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Build me an A64 system.

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CandymanCan

Disabled
Joined
Aug 14, 2003
Location
Woodbridge, Va
Im not sure what kind of A64 cpu i should get i see like 100 diff kinds,

One with 512mb l2 and one with 1mb l12, one that $700 with 1mb l2 cache.


If money wasnt an issue, what would u build. Skipp HDD, and video card cuss im ganna keep my current ones until the x800 xt comes out ect.

Also will windows xp work with the A64's or do i need to buy a windows 64 OS.

I want the fastest possible system i can buy so if thier a 64 bit OS for this cpu and itll make the system faster the nin clude that.

Remember i want memory, cpu, mobo, ect.. Cuss i have noclue what to buy im still i nthe Socket A age. I also want something that AMD plans on keeping upgrading on, like they did the Socket A cpu's.

I dont want to buy a 939 pin cpu then find out thier taping them out 2 months later.
 
So the ones that are outa now are the 940 pin ?, Whats the diff ?


I kinda wanted a a64 but if the 939 might be faster then i guess waiting wouldnt hurt.


Btw do these A64 cpu's including the upcomming 939, will they use the same kinda ram that the socket A (462) use or do i need to buy that Registerd ram.

Cuss while im waiting i might just buy some new ram and a psu which i really need the most right now. But i dont wanna buy new ram and find out the A64's need some kinds special ram
 
I dont want to buy a 939 pin cpu then find out thier taping them out 2 months later.

talk about paper launch, socket 754 is paper launch itself as it was just to give amd more time to bump up and improve clawhammer core. Socket 939 and the socket that may come after that with DDR2 support would be a nice way to go. if you could wait, shoot for socket939 with 90nm A64.
 
oc_byagi said:
talk about paper launch, socket 754 is paper launch itself as it was just to give amd more time to bump up and improve clawhammer core. Socket 939 and the socket that may come after that with DDR2 support would be a nice way to go. if you could wait, shoot for socket939 with 90nm A64.

Socket 754 CPU's are some of the most powerful processors out now under $500. How are they are paper launch?

DDR2 support is not a good thing, and 90nm A64 is nothing to wait for.
 
Socket 754 CPU's are some of the most powerful processors out now under $500. How are they are paper launch?

yes, just because it's fast doesn't mean it was meant to be a long lasting platform, and since it is very cheap, amd is intending to bypass this platform without much integrity. you might wanna read what http://www.overclockers.com/ has been saying in past 6 months.

DDR2 support is not a good thing, and 90nm A64 is nothing to wait for.
of course it is, AMD will not support DDR2 initially but it will give advantage once speed boosts up, less voltage, higher speed, MORE OVERCLOCK.
same goes for 90nm, what do you expect from 130nm A64, when most mobos hav PCI/AGP clocks unlocked? we need to move on with nforce3's with PCI/AGP locked equipped with 90nm A64 which should give a lot of room just like thoroughbred and early bartons did.
 
Higher overclock... What is a higher overclock with less performance? Big numbers don't always bring big performance. DDR2 and 90nm are comprimising technologies meant to bring bigger numbers with sacrifices.

What is a long lasting platform? Is it a system that you spent more time waiting for then you did using? One must wait for Socket 939, then wait for PCI-Express, then wait for 90nm, then wait for DDR2, then wait for BTX, then wait for what?

There will never be a "best time" to purchase a "long lasting" platform. There will always be comprimises to be made and no system will be perfect.
 
long lasting, meaning how long do the companies support the platform. you must understand what AMD will be doing with socket 754 by 2005 i guess. just read couple articles on http://www.overclockers.com/ it'll help. Take a look at socket A and how long we've been using. I first bought Tbird 1.4ghz and that was back 5 years ago. That proves it. socket 754 came out last year? and its gonna be gone by end of this year?
I don't know if you would call that an "effective" buy.

and yes, it may be performing high enough at the moment, but by 2005, we won't even be talking about socket 754, we'll be talking about socket 939 and which types of cores to buy. In other words, socket 754 will be gone after 2004, (mainly because socket 939 will be equipped with dual channel/unregistered mem/1mb fsb[hypertransport]/PCI AGP locked/PCI express/etc)
I mean why do you think so many people aren't going into A64 yet??? It is because it's so obvious that socket 754 isn't the real "AMD64" we were anticipating, it is like comparing PALOMINO with THOROUGHBRED, 180nm PALOMINO were introduced to an upgrade to tbird, but right after that, 130nm thoroughbred just takes over and becomes a hype for long.
I don't think many people were satisfy with palominos, but i do believe a lot of people were happy with thoroughbreds, especially the "second generation."

I do agree that there aren't such thing as the "best time to buy" but certainly, there are times one is better to buy than the other.
You've put DDR2 and 90nm as a feature that may give you sacrifices??? I don't really see that anywhere. DDR2, will be able to advance in speed where DDR1 could not reach, and it will also run in reduced power consumption, so how is that not a good thing for general computer users and overclockers? 90nm, it is a definite must have for A64 along with socket 939 IMO. as i've brought up the example like palomino, thoroughbred, bartons, history has proved lower the micron, more room you have to overclock. I'm not particularly saying more overclock is a good thing, but "the chip/core of the CPU being able to overclock a lot" proves that the company can improve and speed up the architecture soon or later, therefore, it leads to the longer support of the chip. (why would any company cuts off the support when chip is still able to go faster?)
130nm architecture is at the limit, and AMD released socket 754 just for the heck of it, real primetime for AMD starts later this year.
 
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yeah, DDR2 may not be a necessity but deinitely wait for socket939 + 90nm A64s. may be coming out as early as late summer.
 
If you do choose an A64 system, I would build it yourself. www.newegg.com is my main place to shop. I would suggest a S754 Nforce3 250 based board, some good cas2.0 pc3200/3500 and whatever cpu you can afford.
 
CandymanCan said:
Hmm ill wait then and while i do ill just upgrade this computer some more, New psu, new ram and mobile cpu

I'd probably skip the mobile, you are doing pretty well as it is and you would really be better saving the money for something else in the future rather than gaining a couple of hundred MHz just now.

If you get a nice PSU like an Antec or Fortron it should last you longer than anything else in the system.

As for RAM, well normal stuff should work with socket 939, so you could always splash out and buy some top of the range OCZ or Corsair etc.

I think that whilst currently socket 754 is performing well, I see it being the slot A of the 64 bit generation. Socket 939 will be the next socket A, if you get what I mean.

If my PC was to die tomorrow, then yes I would consider socket 754 and the A64s. But I would rather wait a bit longer and get a nice socket 939 mobo and CPU in a few months and still have the chance to upgrade it in the future should I need to. Socket 940 would have been a nice alternative to socket 754 had it not been for the requirement for having registered RAM - it just pushed the price up to much in the end.

Part of the reason why socket A is so well loved and is in my not very humble opinion the golden age of overclocking, is that it gave people lots of time to get to know the platform. People could upgrade the chips without buying a whole new PC, often not even the mobo. People got to stick with it for a long time and just got better value for money out of their hardware in the end.

That is just my thoughts.
 
Those who wait for Socket 939, will they wait for PCI-Express or stay with AGP 8X? Will they wait for 90nm or stay with 130nm AMD64? Will they wait for AMD to announce their support for DDR-2 or keep with DDR? Will they follow up on changing form factors or see how long AMD will remain alone with ATX? How long is too long to wait?

How long would one expect their next motherboard upgrade to last? Their next video card to last? These are questions that have as many answers as there are differant people.

What is here now is Socket 754 with DDR with AGP8X. What will be here in June won't be known until June. What's here in July won't be known until July. What the next year brings, won't be known until it comes. AMD could move to a differant socket just as easily as Intel will.
 
Yes good point about 754 being here now - sure socket A has been around a while but exactly how many people are running say KT133's with mobile Bartons! Yes the socket stays the same but essentially you still need to upgrade your mobo to use the latest cpus. Same thing will happen will 939 if you want to use the latest graphics card next year you may need to upgrade the 939 board if it is only AGP!
Oh and a paper launch is when a company launches a product before the product is physically available - when AMD launches these cpus they were available the same day...
754 mobos will continue to be supported with the value line Paris's in the future.
 
So if i just buya new computer now , should a 3000+ with 1mb l2 cache or the 3000+ with 512mb l2 cache whats the diff ?


Edit: Ok how about this ?


Athlon 64 3200+ '1mb L2 cache' 2000mhz

Motherboard.. Nforce 3 250 (can someone help me out on this what brand makes a board with the nforce 3 in it, Also do all of them have the crappy Ac 97 sound i want soundstorm.)

2x512mb Corsair TwinX CMX512-3500C2

keep my 9700pr until the x800xt comes out.


I really need help on picking a motherboard, The Via board doesnt look very good neither does the SIS, i want the best money can buy i also want one that overclocks really good. Something thats like the NF7-S is today
 
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I think the ones with less cache (Newcastle core) are the newer core of the two and AMD's trying to replace all socket 754 cpus with 512 cache. I would think it's the opposite from what happened between thoroughbred and barton. I mean putting more cache costs more for the company. But rumor suggests that there are 3 different kinds of athlon64s so beware what you're intending to get.
 
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