Socket 754 or 939?

[Wiley Q. Hacker]

The RAM on my 4-year old 1.7 GHz P4 just died. Given the cost of RAMBUS
memory, I'm considering just replacing the mobo / CPU / RAM, and keeping the
rest of the PC around (may have to upgrade the 250W power supply to
something better, too).

What's the consensus on AMD sockets - 754 or 939? Looks like 939 is the
higher end, but does 754 have "legs" to last a few years? Also, are there
any ramifications for 64-bit OSs (Linux, for instance)?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Wiley Q. Hacker]

On a related note, DDR or DDR2? I've heard some complaints that the latency
on DDR2 kills any performance gains you may get from the faster clock, but
these comments are from last year. Has anything changed since then?

 

[Tweek]

If you are going with AMD it is a moot point because they use only DDR. The
memory controller is integrated into the cpu. Socket 754 is single channel
memory and other than the Sempron, there are no new cpu's being produced for
that form factor. Socket 939 is dual channel and has the newer single cores
avaliable (Venice and San Diego) and also the dual core Athlon 64 is for 939
only (for now, there are new A64 sockets coming). For a budget machine S754
is fine, I have a 3100+ with an Abit mainboard and general performance is
excellent. I also have a S939 Abit AN8 with an Athlon 64 3700+. This machine
is very fast for just about everything.

On a related note, DDR or DDR2? I've heard some complaints that the
latency on DDR2 kills any performance gains you may get from the faster
clock, but these comments are from last year. Has anything changed since
then?

 

[Spajky]

On a related note, DDR or DDR2? I've heard some complaints that the latency
on DDR2 kills any performance gains you may get from the faster clock, but
these comments are from last year. Has anything changed since then?

No! DDR2 is still 30% slower (10% in real life=noticeable) at same
clock as DDR normal ..

 

[Spajky]

What's the consensus on AMD sockets - 754 or 939? Looks like 939 is the
higher end, but does 754 have "legs" to last a few years? Also, are there
any ramifications for 64-bit OSs (Linux, for instance)?

get GIGABYTE K8NS (PRO) (s.754) & low power AMD Turion & OC a bit ...

 

[Wiley Q. Hacker]

Given my project - upgrading an existing system in place with an eye to
eking out an extra couple of years, I guess it's Socket 754. I saw a very
nice mobo+CPU combo at TigerDirect - ChainTech board with Athlon 64 3200+
(only 512 cache, though).

Now, the question. I assume this needs single-channel memory, and I do not
need to buy 2 DIMMs - I'd rather have 1 x 1GB than 2 x 512MB, since the
board only has 2 DIMM slots. Am I correct?

Also, any comments on ChainTech boards?

If you are going with AMD it is a moot point because they use only DDR.
The memory controller is integrated into the cpu. Socket 754 is single
channel memory and other than the Sempron, there are no new cpu's being
produced for that form factor. Socket 939 is dual channel and has the
newer single cores avaliable (Venice and San Diego) and also the dual core
Athlon 64 is for 939 only (for now, there are new A64 sockets coming). For
a budget machine S754 is fine, I have a 3100+ with an Abit mainboard and
general performance is excellent. I also have a S939 Abit AN8 with an
Athlon 64 3700+. This machine is very fast for just about everything.

 

[Tweek]

Yes you only need one dimm so you go with a single 1GB module. You can also
do this on a S939 board to as running dual channel is not necessary and you
can even mix sizes with the new revision E. processors. Anyway, I don't have
any experience with Chaintech so I can't comment on them at all. The 3200+
is an excellent choice.