Socket 939 or Socket 754 ? Need quick reply.... 1

[transtec]

Hi,
I am about to go ahead with buying an AMD 3.2 GHz or 3.0 GHz CPU based PC and I need your quick response on this. I have found out that there are two versions of this CPU avaialable in my country. Namely the socket 754 and socket 939 ?

As obvious socket 939 costs more and the mobo for this socket, the Gigabyte K8NF-9 comes with an added feature which is Firewire(b). The socket 754 mobo would be Gigabyte's K8NE

I have read in plenty of reviews that socket 754 is maketed by AMD as a low end socket. SO does this mean that if I go ahead with socket 754 it would give me inferioir performance ? What is the edge that socket 939 has over its counterpart apart from being able to run dual core CPUs ?

thanx ... I hope your replies will be quick.

 

[paparazi]

Socket 939 is the newer of the two supporting the faster CPU's upto 4800 (dual coreX2) where as 754 goes only upto 3700.
939 has dual channel memory controller (on chip) so used in conjunction with a matched pair of memory modules gives a healthy performance booste.
939 boards support a faster front side bus.

There is nothing wrong with socket 754, good choice for a budget low cost system where the user wouldn't necessarily be wanting to upgrade much (average non tecky user)
939 is much more the Tecky choice, for someone wanting a reasonable upgrade path and the best performance/dollar ratio.
But note* AMD are releasing their M2 platform soon (buggers are getting as bad as Intel) but as with everything new, it will cost a premium.

Martin

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[transtec]

So u mean to say that socket 939 wouldn't be around for long ? Even if i buy the socket 939 now the only upgrade I cud be able to do is to go for the 4800+ ( somewhere aroud that region ) since M2 is gonna come ?

And also could you give me some specs about the FSB ratings and all that stuff. I am not a techie and would like to painfully consider that Im on a budget. I dont think I'd upgrade this new PC im gonna buy. Would rather sell it and get a new one buy that time. Therefore I'd like more bang per buck. If 939 is sooo good in feaures and speeds I mite as well consider it more value for money and then switch over to that. But if it is good since it supports dual channel and dual core CPUs I dont think goin for that would be much better. Waddya think ? and also tell me more abt this socket 754 please.

Thanx

 

[paparazi]

To Quote:
Gigabyte's GA-K8NE Socket 754 motherboard uses a chipset that we first saw quite recently. It's an obscure member of the nForce4 family called nForce4-4x, which denotes that the Hyper Transport bus runs at 800MHz, i.e. 4 x 200MHz, rather than the 1GHz that the regular nForce4 manages
Like I said Gigabyte K8NF-9 (socket 939) runs at 1000MHZ that together with the dual channel memory controller do make it faster.
Martin

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[paparazi]

Well I am amongst many AMD users who were sold on socket 939 because it seemed that it was going to be around for some time ala socket "A"
M2 is on the horrizon but lets be realistic about this, this is just the name of the game, M2 then something else and something else, it never stops, all you can do is buy the best you can afford at the time you want to buy it.
You will also notice when comparing 939 to 754 most that most 939 boards are PCI-express (differant interface) so that could sway your decision if you already have an expensive AGP graphics card although both the boards you sellected have the newer connection.

Martin

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[paparazi]

With you stating Athlon64 3.2 or 3.0 CPU's, they are not quite budget Sempron so I think this CPU deserves to be socket 939.
It's pretty border line as to wether it's gonna be worth the extra $$$$'s I can only tell you I would go 939.

Martin

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[transtec]

Yea paparaazzi,

I mite as well go and buy the 939 and get the extra perfromance. If it hasn't got the performance of 939 I mite as well go for an Intel based system, cos they offer 800MHz FSB too.

 

[cdogg]

Just wanted to add...

...that the Hyper Transport system is nothing like the Frontside Bus architecture that Intel uses. For one thing, speed is not constant. It's not always running at 800MHz on socket 754 (or 1000MHz on socket 939). It fluctuates.

So really, comparing this component to Intel's is really making an apples to oranges comparison, much like it is when comparing the MHz rating of the CPU itself.

There is absolutely no reason to go with socket 754 over socket 939 at this point, unless you get some kind of deal you can't refuse.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[paparazi]

cdogg
"There is absolutely no reason to go with socket 754 over socket 939 at this point, unless you get some kind of deal you can't refuse"

The only reason I can think of is pretty compelling and that is simply the price point, with 754 CPU's starting at just £35.00UK pounds for the Sempron 2500+ compared to £94.00 the lowest 939 chip the AMD64 3000+ Athlon (two and a half times more expensive) that combined with a general 20/30% cheaper price tag on 754 motherboards makes for a considerable saving.
Obviously quite a compelling argument for the "budget" builder.
The choice for transtec was not quite that dramatic having already chosen an Athlon64 3.0 or 3.2+, at this level the differances in socket type only effect the CPU price by 15/20% so overal platform price is not dramatically higher.

Martin



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[cdogg]

Martin,

Well, it's another one of those where I'm speaking from a U.S. perspective where the price difference is about $5-10. When you look at your upgrade options, to me, it seems unlikely I would ever choose the 754 option from this point forward.

But again, it's different where you're at.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[rvnguy]

All,

Just a note on AMD:

2006 will bring Socket M2 (940 pin) with DDR2 mem support, varying accounts predict an end to 939 while others are awaiting a price drop.

Of course 939 & 940 can not be interchanged.

Just FYI

rvnguy
"I know everything..I just can't remember it all

 

[transtec]

Well guys thanx again for the posts...

I went ahead and made the leap. I got hold of an AMD 3000+ processor ( 1.8 GHz core clock and 512KB cache) along with a socket 939 mobo from Gigabyte ( GA - K8NF - 9 with the nForce 4 chipset ).

I have been an Intel user with my first and previous CPU being a PIII 800 MHz on 320 MB RAM which I managed to use for almost 5 years and along with heavy use on it ( like Photoshop and 3ds MAX as well as VS.net and Java projects ). Compared to that PC this one rocks ! It starts much faster and is more responsive and runs quieter and cooler too. But Im not overly satified with the system. Cos jus after I bought it, the shop that I bought it from received a stock of Extereme Edition Pentium 4s. I jus summed up the prices and painfully realised I could hav well bought a 3.2 Gigs Pentiun 4 with 2MB cache at little less the price I paid for the AMD config. This P4 I believe cud hav pumped a hell load of processing power to my needs.

Main reason I wanted to go with AMD in my 2nd PC is to jus see how well it works and functions. Well now that I had a glimpse of it I wish I cud hav stuck Intel way and bought the 3.2 Gigs CPU. This change of mood was since I believe that the plenty of reviews that I came across after I bought the AMD system which said Intel P4 3.2 Gigs Extreme Edition is far superior to the AMD I have right now.

Well there's no point crying over spilt milk. Well at least I cud leanr from my mistakes and next time go for a good bargain.

 

[cdogg]

transtec,
Glad we could help, too bad on missing the P4 deal...

rvnguy,
Yeah, Martin mentioned in his first post about the M2 platform being the successor. But I get the gist of your point about there will be no need to bicker over the 754 vs. 939 any longer...and in my mind, there never was since I've never recommended the 754 due to its underpowered hypertransport issue (which runs only up to 800MHz) and lack of newer CPU support.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884