upgrade to 939?

[footbal07]

well as the topic shows i am thinking of upgrading to a nf4 939 setup and am in a dilema. right now i have a 3000+ newcastle, asus k8v se deluxe, 512meg stick of ocz el pe pc3200, and a zalman 7000alcu. i will have close to $400 in the next couple weeks, and trying to decide whether or not to sell my current core parts and use that extra cash to upgrade to a 3000 or 3200 winchester, a nf4 mobo, gig of ram, and a 6600gt or 6800. i know the 90nm cores are slightly better ocers, and i couldnt reach much of a oc without a pci/agp lock on my board even if i wanted to. i feel that if i hold onto my parts much longer i will not be able to get much for them and want to know your opinions.

 

[MrCodeDude]

I wouldn't dive head first into nF4 boards. Just because the early nForce3 boards were pretty buggy and limited in features, I'd wait for the chipset to mature.

Remember, you can still go 939, get a good nForce3 board, wait for the nForce4 chipset to evolve, and then just switch over from nF3 to nF4 (which will require a format, which might be a PITA.. in which case, you can just stay where you are for now ). That way, you can probably save money on the PCIe graphics cards.

 

[footbal07]

yea the reason i didnt get a nf3 off the bat was because of lack the of motherboards and early bugs. do u think i would be best just getting a 754 nf3 mobo (dfi or chaintech) and try to get a 2.2-2.4 oc with what i have? also i am hanging on with a gf 2 video card right now so i do not have any money to loose in upgrade to pci-e.

 

[Googer]

WOW, are you kidding! Your system is better than 90% of ANANDTECH readers own systems. I would wait untill late 2005 or 2006, by then Better motherboards and dual core will be avalable for cheap. KEEP WHAT YOU HAVE FOR NOW.

 

[drum]

Originally posted by: Googer
WOW, are you kidding! Your system is better than 90% of ANANDTECH readers own systems. I would wait untill late 2005 or 2006, by then Better motherboards and dual core will be avalable for cheap. KEEP WHAT YOU HAVE FOR NOW.

I don't know about 90% but I was thinking the same thing.
If he wants to upgrade though, who am I to tell him not to. I have a 2500+ barton and I have no need whatsoever to upgrade. maybe he does.

 

[Regs]

No. At this point you are better off just getting a nforce 3 motherboard for cheap and overclocking.

Wait for the 939's transition to DDR2 and introduce it's new cores or at least their plans. Then make your move or else you're going to be right back where you started 3-6 months from now.

 

[imported_NoGodForMe]

It's like people who tinker with hot rod cars. Most don't need all the horse power under the hood, most will never use it, but people still want it there. Same thing with computers. We spend hours reading articles about the latest greatest and want it (hype).

The Nforce4 boards are expensive, like $269. I wouldn't recommend getting one unless you are going to put a powerful chip in it, like a 3800+, 4000+, or FX55. Save your money each month, and build something really huge in a year. Set up a savings account so the money won't burn a hole in your pocket. I don't think you can get much for your current parts, unless you have many friends willing to buy.

The question I have to ask, are any games too slow to play right now?

 

[Googer]

Forget about ddr2 it sucks, DDR3 and DDR1 are technicly better.

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: Googer
Forget about ddr2 it sucks, DDR3 and DDR1 are technicly better.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articl...isplay/ddr2-ddr_3.html

 

[Regs]

Granted, DDR2 will likely be worthless on a AMD CPU, but that still does not mean AMD will have to shift platforms to ease into the market share.

Anand.com notes this here:

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuch...ts/showdoc.aspx?i=2303

I also believe AMD will be using a new form of manufacturing processing or technology (cant exactly remember) that will add a good percentage of performance increase for their rehashed 90nm CPU's along with SEE3 sometime next year.

You missed your chance to jump on the 939 boat. It's better to wait for the next boat than to try to swim to catch up to the one that just left.

 

[footbal07]

well it looks like i will probably just get the dfi motherboard and give it some time but usually i try to upgrade my parts every 6 months or so because much longer then that and the parts loose their resale, so i can get newer parts for very little upfront cost.

 

[jterrell]

Originally posted by: footbal07
well it looks like i will probably just get the dfi motherboard and give it some time but usually i try to upgrade my parts every 6 months or so because much longer then that and the parts loose their resale, so i can get newer parts for very little upfront cost.

If you are going to go the re-sale route then it makes sense to continually be among the first adopters.
If you like tweaking and testing and find total stability boring you should probably sell and upgrade.

Everyone's different and the advice offered is generally from a personal perspective.

The nf4 should be fine considering it is just a mature nf3 250 chipset with sli and pci-express on the high end and pci-express only on the low end. Some of the other features are more fleshed out but they are still just updated nf3 features not new creations which will be buggy.

I'd say its smart to go pci-e as soon as possible before the agp cards lose their value and you get caught eating 200 bucks worth of vid card.