket F will have many things that none of the consumer boards will need at all, such as increased coherent HT links (these are the links that go to other chips).

Edit: BTW, AM2 will probably still have several pins set aside in reserve for future expansion. I expect it will be the standard for at least as long as S939 has been...

 

[fireontheway]

Not me.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: starwars7

Originally posted by: sandorski
My mobo, Asrock Dual SATA, has a slot for an M2 Socket expansion card, so eventually I might go M2. It won't be for awhile though as my X2 3800 will likely last 3-4 years.

What, some mobo's can support both 939 and AM2 ?

The particular board I have does, but I'm not aware of any others that do.

 

[lsman]

Originally posted by: starwars7

Originally posted by: sandorski
My mobo, Asrock Dual SATA, has a slot for an M2 Socket expansion card, so eventually I might go M2. It won't be for awhile though as my X2 3800 will likely last 3-4 years.

What, some mobo's can support both 939 and AM2 ?

Asrock like this stuff... there is a slot to add a add-on board (cost= unknown) that will have the AM2 and DDR2 on it.

that 939 Daul SATA-2... as well as the next wave of using the ULi1697 (with SLI support)
(ocworkbench has more info)

Newegg had refurb for $40....

 

[Acanthus]

sadly i still see no need to upgrade from the rig in sig, im not budging until i have 4 cores and the nvidia G80 series (possibly even the refresh of the G80).

Unreal Engine 3 based games may change my mind, but i doubt it, im still playing max settings without AA in all games except for FEARs obscene soft shadows performance hit.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

depends upon DDR2, if I can buy a boat load of it, I definitely wouldn't mind 4+GB of affordable ram. But I wouldn't be suprised if they pull a 754 vs 939 on us with this next round, of which I waited for 939 and have been very happy with that choice. I don't see my Opty 165 dissapointing me in terms of performance anytime soon, and with PCI-e upgrading graphics won't be hard, the only thing that really stands in the way is ram, with 2GB becoming more common and almost a requirement with some games (at the settings we like to run) and multi tasking benefitting from more ram, DDR1 won't offer highly attractive paths for upgrading amount of ram.

 

[Gamer X]

Socket AM2 will be sampling late next month according to the inquirer