Dual core + AMD = another new mobo...

[iMc]

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=20108

Was probably to be expected but means that those 939 mobos may well be out of date at the end of 05.

[Rave]

Total speculation if you ask me. There's no reason why they'd introduce a new socket for dual core- indeed I'm pretty sure the engineering sample dual core Optys they've already displayed were standard S940 parts.

They will need a new socket for DDR2 though, that's inevitable.

Rich :¬)

[Swafe]

do they really need a new socket for it ? new ram slots maybe, im sure they could manage it tho...if they wanted

unless there all out to get as much as they can out of you....oh well maybe we will get a new mobo then

Socket A athlons could run on SD or DDR, just different chipsets
So why cant Socket 939 run on DDR or DDR2 with the same socket, different chipset?

i dont think it necessarily will mean a new socket, but mind you, in todays money grabbing society, it probably will, its more of a economic factor for them, not a hardware factor i feel

[Mblaster]

will need a new socket for DDR2 though, that's inevitable.

Rich :¬)

New motherboard, but not new socket (AFAIK)

*Edit* Swafeman beat me to it *Edit*

[Steve]

Socket A athlons could run on SD or DDR, just different chipsets
So why cant Socket 939 run on DDR or DDR2 with the same socket, different chipset?

Athlon 64's have the memory controller built into them; it's on the CPU not the chipset. So DDR2 capability on Athlon 64 may need a new pinout.

[Swafe]

ahh true, you got a point kez


mind you, ddr was a long shot off wasnt it when the athlon was released ? yet they still wangled a ddr controller on die somewhere or other

[Steve]

Athlon started on SD-RAM then the chipsets started supporting DDR too. Some even supported both, although they were never really that good.

[StormPC]

mind you, ddr was a long shot off wasnt it when the athlon was released ? yet they still wangled a ddr controller on die somewhere or other

Not on die, in a new chipset.

[Swafe]

that as well, but wasnt there some sort of ddr on chip ? i remember someone refering to a 'new' athlon at the time as a 'Athlon DDR' as opposed to a normal 'Athlon'

prob just the chipset

[funnelhead]

mmmm not sure i can hold on to my socket A for anther year........GAH!

[0iD]

I'll keep hold of my S940 Opteron for a bit longer then. Upgrade next year when I can make the jump to dual core + PCI-E at the same time. At the end of the day, my rig's capable of handling most tasks adequately.

[Rave]

ahh true, you got a point kez

Hang on....that was my point.

Socket 754 has one channel of DDR memory, Socket 939 has two. 939 - 754 = 185 extra pins. There are 184 pins on a DDR DIMM. Is it a coincidence that the numbers are so similar? I doubt it. Since DDR2 Dimms need 240 pins per channel, there won't be enough pins in S939 to run dual channel DDR2. In theory they could just add another 112 pins and be done, but I suspect that at the same time as they update the socket for DDR2 they will probably add more power pins to support the extra power requirements from dual core. They may even go over to a LGA style arrangement since the initial concerns about the reliability of Intel's setup seem to have been unfounded.

As for Athlon XP supporting SDR and DDR, that's because the memory controller is in the chipset, the Front Side Bus between chipset and processor stayed the same. The P4 is the same- in fact it had chipsets supporting SDR, DDR and Rambus. The flipside of course is that although DDR2 will require a new socket, there shouldn't be any need to redesign the chipsets since the Hypertransport link between chipset and processor is a standard.

Rich :¬)

[TiG]

Next Generation Opterons are rumoured to be looking at 1205 pins?.

The thing that manufacturers don't like is the fact that sockets have been changing a bit too fast recently, 939, 940, 754, 478 etc.. Another change is not great for any one, us or the manufacturers....

TiG