Is 939 still worth it??

[JoLLyRoGer]

I'm gearing up to build a budget-budget-budget PC. By budget I don't necessarily mean the cheapest thing on the market. I'm talking dollar-for-dollar the most bang for the buck.

With dual core processors coming down in price I was looking at going with an AMD X2 solution however I'm debating between the two form factors. 939 or AM2?

The AM2 motherboards are relatively more expensive but it seems like that price is immediately offset by the higher price of DDR vs. DDR2 RAM. I guess I'm wondering if it is even worth it to consider a 939 solution.

On the other hand, this PC will ultimately displace my old workhorse and I'm planning on rolling some of the devices into the new build (like the 320GB HD I just recently bought, my SB Audigy w/ live drive, and my DVD-RW).

That said, I need things like the older type slots/controllers (like PATA and standard PCI) and the AM2 boards I've found run short on these. The MSI K8N Neo4-F is a good 939 representation of what I'm looking for as far as slots/controllers go. This has been hard for me to find in a quality AM2 solution

Thoughts, recommendations?
TY - JR

 

[kurt454]

I would probably go with AM2 and DDR2 ram. You could then use the ram later on in another build. Unless you are buying used and get a killer deal on 939/DDR.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I have a 939 and I sorta regret buying it. I wish I had waited just 1 or 2 months more and went with AM2.

AM2 CPU pricing is much better, and you have MUCH more room for future upgrades.


Yes the 939 mobo's are better priced, and if you already have DDR, you don't have to buy new ram, but the AM2 will give you the ability to put in a much faster CPU than 939 will, and even if you go with a low end x2 3600+ now, you'll be able to stick a faster AM2 CPU in in a year or two....

 

[imported_Imp]

Originally posted by: BurnItDwn
I have a 939 and I sorta regret buying it. I wish I had waited just 1 or 2 months more and went with AM2.

AM2 CPU pricing is much better, and you have MUCH more room for future upgrades.


Yes the 939 mobo's are better priced, and if you already have DDR, you don't have to buy new ram, but the AM2 will give you the ability to put in a much faster CPU than 939 will, and even if you go with a low end x2 3600+ now, you'll be able to stick a faster AM2 CPU in in a year or two....

Ugh... I kinda do too. I got mine about 4 months before C2D hit. Oh well, at least I know better now.

Is S939 still worth it? No way in hell. Be retarded (I'm sorry, but it's true) to invest in it now. DDR Ram is overpriced and useless in any 'current', let alone future systems. S939s are also going up in price due to limited supply, and most just don't compete with Intel's similarly priced stuff. Personally, I'll be overhauling my entire S939 in about a year.

 

[Juno]

is s939 worth it? oh hell no, it's not. you will regret for not using ddr2 features which can be used in the future upgrades.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

well i have a 939 system with X2 4800+ system + x1900xt, i'm sure it can keep up with more than half of the systems on this forum... and i still have one of the top PC's amongst my friends. i think im' going to wait for quad core to drop in price to get a new system. i'm also waiting for a complete refresh of video cards as i dont feel they're worth the money right now. (8800gts 320mb for $270, which can't keep up with my x1900xt)

 

[Puffnstuff]

If you are buying all new stuff then get hardware with some upgrade path. S939 is the past and am2/lga775 are the present and near future. I build my parents a s939 and have come to regret it. If I had it to do over again they'd be running c2d or am2 depending on which was cheaper to build.

 

[grumpyboy]

even ddr 400mhz the top notch 939 memory doesn't cut it any more it will be like p133 in a year.

 

[GrumpyMan]

Originally posted by: grumpyboy
even ddr 400mhz the top notch 939 memory doesn't cut it any more it will be like p133 in a year.

Yeah, what my son said.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
well i have a 939 system with X2 4800+ system + x1900xt, i'm sure it can keep up with more than half of the systems on this forum... and i still have one of the top PC's amongst my friends. i think im' going to wait for quad core to drop in price to get a new system. i'm also waiting for a complete refresh of video cards as i dont feel they're worth the money right now. (8800gts 320mb for $270, which can't keep up with my x1900xt)

I'm sure it could keep up with a lot more than 1/2 of the systems.

That said, the socket 939 x2 4800+ was discontinued quite some time ago.
To get one today will cost quite a pretty penny. The cost of a core 2 duo or a faster AM2 CPU is less than that of a 939 4800+.

Also, the 8800gts 320mb version can keep up with the x1900xt, and in most cases, surpass it.
Typically, from what I've seen in many benchmarks, it competes with the X1950XTX very well. It really just depends upon which game is being played, and in some cases, what resolution and AA/AF options are being used.

I still have an X1800XT, and I don't think it's worth the money to upgrade it yet. I game at 1920x1200 on my 24inch LCD, and it gets good enough frame rates for me still. But an 8800GTS 320mb card will get me a nice jump in the frame rate.

 

[zerocool84]

I remember when I was looking to upgrade my 754 3000+...........now talk about difficult to find upgrades. I just went with the Fry's e6300 mobo deal and bought a better mobo.

 

[Captante]

If you already have a fast skt 9393 PC theres no reason to rush out & replace it because its still going to perform decently, however if you are buying parts for a new build you should only be considering AM2/775 & DDR2 because DDR1/939 is dead.

 

[bamacre]

Have you considered an E4300 and a 2GB kit of DDR2 667?

Even with stock cooling, you could easily get that cpu to 2.4Ghz. DDR2 memory is cheap as hell right now, and the difference in price between DDR and DDR2 should make up for a more expensive board.

I would consider this...

Intel E4300
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/....jsp?ProductCode=80865

2GB DDR2-667
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...p?ProductCode=85016-18

GA-965P-S3
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...&prodlist=pricegrabber

That's a lot for 276 bucks, and shipped.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Well, S939 Opterons just had their prices slashed, so you can get dual-core AMD at around the same price as a C2D. Then again, the C2D is generally much faster for the same Mhz. So sadly, I would say that 939 is on it's way out. I'm already heavily invested in DDR though, so I'm building two 939 rigs at present, with a C2D/DDR/AGP system in the wings too. My next rig will be a DDR2/650i/C2D system though.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: GrumpyMan

Originally posted by: grumpyboy
even ddr 400mhz the top notch 939 memory doesn't cut it any more it will be like p133 in a year.

Yeah, what my son said.

Aww, an AnandTech family

 

[zig3695]

the only reason i dislike my 939 system is the high-priced ram. DDR400 is like gold now compared to ddr2.

 

[Mem]

even ddr 400mhz the top notch 939 memory doesn't cut it any more it will be like p133 in a year.

I built my 939 based PC back in Nov 2005,still going strong with 4GB of DDR400 ram and the only thing I may upgrade in the near future is video card.Its' not so much ram speed as how much ram you have,I rather have large quantitys of slower ram then a small amount of faster ram for gaming.

Getting back on topic if I was upgrading now I would go with AM2 based PC rather then 939 ,only because 939 is more or less phased out and upgrades are a lot more limited.

 

[Aikouka]

I doubt you can make up for the price difference between DDR and DDR2 in any manner if you go with Socket 939, so no.

 

[SynthDude2001]

Only if you're already heavily invested in DDR and only need a minor upgrade. In my case, I'm using a single-core A64 and 2GB of DDR1, so the most cost-effective upgrade would be to buy a cheap ($80-100) DC A64/Opty rather than throwing everything out. Of course, by the time I get around to upgrading, it might be time to throw everything out anyway...

If building a new machine, I would say that 939 isn't at all worth it anymore (given how much cheaper DDR2 seems to have gotten in the past few months).

 

[Blain]

Single core 939's are bargain basement prices. But with DDR2 so cheap, go with at least an AM2 X2.

 

[JoLLyRoGer]

Originally posted by: bamacre
Have you considered an E4300 and a 2GB kit of DDR2 667?

Even with stock cooling, you could easily get that cpu to 2.4Ghz. DDR2 memory is cheap as hell right now, and the difference in price between DDR and DDR2 should make up for a more expensive board.

I would consider this...

Intel E4300
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/....jsp?ProductCode=80865

2GB DDR2-667
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...p?ProductCode=85016-18

GA-965P-S3
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...&prodlist=pricegrabber

That's a lot for 276 bucks, and shipped.

HOLY COW -- Thanks everyone for all the replies!!

Thanks for all the replies. So it's looking like AM2 is the way to go for me. I'm not much invested in DDR so the DDR2 savings work in my favor.

I guess from here it becomes an AMD X2 vs a C2D soltuion...

bamacre had an attractive looking C2D solution for not a lot of money and the MoBo seemed to fix my legacy hardware needs too (although one more IDE controller would be nice).

It's my understanding that the C2D's outpace the AMD X2's performance wise but I didn't want to pay the Intel premium. Would a E4300 do better than say an AMD 4600+ X2?

What's the verdict on going this route??

 

[Blain]

One IDE is pretty much the way things are.
Just make sure you don't buy a P3-850. IMHO they aren't worth $187.42, even with the free shipping. :shocked:

 

[Oyeve]

I went AMD s939 about a year ago. I got a mobo that has a slot that will allow AM2 cpus and DDR2, dont know if its worth it tho. Card cost about 40 bucks and even tho AM2 chips and DDR2 is real cheap I dont know if the AM2 card will add overhead and actually be slower. I am going to wait until Intel slashes prices and then reevaluate my options. I do plan on buying DDR2 ram now as the prices are real cheap for 2 gigs!

 

[AMCRambler]

At this point 939 would be locking you into some fairly old cpu's. The higher end socket 939 chips will seem like a pretty speedy upgrade but they don't even come close to the AM2 chips. 6 months ago I was making the same decision, whether to go 939 or AM2 and a $50 deal on a 939 board and the $150 deal on the FX-55 made me go for 939. For what I was looking to do, it was plenty fast enough and AM2 chips were not that cheap yet. Now it makes more sense to go for an AM2 setup.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: JoLLyRoGer
It's my understanding that the C2D's outpace the AMD X2's performance wise but I didn't want to pay the Intel premium. Would a E4300 do better than say an AMD 4600+ X2?

What's the verdict on going this route??

The E4300 overclocked to 2.4Ghz would stomp an X2 4600+.

If you are looking for the best bang for your buck, Intel C2D is the way to go, and getting a mild overclock like this is easy as pie.