Possible upgrade options

[Tech Tweaker]

Hey, I've been doing research off and on looking at doing a possible system upgrade once I get the extra funds to do so, and figured I'd ask around to see what everyone thought.

So, anyway I'd been looking at possible socket options and I've narrowed it down to either socket 939, AM2+, or AM3.

I'm not really interested in AM2 because from what I've heard they are incompatible with socket AM3 processors. Which is why I'm looking at AM2+, because if I get an AM3 processor and stick it in an AM2+ board I could take the processor out and put it in a future system if I decide I want to and/or can afford to upgrade to an AM3 board sometime down the road.

I started out by looking at 939 boards (specifically the A8N-SLI Premium and A8N32-SLI Deluxe up to now) thinking they'd be dirt cheap on ebay or some other site by now, but as it turned out they seem to be just as expensive as some modern high-end boards. Well, that and I figured I wanted to go with a 939 because it would be compatible with some of my current components if I chose to take some things from my current system and put them in/on the new one. So then I expanded my search into AM2+ and AM3 when I discovered that 939 wasn't the cheap solution I was expecting.

Any thoughts?

 

[trents]

Go with AM3. It is the current standard and what is being mass produced in greater quantity than AM2/AM2+. You will find that the price is about the same as AM2/AM2+ because of that and you will also find that DDR3 ram is actually cheaper than DDR2.

 

[QuietIce]

If you're not looking at doing this right away I'd wait for the Bulldozer CPU to come out, which should be sometime in the second quarter last I heard. From rumors (nothing official yet) Bulldozer will have a slightly different platform so AM3 boards and CPUs may get a price drop.

 

[Mr.DLucey]

Another AM3 suggestion, defiantly not the 939.

 

[Tech Tweaker]

Hmm...Okay.

Well then my next question is does anyone have any suggestions for motherboards to look into? Preferably either Asus, MSI, or Gigabyte, as I've pretty much always heard good things about those manufacturers and have had good personal experience with Asus and MSI boards myself.

I would primarily be using it to surf the internet, send and receive emails, listen to music/watch videos on youtube, possibly play DVD movies, and maybe do a bit of gaming. Oh, and I'd probably do a little light overclocking and some benchmarking on it, so a board that has some options for overclocking would be preferable. Also, I might like to have one that I could use dual PCI-Ex16 video cards in, I wouldn't be doing that right away, but I'd like to have the ability to do so somewhere down the line. I figured I would describe now what its primary uses would be so that you all wouldn't have to ask me later.

Oh, and it has to have SATA ports.

 

[QuietIce]

Since you want to be able to run dual video cards you'll first have to decide what video card manufacturer you'll be using. If you want to run SLI (dual nVidia) you'll need an nVidia chipset board. If you want to run Crossfire (dual ATi) you'll want an AMD chipset board. There are a couple of boards that will run any combination of cards and are called "Fusion" boards, but they're not cheap. The ASUS Crosshair Extreme seems to work very well and is, by far, the most expensive AMD board I've ever seen. MSI also makes a Fusion board but it's older, harder to find, and (I've heard) sometimes has problems.

Once you're past that big split in motherboards the rest is easy. Which way were you thinking of going, nVidia or ATi video?

 

[Tech Tweaker]

Since you want to be able to run dual video cards you'll first have to decide what video card manufacturer you'll be using. If you want to run SLI (dual nVidia) you'll need an nVidia chipset board. If you want to run Crossfire (dual ATi) you'll want an AMD chipset board. There are a couple of boards that will run any combination of cards and are called "Fusion" boards, but they're not cheap. The ASUS Crosshair Extreme seems to work very well and is, by far, the most expensive AMD board I've ever seen. MSI also makes a Fusion board but it's older, harder to find, and (I've heard) sometimes has problems.

Once you're past that big split in motherboards the rest is easy. Which way were you thinking of going, nVidia or ATi video?

Yes, that was one of my stumbling blocks.

I'd prefer to go ATI I suppose, but I'm open to suggestions for nVidia boards as well.

 

[Tech Tweaker]

Another AM3 suggestion, defiantly not the 939.

Why not the 939 then?

Just curious why no one seems to be for that platform.

 

[QuietIce]

Yes, that was one of my stumbling blocks.

I'd prefer to go ATI I suppose, but I'm open to suggestions for nVidia boards as well.

AMD chipset boards seem to overclock much better overall than nVidia so that's the better choice, IMO.

Depending on your budget you can run the 890FX boards (ASUS M4A89TD, Gigabyte 890FX-UD5, Biostar TA890FXE) or 890GX boards (ASUS M4A89GTD, Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H, Biostar TA890GXB). There are cheaper options as well that will yield mild overclocks with little trouble. Do you have a rough budget in mind for the CPU/motherboard?


All boards today have SATA ports. In fact, if you're re-using old hardware the problem is finding one that still has IDE (PATA) ports on it.

Why not the 939 then?

Just curious why no one seems to be for that platform.

I'm typing on an Opty 165 (s939) system right now and have several around the house. It's not that there's anything wrong with s939 but the $$$/performance compared to modern systems is lacking unless you can find a very cheap source of s939 parts. Using SETI as a performance test (SETI is just crunching numbers all the time) the Phenom II's, compared to s939, crunch about 25% faster clock-for-clock, core-for-core. This, coupled with the fact that Phenom II's also overclock much higher, usually makes the current systems (AM2+/AM3) a much better deal than s939. For example, my mildly overclocked 940BE cranks out about 65% more work than my s939 systems core for core (600 v 1000 per core). s939 was a great platform but it just doesn't compete with modern hardware.

 

[Tech Tweaker]

The ASUS Crosshair Extreme seems to work very well and is, by far, the most expensive AMD board I've ever seen. MSI also makes a Fusion board but it's older, harder to find, and (I've heard) sometimes has problems.

I don't think I've seen the Crosshair Extreme, but for me the most expensive AMD board I've seen has got to be the Crosshair IV Formula. Frankly I'm not sure if it's worth the huge cost to get it, I mean that thing really puts a dent in the wallet (or bank account).

That one statement, "harder to find" is one of the main reasons I'm looking at upgrading instead of just getting another S754 board. You see, my board has a PCIex16 slot, and that is darn near impossible to find on a S754 board. I've been checking ebay for one for 6 months+ now and have yet to find a single one. Most are only AGP 8x. Although my board also has SATA ports on it, and that too, is hard to find. Apparently S754 boards with a PCIex16 slot are rare, because not many of them were made, I had no idea of this when I built my system.

 

[Adragontattoo]

939 is DCed. Any parts you find will typically be refurbs OR used. Unless you know the seller personally, and are good friends, I would NOT suggest it. This is coming from someone who has more then one 939 system in sight.

Is this a now, soonish, or eventually build?

I will agree to go for AM3 if you arent going to wait.

Either way, DO YOUR research FIRST! Read the forums here, use the search function to look for things you aren't sure about and if you can't find an answer, post it up.

 

[Tech Tweaker]

939 is DCed. Any parts you find will typically be refurbs OR used. Unless you know the seller personally, and are good friends, I would NOT suggest it. This is coming from someone who has more then one 939 system in sight.

Is this a now, soonish, or eventually build?

I will agree to go for AM3 if you arent going to wait.

Either way, DO YOUR research FIRST! Read the forums here, use the search function to look for things you aren't sure about and if you can't find an answer, post it up.

Eventually I'd say, can't really afford it right now, but getting tired of occasional wait times and lockups for some programs.

Believe me, I probably know better than anyone about researching ahead of time. I always do considerable research before making purchases. I think I've been doing research into motherboards and processors for probably six months now, maybe longer. Looking up specs, reading reviews, I've done a lot of both.

 

[Mr.DLucey]

Eventually I'd say, can't really afford it right now, but getting tired of occasional wait times and lockups for some programs.

You could try a fresh install of your operating system. Does wonders some times.


Well, you could upgrade your processor.
Your Sempron 3000+ has only (L2 Cache 128KB) a little Cache an Athlon 64 would be better (L2 Cache 512KB). If you could get one cheep.
http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=prodcpusupport&maincat_no=1&cat2_no=&cat3_no=&prod_no=170

I don't know if I would personally spend the money on the upgrade if money was tight but it would help.

Like "Adragontattoo" said 939 is a dead socket for the most part now. Some people still run them, nothing wrong with that. Just not recommended now as a system to purchase.

 

[Tech Tweaker]

You could try a fresh install of your operating system. Does wonders some times.

Well, you could upgrade your processor.
Your Sempron 3000+ has only (L2 Cache 128KB) a little Cache an Athlon 64 would be better (L2 Cache 512KB). If you could get one cheep.
http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=prodcpusupport&maincat_no=1&cat2_no=&cat3_no=&prod_no=170

I don't know if I would personally spend the money on the upgrade if money was tight but it would help.

Like "Adragontattoo" said 939 is a dead socket for the most part now. Some people still run them, nothing wrong with that. Just not recommended now as a system to purchase.

Doubt that would change much of anything, I just installed it on a new drive three weeks ago.

Yes, I've been considering that option too. Only question is Newcastle or Venice? I know I don't want a Clawhammer because they are made with the larger nm (130nm) manufacturing process, and I've heard that they run hotter and don't perform as well. Newcastle's were also made with the 130nm manufacturing process, but I've been told that they perform better by comparison.

I've been doing research on possible upgrade possibilities for my processor for longer than I've been looking into building a new system.

I know that there are supposedly Venice 3200 and 3400+ CPU's out there, but they aren't listed on my motherboard's compatible list of processors on the manufacturer's website here, so I don't know if one of those would work in my board or not.

Another question though is if I were to install a new processor, would I have to reformat my hard drive and reinstall my OS? I know I would have to clear the CMOS and set that up again, but I'm not sure about the OS situation.