939 Motherboards kind of scarce due to upcoming PCI express replacing AGP?

[Brickster]

Originally posted by: clille

Why not wait a little, not forever, just a few months.

BWOOOOHOOOHAAAHAHAHRRAHAHAHHAHAH!!!! That was freakin' hilarious.

That was a joke, right?

Dude, if you can wait, that's your deal and will get to enjoy the latest and greatest technology that surpasses even today's standards. Fact is though, all-things-considered, when you end up waiting for one technology, like a motherboard, you typically end up waiting much longer than expected. Delays and confusion are rampant in this industry, and in the end, what you are waiting for sometimes does not always pan out as the "ultimate solution". If you are trying to play a new game like Doom 3, you may end up waiting so long, the game becomes old, and you will have just been twidling your thumbs in the meantime.

Sounds like you are trying to get a nice machine. My advice is to map out alternate upgrade plan, and if you can afford to wait for, and purchase new technology, that should be included in one of the plans. Include dates of release, projeted dates of technology discontinuation, prices, etc. Map out 2-3 upgrade paths with total dollars, and that would give you a lot to go on in making a decision (if you haven't already made it).

That being said, it's all a gamble anyway. If you act now, you get a great machine that should last a good time. If not, you may be subject to other large expenditures to jump on the early(and expensive) train of new high technology.

Good luck...

 

[mickles]

How is the Gygabyte board holding up???

Krash how is your A8V?

 

[Krash]

mickles,

I could write a book!

I finally have the A8V up and running, after several low level formats and reloading of the OS.

Flashed the BIOS to 1005.021 and then the fun started, beta and all! Did want the BIOS with the locks!

Set up a dual boot with XP-64 and nothing would load. Couldn't boot to the Seagate Disk Wizard.

Couldn't get the Seagate PATA 80 to even be recognized. Lost the Primary IDE for a while. Finally went through a 6 hour scandisk, flashed the BIOS to the approved v1006 (NO LOCKS) reloaded Win 98SE, (don't want to give Bill any more of my money until XP-64 is available) and its working. whew!!

Maybe by the end of the weekend?

Still working on getting my wife's laptop on line with the 'Deluxe Wi-Fi' setup.

Hope The Brickster is having better luck.

Krash

 

[mickles]

Aye sounds like a rough time...

I am holding off, but my system will look almost exactly like Brick's with exception to the motherboard and video card. I'm looking at the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum or the Asus A8V Rev. 2... both seem like winners, and the review corresponds likewise. Here's what it will look like.

Athlon 64 3500+ S939
MSI K8N Neo2 PT
Corsair 1024-3200XL (not pro, don't need the LED)
note: Looked for OCZ 3500 EB and 3700 EB to no avail around here.
WD Raptor 74gb 10K
ATI Radeon 9800 PRO 128mb
Antec3700BQE w/ exchange for Antec TRUE380 PSU

Hoping for minimal problems.

 

[Brickster]

Originally posted by: mickles
How is the Gygabyte board holding up???

Freakin' fantastic! Thanks for asking. Like the review said, there were a few issues with the Mavell (sp?) LAN drivers, and you have ot have XP SP1 installed to support the installation of all the drivers on the CD. Once I had the right drivers, though, everything is working tremendously well.

3dMark03 score is almost at 12000. That's pretty good from what I can tell. Probably would be even better with a CPU Overclock. Too bad I am such a noob at it, I am too afraid to OC

It's pretty, and I am a fan of the GB dual BIOS...just in case I mess it all up trying to pretend like I know what I am doing.

Originally posted by: Krash
Hope The Brickster is having better luck.

Brickster having great luck. I was very fortunate. I went very slow, plugged everything in, rigged the wires out of the way for good looks, and that board in the Antec P-160 looks like a dream.

I did have a bit of a hard time hooking the P-160 Front Panel USB/Firewire, but once I really studied the manuals and website FAQ's, I had it all figured out....well, except hooking the front-panel audio wires to my SB Audigy2 ZS...but that's another story.

Mobo was well labeled, with a good manual. Every wire has a wonderful home

BFV plays like a freakin' dream!!!!

Oh yeah, though, my job stinks!

PEace,
Brickster

 

[Tanclearas]

There is a very good reason to wait, at least for me. I am quite happy with my system's performance at the moment (AXP 2500+ @ 10.5 x 200, R9700Pro, 1GB OCZ PC3200).

Via has plans for a PCIe/AGP chipset. It is possible (I don't yet know how likely) that there will be motherboards available with both AGP and PCIe (and not the scab jobs shown on the Intel 9xx boards). If I am able to get such a board, it would mean I could separate my CPU/motherboard purchase from my video card purchase.

Sure, I could run out and buy a new motherboard/CPU today, but then I would be limiting my choice of video cards when I'm ready to make that purchase. If I went out and bought a new AGP video card, I would be limiting my choice of motherboards.

Obviously not everyone has the luxury (or patience) to wait. Fortunately, I do.

 

[UNCjigga]

Okay my understanding of Socket 939 is limited, but I was told that once newer Athlon64 chips come out (90nm, dual-channel memory controller) you could pop one into an existing 939 board and get an instant upgrade to dual-channel memory, since the memory controller is on the CPU not the mobo. Is this true, or do motherboards need to have support for dual-channel memory built-in?

 

[mickles]

I understand it as... any chipset with S939 will have dual channel support... so if it fits a socket 939 already then you will have dual channel support. I don't understand what you mean by instant upgrade?

 

[JBT]

I have changed almost every component in my system 4 times in the last 3 years. I have a socket 754. and a new 6800 GT. I KNOW someone will want this system when I am through with it. Its not a big deal IMO. I just wait for summer every year and get the stuff I want currently and suffer till the next When you upgrade CPU's anyways who keeps the same one? the new mobo's always have some new feaure that you want really badly anyways.

 

[MavAnan]

They've bumped the price ...

MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum

Price: $179.00

Now Taking Preorders
ETA August 9

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=110228

 

[Draco]

Originally posted by: MavAnan
They've bumped the price ...

MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum

Price: $179.00

Now Taking Preorders
ETA August 9

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=110228

*grumble*

 

[Brickster]

Originally posted by: Draco

Originally posted by: MavAnan
They've bumped the price ...

MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum

Price: $179.00

Now Taking Preorders
ETA August 9

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=110228

*grumble*

and the waiting game continues...

 

[MavAnan]

it's a bit of a joke:

Price: $179.00
Now Taking Preorders
ETA August 27

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=110228

 

[Draco]

Bah! They can keep their vaporware 939 pin boards. I just received a MSI K8N-Neo. and a 754 pin A64.

Doom fever is rampant

 

[MajorCatastrophe]

Originally posted by: Brickster

...

Conclusion: After 3 years time, I have gamed my arse off with a hot system, and allowed myself an upgrade path at a cost of ~ $960 that gives me another phatty machine. Without a new CPU, that would be ~ $660. Without SLI, to simply get on the PCI-Express train, that's only ~ $160!

If you agree with me, then you know what you are going to. If not, they hey man, have fun with 754, or with your long waiting period.

My final decision was based really based on one thing - clear CPU upgrade path in 939. For me, that was enough to warrant the purchase.

Good luck!

In three years time will you want that extra gig of DDR 400 or will you be more interested in DDR2 800, and will that new 939 board that only supports DDR2 still work with the memory controller on your now 3 year old 939 cpu?

I don't know what hardware will be available in 3 years time, but that's an awfully long way away in terms of tech. I thought like that when I got my AXP 1800+. Now what do I do: get a top of the range socket A mobo so I can run a top of the range barton - using my 512MB PC2100! Nah!

It's always tough getting new kit - like you say, the best thing you can do is game your arse off with the best system you can afford at the time.

 

[Brickster]

Originally posted by: MajorCatastrophe

It's always tough getting new kit - like you say, the best thing you can do is game your arse off with the best system you can afford at the time.

MC-

Totally. I mean, in essense, you can try and plan for what you think is the right path, but the main goal should be to get it, game it, and enjoy it while it's cutting edge.

I gotta say, I feel pretty darn happy everytime I logon to my machine for gameplay or even a lighting fast install. I haven't ever been able to play at highest settings before, and having a new machine is terrific. I bought FarCry yesterday and played flawlessly until 2am with highest detail and settings. Boy, I thought BFV was good looking

I am glad I at least have the ability to stick in some more RAM and upgrade my CPU later to, perhaps, a 939 FX-5x with unlocked multipliers in a few years so I can try to sqeeze out as much life as possible before tearing the guts out and starting over. And, in terms of your RAM comment, shoot...I lived off of SDRAM for so long when everyone else was on DDR, that the latest and greatest fastest RAM didn't matter to me until I had to upgrade the guts. That will probably be the same for me and DDR2 - in that I probably won't even think about it until I am forced to

For now, for 939 and 754 alike...it's game time!!!

Peace!

 

[mickles]

Brick, what PSU unit are you using for your rig?

 

[Brickster]

Antec True 550W (EPS) -- love it!

This EPS (24-pin) model did not connect to my Gigabyte Skt 939 board, as it has a 20-pin power socket. I mistakenly bought the EPS 550W version from Newegg.com, but was able to find a 24-pin(EPS) to 20-pin(ATX) adapter from Zippy.com. Those guys are awesome, and I walked into their warehouse and was able to buy just ONE adapter same day. Warehouse in SoCal is in San Clemente.

PSU is rock solid and has a million conectors, plus SATA power connectors as well. Plus, I hear newer motherboards will be using 24-pin connections anyways.

Cheers,

 

[mickles]

Cool. I decided to go with the OCZ Powerstream 420W. Works very nice.