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Geek Culture / AM2 motherboards and CPU's

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Kenjar
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Posted: 1st Jun 2006 02:26
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Hi has anyone else come across the new AM2 socket standard for AMD CPU's? I assume this is going to replace the 939-pin design as the new AM2 MSI and Asustek motherboards support up to PC6400 DDR2 RAM, which of cause is the next logical step now that DDR ram is capped out at 400Mhz. I've not seen any 939-pin motherboards with DDR2 support yet. Still 800Mhz ram isn't something to be sneezed at, neither is the 1000Mhz bus that's become standard for the new 64-bit AM2 CPU's. SATA 300 is pretty much a standard for the boards as well, though the lastest reviews I read basically said that SATA 300 isn't that useful yet, hard disks need to become alot faster before anything above SATA-150 is useful.

Still if you want a good motherboard, these specs are pretty impressive.



I wonder if it's worth waiting until the end of the year though, bus speeds are rummoured to increase to 1200Mhz or 1500Mhz, getting one of those boards would lenghten the lifespan of any system, given that even top of the line FX64 processors still operate at 1000Mhz at the moment. Still this is great news, it means less bottle necking, so the PCI-E x16 interface and graphics cards will experiance greater dataflow.

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Steve J
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Posted: 1st Jun 2006 04:03
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I heard this too. Very good, I even saw a pre-order sign at comp usa last week for a $500 mobo (comp usa sucks though)

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Posted: 1st Jun 2006 05:03
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ACtually right now DDR400 RAM on 939 performs a lot better than the AM2 with DDR2-800 so I would wait a while. Plus its not worth getting an AM2 CPU yet because they all are crap. 3700+ 939 socket is better then the AM2 version. You are much better off waiting until they work out all the kinks in the mobos and so forth

BTW, $500!!!!! Thats insane. The mobos are around the same price as a 939 and the AM2 CPUs arent any more expensive. I have an Asrock DualSATAII with AM2 support with an addon card which is $30 and it performs no worse then an AM2 mobo. So an AGP/PCIE 939 mobo with an AM2 board also is less then $100. Better deal than Comp USA (dirtbags )


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Steve J
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Posted: 1st Jun 2006 05:48
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but what brand. And where did you get this information? Maybe where you got it had non quality mobo's and ram, because I know for a fact that maximum pc reviewed it and it got great scores...

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Kenjar
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Posted: 1st Jun 2006 14:40 Edited at: 1st Jun 2006 14:45
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Quote: "I even saw a pre-order sign at comp usa last week for a $500 mobo"


The most expensive motherboard in the UK at the moment is the Asustek AM2 nForce 590 SLI at £132.28 ($248.36), and the cheapest is the MSI Socket AM2 nForce 550 at £60.74 ($114.06).

Quote: "ACtually right now DDR400 RAM on 939 performs a lot better than the AM2 with DDR2-800 so I would wait a while."


Not true. The performance of the DDR2 is definately greater then DDR.













However with new memory controllers still being developed it's true that grabbing the first generation of motherboards might not be the best idea. But upon saying that, I beleive that's true of anything PC based.

But all in all, they are using generation 5 nVidia chipsets, SLI technology, PCI-E x16, DDR2 and SATA 150/300. It's likely that 939 motherboards and AM2 motherboards will run side by side for a while yet. The CPU technologies are idential, both use the 90nm process, and the new 65nm process will not be called into being until earily 2007, according to AMD's own roadmaps. It's possible AMD intends to break up the lines then.

The advantage in getting an AM2 based motherboard really is to have a system that can be upgraded for as long as possible. I'm planning to wait until christmas time before I build my next system. Hopefully then other manufactures will join the market. As a rule I tend to go fo gigabyte motherboards because I like their award bios (which other manufactures have I know) and the last 4 gigabyte motherboards I've purchased have all been stable and realiable.

But there is definately an advantage to having system ram double the speed of the fastest DDR type. But again, like anything in computers, the full performance will not be seen until games and software is programmed in such a way as to take advantage of the new technology.

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Posted: 2nd Jun 2006 01:17
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I use http://www.overclockercafe.com/

which has links to many other reviewers and had an AM2 page and all the reviews on all CPUs and main mobos and the reviews showed that AM2 still isnt worth it.


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Kenjar
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Posted: 2nd Jun 2006 03:12
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A motherboard doesn't make a massive difference, the reason to get AM2 isn't to get the fastest and best system (though it helps) it's to create the longest lasting system possible. Neither the AM2 motherboards or CPU's are much more expensive then current 939 motherboards, but you can be sure as heck that AMD released a new socket type for a reason, and I suspect this is for the upcomming 65nm based processors. MSI are a decent brand from what I know of them, and they are as low as £60 at the moment for a nVidia 550 chipset.

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dre
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Posted: 2nd Jun 2006 03:18
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That graph that you got there can show the performance of Intel P4s, but not AMDs. I doubt that faster DDR2 memory will run much faster than regular DDR. It will greatly depend on the memory controller put on the new AM2 CPUs, not the memory itself.

Athlon 64 X2 4400+, nForce 4 Ultra chipset, 1 gig ddr400 d-channel, GeForce 7800 GTX OC,2 WD 74 gig Raptors in RAID
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Kenjar
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Posted: 2nd Jun 2006 13:33
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The graphs I showed as an AMD AM2 based system. The Asustek board I mentioned before. Not that this makes a great deal of difference, the memory controller is intergrated into the CPU these days not the motherboard. But rest assured the graphs I showed where taken from an AM2 review.

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Posted: 3rd Jun 2006 05:35 Edited at: 3rd Jun 2006 05:36
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Quote: "A motherboard doesn't make a massive difference"

for lack of better terms, are you on drugs? lol. the motherboard makes a WORLD of a difference in performance as far as stability, performance, compatibility, ect. One mobo over another will make such a difference especially with AM2 since it isnt fully perfect yet.

plsu, AM2 was not developed to make a HUGE performance leep. It was a small jump to plan ahead for AMD. Nothing good is out yet. They are launching it now and working on the good stuff later so you are better off waiting until Vista is out too


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Kenjar
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Posted: 3rd Jun 2006 13:59 Edited at: 3rd Jun 2006 14:01
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Quote: "for lack of better terms, are you on drugs?"


Yes actaully they give me a little pink one every day

Yes, you are right, some motherboard manufactures should be shot, and burried at a cross roads with a heavy stone on top of their grave.

But seeing as thats your opinion, and considering that the newer AM2 motherboards are A) Using series 5 nVidia Chipsets and B) A faster memory type, and C) Will eventually replace 939 completely much in the same way 754 was replaced by 939. It's logical to assume that they are going to be supported for longer by more advanced CPU's meaning for the near price of a 939 board you have the potential to streach out your motherboards usefulness. Also seeing as they are all PCI-Express 16x there is no drawback graphics wise, and again because of the faster memory, and as games start to take advantage of the techology, you will have one of the fastest AMD systems currently availible. With, again, the potential to outlast any current 939 based motherboard.

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Posted: 3rd Jun 2006 19:27
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But the processors they have released for AM2 arent the best yet. AM2 was released to plan ahead. It wasnt meant to be god like 939. As of now it is a waste to purchase an AM2 motherboard because it may still have a lot of flaws and the CPU's they have released just arent good enough yet. Only the FX-62 which is too expensive and if it was 939 you can just get an opteron for $200 and OC it to that speed.


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Kenjar
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Posted: 3rd Jun 2006 21:10
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That's a matter of perspective. At the moment I'm using a 754 pin motherboard with AGP x8. So what do I do now? Buy a 939? Or buy a simular priced AM2? For me that's easy, there no disadvantage to the AM2, as I said before it will provide the longest possible life span for my system at this point, I get access to the faster ram technology which given that the memory controller is built into the CPU will improve when I upgrade my CPU, and for now the CPU I buy isn't any worse then any 939. I'm also gaurenteed access to future x2 cores, not all 939 boards support that, it is quite easy for a newbie to get caught out on that. If you are thinking of changing from a 939, PCI-Express 16x board to an AM2 board just because of the DDR2 ram, then I'd be the first to say it's not a good idea, there is alot of life left in the 939 series. But if your system board has blown, or your are building a new PC from scratch then AM2 is the way to go, and I challenge anyone to give me a good reason why it isn't.

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