754 vs 939

[amojandu1]

Hey this is my first post so please be kind.

I'm having trouble deciding which platform to base my new system on...either socket 754 or socket 939? As far as i know 754 is cheaper but 939 will support future processors.

I'm a student so dont have money to waste, like to play games and i suppose i use my pc to do my essays when i have to.

Can someone help me decide which route I should take. Much appreciated. Thanks

 

[o1die]

You'll get an extra 5% boost in performance using socket 939, and it will cost you about $50 extra, mostly for the mobo. I would wait for nforce4 if you can. It may be out in less than a month.

 

[schuy1]

939 all the way. Dual channel support, better upgrade path. Plus a A64 3000 retail version can be had for $149 from newegg, and the boards are cheap enough on 939 now. However if you are lookin to stay lower on the budget, my pal has a 754 with a A643000 and hes really happy with it too.

 

[endyen]

How often do you upgrade? The s754 chips run at a higher clockrate, while the s939 chips have dual channel, and a faster HTT bus.
At this point, there are no s939 boards that I would be willing to shell out my hard earned for.
If you upgrade parts often, and can wait a few months, s939 boards should get better.

 

[stirmac]

I had similar questions about the differences between the 754 and 939. I'm a once in 2.5 to 3 years upgrader and have found in that amound of time, motherboards are obsolete. Right now, pricewatch has the cpu combo's at about $75 dollars difference. Also, my current memory will work in the 754, but if the 939 only takes dual channel, than the price continues to elevate. It doesn't seem worth it for a relatively small performance gain. Any thoughts?

Regards,
Stirling

"Pain is weakness leaving the body."

 

[schuy1]

Dual channel doesnt require new memory, for stability and performance reasons, you may want to consider new memory in a matched pair or commonly reffered to as "dual channel" kits. And I personally made the switch about 2 months ago after only having my 754 board for those 2 months to go with the sock 939, I have absolutley no regrets. Besides the fact that the highest you will see (proc wise) is the 3700, for the sock 754 board (admitedly fast enough) but the 939 allows you to use the athlon 64's, or the FX series from the 53 and up. I still say its a better value with the 939 boards/procs.

 

[endyen]

A s754 setup should keep you in the game for 2 to 3 years.
If you absolutely have to buy now, I would recommend s754. If you can wait for the bugs in s939 to go away, that would be fine. You could go with the ga-K8NS-939 board, but stay away from the s939 3400+ chip. It does not theoreticly exist, so it causes bios problems for that board.