Upgrade! 939 or AM2...

[knightc2]

OK. Before everyone gets into the Intel/AMD fanboy mentality, let me explain my sitch. I am not partial to either Intel or AMD. I have owned both over the years and they have served me well. I am partial to my pocketbook however. I do not game, at least not much. The last game I played was Diablo II so gaming is really not something I do very often. I do burn cds, listen to some mp3s , edit videos on occasion but mostly use office apps.

My current system is a Athlon XP 2100 mildly overclocked with 512MB of ram and a Geforce 2 vid card. It worked just fine for my needs until the motherboard blew up. That said I need to get my system up and running again and there is no better time than now to upgrade.

The system that I have tentatively picked out is an AMD 939 setup with a AMD 3700 single core and the MSI K8NGM2-FID motherboard. I have four 256MD PC 3200 stick of DDR to reuse assuming that 4 sticks will play nicely with this board/CPU. I really like the DVI output and the fact that I can use the DVI and video out simultaneously on this board. Oh and the fact that I can get into this for under $200 which is key.

I probably won't upgrade the hardware on this setup for 2-3 years unless my needs suddenly change or something craps out. I would like to get some input on this setup and everyones thoughts on alternatives based on my needs and keeping costs LOW!

Thanks in advance.

 

[Captante]

If you really want to stick with ddr1, the socket 939 is your best bet since all Conroe & AM2 motherboards use ddr2 instead. The other alternative would be to sell your 4 sticks of PC3200 & swap over to ddr2 & in that case although you would save a few bucks going with AM2 because of lower motherboard prices, I'd say Conroe would make more sense.

 

[hennethannun]

have to agree with captante.

If you want to keep your DDR, go with 939 (although why bother with a 3700+ sandiego when the X2 3800+ is only $50 more and can easily be OC'd to at least 2.2ghz? giving you equal or better single threaded performance + dual core).

If you decide to jump to DDR2, better off just skipping AM2 entirely and getting conroe, since even an E6300 paired with a DS3 can easily match an FX-62 (the best available AM2 cpu).

if you really want to save money, go with s939 X2 3800+, keep your 4 sticks of DDR, but be prepared for problems running 4 sticks. the memory controllers on winchester, venice, sandiego, manchester and toledo processors were supposed to solve the 4 ram problems that plagued the older 110nm cores, but it can still be sort of hit or miss...

 

[aka1nas]

You don't sound like a power user, a cheap 3800+ AM2 rig might make more sense than a Core 2 Duo unless you actually need all that CPU horsepower.

That MSI board you picked is also a nice way to go and gives you some basic 3d capability with future expansion should you want a better video card later. Be aware that the K8NGM2-FID does not play well with Maxtor Diamondmax 10 SATA drives. Other than that, we have two systems with that board at my work that have been running great.

 

[Mucker]

Since $$$ are important in your situation, here is a 3700: http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=A64-37...77f7b6264ff0c900ea6e14bd49f80accd7c18d

 

[knightc2]

For those that suggested Conroe, I think that given my situation that is the least likely scenario. I would need DDR2 ram, the lowest price Conroes are still $80 more than the 3700 AMD, the motherboards are more $$$ and I would probably need to buy a new video card. That is one reason why I like the MSI board. Cheap, reliable and decent video. The bottom line is that any Conroe solution would likely cost me $180 more plus the cost of a new vid card.

I guess unless a stellar deal comes along Conroe is not likely in my immediate future. My choice leans more towards the 939 vs AM2. Is AM2 really going to be around for more than two years when I would likely be upgrading again or will AM3 be out by then? By the way, Mucker that is a pretty good deal on that 3700. Anyway, I am still undecided and mulling it over.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: knightc2
My current system is a Athlon XP 2100 mildly overclocked with 512MB of ram and a Geforce 2 vid card. It worked just fine for my needs until the motherboard blew up...

The system that I have tentatively picked out is an AMD 939 setup with a AMD 3700 single core and the MSI K8NGM2-FID motherboard. I have four 256MD PC 3200 stick of DDR to reuse assuming that 4 sticks will play nicely with this board/CPU. I really like the DVI output and the fact that I can use the DVI and video out simultaneously on this board. Oh and the fact that I can get into this for under $200 which is key.

Go for it. The people telling you to get Core 2 Duo are really telling you what THEY would personally buy and has nothing at all to do with your desire to re-use your RAM, or the limitations of your budget.

If it weren't for the DVI output I'd almost tell you to get the Biostar Tforce6100-939 because it is a very overclockable board while some of these other boards are not. I can run my Opteron 144 at a full 50% overclock on one of these boards - 2.7GHz.

As for the CPU, even the lowest end Athlon 64 3000+ will outperform your old CPU so just find the best bang for buck and go with it. For instance, if the difference between a 3000+ and 3200+ is $5, and another $5 gets you the 3500+, but it takes another $15 to go to a 3700+, then the best bang/buck may be the 3500+. Just a suggestion.

 

[hennethannun]

Knight:

I think you are on the right track. You just have to decide if you want budget or performance. given what you have said, budget seems to be more important than performance for you, so there is no reason to pay a premium for AM2 or C2D. However, if you really are thinking about keeping this system for 2+ years, i do think that dual-core is a pretty good investment. it is a marginal cost increase of $50-80 dollars (depending on which single core processor you are looking at), and having will give you a lot more future-proofiness in the new build.

 

[Viditor]

Another mobo to consider is the Asus A8N-VM CSM. It also has both DVI and RGB outs, firewire, raid 5, HDTV output, etc...
On NewEgg, the retail version is $77, the OEM version is $57...

 

[knightc2]

Will that Asus A8n-VM output DVI and RGB at the same time? The MSI in my OP will do this.

Edit... Just answered my own question. Yes it does.

 

[myocardia]

Guys, for office apps, and maybe an occasional old game, dual core is not only overkill, it just doesn't make any sense. Knight, I think you'd be better off buying a 3800 (not the X2 3800). It's only ~$5 more than a 3700 (at newegg), but is 2.4 Ghz.

Also, you aren't going to be able to run 4 sticks of RAM on any processor except an E6 stepping, so no 3700's or 3800's. Of course, 3 sticks is alright, plus 512MB sticks of PC3200 are less than $50 at the Egg.

 

[Viditor]

Originally posted by: myocardia
Guys, for office apps, and maybe an occasional old game, dual core is not only overkill, it just doesn't make any sense. Knight, I think you'd be better off buying a 3800 (not the X2 3800). It's only ~$5 more than a 3700 (at newegg), but is 2.4 Ghz.

Also, you aren't going to be able to run 4 sticks of RAM on any processor except an E6 stepping, so no 3700's or 3800's. Of course, 3 sticks is alright, plus 512MB sticks of PC3200 are less than $50 at the Egg.

HUH? It should run 4 sticks without a problem...I have 2 systems doing that.

 

[Bobthelost]

Looks like a good plan to me.

 

[betasub]

Originally posted by: Viditor

Originally posted by: myocardia
Also, you aren't going to be able to run 4 sticks of RAM on any processor except an E6 stepping, so no 3700's or 3800's. Of course, 3 sticks is alright, plus 512MB sticks of PC3200 are less than $50 at the Egg.

HUH? It should run 4 sticks without a problem...I have 2 systems doing that.

Yeah, no problem with 4 DIMMs and my E3 Venice (OC @9*266). Earlier revisions may need reduced timings to handle more than 1 DIMM per channel, but there are improvements to the memory controller from Rev E onwards.