Debate between Sckt 939 3500+ and Sckt 754 3200+

[Mustanggb659]

After many years I am finally upgrading my Athlon T-bird 1200@ 1300 to a new system. I am unsure what if any advantages are available with the Dual Channel memory controller on the 939 pin A64s... Lookin for help in this matter so I can make the best decision.... also want to make sure that the CPU can be cooled quietly as the noise from my current case is about to make me climb the walls.... I am expecting a jump in the heat output of the CPU as my current Athlon only puts out about 25C.... at load... anyways... all input is greatly appreciated.... THX

 

[Dman877]

Dual channel doesn't do a whole lot for the A64. Socket 754 3200+ newcastle (2.2 ghz 512k L2 cache) is my suggestion. With a decent cooler, that will run 45 - 50C load depending on case temps.

I'd try a zalman 7000 AlCu if you want silence. If you don't oc you should be able to run an A64 system very quietly. Do you have a budget for this upgrade? Can make ram/mobo suggestions if you give us a number...

 

[mjuarez]

You could try to get a Mobile Athlon64, which are available currently for the same price as the desktop versions, and tend to lower power consumption, probably around the 60 watt level. These don't come with a ceramic package or fan, so you will need a 3rd party HSF. You could also wait a couple of months, there are new Mobile Athlon64s coming out, which supposedly only need 30 watts or so to run. These would put the heat output right smack in the middle of Pentium-M/Centrino area, with performance way above anything Intel offers currently.

Marcos

 

[Mustanggb659]

My anticipated budget is around 1000... for the HSF, CPU, RAM, MB, and HDD... also thinkin about WinXP Pro instead of Home.. but not sure on that one... thanks for the info...

 

[Zebo]

Do yourself a favor and get the retail box A643000AX, This chip will easily hit 2500 Mhz ... actually just look at this buyers guide... It's really good.


http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=27&threadid=1371717&enterthread=y

 

[Mustanggb659]

Daytime bump...

 

[AnnoyedGrunt]

Well, with the recent shortage on A64 3500+ and the price gouging by most stores, I'd say that it doesn't make any sense to get a 939 system this month. Hell, the price on the 3500+ makes even the P4 3.4 LGA chips look like a great deal.

So, with that said, at this time I'd go with a 754 and a 3000+ or around there.

Also, I have the Zalman 7000a-AlCu for my AXP and I love it. It is silent compared to my case fan and cools my 1800+ very well (about 5C above ambient).

If the 3500+ was back around $350, I would be much more likely to consider it, but with the latest Intel price cuts, I don't think I'd go with a 3500+ unless it was closer to $300.

-D'oh!

 

[FullRoast]

There was an Anandtech article on CPU's and Doom 3 that showed about a 2.6% increase in performance for dual channel 939's. Not much of an increase. If you have to upgrade today, a 754 system is a better price/performace system. On the other hand, by the end of the year, you'll probably regret not having one of the new D0 stepping level 939 pin cpu's and a better upgrade path. It just depends on your needs and where you like being on the technology curve.