754 or 939

[Gbaby1008]

I am looking 2 upgrade my cpu and mobo. I don't know if i should get a socket 754 or 939. Which do you think i should get and what mobo to go with it?

 

[Gbaby1008]

Money is a issue in my case i'm willing to spend around 300-350.

 

[Rhagz]

939, 90nm core.. 3000,3200, or 3500 depending on what you can spend after the mobo

as for the mobo, any of the top 3 or 4 would be good.. MSI, Asus, Abit, even EpoX.. just do research, see what chipset you like (VIA or nForce) and what features you need. Plenty (100's) of links and reviews around here.

 

[Gnoad]

I'd say socket 939 for a much better futureproofed system and better performing for barely a bit more. A 3000 90nm s939 is about $180, and all good mobos using nf3 250 or the via pro chipset aren't much more than $110-130. That fits your $300 mark.

 

[bap4201]

754 is being phased out. If you want to stay on the band wagon go 939.

 

[ChineseDemocracyGNR]

One thing to consider:

EPoX 8KDA3J: $74
Athlon 64 3000+ (s754, Retail): $158
total: $232

ABIT AV8: $111
Athlon 64 3000+ (s939, Retail): $182
total: $293

You could upgrade the socket 754 processor to a 3400+ (2.4GHz vs 1.8 on the socket 939) and have a total of $305.

 

[jbh129]

754 is not going anywhere

 

[gobucks]

Personally, considering your current setup, I would wait a while, and then get a socket 939 system with PCI-express. Otherwise, I don't see much in the way of gains from your current system. Look at it this way - your current system is pretty much tapped out, except for video, since you can't upgrade your CPU any more. If you buy into the 754 platform, you buy yourself a max of 500 PR points of performance. THERE WILL BE NO ATHLON 64 HIGHER THAN A 3700+!!!!! AMD has stated this again and again. There will be 32-bit, 256K L2 semprons, but that's it. Besides, while the lower A64 grades are conservative (a 3000+ or 3200+ are probably faster than your current CPU), the higher ones are a bit too liberal. If you are gonna get an A64, it's nice to have a platform that you can upgrade in the future. Socket 939 has definite plans for single core chips up to 4400+, probably higher, and dual cores soon after that, with PR ratings likely over 5000+. That's an upgrade path. Along the same lines, nVidia and ATI are shooting for a quick adoption of PCI-express. With Dell and Gateway making the technology pretty standard, the graphics companies will soon have a big PCIe market base. You can even see today that the companies are focusing on PCIe over AGP. the 6600, 6200, and X700 are all PCIe only, and only the 6600 has plans for an AGP version, and even that will be lagging. What do you think the next-generation situation will be like? In a year or so, AGP cards will be the leftovers, like PCI cards are today. The next several graphics generations will be PCIe. Also, it looks like you are into value in terms of video, and it looks like PCIe owns the value segment. 6600GT, X700XT, even stuff on the lower end like the 6200, these cards are all twice as fast as their predecessors, due to their doubled pipes, and the 6600GT and X700XT can seriously outperform even the 9800 Pro, which can be found at the same price, but officially retails for $50 more, and even the 9800XT and 5950 Ultra, which some stores are still selling for $500!. Anyways, in your situation, I recommend waiting for a more compelling reason to upgrade than socket 754. Right now, for the price you're looking at, it provides only marginal improvement over your current system, and is headed for a dead end. The only other advantage, 64-bit windows support, won't show up until Q3 2005. If you buy now, it's not for the performance gains, it's for the platform, and 939 has a much brighter future.