Why should someone go with a 939 over a 754?

[ingeborgdot@yah]

My question is why 939 over 754? What are the actual benefits?

[Tekmaven]

Simply put, there are three clear advantages to using socket 939.

The first, Socket 939 can utilize dual-channel ram, which will yield a performance gain over Socket 754.

The second, Socket 939 AMD Athlon 64 .09 Micron Processors (3200+ and 3500+ are .09 Micron) run VERY cool. Over the weekend, I built a 3200+ Socket 939 system for a client. The system ran at 20 Degrees Celsius! Just for comparison, my older .13 Micron 3500+ runs over 36 Degrees Celsius under load...

The third, with the new nForce4 chipset, which is only for socket 939, you can run the latest in graphics cards, with its PCI-Express support, as well as SATA-II (300mb/s) hard disks.

[szukalski]

A most important reason for choosing 939 over 754:
754 is dying. AMD will not release any more desktop cpus for 754 (except maybe another sempron? Sempron aren't really cpus.. :P)
There will still be mobile cpus for the 754 but these won't be usable on a desktop unless you have a motherboard and bios that lets you use mobiles. (DFI Lanparty 250Gb lets you do this.. unsure of other boards).
If you want to upgrade in the future, 939 is the way to go. All the new AMD cpus will be coming out on 939, including the dual cores to my understanding, so a NF4 motherboard looks like the way to go to allow for upgrades in the future.
Socket 754 is all good, but the single channel memory controller can be a killer if you are trying to overclock two sticks of ram. (Not sure if this is an issue for you.)

[ingeborgdot@yah]

So if I go 939 I am looking at these boards.
Chaintech VNF4 Ultra zenith
Gigabyte GA-K8NF-9
Asus A8V Deluxe

[Tekmaven]

There are other boards too, off the top of my head I know that MSI and DFI make them.

In my first post, I talked about a machine that I built for a client. That machine had the Chaintech VNF4 Ultra. It worked just fine, however, I'd always be more comfortable buying an MSI or an Asus motherboard.

[cssericd]

One other reason to go with the 939 is that the chip has built in virus protection. Or so I was told. As far as the board, I would go with MSI.

[ingeborgdot@yah]

There is no chip with built in virus protection. That is an advertising ploy by amd and they are getting a lot of flack on it. The virus protection comes from service pack 2. The 754 is sited to have this also.

[szukalski]

I think the "virus protection" is from a built in firewall on the nForce 3/4 chipsets.
Never use it myself though..

[nizzy1115]

I think the "virus protection" is from a built in firewall on the nForce 3/4 chipsets.
Never use it myself though..

the antivirus stops only a limited number of viruses mainly ones harmful to your cpu...it stops any packet overflow virus, and intel's are coming out with the same thing in the very near future. Its not a gimic, it actually works, just it is not a full blown virus protection.

[Zachery]

I have a 754, i knew when I got it I would have limited upgradability.

But it doesn't matter to me so much. My next upgrade will be a new board and new chipset again anyway. :)

[Catweazle]

Depends on how much 'future proofing' you really think you need. I'm still sitting here on an overclocked XP2500+, FX5900XT, still loading new games and not yet frantic to upgrade. That's a generation behind on both fronts!

You can grab a Socket 754 entry level Sempron, overclock it and get Athlon64 3500 performance levels, the next-gen R520 display cards from ATi are going to be obtainable in AGP form, and there's a good chance the next-gen NVidia cards will be as well.

Those people staying a step behind the 'cutting edge' need have no fears at all, in my view!

[ingeborgdot@yah]

I understand what you are saying that what you have is good. What I am finding out now is that the 64 prices are about the same as the sempron and xp chips. For instance a 2800+ sempron is only 31bucks cheaper than a 64 and an xp chip is only a couple bucks cheaper. In this case why would I go with the others. The 939 boards with the same options as 754 are very comparable also.

[Catweazle]

Depends on your budget really, and whether or not you can upgrade an entire system. If mobo and processor change also necessitates a video card change, then the whole deal can get out of reach for some.

All I'm really saying is that if the funds are there, go for the best you can get. But if they're not, don't be too disappointed because the older formats aren't dead yet.

(Well, maybe Socket A is :lol: )

It also has to be considered what system somebody already has. If an upgrade is perhaps a jump from XP2200+ to A64 2800+ then perhaps it'd be better to wait and accumulate more funds first, cause that's still not a markedly dramatic improvement.

There are no 'cut and dried' rules to follow. The value of an upgrade depends on too many factors.

[ingeborgdot@yah]

How much longer do you think the 754 will be in existance? I need to build some for a school (my labor free) to save them money. They don't want something that will be unable to get parts for in the coming couple of years. No overclocking! Needs to be a good board though as it is used all day almost everyday in a tech lab. They have simulators being used and such. The head tech person said they don't want sempron. So, is the 754 still being phased out and how long will it take??????

[szukalski]

Well, maybe Socket A is

And here I am contemplating a socket A mobo for a home theater pc.

[GrimJack]

So if I go 939 I am looking at these boards.
Chaintech VNF4 Ultra zenith
Gigabyte GA-K8NF-9
Asus A8V Deluxe

I have the Asus A8V Deluxe w the a64 3200+ 939 - I really like it but it was a pain to get up and running - it came with a bios chip v1008 and needed a bios version v1009. Once I put the upgraded bios chip in I everything pretty much runs smoothly. Important note on the Asus - talks to you so you need to have your speakers plugged in on boot (if there are problems). I also got the huge fans - the machine is so quiet I have to look down to make sure it is running (well not really, my screen would probably go blank if it weren't). The reason I got the Asus was the price/performance ratio and I am going to overclock my a64.

GrimJack

Do not scrimp on your power supply!