OK, now we all know that the computer hardware industry (especially the more profitable, high-end "gamer" oriented systems) increases the capabilities of their hardware very quickly.

See Moore's Law for more details.

And if you've taken any marketing classes, you know that companies that have the ability to price differentiate will often price their "new" offerings higher than they would during normal production to reap profits from the early adopters who are motivated to purchase the new item simply because it is the newest, etc...

"So what?" you ask...

AMD has just launched their new processor line... Socket AM2. It promises only a marginal improvement over current Socket 939, but will have the ability to utilize DDR2 memory.

And since my current machine is quickly aproaching museum quality (even if it still does everything I need), I'm starting the upgrade process. My question to you all is...

Should I wait a couple of weeks/month to buy a AM2 based mobo on the theory that it will potentially have a longer life-span and pay higher prices with only a marginal increase in capability?

or...

Should I take advantage of the drop in pricing for the "older" 939 based boards and processors to get virtually the same machine for less money?

If you can hang in there, waite to upgrade until mid summer, the prices should start to drop a little on the AM2 stuff...

Quote: Originally Posted by FeRaL If you can hang in there, waite to upgrade until mid summer, the prices should start to drop a little on the AM2 stuff...

True, but I guess what I was wondering was for the marginal increase that the AM2 boards provide, is it worth the additional money?

If I were you I would either wait and get an Intel Conroe based Core2Duo chip, or get a 939 setup on the cheap.

Quote: Originally Posted by Dead_Man If I were you I would either wait and get an Intel Conroe based Core2Duo chip, or get a 939 setup on the cheap.

He wants AMD only. Intel is teh Suckors anyway Id wait a bit longer and get AM2, then you can also get the physics card cheaper too.

Quote: Originally Posted by Nerdz He wants AMD only. Intel is teh Suckors anyway ...

Yeah... never going to build an Intel box.

Not that there's anything wrong with that...



if you like to spend more money for less machine.

FLAME ON!

I'm not gonna argue with you cuz obviously it's pointless. But I'm just gonna say this, right now AMD's are more expensive than Intel, and as much as I love AMD and have had almost exclusively AMD, I'm using intel now. For my money I got a cpu/mobo/ram combo that is just as good if not alot better than AMD's offerings that cost alot more(overclocking each brand of course). This is going to be even more true when conroe is released. And I say this having used a yonah core duo, and benchmarked it. Competition is good, and AMD has raped Intel for the last several years, but things are changing. It's only going to lead to better parts from both companies.

I can understand dedication though, so the more I read about AM2 the more you should probably wait. It sounds like k8L will work in am2 mobos. So that should offer alot of futureproofing, especially if you don't upgrade much.

Quote: Originally Posted by Dead_Man I'm not gonna argue with you cuz obviously it's pointless.

Nah, I'm not a COMPLETE fanboy, but I do prefer them.

Quote: Originally Posted by Dead_Man the more I read about AM2 the more you should probably wait. It sounds like k8L will work in am2 mobos...

Where'd you hear that? From the pics I saw at Tom's, the pins are different than the current 939.

If you can wait, waite until Vista comes out.... Yeah I say that a lot, but honestly, if XP isn't killing your system, why upgrade right now? Unless you just have to play this that or the other game and your current hardware just wont cut it.

Quote: Originally Posted by Im_gumby Nah, I'm not a COMPLETE fanboy, but I do prefer them. Where'd you hear that? From the pics I saw at Tom's, the pins are different than the current 939.

The AM2 CPU's aren't interchangeable - remember, the memory controller is on the die and you can't really mix DDR and DDR2 controlling capability.

I'd say wait a while to let the AM2 bugs get ironed out a bit before you buy - check the prices of your rig closer to the time too (especially the RAM - depending on the uptake of DDR2, you may find that it's cheaper to get DDR2 stuff)

... and even though you aren't a fan of the intel, I'd suggest (objectively) having a look at conroe's perfomance/cost closer to the time - you never know, it might be better

Or plan Z, you can wait 10 years when quatum chips come out and have a with a spped of 1TFLOP, and FSB of 500Ghz.



PS: My F@H sig isn't updating, its by 20 WU's.

I think you read that wrong. I said K8L that is the new AMD architecture coming out sometime in 2007. SO if you got an am2 mobo and a current am2 compataible chip, you SHOULD have the chance to upgrade to the NEW k8L architectured chips when they release.

The only company im fanboy to is ATI. Intel and AMD both have had there ups and downs, from what ive seen of conroe, intel will now dominate the gaming side of things along with its usuall fast file compression and Dvix.

AM2 i dont think is worth the extra money just to go ddr2 with very little performance gain. 939 is still gunna be great for a long while and now that prices are dropping it just looks better for 939.

my vote-

Conroe or 939.

My 2 cents , If your current machine does everything you want , and yes you'll only have a bit more giddy-up with an AM2 , I'd go for 939 and get a faster proc for less money and faster DDR instead of DDR2.

Thats what im just about to do, in like another month when the 939's start dropping in price, and the 939 boards too

** But then im a CHEAP BASTARD **

My opinion, I prefer AMD however. Think about what you need from the increased performance from whatever brand you go with, WILL the xtra performance REALLY be of use to you or is it just for bragging rights? (please no offense intented) I personnaly spent around $900 for a new Acer Travelmate 4400 since it had better performance than my desktop and fit my needs for portability.
It's by no means the top of the line and I know I could have probably got a better system for a few bucks more, but it will be "usable" for a few years. I would think the time to worry is when softwares minimum system requirements are at 2ghz cpu and 1 gig ram. Also when win 98 isn't mentioned or supported anymore.
As was mentioned before, I'd wait and bide my time till the new technology is more stable and some geeks (no offense) have some time to work out how to oc it and work out the bugs.

If your computer does everything you want, why are you even considering upgrading at all?

If you do upgrade, go with a 939 chip when the AM2s come out. Save yourself some dough. Lord knows we all can use that right now.

I would have to agree with most of the folks here, that you should wait for the new stuff's dust (and most importantly, the prices) to settle before plunking down any cash at all for an upgrade.

Now, once the dust and prices settle a bit, the way I see it, the prices for the soon-to-be "mid-grade" machines and parts will have to come down as well... That may be the best option for saving money and still getting a machine that is not only faster than what you currently have, but that should be able to last a couple more years before time to upgrade again...

My $.02, for ya...

If you don't upgrade often, I'd wait a bit for the prices to come down and get AM2. The idea here is future proofing. AM2 will probably be around longer than 939, so an easier upgrade (and cheaper) might be in the furture.

Btw, was I the only one who hated upgrading to PCI-E and 939? so much money all at once.

Quote: Originally Posted by Kemosabe79 If your computer does everything you want, why are you even considering upgrading at all?

It's all about the speed (and a better video card)... my Athlon XP running at 1775, 512Meg of Ram, and ATI 9500 Pro is pretty near the bottom of gaming capability (unless you play Sims like my wife does )

I'm with Beachbum on this one. If you wait until they iron out the bugs, and the prices go down, you're over a year into the game. I'd use my money to get a nicer system now, considering how much life you've gotten out of your system already (I'm still running a similar setup) it should last you quite a while.