Is socket 754 "obsolete?" Please read OP before voting

[carlosd]

Originally posted by: Zap
FelixDeKat, what can run on a dual core that cannot run on a single core?

AMD does have some plans for socket 754 whether they tell us or not. About a month or so ago they quietly released a Venice core A64 for socket 754, plus there may be a 3700+ Sempron in the future.

"Upgrade path" and "obsolete" are two different things. For some people, "upgrade path" is very important, however that does not apply to everyone and just assuming that it does is just being self centered. That's fine when buying for yourself, but that may (or may not) be a disservice to anyone you may give purchasing advice to.

Don't waste your time explaining him, he doesn't have clear ideas of anything.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: carlosd

Originally posted by: Zap
FelixDeKat

Don't waste your time explaining him, he doesn't have clear ideas of anything.

LOL, we need to give him a break since he's publicly stated that he's considering an A64 setup and was asking for advice.

 

[imported_Seer]

For someone buying a new mobo and processor, I think s754 IS obsolete, because any money you save by buying one right now, you will lose down the line because you will have to upgrade everything for your next upgrade cycle (cpu, mobo, RAM if you go AM2), while if you buy a s939 now, it will still be viable for a while.

 

[Fenixgoon]

as far as pure performance goes - yes, 939 beats 754.

however, if you're on a budget, 754 is a great option. I got my sempron64 2800+ and a mobo for $105, which is a lot less than any 939 CPU. you can spend $$ on other parts, or if you just need a budget PC, more $$ in your pocket to save

 

[BUrassler]

I just bought a new DFI lanparty UT 250GB mobo, a 3000+ Venice socket 754, and 2 gigs of RAM. I didnt feel like upgrading my AGP 6600gt or dishing out the extra money for even a low end 939. I feel good having what I consider to be a near "top of the line" 754. Rock solid stability and enough power for me for a while.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Seer
For someone buying a new mobo and processor, I think s754 IS obsolete, because any money you save by buying one right now, you will lose down the line because you will have to upgrade everything for your next upgrade cycle (cpu, mobo, RAM if you go AM2), while if you buy a s939 now, it will still be viable for a while.

When will the next upgrade cycle be? What if the next upgrade cycle will be AM2 regardless of what you have now? In that case, whether 754 or 939, CPU/mobo/RAM is in the cards.

Besides, the "old" parts always have resale value.

Here's another thought. I know a few people who "trickle down" their upgrades, as in they are the gamer in the family and when they upgrade, their old parts go to the next person, and so on. Let's say that person gets socket 939. When upgrade time comes, they get a dual core 939, but then how does the next person in the household use the single core 939 CPU when they're upgrading from an even older socket A? Whoops, time to buy a motherboard.

For some people, socket 754 is a good choice. For others, socket 939 is the better choice. The "better" choice is not the same for everyone and the "not better" choice does not mean "obsolete."

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

It's only obsolete to the leet gaming crowd who are running the SLI w/ an FX60 and 2GB of RAM. Until just recently, I was running a s754 A64 2800+ @ 2.4GHz on an MSI K8Neo Plat w/ a 6800GT, and it was awesome. Because I was able to upgrade for no cost to me, I went up to a s939 Opteron 146 w/ 2GB of RAM and a 7800GT, OC'd the Opty to 2.8GHz, and it was a nice piecemeal upgrade, but to be honest, the difference isn't as stunning as I was hoping for, probably because I was already happy with what I had. I passed my old hardware onto a friend of mine who was running a P4 1.8GHz w/ a Ti4200, and he's thrilled to be able to play all the newest stuff at 1024x768 or higher now.

If we judge our rigs based on what Maximum PC calls 'obsolete', then I'm pretty much already there, and I just upgraded like 2 months ago. From a practical perspective, my son's AthlonXP 1700+ w/ a Radeon 9600 and 1GB of RAM plays games like Battlefront 2 great with most settings maxed, and games like CoD2 well if you lower the settings to medium. His is a MAYBE $300 desktop, and he loves it. PC gaming isn't exactly flourishing right now, so any significant upgrades for gaming are for 1-2 games that will be out this year that are worth playing. Of course, if you haven't played a lot of the awesome PC games that are only 1-2 years old, like FarCry, KOTOR, the original Battlefront, etc., you would be well served with a $300-$500 budget PC that will run these games like butter in most cases.

 

[gvbjr]

I agree with the majority, 754 isnt obsolete, not even close. Its one of the best value platforms of all time. As soon as 754 was released people were already downplaying it from this obsolete perspective with 939 waiting in the wings. Its just a bunch of crap. The speed differences are indiscernible to the general user and high end 939 is hyped to the "i'll just throw money at it so i can brag crowd". The possible exception would be high end gamer systems but even then, lets get real. There will always be new technology, and in a year 939 will be on its way out too, so where is the relevancy of this debate?

 

[BlingBlingArsch]

dont forget about the turion on S754. i got one on my dfi 250gb long live the weird sockets!!1

s754 would be alot more appealing if there was a bigger number of pcie mobos.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Krakn3Dfx
Until just recently, I was running a s754 A64 2800+ @ 2.4GHz on an MSI K8Neo Plat w/ a 6800GT... I went up to a s939 Opteron 146 w/ 2GB of RAM and a 7800GT, OC'd the Opty to 2.8GHz... but to be honest, the difference isn't as stunning as I was hoping for, probably because I was already happy with what I had.

I did a similar upgrade.

Former system:
socket 754 A64 2800+ Newcastle @2.4GHz (default vcore)
Epox 8KDA3I board
1GB (2x512) CAS 2
AGP 6800GT

Current system:
socket 939 x2 3800+ @2.5GHz (default vcore)
ECS NFORCE4-A939 board
2GB (2x1) CAS 2
PCIe X800GTO (modded 16 pipe)

Performance is... pretty much the same. Only ran one before/after benchmark and that was 3DMark03 or something, almost no difference. Of course I now am capable of going to a 7800GT or something for games, but I could have done that with a mobo change. Stuff feels... the same.

One benefit though is that even with a second core and 100MHz faster, the new stuff runs cooler. But then again, same for the Palermos and new Venice for socket 754.

Oh yeah, also my e-peen is longer.

Actually there was another reason. My upgrade wasn't to make my "main" rig better, it was to free up the AGP 6800GT for use in my "gaming" rig, that is still running a Northwood P4 @3.33GHz. I had an FX5900XT in there before (oh cry me a river, but it did play all the games just fine to my eyes) and I wanted to upgrade but just couldn't see myself sinking money into AGP at this time. And no, that's not the same arguement as with socket 754 vs 939. With AGP it is now costing MORE to get a slower card, plus they're more difficult to find. Sure, it also isn't "obsolete" with Nvidia releasing a new GPU for AGP, but that 7800GS cost MORE than the 7800GT for lesser performance (talking about GPU core, not interface). In this case it makes sense to do what I did. The CPU running cooler and having a longer e-peen are just fringe benefits.

 

[kmmatney]

Socket 754 won't be dead until they start making Socket 939 Semprons. I'm way happy with my Sempron 2800+ @ 2.4 GHz, and my NForce4 motherboard with the latest features. They are still making brand new S754 boards based on the 6100/6150 chipsets as well.

If they start releasing 939 Sempron's to the masses, then you can start talking about the death of Socket 754.

 

[kmmatney]

This cpu looks interesting:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103470

With 1 MB of cache and can be overclocked to 2.6 GHz - something line an Athlon FX-53.

btw - NewEgg currently sells more Socket 754 cpus than 939 cpus.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: kmmatney
Socket 754 won't be dead until they start making Socket 939 Semprons.

That's the exact thing. There is a market for under $150 CPUs and AMD currently does not fulfill that market with socket 939 so what's left? Socket A? If AMD did not make these Semprons, Intel would sell even MORE Celerons, so tell people who want cheap systems to go with socket 754 Sempron, not Celerons.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

My OC'ed 3700+ CH and 3400+ Sempy will lay the smack down on anyone voting yes

 

[Boonesmi]

imho s754 is far from obsolete (s370 = obsolete )

 

[nemesismk2]

I voted NO because Socket 754 is not obsolete because it's an ideal upgrade from Socket A. IMO the Sempron 3100 is one of the best processors AMD has released when you consider it's low price, good stock performance and excellent overclocked performance. Some people might be put off by the 256K Level2 Cache on the Sempron but my experiences are that it only reduced performance by on average 4%.