Buy now or wait for Socket AM-2

[mitchie]

I was about to pull to the trigger on an nForce SLI mobo and an X2 3800+ when I read that socket AM-2 is going to hit the street in Q2. I'm leaning towards waiting for the AM-2 version to come out. My reasoning is thus: I'd like the option to upgrade my CPU one more time without a mobo upgrade. I don't see that option existing with socket 939 since AMD just released the last socket 939 CPU a few weeks ago.

Your thoughts?

 

[DeathReborn]

If you are looking for futureproof then wait for AM-2. What are you using at the moment? Posting that will help people here advise you as to what is the best path.

 

[PClark99]

nothing is futureproof IMHO.

Buy what you want now because I don't think AM2 is going to perform leaps and bounds better than a decent socket 939 platform.

 

[mitchie]

I'm running a P4 2.66 (Northwood) with DDD333 RAM....

 

[the Chase]

Well it looks like you would probably want to upgrade your ram any way you go so it comes down to how soon you want your new computer and if your willing to go through the "teething" pains and bugs that the new motherboards will have(or wait even longer for the platform to mature.)

 

[mitchie]

The Chase:

What speed DDR would you recommend for the system I propose? Also, it seems like DDR2 is really expensive at this point. Will it get it cheaper anytime soon?

 

[mitchie]

*bump*

 

[Killrose]

Are'nt the Skt AM-2 or whatever processors going to also require DDR2 Ram?

 

[Capt Caveman]

I wouldn't want to be an early AM-2 adopter. New buggy chipsets, motherboards, etc. If you go AM-2, wait til Q3 when they'll have the bugs worked out.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Pros of not waiting:
Mature chipsets
Performance now

Pros of waiting:
DDR2 is / is going to be much cheaper than DDR1 in terms of capacity. 2GB of ram is going to be an easy standard with 4GB+ as a realistic option, especially with 64bit support increasing. DDR1 does seem to be dead in the water. Fast 2GB kits seem to be the last hurrah and prices probably won't get any better than they are now and very well may see a hefty increase to encourage the switch to DDR2.

 

[jlbenedict]

Buy as much as you can now.

First generation of technology of this sort is going to have its quirks and misfortunes, headaches, and everything else with it. The performance will be negligible. Wait till a second revision of the chipsets to come to market before making the plunge.

Plus by then, with Intel and AMD utilizing DDR2, ram manufacturers should be coming out with higher speed modules (whats the next speed grade above DDR2, 667 ?)

 

[ShadoWing]

actually...ddr2 is really cheap in stores now, since they're encouraging people to upgrade lately. You can easily find a gig of ddr2 4200 for like 50 bucks now