Stay on 940 or switch to 939?

[pdxgamer1]

ok,
About a year ago, I built a gaming box for Star Wars Galaxies, built around the ASUS SK8V board for the FX chips, thinking I was investing in a future architecture. At the time though, I did not want to spring for an FX chip, so I used a cheap Opteron 140 to tide me over until prices dropped. I bought 1GIG of registerd RAM as well.

Well, here we are almost a year later, and not only have the prices for FX chips stayed the same, but AMD has jumped ship on me and has gone to 939 socket for the future..

So my question is, should I sell off my current 940 board, processor, and registered RAM, and replace it with 939 stuff? I'm assuming the answer is YES, but what would it cost me to do so? Assuming I had $700 to buy an FX 940 chip, or use that money to switch to 939 and go with say, a Athlon 64 3500 (939) chip, which i could probably get for 340.00

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[pdxgamer1]

ok, I just priced things out:
$700 for one FX chip...
OR
$750 for:
ASUS A8V mobo, Athlon64 3500, 1GIG Corsaire XMS RAM

plus any cash i get back from ebaying SK8V mobo, Opteron, and Registerd RAM...really no contest....I think I'll switch to 939....

Did i miss anything? Everyone agree?

 

[raretech]

If I were in your situation, I'd just get a faster Opteron. I just checked pricewatch, you can get a 148 for 350, and a 150 for about 560, both with free shipping(the 148 from monarch, which is reputable, and the 150 from newegg, which is VERY reputable). Basically, the 148 is the same chip as the FX-51, and the 150 is the same as the FX-53. There are some differences, but not really performance wise(the small differences that exist would favor the opteron). ***Edit As far as I know, they would favor the Opteron

If you're otherwise happy with your setup and your only gripe is your processor speed, this is the smartest route to go at this time in my opinion. Key thing to check, go to Asus website, and see if your motherboard supports it. You may well need a bios update.

<i>Cigarettes - No cholesterol, high in fiber, low in fat, how could they not be good for you?</i><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by raretech on 09/21/04 07:29 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[raretech]

That 3500 + is basically an Opteron 248, with half the cache and only 1 hypertransport link.

350 gets you premium performance without any hassels. AMD is not going to drop support for the 940 anytime soon. Their dual core demo chips were in the 940 form factor, and they've already stated they inted to offer drop in upgrades to existing workstation and server users, which means 940.

Don't go for the hype. The "Athlon64 3500+" may sound cooler than "opteron 148", but the Opteron is a better chip.

<i>Cigarettes - No cholesterol, high in fiber, low in fat, how could they not be good for you?</i>

 

[endyen]

Stick with the opterons. They are superior chips, cut from the best part of the wafer.

 

[Spitfire_x86]

Get Opteron 148 or Opteron 150

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[pdxgamer1]

If the opterons are superior chips then why the heck are the FX chips so expensive? I don't get it....I thought because the Opterons are server chips they didnt perform as well in gaming...

 

[El_Jefe_77]

You know.... this is a good point/question...

Ever see or hear about a ATI workstation card? no one ever talks about them. I bet they are really sweet too.

Opterons require registered ram though, if I am not mistaken. THis is slightly more expensive ram, but flawless in setup. Go Abit board, Opteron and a registered Crucial ram, thing would be a stalwart mofo.

Kinda sounds like a good idea actually! i wish the 90nm opterons came out now... This makes me think about a different type of system... hmm...

 

[raretech]

<i>If the opterons are superior chips then why the heck are the FX chips so expensive?</i>

Marketing would be my guess.

<i>Cigarettes - No cholesterol, high in fiber, low in fat, how could they not be good for you?</i>

 

[Spitfire_x86]

Yeah, marketing is the only reason I can think about

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[Stimpy]

Note there is a slight performance hit with the 940 due to the requirement for registered RAM (minimal though)

 

[jammydodger]

Do you really feel you need to upgrade? I doubt you are going to see a huge performance increase. Whats wrong with your current setup? What do you use your system for?

 

[raretech]

An upgrade from a 140 to a 148 or 150 would offer substantial performance gains. The 140 operates at 1.4ghz while the 148 and 150 operate at 2.2 and 2.4ghz respectively. Opterons really do scale well with higher clock speeds in that range.

<i>Cigarettes - No cholesterol, high in fiber, low in fat, how could they not be good for you?</i>

 

[jammydodger]

Sorry I skimmed thru the post and thought he was using an FX.