AMD Socket advantages

Is there an advantage of socket 939 designs over 754? Any reason to spend
more (so it seems) on the 939?

--

Chip wrote:
> Is there an advantage of socket 939 designs over 754? Any reason to spend
> more (so it seems) on the 939?
>

Dual-channel DDR.

"Chip" <chip313@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:4JqdnWlaktYQZEjcRVn-uw@comcast.com...
> Is there an advantage of socket 939 designs over 754?

Yes, in some applications there is a definite advantage

> Any reason to spend more (so it seems) on the 939?

It depends. What do you use the computer for?

Rob Stow wrote:
>
> Chip wrote:
> > Is there an advantage of socket 939 designs over 754? Any reason to spend
> > more (so it seems) on the 939?
> >
>
> Dual-channel DDR.

Which prompts the question: Why so many legs when Intel could do it with 478?

Johannes H Andersen <johs@sizefitter.com> writes:

> Rob Stow wrote:
>>
>> Chip wrote:
>> > Is there an advantage of socket 939 designs over 754? Any reason to spend
>> > more (so it seems) on the 939?
>> >
>>
>> Dual-channel DDR.
>
> Which prompts the question: Why so many legs when Intel could do it with 478?

Intel doesn't have an on-chip memory controller.

Johannes H Andersen wrote:
>
> Rob Stow wrote:
>
>>Chip wrote:
>>
>>>Is there an advantage of socket 939 designs over 754? Any reason to spend
>>>more (so it seems) on the 939?
>>>
>>
>>Dual-channel DDR.
>
>
> Which prompts the question: Why so many legs when Intel could do it with 478?

A small part of it is because the P4 has a narrow but
fast bus from the chipset to the CPU, then a wide but
relatively slow bus from the chipset to the RAM.
With the AMD64 chips the memory controller is built
into the CPU and thus there is a wide but slow bus
from the CPU to the RAM - without eliminating the need
for a separate bus to the chipset.


However, many of the additional pins seen when going from
the 462 that the Athlon XP had to the AMD64 chips are simply
power and ground. Same thing with the new P4's that have
almost 300 more pins than the Socket 478 versions. Chips run
cooler when you deliver power directly to where it is needed
instead of transporting so much of it through the chip.

"Oxford Systems" <oxfordsystems@earthlinkdot.net> wrote in message
news:yaqBd.3793$Cc.93@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> "Chip" <chip313@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:4JqdnWlaktYQZEjcRVn-uw@comcast.com...
>> Is there an advantage of socket 939 designs over 754?
>
> Yes, in some applications there is a definite advantage
>
>> Any reason to spend more (so it seems) on the 939?
>
> It depends. What do you use the computer for?

Well, as mentioned, it gives dual channel DDR. What is the actual advantage
of this?
I like to upgrade with the most longevity that I can manage. I primarily use
it for web usage, photo editing, and the occasional game. The main thing is
I don't like to upgrade and then need to change out things completely three
months later.

On Sun, 02 Jan 2005 08:49:50 -0800, Chip wrote:

>
> "Oxford Systems" <oxfordsystems@earthlinkdot.net> wrote in message
> news:yaqBd.3793$Cc.93@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...
>> "Chip" <chip313@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:4JqdnWlaktYQZEjcRVn-uw@comcast.com...
>>> Is there an advantage of socket 939 designs over 754?
>>
>> Yes, in some applications there is a definite advantage
>>
>>> Any reason to spend more (so it seems) on the 939?
>>
>> It depends. What do you use the computer for?
>
> Well, as mentioned, it gives dual channel DDR. What is the actual advantage
> of this?

Memory bandwidth.

> I like to upgrade with the most longevity that I can manage. I primarily use
> it for web usage, photo editing, and the occasional game. The main thing is
> I don't like to upgrade and then need to change out things completely three
> months later.

Go with the S/939. I think you'll see S/754 go by the wayside. I may
have gone S/939 if it were available when I upgraded (to S/940).

--
Keith

On Sun, 2 Jan 2005 08:49:50 -0800, "Chip" <chip313@hotmail.com> wrote:

>
>"Oxford Systems" <oxfordsystems@earthlinkdot.net> wrote in message
>news:yaqBd.3793$Cc.93@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...
>> "Chip" <chip313@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:4JqdnWlaktYQZEjcRVn-uw@comcast.com...
>>> Is there an advantage of socket 939 designs over 754?
>>
>> Yes, in some applications there is a definite advantage
>>
>>> Any reason to spend more (so it seems) on the 939?
>>
>> It depends. What do you use the computer for?
>
>Well, as mentioned, it gives dual channel DDR. What is the actual advantage
>of this?

Without the dual DDR, AMD would be at a significant disadvantage to Intel
on memory bandwidth. As it is you get the benefit of AMD's lower latency
plus bandwidth which is equal to or exceeds anything from Intel.

>I like to upgrade with the most longevity that I can manage. I primarily use
>it for web usage, photo editing, and the occasional game. The main thing is
>I don't like to upgrade and then need to change out things completely three
>months later.

I'd advise getting skt 939 plus two sticks of single sided (i.e. single
rank) memory as the best path; Crucial parts with the 8T designation, as
available at NewEgg,
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-146-541&depa=0
have 8 chips on one side of the DDR DIMM. This will give a good path to an
upgrade to 2GB of memory if required down the road.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

"Chip" <chip313@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news5SdnQj7odmAu0XcRVn-gA@comcast.com...
>
> "Oxford Systems" <oxfordsystems@earthlinkdot.net> wrote in message
> news:yaqBd.3793$Cc.93@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...
>> "Chip" <chip313@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:4JqdnWlaktYQZEjcRVn-uw@comcast.com...
>>> Is there an advantage of socket 939 designs over 754?
>>
>> Yes, in some applications there is a definite advantage
>>
>>> Any reason to spend more (so it seems) on the 939?
>>
>> It depends. What do you use the computer for?
>
> Well, as mentioned, it gives dual channel DDR. What is the actual
> advantage of this?

Some applications suck up memory bandwidth and do much better on "high
bamdwidth" systems. Think "video editing."


> I like to upgrade with the most longevity that I can manage. I primarily
> use it for web usage, photo editing, and the occasional game.

I don't see any huge need for bandwidth in those types of applications.

> The main thing is I don't like to upgrade and then need to change out
> things completely three months later.

Well, Socket 939 seems to have some potential advantages in terms of
platform longevity and the cost is not much different from socket 754 based
systems. Either way I think you will be fine and certainly not facing a need
to upgrade in a few months time...