AMD mistake in the making..?

[Dravic]

Here's my issue. Ther are a lot of people in the same boat as myself. I currenty own a single core venice 3200+ @ 2.45 ghz. I assumed when i needed the upgraded I would buy a 939 x2 processor after the price drop.

Finally going dual view (crt for gaming, lcd for browsing while gaming) I have come to see first hand the stuttering a single core processor can cause in games when multiasking (wow and thottbot anyone). All smp aware code would just be a benefit as this is my gaming rig.

With the announcemet that the vast majority of 939 x2 chips ar being discontiuned for their AM2 counterparts, i'm expecting there to be a huge spike in demand over supply, and therefore making what should be a cheap upgrade no longer so. I'm tempted to snatch up a $200 x2 3800 from the FS forum.

If AMD is going to force the huge 939 install base to go AM2 for cheaper processors then the vast majority of those "in the know" will decide to go Conroe. If I have to buy a new mobo, ram and CPU soon. It wont be an AM2 setup.

Does anyone else see a huge potential mess for the current generation of singe core 939 owners? I'm hoping with all this fab space they are building and chip production they are out sourcing that they realize for at least the next year there is a large upgrade base that will be willing to buy 939 x2's. Its not lke they are making any money on the chipset or ddr2 side.

Dont blow it AMD keep a reasonable supply of 939 x2 chips available, or you could be quickening the migration back to intel.

 

[broly8877]

EOL is the end of the year for 939, I think.

Just pick one up this/next month.

 

[o1die]

Regular ddr is being phased out, and socket 939 will cease production on Dec 31st.

 

[Skott]

How else they going to force people to upgrade? Wont happen till 2007 though. You still have a choice. Intel or AMD. Be thankful of that. I'm guessing AMD plans to have that new chip KL8 (or whatever its called) ready by the time supply of the old 939 dries up. AMD said the new AM2 chips will see better performance sometime in late 2007 or so. Plus they lower prices on the new AM2 agressively to help maintain marker share. People hanging onto old AMD chips doesnt help AMD one bit. They want you to buy again to feed their profits.

Intel's Conroe effectively obsoletes all its previous chips as well, including the Pentium D series. Intel isnt any different than AMD that they want people to upgrade and buy more/new chips to increase profit margins.

 

[furballi]

The sad truth is that MOST people (including CORPORATE AMERICA) don't need anything faster than a Sempron 2800. Gamers and PC enthusiasts make up a very small portion of the revenue pie. The need to upgrade a PC for better performance no longer exit for many US households. Perhaps this will change with HD video and Vista.

 

[RallyMaster]

My parents probably won't buy another PC until their AXP2400+ w/ Ti4200 dies. And that's probably not for another 5 years or more. The chips they're cranking out will keep getting better but I doubt the average Joe actually cares for anything more than using Word or surfing the web. Unless the Internet starts doing some serious 3D and resource hogging stuff, I don't see why most would even bother. Vista will undoubtably change many things but I still don't think the effects of it will actually stimulate sales very much. Core 2 Duo? Useless for a huge majority. Technology, it seems, has plateaued to the point that the population don't need anything better.

 

[cmrmrc]

i dont think that 939 will be cutted that fast, it will probably be hard to find next year but after the price drop, i think amd will have more than enough supply of those 939 chips for everyone to buy, also, that is part of their plan.

 

[Zim]

Where do you think AMD make most of their sales? OEM sales to computer manufacturers... or sales of retail processors to upgraders? Once you figure out the answer to that question you will understand that AMD doesn't care about you and your S939 m/board. It's all about churn, baby!

 

[furballi]

That's why socket 754 will outlive socket 939! Speed is used as a marketing tool, just like the automotive industry. We're already seeing stock PCs with low-quality components. The goal, of course, is for the PC to fail within a year AFTER the expiration of warranty (hehehehhh...Dell's 90 day warranty).

 

[Spook]

Yeah, I don't think we're going to see the 939 go away really soon... 1-2months.. As far as the AM2 is concerned, im not too impressed by the selection of motherboards currently on the market. I'm sure more are coming, but they all seem to be low/mid end mb's.

 

[FreedomGUNDAM]

I'm running a socket 754 Athlon 3400+ right now and am planning on going to a X2 dual core processer once the price drops with a Asus A8N-SLI mobo.

I think I will skip the AM2 processers and wait till AM3 comes out.

 

[Makaveli]

i'm in the same boat, looking to replace my Opteron 146, with a Opteron 170. I'm hoping the price drops will affect this line also. If will give me about the july-dec timeframe to pick one up. I won't wait until 2007. will be alot harder to find one next year.

 

[dwcal]

Also, the best new features will be for AM2 only, the 65nm die shrink and Pacifica virtualization. If I need a new MB and RAM to get those features, AMD will lose the s939 upgrade customers because Conroe is looking better.

 

[Makaveli]

I don't see them loosing that many S939 users, if your sitting on a system with highclock A64 or X2 and 2GB of ram why would u upgrade your whole setup just to go conroe. Quad core cpu's are just around the corner your better off waiting a year with a highend S939 system, and look into Quad core setup

 

[dwcal]

Originally posted by: Makaveli
I don't see them loosing that many S939 users, if your sitting on a system with highclock A64 or X2 and 2GB of ram why would u upgrade your whole setup just to go conroe. Quad core cpu's are just around the corner your better off waiting a year with a highend S939 system, and look into Quad core setup

Then there's people like the OP (and me) who have a low end single core A64. An X2 upgrade for $150 might still be worth it, but I won't be happy about missing out on 65nm (cooler, lower power, more OC headroom).

 

[Makaveli]

u make good points there also, but would u rather spend $150 now on a X2, or upgrade the whole rig to conroe which will cost u alot more money. Then if u would have just grabbed an X2 now, and in a year do a full upgrade into quad core will will be faster than any conroe system u build now.

 

[imported_wicka]

Originally posted by: Makaveli
u make good points there also, but would u rather spend $150 now on a X2, or upgrade the whole rig to conroe which will cost u alot more money. Then if u would have just grabbed an X2 now, and in a year do a full upgrade into quad core will will be faster than any conroe system u build now.

A year is pretty far away, if you think about it. For many of us it's a REALLY long time. AM3 isn't even coming out until early-mid 2008. If you were to upgrade to AM2 right now, you would be able to buy a quad core next year and only have to replace the CPU.

 

[gplracer]

What reason do you have to upgrade? I have a opteron 148 running at 2910mhz. I wonder how much of a difference a dual core would make? If it made a lot i could sell this one.

 

[Makaveli]

the only problem with that wicka is AMD hasn't confirmed Quad core for the desktop in 2007, only for the server side I believe. but u make a valid point. A year isn't that long, when u work and have other things going on in your life its goes by really quickly. I would agree if your just sitting waiting for hardware to be released, it would seem like an eternity.

I'm assuming your refering to my comment gplracer. I also have a highly clocked Opteron single core. The only reason I want to grab the dual core is I know by next year availability of 939 chips will be drying up, not to mention they will probably start raising the prices as AM2 chips drop more in price. So I think it would be better to grab that X2 or dual core opteron in the next 6-8month period than to wait next year, even if it means just sitting on the chip for a few months without actually using it.

Also i'm expecting Vista and the release of more games optimized for dual core in 2007. So hopefully we shall start seeing great gains in the following year.

 

[imported_Sincity]

Originally posted by: furballi
The sad truth is that MOST people (including CORPORATE AMERICA) don't need anything faster than a Sempron 2800. Gamers and PC enthusiasts make up a very small portion of the revenue pie. The need to upgrade a PC for better performance no longer exit for many US households. Perhaps this will change with HD video and Vista.

True that. For my E-Penis, I run an OC'd 3200 with a 7900GTX. For my wifes office, I am running 1 Socket A Sempron 2 ghz, 1 Duron 1.6, and for file server duties, a measly Thoroughbred 1.1 ghz. Works fine with Office, Quickbooks, and Peachtree.