Amd 64 - which to go for?

[Demonic]

Heres is the choice - trying to get perfomance vs price (as we all are)...

Socket 754 AMD 64 3400+ runs at 2.2Ghz with 512K cache - Cost (UK) - £140
Socket 939 AMD 64 3500+ runs at 2.2Ghz with 512K cache - Cost (UK) - £175

The only difference I can see after piring over benchmarks is on some test the 3500 wins (by a tiny fraction) but the 939 has dual channel ram vs single channel on 754.

Socket 939 features PCI-Express and othe rne fangled stuff - so the question is, is the 3500 on the new socket really worth the extra money? If/When I buy, I will have to buy Gfx card, Motherbaord and chip anyhow, so no legacy stuff to wory about..

 

[Sum]

as far as i know i think from may or june you wont be able to update the 754 chip set because AMD will be making updates for the 939. So in terms of upgrading in the future i think 939 would probably be better. But i think i might be wrong and the update issue thing with the 754 chipset might have already happened.

 

[Blaminator]

Socket 939 AMD 64 3500+ runs at 2.2Ghz with 512K cache - Cost (UK) - £175

 

[ne0sbabe]

We have the 939 one and i would say go for that one tbh

 

[Demonic]

Ta for your replies - Just looking at Bechmarks is hard on the brain - it seems to make no sense that a older 3400+ with single channel ran is as fast and sometimes faster than the newer 3500+ with dual channel ram, not forgetting of course the extra cost (not a lot like).

I suppose it all balances out in the end, PCI-Express 6600 cards are cheaper than AGp version - so what I spend extra on one thing is saved on another...

Just wish I could afford the 4000+

 

[Karl]

im considering splashing out on the 4000+ set me back 450 quid tho might just do same as u Demonic and buy the 3500 now and upgrade to the 4000 as soon as the price drops a little, which imo wont be to long :P

 

[Demonic]

from the sites i looked at the 4000+comes VERY close to FX53 or whatever you call it, though no doubt in a few months time they will wheel out yet higher speeds so you can never win tbh.

Buying one down (which i guess would be the 3800+) is a lot more cost effective and not much difference in overall uber speed...

 

[HolyCow]

939 - PCI-E support, dual channel and AMD are pushing the 939 platform over the 754. I wouldn't worry about benchmarks, the differences between the two aren't even worth bothing with, unless there's a substantial difference then you wont be able to tell.

 

[urbanfox]

Well first of all there is no 754 2.2ghz 512kb cache cpu.

There is

A64 3400+ 2.2ghz 1mb cache clawhammer (no longer produced)
A64 3400+ 2.4ghz 512kb cache newcastle

As for whether s939 or s754, s939 duhhhh.

You don't have to get a pci-e nf4 motherboard if you already have a agp card that you want to keep, as s939 has agp nf3 boards as well (check the sig), but a total upgrade is nice.

Btw, I am not sure what benchies you are alooking at, but s939 for teh win tbh.