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Socket 939 or AM2? And question about firewire...

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KoMi30D

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I'm currently in the market for a new machine to be used mostly for photo-editing and whatnot, with the occasional game or movie. I've decided to build this PC myself to try and get the best compromise between current budget and future upgradeability. I'm set on AMD, and was all ready to buy a 939 mobo when I decided to look at prices for AM2 boards and CPUS. All prices seem to be the same, although I found a shortage of reviews of any AM2 board.

So my big question is: Does it make sense to build on the 939 socket now? I understand AMD is committed to supporting it "as long as there is consumer demand" or something, but those types of statements don't always instill confidence in me.

I consider myself thrifty, and my ideal upgrade path for a computer would be to start with something like Athlon 3500+, 1G ram, 250GB hdd, and integrated graphics, allowing a good portion of my $600ish budget to go to mobo and case/psu. In 6 months add another 1G ram, maybe dabble with overclocking. In 12 month an X2 and another hdd. My goal is bang-for-the-buck upgrading, and for the majority of my computer to last for the next 3 years. So basically...does an investment into a 939 socket system make sense? Anyone in this boat right now?

Oh yeah, and my question about Firewire. Is there any reason I absolutely need a Firewire port? I ask because I've seen some pretty nifty mobos at good prices that fit all my needs but have no firewire port. Does USB 2.0 do the same job for pretty much any application? I only forsee myself using external ports for connecting my 30D, a printer, and an external hdd, i.e. I do no video capture or editing. Anyway...thanks for any input on either of these topics...sorry I rambled!
 
AM2 is the way to go - as it is phased in, then I'm sure that 939 will be phased out. I've just ordered an AM2 board and CPU myself. I'm reliably informed that AMD AM2 CPU prices will fall by a good chunk in a couple of months, so you may wish to think about waiting a little bit longer if you can. I'll probably upgrade my CPU at that time.

As for firewire, if you have no firewire devices, then there's no need for a motherboard with it, is there? If you ever get any firewire devices, it's simple and cheap enough to add a firewire card into a spare slot.

--
Gordon Tarling
 
Reports say that AMD will lower the prices on dual cores by 30-50% on July 24, the day after Conroe launch.

Sam
--
Smugmug 5$ discount coupon: AsRXJW1lZWbt2
 
Thanks guys. I'd actually come across the same info earlier regarding the price cuts on July 24, which initially made me consider AM2. At first I questioned it's validity but have since seen it in mulitiple respectable sources. I guess I will wait a bit longer. Any good AM2 board reviews anywhere?
 
Most of the boards have a few bugs out when they are new. So you may want to get a board based off an old chipset like the nvidia 61xx chipsets.
 
One reason you might want to go with the AM2 is that DDR2 memory might be a lot easier to find, and possibly cheaper than DDR memory in a year or two, which is when you'll probably be adding another 2.Gigs RAM. Look how much more expensive PC-133 SDRAM is these days.

If you don't do video (i.e., you don't have a digital camcorder), you probably don't need Firewire, and you could always add a cheap firewire card later if you did buy a digital camcorder.
--
 
Ah...good point. I've noticed already that the prices are pretty much equal if not slightly lower for DDR2.

What keeps me thinking about 939 is that I think as a first time builder, I can find a glut of information on components that have been extensively tested and subsequently debugged. I'm not much of an early-adopter...usually run about a generation or so behind the curve. I'd prefer an above average product with stellar reliability over the latest super-turbo gizmo that works intermittenly.
 
there is no such thing as futureproofing a board.

buy the ram/cpu/mobo together and take them as a set. often there will be new mobos that have better support (or better features) and when you feel the need for a new cpu, its usually over a year later (or more) and then it pays to upgrade boards as well.

I never buy boards with the intent of them outlasting 1 or 2 (at most!) cpu changes.

--
bryan (pics @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/linux-works )
(pics and more @ http://www.netstuff.org ) ~
 
Eric Carlson said:
One reason you might want to go with the AM2 is that DDR2 memory
might be a lot easier to find, and possibly cheaper than DDR memory
in a year or two, which is when you'll probably be adding another
2.Gigs RAM. Look how much more expensive PC-133 SDRAM is these days.
Click to expand...
in a 'year or two' the current board will be so horribly out of date, you'll want to junk it.

buy what is cheap and on sale now. its at the best point in the price curve. trying to buy the latest cpu form factor is always a losing money proposition and rarely does the slight increase in speed justify the cost.

x2 chips in 939 are cheap enough and stable. I'd choose known and stable over bleeding edge anyday ;)

--
bryan (pics @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/linux-works )
(pics and more @ http://www.netstuff.org ) ~
 
KoMi30D said:
I'm currently in the market for a new machine to be used mostly for
photo-editing and whatnot, with the occasional game or movie. I've
decided to build this PC myself to try and get the best compromise
between current budget and future upgradeability. I'm set on AMD,
and was all ready to buy a 939 mobo when I decided to look at
prices for AM2 boards and CPUS. All prices seem to be the same,
although I found a shortage of reviews of any AM2 board.
So my big question is: Does it make sense to build on the 939
socket now? I understand AMD is committed to supporting it "as
long as there is consumer demand" or something, but those types of
statements don't always instill confidence in me.
I consider myself thrifty, and my ideal upgrade path for a computer
would be to start with something like Athlon 3500+, 1G ram, 250GB
hdd, and integrated graphics, allowing a good portion of my $600ish
budget to go to mobo and case/psu. In 6 months add another 1G ram,
maybe dabble with overclocking. In 12 month an X2 and another hdd.
My goal is bang-for-the-buck upgrading, and for the majority of my
computer to last for the next 3 years. So basically...does an
investment into a 939 socket system make sense? Anyone in this
boat right now?
Oh yeah, and my question about Firewire. Is there any reason I
absolutely need a Firewire port? I ask because I've seen some
pretty nifty mobos at good prices that fit all my needs but have no
firewire port. Does USB 2.0 do the same job for pretty much any
application? I only forsee myself using external ports for
connecting my 30D, a printer, and an external hdd, i.e. I do no
video capture or editing. Anyway...thanks for any input on either
of these topics...sorry I rambled!
Click to expand...
Socket 939 is still good. AM2 is coming soon, but you need DDR2 for that, and its more expensive. And unless you get DDR2 800 offers no performance gains as yet (latency is slower compared to DDR 400).

You can hang on and get an AM2 board, though they will cost more, or get what you said. The 3500 is a good chip, decent and nice price, dual core prices will drop even more for 939, so you can hang on in and pick up a bargain later on, as your budget is tight. I have a 3500 myself, and I build pc's, but that doesnt mean I throw cash away!

1Gb is decent, plenty for most, 2Gb is only really needed if you are doing mega ps work, or a gamer etc..

Stick to your budget, and guns, get a good deal, and dont worry cpu's will be made for socket 939 for a while yet...

Its never a good idea to get stuff as soon as it hits the market, as the cost is at a premium. I still build socket a and 754 for people on super tight budgets, and the performance is fine for them.
 
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