939 v.s. AM2

[ahmadka]

well, i heard of this new platform which AMD is gonna replace the 939 with....it is supposed to take AMD to the DDR2 level.....

 

I was just about to order my system any day now, when i heard this and came to an immediate stop !!!

 

people have said that i can go with the current system i have planned, as AM2 will not be so good in the start....

 

but there is a problem: if i get the 939, to upgrade to AM2, i will need to completely replace the motherboard, and the CPU.....which i wont be able to do....

 

so my only option seems to be is to wait for the AM2.....

 

but does anyone have info on the AM2 such as:

 

-about when it will be launched

-will the AM2 versions of opteron be generally better ??

-will the AM2 versions of opteron be more expensive ??

-when will DFI start making AM2 boards ??

-overally, is it worth the wait ??

[Angry_Games]

-about when it will be launched

-will the AM2 versions of opteron be generally better ??

-will the AM2 versions of opteron be more expensive ??

-when will DFI start making AM2 boards ??

-overally, is it worth the wait ??

 

dunno

dunno

dunno

dunno

dunno

and dunno

 

 

(be patient and wait until we actually have something to test)

[Smoken Joe]

HEHE we all are egerly awaiting the results. No hints and not any mention by anyone that they can not talk about it because of a NDA- that usualy means it is a wase off.

 

The ultra D is a proven winner it is your choice but you could be waiting a long time who knows. Personaly I doubt that the first M2's are going to be any major leap. What do you have now if you are on a socket A or older P4 you will see a big improvement.

[red930]

Same question on my mind, but I figure I'll wait 10 years and get a 32 core x 10 GHz processor.

 

You should really just weigh what you need and when you need it. Personally I needed/wanted a new computer a few months ago so I buckled down and built one that suited my needs and should be set to go for a couple years no problem. I very much doubt that new AMD offerings will completely blow 939s out of the water because it makes more sense financially for AMD just to give us a few offerings that are slightly better. Anything really amazingly better probably won't be out until this time next year.

 

If you really feel you can wait 6 months for a better processor you'll never get your computer built.

[ahmadka]

yeh....some good points there ...thanx guys

[BlackDragon24]

To me it seems, if we are to be a little intuitive about AM2 and the structure of AMD's processors, that AM2 won't really be a huge performance bump. If we are always preaching here that mhz matters and not htt speed, then a speed bump to htt333 really won't mean much unless there is a corresponding mhz bump to go along with it.

 

Of course this is all just speculation.....

[rdr4g0n]

i just hope when the am2 comes out, the prices on the 939 go down so my new pc will be cheaper lol

[MaKo]

2nd quarter 06 should start seeing M2.

 

Westlake Village (CA) - While Intel is busy bringing its next processor generation, based on the Merom core, up to speed, AMD is adding the final touches to its DDR2-based Socket M2 Athlon 64 platform, TG Daily has learned. AMD is preparing 12 M2 processors for Q2 launch, spanning the Athlon 64, X2, FX and Sempron series of CPUs. Part of the launch will be an Athlon 64 X2 5000+ and an Athlon 64 FX-62 chip.

 

Looking at processor roadmap of the next 12 months, we have had a pretty good idea what we can expect from Intel for quite some time now. AMD is a different story, however, as the Texans do not feel the need to reveal much of their future product line-up as long as Intel's CPUs are kept at a safe distance, at least in terms of performance and heat generation.

 

There was little we knew about the upcoming Socket M2 platform, AMD's entry into the DDR2 memory arena - until now. Sources told us that not just Intel is preparing an armada of new processors, but also AMD will be padding the launch of the M2 platform with a dozen processors - including Athlon 64 FX, Athlon 64 and Sempron - available at launch sometime in Q2 of this year.

 

All Socket M2 processors will be based on a common DDR2 memory controller that is validated for 333 MHz operation (DDR2-667), with only the cache size and clock speed differentiating the individual processors. There will be 2 x 1 MB or 2 x 512 KB L2 cache for the dual cores, 512 KB L2 cache for the single core Athlon 64 models and 256 KB for the Sempron series. While Intel's chipset specifications officially support 4 clock CAS latencies for DDR2-667 memory only, there is some headroom for AMD to optimize the memory interface for CAS 3. This circumstance could become significant, as the performance difference between the current Socket 939 processors and their upcoming Socket M2 counterparts will be rather small, according to sources.

 

The Socket M2 launch will be flanked by at least four Athlon 64 X2 models, which are based on the 90 nm Windsor core. These processors will be running the clock speeds we are familiar with today. However, AMD will introduce an Athlon 64 X2 5000+ clocked at 2.6 GHz and equipped with 1x 1 MB L2 cache. Frequent readers of TG Daily and Tom's Hardware Guide may now notice that these are the exact specifications of the Athlon 64 FX-60 that recently was launched. This FX-60 processor will be replaced by a 2.8 GHz FX-62 at M2 launch.

 

The single core Athlon 64 family will be slimmed down to just three models integrating the 90 nm Orleans core. The Athlon 64 4000+ will be running at 2.6 GHz, as it comes with 512 KB L2 cache only (today's 4000+ is a 1 MB part). The 3800+ runs at 2.4 GHz; the Athlon 64 3500+ will be the entry level chip at 2.2 GHz. Both the Athlon 64 and the Athlon 64 X2 will support AMD's virtualization technology known as "Pacifica."

 

Last but not least, the Sempron family will consist of four members at the time of M2 launch. All Sempron processors are based on the 90 nm Manila core and carry only 256 KB L2, but they do come with AMD's dual channel DDR2-667 interface. This potentially could make Sempron the clearly better choice when compared to Intel's Celeron. The Sempron models 3500+, 3400+, 3200+ and 3000+ will run at 2.2, 2.0, 1.8 and 1.6 GHz, respectively. 3600+ and 3800+ models 2.4 and 2.6 GHz apparently are available already and could be added to the line-up, as soon as Intel speeds up the Celeron family

[davidhammock200]

There is always newer & better comming,

however I hate to be the beta teseter for anything I have to pay for.

 

I recommend getting a N4 Ultra, for today & the next 18-months or so. :nod:

[ahmadka]

let me give a brief info about my current PC....its a 6 year old PIII PC, with an nVidia Riva TNT AGP card that has 8MB Video Memory....u can imagine how crap this PC is.....now, finally my dad has allowed me to buy a new PC ...(phew).......so my intention with this upcoming PC is that I shall not have to upgrade it for at least 2 years....and now buy another PC for the next 5 years or so at least......and when upgrading, I shouldnt have to remove any present hardware....I should just be able to slot in a new item in it.....

 

with this in mind, i have kept 2 RAM slots vacant, an SLI option, which i can go for when the games slow down....and a motherboard that supports X2, FX, etc......so I can just put in a new CPU ....but if I go for a 939 now,...it means that I will have to put in a brand new motherboard, CPU, etc.....which i obviously dont want.....can 939 last me 4-5 years ??

[Smoken Joe]

let me give a brief info about my current PC....its a 6 year old PIII PC, with an nVidia Riva TNT AGP card that has 8MB Video Memory....u can imagine how crap this PC is.....now, finally my dad has allowed me to buy a new PC ...(phew).......so my intention with this upcoming PC is that I shall not have to upgrade it for at least 2 years....and now buy another PC for the next 5 years or so at least......and when upgrading, I shouldnt have to remove any present hardware....I should just be able to slot in a new item in it.....

 

with this in mind, i have kept 2 RAM slots vacant, an SLI option, which i can go for when the games slow down....and a motherboard that supports X2, FX, etc......so I can just put in a new CPU ....but if I go for a 939 now,...it means that I will have to put in a brand new motherboard, CPU, etc.....which i obviously dont want.....can 939 last me 4-5 years ??

 

It is a little unreasonable to expect any computer to last 5 years no socket lasts all that long. Any system you get now will be massivly more pow

 

 

erfull than the one you have now. Try futurmark and some of the other old becnhmarks for some idea yours cant even run the modern ones as it is too out of date. It is hard to even discribe how much of an improvement a new computer would be.

 

You can always do like we do sell the old equipment when it is time to upgrade. If you can wait 6 months go for it theultra D will be cheaper and more reliable in all liklyhood and if you overclock that processor it will be a real powerhouse.

 

 

In short I would just get one now.

[KimTjik]

let me give a brief info about my current PC....its a 6 year old PIII PC, with an nVidia Riva TNT AGP card that has 8MB Video Memory....u can imagine how crap this PC is.....now, finally my dad has allowed me to buy a new PC ...(phew).......so my intention with this upcoming PC is that I shall not have to upgrade it for at least 2 years....and now buy another PC for the next 5 years or so at least......and when upgrading, I shouldnt have to remove any present hardware....I should just be able to slot in a new item in it.....

 

with this in mind, i have kept 2 RAM slots vacant, an SLI option, which i can go for when the games slow down....and a motherboard that supports X2, FX, etc......so I can just put in a new CPU ....but if I go for a 939 now,...it means that I will have to put in a brand new motherboard, CPU, etc.....which i obviously dont want.....can 939 last me 4-5 years ??

PIII five years ago wasn't that bad, was it? Another 5 years from now? In technology you're talking about generations of hardware! You have to relize that manufacturers are eager to sell you new products and get more money. So the main question is more about your attitude: do you want to have the latest or are you satisfied with good performance?

 

939 hasn't been on the market for very long and should still last some years. 5 years? Maybe you'll be able to upgrade, but take a look at what has happened to the 754: AMD has limited the options for CPU:s. Your expectations aren't - unfortunately - in "harmony" with the computer market. If you're so worried about this you would be better off going for the best bang for the buck, and spare some money for future investments.