AMD 939 upgrade options (warhammer!)

[jonetic]

Ok so I have had a 'decent' machine

Asus A8N AMD 939 sli board
AMD 3000+ 1.8ghz
nVidia 6800 vanilla

I just started playing warhammer (awesome game! get it!) and I want my system to perform better. The game changes my settings to 'fastest framerate' and this is not acceptable.

I wouldn't mind upgrading to Intel but I think I can get better performance/dollar with a better 939 amd proc. I already got an nVidia 9600gt off newegg so my video card should be taken care of. As far as proc, what do you think my best option would be?

AMD 3800+ is only ~$40 off ebay. This is most likely what I will do, but I would like any input available.

Thanks guys!
Happy holidays!

 

[hannibal]

Well... a double core AMD prosessor is the easiest choice. There are not so many 939 prosessors available, so go for something that has at least same core freguense as in your original prosessor. Othervise in some older games at least you performance would actually be worse thatn with the prosessor you have now.
I have also 939 prosessor, 4600+ and it's ok with 4Mb of memory. But you have to have good GPU. 9600 is not bad but if you want to have Nvidia GPU 8800 would have been better choise (IMHO)
Good hunting for your CPU. I am afraid that it will be easier to go to completely new rig, but it would be so much more expensive alternative that if you can find good CPU at reasonable prize, you can go a long time with your computer!
939 based prosessor are good enough if you don't play the newest games, well I even play LOTRO online, and Oblivion with my 939 machine. Only going to go to AMD 4870 graphich card upgrade next...

 

[boygenius]

If you want to stick with a 939, you can go with a FX-55 clocked at 2.6ghz. That is a single core. I'm not aware of hardly any dual core cpus that have a 939 socket. I've had the FX-55 in my computer for the past few years and it's still able to run some of the games currently coming out, although I'm not a big gamer.

 

[geotech]

I"m running a AMD X2 3800+ Socket 939 that may be for sale in the near future, or just check e-bay for it. Great chip.

 

[megame255]

There were a few fast dual core CPUs made for 939 boards. I had an Athlon64 3800 setup that I upgraded to an Opteron 180 (basically an X2 4800) that ran great for quite awhile. Problem now is that any decent dual core 939 CPUs have been long discontinued- The premium you'd have to pay for any available just isn't worth it. At this point, DDR2 ram has gotten cheap, a basic Core2 Mobo is pretty inexpensive and a Core2 CPU that'd be comparable, or even crush the best ever 939 dual core can be had for around $100.

Really, You'll be much better off just starting over with an entirely new system.

 

[pete3867]

I have a 939 with a x2 3600 (yes they did make em) clocked at 2.2 ghz , and my next upgrade will be first a am2+ mobo for around 60 quid and a 6000 for another 60 , that way I can up to phenom in the future , unfortunately AMD have stopped making chips for 939 boards , stupid ,I think

 

[jitpublisher]

Your only and best bet right now if you really want to upgrade that 939 system one last time is a socket 939 Operton. They are dual core, and fast.
Overclock very easily. Same thing as any X2, only they are binned of higher quality as they were meant for servers. There are still some of these around, but they are getting expensive.
Google search for one. You can probably find them, or any X2 939 processor on Ebay. It may be better at this point to do as some others have suggested, put the money towards a new platform.

 

[runswindows95]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1649954&CatId=2040

For $190, you can rebuild a cheaper, faster system.

 

[jamesgoddard]

Stick the new gfx card in and see how it performs... Then if it's still not performing, look into the CPU

 

[pat]

I have a 939 with a x2 3600 (yes they did make em) clocked at 2.2 ghz , and my next upgrade will be first a am2+ mobo for around 60 quid and a 6000 for another 60 , that way I can up to phenom in the future , unfortunately AMD have stopped making chips for 939 boards , stupid ,I think

It is not AMD that decided to phase ot socket939, but the market. OEM made the swich to DDR2 and started to stop buying DDR1 memory. AMD had to make the switch in order to keep their market alive with OEM.

Just like the same will happen with AM2.. DDR3 is on it's way and the day it will become mainstream, DDR2 will be phased out as well a AM2.

 

[stoner133]

AMD has already began phasing out the AM2's and have annoucned plans to post last order dates for the new Phenom II 920's and 940's some time in May 09.

"Last order notice for the company's upcoming 45nm AM2+ Phenom II X4 920 and 940 Black Edition CPUs, will be issued in May next year, while AMD has already stopped taking orders for its quad-core Phenom X4 9650 this month. AMD's Phenom X4 9950 (140W) and 9850 (125W) will have their last order notice issued in March next year, and Phenom X4 9750, 9850 (95W) and 9950 (125W) will be in June."

 

[pat]

AMD has already began phasing out the AM2's and have annoucned plans to post last order dates for the new Phenom II 920's and 940's some time in May 09.

"Last order notice for the company's upcoming 45nm AM2+ Phenom II X4 920 and 940 Black Edition CPUs, will be issued in May next year, while AMD has already stopped taking orders for its quad-core Phenom X4 9650 this month. AMD's Phenom X4 9950 (140W) and 9850 (125W) will have their last order notice issued in March next year, and Phenom X4 9750, 9850 (95W) and 9950 (125W) will be in June."

Yup, I read that. DDR3 is coming and it will become mainstream soon. That don't mean that DDR2 will stop working at this date thou...

 

[esbo]

I am really annoyed at the price of X2 939 AMD procesors I think they really stitched me up. I bought a single core AMD and hoped to upgrade to a X2 later at a price I could afford. However the prices have not dropped because they don't make them anymore.
You can buy socket AM2 X2 processor of the same spec for 1/2 or even 1/3 of the socket 939 price.

So...I have a little present for AMD - I will never buy any of their products in future. So it's goodbye AMD and hello Intel.

I am not really bothered about performance I just want to spite AMD, anyway Intel make some fantastic chips now.

I would hope others who have been screwed by AMD will act in a similar fashion, and even those who have not yet been screwed should follow suit as you now know what they are capable of - I do hope they go bust.

I will be sending a copy of this post to AMD sales enquiries and whoever else I can find an email address for, it will also be appearing on lots of message boards and computing/graphics forums.

I am determined to give AMD what they gave me, ie a kick in the b*lls.

Message sent to AMD please feel free to copy and resend it

 

[jonetic]

ha well I quit the game and got a cheap 3700+.
I'll be going intel as well when it is time to upgrade.

 

[nsimo86]

I am really annoyed at the price of X2 939 AMD procesors I think they really stitched me up. I bought a single core AMD and hoped to upgrade to a X2 later at a price I could afford. However the prices have not dropped because they don't make them anymore.
You can buy socket AM2 X2 processor of the same spec for 1/2 or even 1/3 of the socket 939 price.

So...I have a little present for AMD - I will never buy any of their products in future. So it's goodbye AMD and hello Intel.

I am not really bothered about performance I just want to spite AMD, anyway Intel make some fantastic chips now.

I would hope others who have been screwed by AMD will act in a similar fashion, and even those who have not yet been screwed should follow suit as you now know what they are capable of - I do hope they go bust.

I will be sending a copy of this post to AMD sales enquiries and whoever else I can find an email address for, it will also be appearing on lots of message boards and computing/graphics forums.

I am determined to AMD what they gave me, ie a kick in the b*lls.

Message sent to AMD please feel free to copy and resend it :O)

Wow, strong post. Its not AMD's fault that you waited 4 years to upgrade to a dual core. If you had bought an intel motherboard at the same time you would be in the same position, at best you would be upgrading from a pentium 4 to a pentium D.

 

[esbo]

Wow, strong post. Its not AMD's fault that you waited 4 years to upgrade to a dual core. If you had bought an intel motherboard at the same time you would be in the same position, at best you would be upgrading from a pentium 4 to a pentium D.

No AMD still make the X2 chips they just refuse to make it in a compatible socket.
No the socket T which I could have had from intel at the time for a Celeron support its
later chips up to Core 2 Quad.

It makes me sick when a 939 chip costs £93.99 yet the same chip in an AM2 socket costs £34.00.

That is £60 more I am having to pay.

So will I buy AMD again? - No. Never in a million years.

I expect you can't upgrade a Celeron to a Core 2 Quad anyway it seems rather unlikely.

But as I said, AMD could make 939 X2 chips for £34, but it won't.

So they fooked me and now they can go fook themselves - bye bye AMD!

 

[nsimo86]

Its called supply and demand, you are the only person who wants to upgrade that dead platform. AMD has done a great job with the AM2 platform and its upgradeability. Go out and buy a intel 775 mobo and a core2duo and then when you want to upgrade to a quad in another 3 years you will be in the same situation. Its your own damn fault, go pout about it some more.

 

[hannibal]

Yep... Both companies drop the support of older soccets sooner or later. It is not economically wise to make chips that only few are willing to buy.
So as have been said, it does not matter if you chose AMD or intel... You can not buy better CPU's for your mother board after too long time. All you can do is to find out what is good at that moment for your money, and what part of their living time the technology is.
Right now the the Core2 technology is phasing out from Intel and AM2 from AMD. You can easily see that even now. So if you have an old platform based on those systems, now is the last good time to upgrade them. Later it will be hard to find replesement. (Not quite yeat, but a couple of years more, and there will be only expensive alternatives, if even them...)

 

[B-Unit]

Dont blame AMD for your supplier milking his last 3 939 chips for max profit.

 

[pete3867]

yeah I still think it sucks too , and I think there is a wider debate here , like really they have a duty to supply chips for at least 5 years after making the socket , it's like buying a car and then not being able to get parts for it after a few years , also , someone mentioned supply and demand , well coluldn't AMD simply stock pile a few thousand of them , like enough to last a few years , I don't feel as if my 939 rig is "outdated" it does everything I want it to , I dunno bloody technology tsk

 

[nsimo86]

yeah I still think it sucks too , and I think there is a wider debate here , like really they have a duty to supply chips for at least 5 years after making the socket , it's like buying a car and then not being able to get parts for it after a few years , also , someone mentioned supply and demand , well coluldn't AMD simply stock pile a few thousand of them , like enough to last a few years , I don't feel as if my 939 rig is "outdated" it does everything I want it to , I dunno bloody technology tsk

Your car analogy is very weak. The cpu is like a car engine, if you burn up your engine in a 5 year old car you are going to pay a premium for a new one. Secondly it would be terrible business for any company to stockpile product. To keep overhead costs low in modern manufacturing, companies need to make just enough product as they can sell. Five years in the tech sector is an eternity, how would they ever sell any new processors if they continue supporting obsolete technology for 5 years?

 

[esbo]

Yep... Both companies drop the support of older soccets sooner or later. It is not economically wise to make chips that only few are willing to buy.
So as have been said, it does not matter if you chose AMD or intel... You can not buy better CPU's for your mother board after too long time. All you can do is to find out what is good at that moment for your money, and what part of their living time the technology is.
Right now the the Core2 technology is phasing out from Intel and AM2 from AMD. You can easily see that even now. So if you have an old platform based on those systems, now is the last good time to upgrade them. Later it will be hard to find replesement. (Not quite yeat, but a couple of years more, and there will be only expensive alternatives, if even them...)

Clearly you are talking nonsense, not only is it economically viable but it is financially stupid, many are willing to buy these chips which is why 939 X2 chips can fetch 3 or 4 times as much similar AM2 chips. The cost difference is neglible if none existant.

Anyway thier meanness will not make them money because my machine has many years of life in it, and I won't be buying AMD of any flavour every again.

NEVER NEVER NEVER.

I don't care what their excuses are they just won't wash with me.
I know when a company has fooked me up, I ain't no mug, once a company rips me off that's it. I don't buyy from crooks, end of.

 

[esbo]

Dont blame AMD for your supplier milking his last 3 939 chips for max profit.

I am blaming them 100% sunshine 100%
Nothing will change that.

 

[esbo]

Your car analogy is very weak. The cpu is like a car engine, if you burn up your engine in a 5 year old car you are going to pay a premium for a new one. Secondly it would be terrible business for any company to stockpile product. To keep overhead costs low in modern manufacturing, companies need to make just enough product as they can sell. Five years in the tech sector is an eternity, how would they ever sell any new processors if they continue supporting obsolete technology for 5 years?

Very bad anlogy, AMD still make *exactly* the same engine, they just refuse to make it in a 939 package.
That's why I will never buy AMD again.

Whose gonna buy from a bar steward like that again?


By the way AMD have not responded to my complaint yet.

 

[nsimo86]

Wow you really dont know when you've been beaten. AMD is 3 generations of chips past what you are wanting them to keep making. If your machine has so much life left in it then quit your complaining and keep using it until the day you decide it doesnt have any life left.