AM2 now or wait for AM2+...

[f4phantom2500]

Ok, so I bought one of those super cheap 2GB DDR2 667 RAM kits and that Ultra X-finity 600W PSU and am pretty much ready to upgrade from 939...the problem is I don't know what to do. I originally planned on just waiting for the Pentium E2160, cuz I mean, come on, 3GHz C2D for $85? Then I started thinking about holding out for AM2+ boards and chips, but realized that I'd have to wait for up to a few months longer for that. So now I'm thinking about buying an AM2 board with a 3600 Brisbane and just overclocking it for now, then when the AM2+ chips come out snag one and throw it into the AM2 board. So the problem there is, even though they're backward compatible, I don't know if an AM2 board would hinder an AM2+ chip in any significant way (relative to an AM2+ board). However, being able to throw in an AM2+ processor is tempting, as is having the option to upgrade the board and keep using the 3600. Or, I could just stick with my original plan and hold out for the E2160. Or, of course, I could just go C2D now. Or I could just wait for Penryn. So many choices!!! Help!

So basically, what do you guys think?

EDIT: oh, also note that I have a Freezer 64 Pro sitting around (snagged one for $15 shipped from the egg a few days ago ).

Right now I'm running:

Sempron 3000 (stock, just threw it in a few days ago, haven't had a chance to OC yet)
512MB PC3200 (2x256MB, I should be getting a 2x512MB kit in soon)
MSI Neo 4-FI board (from geeks, flashed to neo4-fi bios)
Ultra X-finity 600w PSU
X800GTO2
X-fi XtremeMusic
wd800jb
wd2000jb
wd1200js (not right now but I'll probably throw it in soon)
some pioneer dvd burner

I'll just reuse what I can from this rig, but this is just so you know what I'm running now. I had an X2 3800 for a couple months oc'ed to like 2.4GHz with 2GB RAM and an X1900GT, but I sold that stuff cuz it was in relatively high demand at the time (relative to the prices of AM2 x2 3800's and 2GB of DDR2 RAM; as for the video card, I wasn't gaming enough to warrant owning it at the time).


***UPDATE***

I just bought the 3600 brisbane and tforce 550 from newegg; after reading that there will be am2 support through 2009 and that the differences in am2 and am2+ boards won't make a huge difference in the new AMD article here on anandtech, I decided to just go ahead and spend the $145 lol. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

 

[daveybrat]

Well, from looking at your current rig, i'd say the 3600+ Brisbane AM2 is a great choice for $59 and that way you can upgrade to the new AMD's coming out later this year.

Just pair it up with a good overclocking motherboard and you should be able to squeeze some juice out of it with little effort.

 

[Viditor]

Yours is a difficult call...
From reading your post, it looks like you are good at taking the low end chips and cranking them REAL high.

1. I wouldn't worry about AM2 vs AM2+ as this is (from what we know) strictly a bandwidth issue (HT2 vs HT3).
2. Using the "bird in hand" theory, we know that C2D OCs extraordinarily well, but nobody (not even AMD) knows how well the K10s will OC on average. There have been rumours of good OCs on K10, but they are certainly just rumours and possibly based on hand-picked chips.
3. The low end overclockers for K10 will likely be the Kuma chips, but they aren't due out till Q1 08...

In your situation, I would probably go with the C2D for now...and then once the Kumas are released (if they turn out to be as good as expected) make the changeover then. That way you'll have actual facts to base your decision on, and you should still have a nice system in the meantime.

JMHO

 

[DrMrLordX]

I thought Kuma was supposed to be out in 3Q 2007 and Rana was supposed to be out in 1Q 2008?

er wait hmm, looks like Q4 (November) for Kuma, with no launch date for Rana in sight:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD_K10

That is, provided wikipedia has good information.

 

[Viditor]

Originally posted by: DrMrLordX
I thought Kuma was supposed to be out in 3Q 2007 and Rana was supposed to be out in 1Q 2008?

er wait hmm, looks like Q4 (November) for Kuma, with no launch date for Rana in sight:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD_K10

That is, provided wikipedia has good information.

It's still all conjecture at this point...
The graphic that DT posted shows both Kuma and Rana availability in Q1 08...of course if shipping starts in November, then Jan 08 is exactly when they should be available...

 

[Puffnstuff]

C2D is your best option at the moment so go and buy one and be happy. If you plan to oc get a good hsf mounted before you install the mb so you don't have to worry about it later.

 

[f4phantom2500]

Originally posted by: Viditor
Yours is a difficult call...
From reading your post, it looks like you are good at taking the low end chips and cranking them REAL high.

Well, good enough to be satisfied with the OC's I get from the cheap chips.

1. I wouldn't worry about AM2 vs AM2+ as this is (from what we know) strictly a bandwidth issue (HT2 vs HT3).
2. Using the "bird in hand" theory, we know that C2D OCs extraordinarily well, but nobody (not even AMD) knows how well the K10s will OC on average. There have been rumours of good OCs on K10, but they are certainly just rumours and possibly based on hand-picked chips.
3. The low end overclockers for K10 will likely be the Kuma chips, but they aren't due out till Q1 08...

In your situation, I would probably go with the C2D for now...and then once the Kumas are released (if they turn out to be as good as expected) make the changeover then. That way you'll have actual facts to base your decision on, and you should still have a nice system in the meantime.

JMHO

Hm, that's a good argument. There is one thing holding me back from C2D though, and that's the price. I mean for the price of the E4300 I could get an X2 3600 Brisbane and a Tforce 550, plus I already have the freezer 64 pro. Not to mention I'd have to spend an extra $100 on a motherboard for the C2D. If I go C2D, I want to wait until I can get one that'll probably clock high (~3GHz) for under $100, which is why I was waiting out for the E2160. I might just go with the brisbane and tforce 550 anyway, plus having the option of throwing a K10 in there is nice, and if K10 ends up not being as great as we all hope then I would have "wasted" like $120 on that brisbane and tforce 550, which is not that bad considering it's about the price of the cheapest C2D right now. If I go C2D now and end up going K10 later, then I would regret spending the $220 on that setup instead of $120 on the brisbane/tforce setup.


I hope that made sense...

 

[tatteredpotato]

Originally posted by: Viditor

Originally posted by: DrMrLordX
I thought Kuma was supposed to be out in 3Q 2007 and Rana was supposed to be out in 1Q 2008?

er wait hmm, looks like Q4 (November) for Kuma, with no launch date for Rana in sight:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD_K10

That is, provided wikipedia has good information.

It's still all conjecture at this point...
The graphic that DT posted shows both Kuma and Rana availability in Q1 08...of course if shipping starts in November, then Jan 08 is exactly when they should be available...

They most likely got bumped back for demand issues. Why sell a chip if you know you won't be able to meet supply and you can sell higher priced chips for a bit. Once they've ramped up production and feel like they could actually meet supply, they will be released.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Originally posted by: Viditor
of course if shipping starts in November, then Jan 08 is exactly when they should be available...

Hmm, good point. By November I guess we'll be seeing server parts and maybe some Agena/Agena FX parts in retail channels.

 

[tatteredpotato]

I'd personally go for the AM2 w/ a 3600 Brisbane until Agena comes out.

 

[dantonic]

I've been thinking about the exact same thing!

X2 Brisbane 3600 and Tforce550 and once the K10 comes out upgrade the chip.

I think I might do it... the 3600 is so cheap... and memory is so cheap as well...

anyone know if the newer chips, quad core etc will require much better memory? or is 6400 800MHz memory good enough for the future quad cores?

 

[lopri]

Excuse me for quoting myself from other thread.

It's really amazing how cheap you can build such a powerful machine these days.

EVGA/Foxcon NF590 SLI: ~$100 ($250 a year ago) / Gigabyte DS3: ~$100 ($150 a year ago)
X2 3800+: ~$70 ($300 a year ago) / E4300: ~$90 ($200 a year ago/E6300)
2x1GB DDR2: ~$100 ($250 a year ago)
500GB HDD: ~$120 ($250 a year ago)
SATA DVD Burner: ~$40 ($120 a year ago)

I wish I was running a Cyber cafe or something like that. Other than the video cards where the competition hasn't been fierce, the cost of building a system with such power hasn't been this low from my memory..

I think there really isn't a point of waiting unless you're looking to build a quad-core rig.

 

[f4phantom2500]

Originally posted by: dantonic
I've been thinking about the exact same thing!

X2 Brisbane 3600 and Tforce550 and once the K10 comes out upgrade the chip.

I think I might do it... the 3600 is so cheap... and memory is so cheap as well...

anyone know if the newer chips, quad core etc will require much better memory? or is 6400 800MHz memory good enough for the future quad cores?

should be fine, i think i read that ht3 will still use a 200mhz fsb, just a higher multiplier than the current ht. even if it's "slow" you can still use dividers. plus ram's so cheap now there's no reason not to because if you end up not using it you can resell it when the prices go back up and probably make a profit.


the fsb of the new am2+ platform will still be 200MHz, so I think even ddr2 667 will be fine.