Should AMD Have Kept 939 Going?

[Saints 26]

Sadly, My main rig is 754.. I really need tog et with the in crowd eh?

Not really if it does what you need it to then it's all good. I don't plan on upgrading mine until the next year. I get tired of spending tons of money to stay on the cutting edge. It's better to stay a couple of steps behind sometimes.

 

[Vengance_01]

You guys are missing the whole point. AMD Moved to AM2 B/C the memory controller was needed to be updated and it is a test bed for 65nm process. Amd was not going to risk there new chip on an un-proven process.

 

[funnyperson1]

I think that AMD did have to move towards AM2, I think the memory industry really wanted to switch over to DDR2.

I do think they should have continued making some 939 chips, especially dual cores because I think for a lot of people that would have offered a smart upgrade path.

 

[piotrr]

But the memory controller is on-die, they didn't have to switch sockets just to upgrade it. Was it impossible to release S939 motherboards with DDR2 without the extra one pin of AM2? I don't think so. And by forcing people away from old motherboards, old processors AND old RAM, they are forcing people to consider going Intel instead.

 

[AngelfireUk83]

Recently there's been news of AMD struggling to sell CPU's and are supposedly doing another price slash on X2 AM2 CPUs. As for 754 as 1 stated if it does what you want and has no problems then stick with it I say save your cash for the next CPU whats coming either from AMD or INTEL. I do believe in missing a generation of processor now that I did what I did by skipping 754.

My Socket A was a little beast had at the time the latest hardware I upgraded the graphics card when I could. But then decided it was time to move on so I sold it and looked around was going to go AM2 but I liked the idea of saving some cash and went 939. Also in a way it does feel like AMD with AM2 is basicaly saying go C2C you might as well till we release something.

 

[SteveLord]

I think 939 was great. I too, went from A -> 939 and it was money very well spent. I really wish the standard could have stuck around, but with the disappointment in AM2 compared to the Core2...I had to bite the bullet and make the switch.

 

[speed bump]

AMD should have moved to AM2 atleast a year before they did.

939s a dead end and has been for very close to a year now sense beating a dead horse anymore.

 

[mblue]

AMD should have moved to AM2 atleast a year before they did.

939s a dead end and has been for very close to a year now sense beating a dead horse anymore.

Sorry, but I would disagree with this statement. There is little difference between the AM2 and the 939. So by your own statement, if the the 939 is a dead end, then one would have to conclude that the AM2 was still-born.

 

[FlahsMemory]

I agree 939 life span was a bit too long. I dont think a year but rather ~4 months. They should have had ddr2 support way earlier. But there team is too slow. They need a better team that can work together instead of piecing old tech with new tech to gain a slight advantage. Buying AMD now is just a waste until they release quadcores that can compete and be priced effectively. AMD has its heads under the covers so whatever. We can only hope AMD can hurry up and release there next brand new tech with better arcitechture. But i am afraid since intel is already starting to show signs of an early 8 core release. WOW I think AMd is in some big trouble.

 

[speed bump]

Sorry, but I would disagree with this statement. There is little difference between the AM2 and the 939. So by your own statement, if the the 939 is a dead end, then one would have to conclude that the AM2 was still-born.

Thats like saying should Intel have stayed with socket 478 becuase all 775 offered was a new socket and DDR2 support. If AMD manages to make something good with K10 it will become an irrelevent arguement also.

 

[AlabamaCajun]

Thats like saying should Intel have stayed with socket 478 becuase all 775 offered was a new socket and DDR2 support. If AMD manages to make something good with K10 it will become an irrelevent arguement also.

I'm sure Barcelona, Budapest and Agena will give AMD the power it needs to compete but that Window is going to be short. It's the world we live in short and bitter-sweet. 2008 is going to be the next challenge with the X4 battle. Intel will be pushing the Penryns out just about 6 months after AMD gets the X4 consumer CPUs in the stream. We don't know what AMD is going to do in 08 until later this summer when the X4s go full ramp. AM2+ mobos will be around but still on DDR2. The next logical step is the move to DDR3 but the whole industry is holding off for the jump. Intel will more than likely make the decision with the largest market of chips leaving AMD to wait for the opportunity.

 

[Tyranos]

I don't think am2 was that much of a performance increase to justify a new socket and chipsets really. Not for me anyway. I liked 939.

 

[hafa]

I don't think am2 was that much of a performance increase to justify a new socket and chipsets really. Not for me anyway. I liked 939.

I find it interesting the number of forum members who, regardless of all evidence to the contrary, continue to labor under the misconception that the move to AM2 had anything whatsoever to do with performance.

For the benefit of these misguided souls, I will now make one thing clear:

THE MOVE TO AM2 WAS NOT ABOUT INCREASING PERFORMANCE.

It was about adopting the then-new DDR2 standard and providing a transitional chipset and motherboard platform which would be compatible with AM3.

 

[Tyranos]

Don't freak out guy, and I'm not laboring under any misconception. If I ME MYSELF upgrade, it's for performance reasons. Hence NOT FOR ME ANYWAY. DDR2 didn't really do anything for me performance wise so I didn't upgrade to that socket and chipset. I didn't say AMD shouldn't have created AM2.

 

[QuietIce]

While I dearly like the 939 platform (and will probably stick with it until AM3 or higher) it was time for AMD to join in the DDR2 ranks. Not only did they need a well tested platform to launch their 65nm chips they also needed a simple means to allow semi-upgrades with future platforms (AM2+, AM3).

Though I wasn't happy about it (on a personal use level) I think AMD made the right choice ...

 

[mblue]

Thats like saying should Intel have stayed with socket 478 becuase all 775 offered was a new socket and DDR2 support. If AMD manages to make something good with K10 it will become an irrelevent arguement also.

True, except that in the move to 775, it gave the user pci-e, DDR2 and higher FSB and sata (I think that was then) and AM2 gave the user DDR2 . Look AMD is already coming out with a new socket and based on that and the fact that the only difference with the AM2 was the addition of DDR2, I believe that the AM2 was a useless upgrade. Also, agreeing with the point that with the AM2, AMD was basically saying, "go buy Intel".

 

[bldegle2]

"Maybe I'll pick up one of those AM2 adapters for my Asrock 939Dual-SATA2"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

just did that this weekend, paired with a 65nm 3600+ and some DDR2, my plan is to play on the cheap with AM2..........very cheap way to play until all this sorts out.

AM2 is a sideways move at best right now....

3600+ 65nm, about $70

DDR2, 2 gig, PC2 6400, about $130....

$200 to play for awhile...

never thought the AsRock Dual Sata would last this long, glad to have it now.

laterz,

baldy

 

[AlabamaCajun]

True, except that in the move to 775, it gave the user pci-e, DDR2 and higher FSB and sata (I think that was then) and AM2 gave the user DDR2 . Look AMD is already coming out with a new socket and based on that and the fact that the only difference with the AM2 was the addition of DDR2, I believe that the AM2 was a useless upgrade. Also, agreeing with the point that with the AM2, AMD was basically saying, "go buy Intel".

While the upgrade to AM2 may seem useless, I find DDR2 more flexible. Performance wise 939 and AM2 have nearly the same internals, no speed tweaks.
What we are seeing now in the F3 Windsors is stock speeds exceeding 3G something only ocers on water or Freon were seeing. G1 Brisbanes although slightly lower in performance clock for clock have been good ocers for some. I finally broke my 2.65 ceiling on my rigs with AM2. With the exception of a few, most mobos seem to all be able to reach higher htt than the 939 equivalents. In my opinion, DDR2 was worth it. Even cheap DDR2 ocs well. In 939 you had to buy fancy OCZ or Corsair to get high bandwidths. Now a decent set of Wintek or PQI can do 8000-9500Mbs. 9200 on my Wintek 2Gs.

 

[Rinne]

You have to think of it this way:
S 939 is still a nice socket today, and AM2 currently gives no real speed advantage, nor disadvantage..

Now, people who upgraded to S939 in the past have no real benefit from buying an AM2 system now, but was it ever a goal to move them away from 939?

I think AM2 is more an opportunity for those who want to upgrade from Socket 754 AND before(Yeah, there are still plenty of them out there!)!
Because for those, AM2 is MUCH cheaper than Socket 939, especially because of the now cheaper DDR2 standard.. Processors for AM2 are usually also cheaper than Socket 939 processors, giving the consumer a better price/performance relation, and especially is it future proof, because it maintains compatibility with future AMD products, that Socket 939 couldn't maintain for so long..

So basically what AMD is doing, is give the consumer a chance to upgrade to a current, cheaper (and weaker) system than the competition has, while maintaining the opportunity to upgrade to a (hopefully) equal, or even better system compared to the competition by exchanging only one comppnent!

I don't think that the question should be wether AM2 is superfluos, but if Socket 939 was!

just my 2 c

 

[funnyperson1]

I do agree with some of you that it is pointless to upgrade from Socket 939 to AM2 (I did because my mobo died ).

But if you are building a new system there is no doubt that AM2 is where its at. The Brisbanes are cheap and overclocking like crazy, the rev F3 Windsors are hitting 3.2-3.5ghz on air, and as AC pointed out decent DDR2 is dirt cheap.

DDR2 memory seems to be so forgiving and versatile. Lots of people are buying value ram and generic ram and getting great overclocking chips.

AMD cannot compete with the C2D without a new chip design, and until then they have provided us with a fast, fun, and cheap platform to play with. Why all the hate?