I'm scared of getting a 939 instead of a 745....

[nickv360]

I've been reading about a lot of problems that people are having in getting their 939 socket Mobo to work.

My hopeful rig is going to use the DFI Lanpart nf3 250GB mobo, but people tell me I should upgrade to a 939 for future. This will be my first build, and I want to get everything done right, so in terms of user-friendliness, which should I get, and also, is it really worth it?

DFI "LANPARTY UT nF3 250Gb" NVIDIA nForce3 250GB Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 754 CPU -RETAIL
+
AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor - Retail($150)

VS.

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 1.8GHz, 512KB L2 Cache 939-Pin 64-bit Processor - OEM
+
MSI "K8T NEO2-F" VIA K8T800 Pro Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 939 CPU -RETAIL


In the end, which deal is better?

 

[Mrvile]

If you're going to get an MSI board get the nForce3 one instead, but if you really want K8T800 get Asus or Abit.

Anyway, I had no problems at all getting my 939 3500+ to work on my MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum (nForce3), actually not a lot of people do. It just seems that way because the most posts we see are people with problems.

If you REALLY wanna avoid problems get the Asus board (I think it's the A8V-Pro or something). 939 is a much better choice than 754 because it is much for futureproof, and in terms of user-friendliness, if you do everything right you shouldn't have a problem.

 

[Andres3605]

i think most MSI K8N NEo2 problems are due to lack of experience, you are better off getting the asus or abit, or getting help from some friend with some experience

 

[Zebo]

Well stock the 754 system will be about 6% faster due to 10% more clock speed.

http://hardware.fr/art/imprimer/531/


at the same clock speed i.e. if your overclcoking both (compare 754 3000 vs.939 3200 in the above benchmarks, the final global mark helps in this) the 939 is 6% faster.


the DFI mobo is super high quality. High quality big japanese capitors, better mosfets, better componets thoughout and is $35 cheaper.


The only mobo you should consider is the MSI neo2 and it has some issues, nothing major though.....


Tough call IMO. But if you're thinking about the via board from MSI, no question get the 754 setup..

 

[nickv360]

Well, I am using it with an AMD Athlon 64 3000+, and a GeFore 6000GT, with Mushkin 512MB RAM, in an antec case w/ 350w PSU, and a SATA HDD.

Anybody know if 939 boards have an particular reaction to this equipment?

 

[Zebo]

whats "it"

 

[kogase]

Originally posted by: Zebo
whats "it"

Whatever he ends up getting.

 

[w00t]

socket 939 no doubt 754 is going to fade out as the rumors say. if you want you could wait for the nf4 boards or xpress 200? just a thought.

 

[EvilManagedCare]

I just recently upgraded to an nForce 3 250 Gb motherboard and setup. While I'm pleased with the performance and my choice of components, I would go for the 939 board and CPU at this point. Unfortunately those parts all dropped significantly in price a couple of weeks after I got my stuff. Stupid technologoy always going forward...

Mainly I would change for the futureproof factor 939 offers v 745.

BTW Nick the 745 choices of hardware are what I picked. So you won't be disappointed, but you may need to upgrade sooner than if going with socket 939. If you wind up going with 939, I would avoid VIA chipset motherboards. I know everyone has different experiences, but they were always trouble in my case.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: w00t
socket 939 no doubt 754 is going to fade out as the rumors say.

Doesn't matter - not like the computer will one day stop working from being outdated (only from dying, and that can happen to anything). He didn't say if he was expecting to upgrade in the future. Personally I tend to upgrade mobo and CPU at the same time, so no matter. Heck, there's rumors of DDR2 and the reality of PCI-E, so any socket 939 mobo now will be outdated soon. Oh yeah, dual core... AMD has said socket 940 should be capable of dual core chips. Funny that they are silent on socket 939/754.

 

[nickv360]

Well, does the nF3 250 chipset come in a AMD S939 board?
By the way, here are the full specs on my build:

freewebs.com/metroidinc/index.html

 

[EvilManagedCare]

There are some with the nForce 3 Ultra chipset, which seems to have many of the same features, probably more, than the 250 Gb. Check out Newegg to see what is out there.

 

[cyberknight]

there's no such thing as future proofing in the world of technology. And if you are a person who only buys mobo+cpu at the same time, the futureproof argument is definitely void.

So you buy a S939 board now, does that guarantee anything? In 3 yrs when you decide to upgrade, you'll go, hey! There are dual S939's now. Hey, there is this super improved enhanced SLI version 9.55, oh, DDR3 is becoming mainstream, oh look, PCI 64x, here's some new feature that allows you an easy overclock of 25%. But oh well, I'll still buy this FX-57 and put it into this 3 yr old motherboard.

 

[Neptune3000]

get teh DFI!! Got mines on friday coming from a chaintech vnf3 an cannot be happier. From the start u can tell that the DFI is HQ. get the DFI now or wait until nextyear when the new winchesters and new 939 mobos will be coming out..although they may have probs as well.

sicket 754 is very mature...get the DFI or you're throing yur cash out the dooor

 

[bay]

I have to post because I felt the exact same way and I finally decided on the DFI and 3400 and I couldn't be happier...well I could but I didn't have enough money. Honestly, this was the easiest build in the world and the amount of features and stability that the lanparty has is astounding. Plus, it's under 100 bucks at newegg which is freaking awesome. I bought this board about 3 weeks ago and it was 130ish, so it's definatly a solid deal now.

 

[joelslaw]

you could always go with both

http://www.newegg.com/app/view...=13-157-035&depa=1

(never heard of an ALi chipset)

 

[SonicIce]

How far will 939 go for AMD? Will dual core be 939?

 

[nickv360]

So now I am right on the fence. 754 or 939???? I just don't know....

 

[Chesebert]

I was in the same situation, 3 days ago and I picked 754. I got DFI nforce3 board. A good mobo is about the single most imporant factor in your system (you can always change all other compoents without your OS bugging you). But if you like to OC, you are probably better off on a 939 since it has 90nm chips. That does nto mean 754 will not have 90nm chip in the future.

Unless you are upgrading CPU 4 times a year, all that future proof BS is totally uncalled for. For me, the next CPU upgrade is dual-core, DDR2, PCI-E (probalby 2nd gen) which requires a different mobo anyway.

g'luck deciding

 

[arcas]

Originally posted by: SonicIce
How far will 939 go for AMD? Will dual core be 939?

Hell, the recent rumors suggest that even socket 940 won't be sufficient for dual core, contrary to the hype we've heard for the last year. I've seen mention of a new socket 941 or 942 for those.

Don't buy a board because you think you might be able to upgrade it to the latest and greatest CPU 18 months later. The "futureproof" argument is pretty much bunk. 18 months from now, even if socket 939 is still around, your existing board will be at least 2 generations old and there will no doubt be newer, faster boards available with more and better bells and whistles. Example: consider Socket A. Most people would agree that the IWill KK266 was one of if not the best socket A board of its time. But modern Socket A boards like the DFI stuff obliterate it in terms of features and performance (kt133a vs nforce2, sdram vs DDR, etc).

Bottom line: Buy what best suits your needs and budget now. Don't look 12-18 months down the road and try to buy something that'll suit your needs then too.

 

[Neptune3000]

Originally posted by: arcas

Originally posted by: SonicIce
How far will 939 go for AMD? Will dual core be 939?

Hell, the recent rumors suggest that even socket 940 won't be sufficient for dual core, contrary to the hype we've heard for the last year. I've seen mention of a new socket 941 or 942 for those.

Don't buy a board because you think you might be able to upgrade it to the latest and greatest CPU 18 months later. The "futureproof" argument is pretty much bunk. 18 months from now, even if socket 939 is still around, your existing board will be at least 2 generations old and there will no doubt be newer, faster boards available with more and better bells and whistles. Example: consider Socket A. Most people would agree that the IWill KK266 was one of if not the best socket A board of its time. But modern Socket A boards like the DFI stuff obliterate it in terms of features and performance (kt133a vs nforce2, sdram vs DDR, etc).

Bottom line: Buy what best suits your needs and budget now. Don't look 12-18 months down the road and try to buy something that'll suit your needs then too.

agreed, When i went socket A I got the first gen palmano 1800+ athlon Xp and i'm JUST NOW upgrading..to what happens to be socket 754 athlon 64. Took me 3-4yrs moreless. I dont really game and am still suing my radeon 8500le which i got at the time to play games like far cry, doom, hl2, etc.

Back then I spent over 1200+ building my system and it's not even worth half of that today. simply put, I agree w/ what you're saying. I've upgraded my HDs, ram, etc. before i even touched my mobo and CPU(eventually my epox board burned out due to sucky antec PSU).

Originally posted by: joelslaw
you could always go with both

http://www.newegg.com/app/view...=13-157-035&depa=1

(never heard of an ALi chipset)

YES!!!!

I was taking a look at that. Too bad it's that Sis chipset though..I hear its fast...but i dunno...

 

[nickv360]

I think I am gonna go with 754. The nF3 board looks good, and I would rather get the 6600gt then the 9800pro... Although it forces me to get a 3000+ rather than a 3200+, I can live with that.....

And can anyone recommend me some good RAM?

 

[imported_Vale]

As for future proof I would disagree here. I think that the 939 is the only choice to make right now because it is future proof. I am planning on getting a 939 processor with a cheaper board for now, and when PCIe and better chipsets come along next year at reasonable prices, then I'll seriously consider upgrading my board. That just won't be an option on the 754. It will always be a cheaper lower end platform. That and the prices are close enough you'd be crazy to go for the slower model.





Now my question is which board would a newb like myself find the best for running 64 bit linux on?

 

[Chesebert]

consider this: Athlon64 3000+ on 754 is 2.0Ghz part, and the same PR number on 939 is 1.8Ghz

You pay the same and get less with 939. (dual channel does not make up for 200Mhz loss)

 

[imported_Vale]

Originally posted by: Chesebert
consider this: Athlon64 3000+ on 754 is 2.0Ghz part, and the same PR number on 939 is 1.8Ghz
You pay the same and get less with 939. (dual channel does not make up for 200Mhz loss)

I'd Like you to see a source for that. Here AMD says that they have the same speed for the 3200 which was the one I'm considering, so it doesn't make a difference for me.
When in doubt, go to the source. (No guarantees you'll get an honest answer, but it can't hurt.)

Also, what is it like to get Linux 64 running with peripherals. I was looking at the Soltek Mobo recently reviewed, but I need to be able to program in Linux.