939 or 754

[wedge22]

I am confused.
Is a skt 939 3500 going to be alot faster then a skt 754 3400?
I just do not know what to buy.
I have specced up a system upgrade that will not break the bank.
I also need to know if a Thermalright SLK 948 with a 80mm Noiseblocker S4 fan will be an adequate cooler?

[mike_w]

I'd recommend a Socket 939 over a 754 since it'll let you upgrade in the future - Socket 939 is going to be AMD's main socket, while 754 will be the budget socket.

However, I don't think a Socket 939 3500+ will be much faster than a Socket 754 3400+.

I believe that nForce4 boards, complete with PCI Express, are supposed to be out in Q1 of 2005, so it might be worth waiting for those.

[Aaron]

The only real speed advantage that socket 939 has over 754 is that it supports dual-channel memory.

If you're on a budget then s754 is the way to go. If you're looking for easier upgrading in the future and speed, then s939 is superior.

[iMc]

Personnally I'd wait for S939 to come down in price then upgrade. Your system in sig looks like it will be able to handle most things until then.

[wedge22]

OK thanks for the advice guys. I may as well keep my current rig then and update next year perhaps.

[Hottentot]

Even socket 939 will only have a short life as AMD will need a new chipset for DDR2/DDR3
sometime next year. Will socket 754 last longer than 939 as its the budget socket ?
Who knows , but its bloody irritating that both Intel and AMD keep changing sockets.

[wedge22]

Your not wrong there mate i have no idea whether to upgrade or not bother sometimes.
My current rig is a barton 2500 running at 3200 in a modded sn45g shuttle.

[wedge22]

Will I notice a major speed increase from my current setup into a newer 64 bit setup?

[Hottentot]

In games you would. An Athlon 64 3500 is approx equivalent to a barton at 2.8 Ghz.
The days of really major CPU speed increases are over. Sigh.

[mike_w]

Will I notice a major speed increase from my current setup into a newer 64 bit setup?

I'd stick with what you have. It'll be able to play all the games in the near future, and when it starts taxing your system, then the prices for Socket 939 will have (hopefully) gone down.

[iMc]

Even socket 939 will only have a short life as AMD will need a new chipset for DDR2/DDR3

Where did you read that? They should give consumers at least 2 years between socket changes if you ask me.

[BUFF]

Even socket 939 will only have a short life as AMD will need a new chipset for DDR2/DDR3
sometime next year.

Yes, they will need new chipsets but that doesn't necessitate a new socket.

[Hottentot]

The current 939 processors won't work on a DDR2/DDR3 board as their memory controllers don't support DDR2/DDR3. Hence sometime next year it will be new mobo/CPU/memory for AMD. Very similar to what Intel has done this year with its Pentium 4s.

[madwelshboy]

Does anyone know of a reputable source to get info on socket 939's future plans, I'm planning on moving over to A64 early next year (when the nf4 mb's come out), but if AMD plan to move chipset again, I think I'll hold off ?

[Spunkey]

The current 939 processors won't work on a DDR2/DDR3 board as their memory controllers don't support DDR2/DDR3. Hence sometime next year it will be new mobo/CPU/memory for AMD. Very similar to what Intel has done this year with its Pentium 4s.

not nerracerrily. Unless the memory controller causes a mammoth jump in transistors for the processor (which i very much doubt) it wouldnt facilitate the need to change socket types.

The only reason AMD have jumped around between 754/940/939 pins lately is to enable the differentiation between server and workstation chips. There is no real reason that in theory a 3800+ 939 couldnt be mated to a 754 pin grid.

Remember years ago, did AMD change sockets when going from SDR to DDR?
i know back then there wasnt an onboard memory controller, but work with me here

[Clingy]

As always with PC kit, if you can wait then wait. If not then it all depends on what you can afford. The 754 has to be the best value ATM, but if you have money to burn, then 939.