AM2 vs. 939

[.Maleficus.]

I'll be building a new system before the year ends, so I was wondering what you guys think. AM2 vs. 939? AM2 is new technology so there will be new stuff for it in the future, but 939 has good stuff right now. What would you guys get?

[cheztir]

Depends on what you value more, upgradability or stability.

AM2 is new and with any new product there are likely to be bumps along the way. But if you want the newest stuff with cool features go for it.

939 is pretty rock solid, so if that is important to you than stick with 939. But at the same time, your upgrade ability is fairly limited.

I personally say AM2.

[monoflap]

I think the AM2 will be more future proof. Going the 939 route seem a lot cheaper at first (the reason I brought up the money is because as of right now the performance difference between the AM2 and the 939 is very small). However, knowing AMD you'll have a whole lot of upgrade oportunities with the new socket. If you buy a really good motherboard, you could upgrade it for a long time before you have to get a whole new system saving you money in the long run. I learned that having a good mobo is a much better decision than having good parts to start out with (If thats what it comes down to). You can always upgrade seperate parts but a new mobo pretty much means a new computer.

[Slug Toy]

between the two options, am2 is my preference. the whole future-proof thing and the boosted bandwidth from ddr2 ram is a key point. not to mention virtualization.

if you are going for a real performance machine... i cant figure out what amd's next move will be, and conroe is looking good. i hear that conroe is going to be release very soon (i saw rumours of the 11th of this month).

conroe is a real number cruncher, and i like the new 128 bit wide SSE stuff. even though am2 is pretty good, i dont think it can shake a stick at the potential multimedia and floating point gains that conroe shows.

so yes.. out of the two you mentioned... am2, but conroe might be he favourite for the rest of this year anyways.

[.Maleficus.]

Ok, I think I'll probably get an AM2. Only thing is, as of right now, I don't think that there are any DFI boards for AM2. I only mention that because I hear DFI is good for overclocking which I want to do. Can anyone recommend a good overclockers board for AM2?

And Slug, what is Conroe? Is it a new core for AM2 CPU's or what?

[Slug Toy]

And Slug, what is Conroe?

i dont think i believe what i just read. you dont know what conroe is?

conroe is intel's answer to amd's performance domination. unfortunately the intel name might ruin it right there, but the numbers shown so far are good enough that a lot of amd people are defecting back to intel's side... and the processors arent even out yet. ive heard nothign but good things about the processor. whats still going to bring it down is the fsb.

if i were you, id wait until the end of summer to see what happens. if the conroe numbers are as good as they're supposed to be, your wait wont be for nothing.

now as far as dfi am2 motherboards go, i havent heard of any yet, but i have heard that they are in the works. they'll probably be out soon i suppose.

[.Maleficus.]

Quad-core Conroe? Wow, I might have to wait to build my new system. But, I'm guessing that is going to be majorly expensive, so what would you guys suggest for a not-very-expensive system? That's one reason I'm still considering 939, it's not very expensive stuff. I don't really want to spend more then $400 on a CPU. Gotta have some money left over for a good graphics card :P.

[Omega]

Ok, I think I'll probably get an AM2. Only thing is, as of right now, I don't think that there are any DFI boards for AM2. I only mention that because I hear DFI is good for overclocking which I want to do. Can anyone recommend a good overclockers board for AM2?




Just wait for a DFI mobo for AM2 and you're set.

[Slug Toy]

Quad-core Conroe?

what? no, theres no quad core coming out yet. the first ones are still dual core. i think quad core is on the road map for next year though.


Just wait for a DFI mobo for AM2 and you're set.

just wait for a while. period.

you wont be disappointed.

1. prices drop

2. im not pushing conroe or anything, but holy crap its looking good, and i would not be surprised if a $300 conroe processor would run circles around a $300 am2 processor.

so just wait...

[.Maleficus.]

Waiting sure won't be a problem... I don't expect to have this within the next few months... I'm only 14 and just got my first job about a month ago so I'll be waiting a while as it is. I just want to know this stuff so I can start thinking about what to get.

[overdosedelusion]

DFI certainly are good overclockers, but the ASUS M2N32-SLI mobo has SO SO many overclocking features its untrue. have a look at this.

http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Reviews/asus_m2n32-sli_deluxe/

[.Maleficus.]

Well, based on this article, I think I will probably get a Conroe. (The page in the link is a benchmark test of Doom 3 and Halo.)

http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Reviews/core2duo_e6700/16.html

[overdosedelusion]

something tells me AMD will have something up their sleave for this ;) (they always do)

but seriosuly, unless you plan on having a monitor with about a 4000px wide resolution, get a cheaper processor, these will cost an arm and a leg (as intel always have done) ;)

[.Maleficus.]

# E6300 at 1.86GHz with 2MB of shared L2 cache - $221
# E6400 at 2.13GHz with 2MB of shared L2 cache - $266
# E6600 at 2.40GHz with 4MB of shared L2 cache - $368
# E6700 at 2.67GHz with 4MB of shared L2 cache - $610
# X6800 at 2.93GHz with 4MB of shared L2 cache - $111

I don't know... that E6600 isn't looking too bad for only being $368...

[Slug Toy]

E6600 is the sweet spot.

[FyR]

I would definatly wait until the dust settlles over the whole conroe/am2 war, AMD will most definatly have something up there sleeve (as said above, they always do) they have a habit of waiting until intel have said there piece and laid there cards down then WHAM, they come back and make intel look like fools.

Look at all the serious gaming rigs on the market, the pro's use AMD (obviously not dell). Intel is good for multimedia tasks like encoding avi to dvd ect but amd dominates for games - always has. I seriously doubt they would let themselves loose their grip on the gaming comunity as it is a very lucrative market where people are always upgrading and looking for the best perfomance.

As you can tell by my sig i like AMD ;) but im not biased, it just seems that AMD have always sniggered at there geekier cousin intel.

Have a look at www.AMD.com/duel , amd campaigned for ages and ages to get intel to participate in a duel between the dual core CPU's from both companys. Intel refused for ages but eventually submitted and lost by a fair margain.

It just seems Intel alaways try to blind the everyday person with science and tons of advertising (the ads are annoying! boo bid doo boo) and AMD just try to do there best. They just dont bombard people with advertising.

My advice is go with AMD, they have never let me down.

[.Maleficus.]

Actually, I've always been an AMD person myself, (that's actually what I'm using right now), but that 4MB of L2 cache is lookin' real good, with programs becoming more demanding every day. Unless AMD comes up with something to beat that, whether it be price, or better preformace, people, AMD fans included, may be switching to Intel because 2.4 ghz and 4MB L2 cachef for $370 is going to be hard to beat.

But who knows, the Conroe line of processors will be coming out soon, and maybe the hype they got won't be deserved, and AMD will be on top again.

Aren't they coming out July 24th? I think I read somewhere that they are, but I'm not sure.

[overdosedelusion]

But who knows, the Conroe line of processors will be coming out soon, and maybe the hype they got won't be deserved, and AMD will be on top again.

Aren't they coming out July 24th? I think I read somewhere that they are, but I'm not sure.

the conroe chip is good. no doubt, but AMD will soon wipe the floor with a new chip. i wouldnt switch to intel just because of this new chip, id regret it when AMD bring out the 8MB of L2 ;)

[.Maleficus.]

the conroe chip is good. no doubt, but AMD will soon wipe the floor with a new chip. i wouldnt switch to intel just because of this new chip, id regret it when AMD bring out the 8MB of L2

Yes, but will it be $370? I doubt that I'll ever need that for what I do on a computer (internet, AIM, gaming, starting to dabble in GIMP and Blender) and unless its under $400, I don't need it.

[overdosedelusion]

Yes, but will it be $370? I doubt that I'll ever need that for what I do on a computer (internet, AIM, gaming, starting to dabble in GIMP and Blender) and unless its under $400, I don't need it.

heh, i wasnt being too serious ;) i just mean that AMD will bring out something better. and to be honest, a conroe is way beyond what i need to game with.

[.Maleficus.]

Well, there will always be something better, but soon it will become unecessary (like the new Panasonic 103" tv. I mean, it would be cool, but seriously, does anybody really need one?).

When AMD comes out with a new chip, I may wait a couple of years for good hardware compatibility and price drops and then upgrade, but for now, Conroe looks good to me.

[overdosedelusion]

Well, there will always be something better, but soon it will become unecessary (like the new Panasonic 103" tv. I mean, it would be cool, but seriously, does anybody really need one?).

When AMD comes out with a new chip, I may wait a couple of years for good hardware compatibility and price drops and then upgrade, but for now, Conroe looks good to me.

"good god i simply must have one" would be the common phrase, everyone wants the next best thing, or something better than someone elses. We have a 42" and more than big enough for DVD movies. I suppose the 103" tv would be good for a pub, i mean, imagine sitting in the pub with a pint, watching the game on that :D

[Slug Toy]

"good god i simply must have one"

thats the exact reaction anyone would have.

i say get the conroe now, and get the longest benefit possible. who knows what is next, or when... ive completely lost track of it all now. the best AMD has on the horizon is 4x4 and quad core. in the dual core area, they wont touch conroe until at least 2008. but then... im pretty sure intel pledged that a new processor will come out every two years now. maybe by the time amd steps up, intel will have taken another step.

anyways... the conroe extreme model is due out on the 27th, and i dont think the mainstream ones are going to be out that soon. theres a lot of talk about a mid august availability. either way... for the 300 and something dollars for the E6600 (and the already shown overclocking potential)... good value man!

[penguin463]

Well, I am an AMD fanboy. I have build 5 machines (2 for myself, 3 for freinds) in the pst 18 months. I build my first one for christmas then. I have put an AMD proc in every single machine, and i haven't heard problems from anyone about them.

The new conroe procs that are coming out really are something though. However i know that AMD is also having mass price cuts on Many of thier procs on that same day to combat the new conroe. The 6400 is a very nice deal. It ran circles around AMD's 5000+ x2.

Here are a couple of articles with many different benchmarks:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2006/07/14/intel_core_2_duo_processors/1.html

http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/1779_large_full_pricing.png

As to wether to go AM2 or 939, my vote is AM2. Simply because i read you will be building this computer in a couple of months, and the life of socket 939 is dying. Definately go AM2, if you go AMD that is