AM2 vs 939

Matt

Matt

Oblivion Junky
>AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Processor - Socket AM2, 128k L1, 512k L2
>Asus M2NPV-VM GeForce 6150 Motherboard Socket AM2

This is an onboard vga Socket AM2 system and im pretty safe in saying that it will blow my sempron 2600 socket 754 nf3 geforce 5700le AGP sytem out the water.

I want to know how much better am2 is than socket 939 and why (apart from ddr2 architecture)

Also what you think of the above system and any simmilarly priced systems that are better.

The reason i want onboard vga is that it will allow me to upgrage now and get a nice gpu later.

Any answers/advice would be welcomed, thanx
 
Performance increases aren't that big yet, in some tests 939 still beats AM2 - that's because of the high latencies of DDR2 and the fact that socket 939 is more mature I think.
 
Well, if you want good future upgradability, then go for AM2, as 939 will be phased out eventually and you wont be able to get any cpu upgrades for it.
 
I recently bought 939 venice core. It's super. I don't think 939 will be phased out any time soon. It's a mature & stable technology. AMD's still providing Socket A (Duron/Sempron).

I think 939 is safe for a couple of years more. To me a new cpu every 2 years is fair. For me, nxt upgrade will be dual core, 40 nm.

Another reason : Skt 939 is cooler than AM2.
 
AMD will continue to support 939 till 2007. But my best bet will be to stick with 939 for now.
 
I don't think AM2 will really be a problem, but it's new and there aren't as many reviews out of AM2 stuff. However, since it is available, if you're building a new box, it's probably going to be a smart move. AM2 is meant more to make the jump to DDR2, and it does this without taking a performance hit that typically occurs with architecture changes like this.

Things like PCIe are available for Socket 939, so while the CPU roadmap for 939 CPU's is going to go away, video card and RAM upgrades won't be limited severely. Remember, a CPU doesn't have quite the affect on a system that it used to. It's still important, but it's not the deciding factor in computer speed. That's why a jump to AM2 isn't necessary or would be severely constricting your upgrade path.
 
My only concern with the socket 939 is that it cannot support DDR2 and if you think about it, it would be better to incorporate ddr2 into the upgrade so that i dont get stuck with ddr when ddr2 takes over completely.

Also, is this motherboard going to be a liability down the road when i do get a good gpu. Are mobo's that do not have onboard vga sigificantly faster (obviously this would have to apply to mobos of the same sort of price range so that we compare aples with aples)

The board looks pretty good though. And you may see why im keen for any apgrade at all if you look at what i have now.
 
i say AM2 cuz later down the line you'll need faster ram and it'll be easier to find DDR2, than regular DDR for 939 sockets. It's all up to you though
 
Yeah AM2 is the future, and once DDR2 technology becomes more mature (along with AM2 technology etc) it'll be the better option.
 
There's very, very little (if any) difference between motherboards with integrated video and without. A GeForce 6100 is going to perform pretty much on par with a nForce4-based motherboard. If you're running the intgrated graphics, you could see some hits in performance---mostly in situations where a lot of RAM gets used or video games---but if they both use the same CPU, video card and amount of RAM, you're not going to miss out on anything.
 
Do you think that (in gaming) my sempron 2600, Geforce fx5700le 256 agp, dfi lanparty ut nf3 250bg system would outperform the one above keeping the same 512mb ddr ram in both.

Im just checking :)
 
One cannot jump to even the most obvious conclusions

But i think i cud have jumped to this one though. thx
 
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