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Warm: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Retail Boxed Processor with Motherboard for $199.99

Q

Quixfire

Diamond Member
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Retail Boxed Processor with Motherboard

Motherboard & CPU Combo:
  • Outpost #: 4301885
    Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Retail Boxed Processor
    3 Year Limited Manufacturer Warranty, CPU Fan Included
    Chipset: SiS 755
    Processor Support: Socket 754 for AMD K8 Athlon 64/Sempron
    Memory Support: Up to 2GB PC3200 DDR
    Expansion Slot: 1x AGP 8X, 5x PCI, 1 CNR
    Other Features: 6 Channnel Audio, SATA RAID, 10/100 LAN, USB 2.0
Link
 
Best price I see (from anandtech's price engine) is $147 for just the processor. A SIS 755 mobo goes for about $70. So that's about $217. $199 is decent, but you could get a better mobo like NF3 or KT8 for about $220, so it's up to you. Like you said, warm.
 
Originally posted by: cholley
the 754 socket is dead, no more upgrades 939 is where it's at
Click to expand...


The 754 socket may be going out, but most of the 754 boards are cheaper than the 939 boards. For some of us we are not willing to pay extreme prices for cutting edge technology. Remember, not all the members of these boards are early adopters of new technology. Personally, I always give the new technology about 6 months to mature and come down in price.

As for the OP question, I don't think it is a bad choice. I bought a Fry's deal of A64 3200+ and a MSI K8N Neo motherboard for about $280 (the deal with the ECS board was $220 and I decided MSI would be a better choice for a little more).

If you need a new computer like I did (was running on an old PII 400), then the deal is okay. If you can wait, then give the Socket 939 a little more time to evolve and drop in price and go that route. I'm sure Outpost and Fry's will have deals on these in the near future.
 
Not a bad deal.

On the other hand..... I hate ECS motherboards. I have owned 2 and will try to resist the fry's deals and not buy another. They have horrible customer service and drivers are sometimes hard to come by. (interesting..... I just reread this and realized that the "horrible customer service" part can be applied to Fry's and to ECS.)
 
Socket 754 is still in limbo. AMD doesn't seem to know what to do with it. They want it gone, but it is such a popular pinout that they keep ramping speed on the processors for it.

 
let's see, so you pay double for 939 board and CPU to be able to upgrade the CPU (that is, throw away the older CPU) later. Why not buy a cheap 754 board and CPU now, and later upgrade both of them ? This will be a cheaper option since both 754 mobos and CPU are much cheaper now. The only point is the performance advantage of 939 because of dual channel, and as far as chipset performance, I believe it's almost the same (e.g. nforce3 vs nForce4). So overall the performance should be comparable.

Also 939 CPUs have slightly better overclocking characteristics.
 
It also depends on how often you upgrade your system. For those of us that don't have a huge disposable income, you try to get the most at a price point that will last the longest.

For example, I went with the sockt 754 A64 3200+ with the plans on keeping the system for at least 2 years (probably more as it will just migrate to a server box when I decide it is too slow for normal use). There is too much other stuff that sucks the cash from my wallet. Besides, while I like games I don't consider myself a "gamer" so I don't need all the bleeding-edge technology.

If you plan on upgrading your processor or video card every 3-9 months, then you should probably shoot for the platform that will make this easiest (939 in this case). Considering how the market is moving towards PCIe and DDR2, 939 will be the more reliable for this since it is what AMD is really pushing. But if you just need a faster system now without planning on upgrading again for some time, then the socket 754 systems are the more price-oriented choice.
 
Originally posted by: dspiel
Originally posted by: cholley
the 754 socket is dead, no more upgrades 939 is where it's at
Click to expand...

the 754 socket is not dead, semprons will be migrated to this fyi.
Click to expand...

754 is dead semprons are out for it, 3100+ and up are 939, 754 is dead and you know not of which you speak
 
Get a matching m/b and processor now - don't buy a m/b hoping to upgrade later. Later, when faster processors are more affordable, there will be boards with newer IDE, AGP, PCI, memory, etc. technology. Plus, its easier to unload the old processor if you have the m/b already configured for it. The money from the old system can pay for 1/2 what the one costs. I've done this for over 10 years and its the only way to upgrade.
 
Originally posted by: farscapesg1
Originally posted by: cholley
the 754 socket is dead, no more upgrades 939 is where it's at
Click to expand...


The 754 socket may be going out, but most of the 754 boards are cheaper than the 939 boards. For some of us we are not willing to pay extreme prices for cutting edge technology. Remember, not all the members of these boards are early adopters of new technology. Personally, I always give the new technology about 6 months to mature and come down in price.

As for the OP question, I don't think it is a bad choice. I bought a Fry's deal of A64 3200+ and a MSI K8N Neo motherboard for about $280 (the deal with the ECS board was $220 and I decided MSI would be a better choice for a little more).

If you need a new computer like I did (was running on an old PII 400), then the deal is okay. If you can wait, then give the Socket 939 a little more time to evolve and drop in price and go that route. I'm sure Outpost and Fry's will have deals on these in the near future.
Click to expand...


I paid 330 for the Winchester (90nm) CPU and the MSI K7N Neo Platinum motherboard... so $280 + tax is about 305. I think the 25 dollars more is worth the additional upgrade for the Platinum motherboard and the Winchester (instead of Newcastle) cpu... just throwin that out 😀 the 3200+ chip did go way up in price this week though.. I ordered last sunday for $202 and it rose to almost $320 now...
 
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