• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

AMD AM2 Launch Lineup and Prices

Joined
Oct 1, 2005
Messages
797 (0.12/day)
System Name Current
Processor Core i5 2500k
Motherboard Z77MA-G45
Cooling Cooler Master Tx3
Memory 8gb DDR3 1600Mhz
Video Card(s) Evga GTX 960 4GB GDDR5
Storage (1) SAMSUNG 850 EVO 500GB
Display(s) ASUS PB278Q 27" WQHD 2560x1440 IPS
Case Fractal Core 1000
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply 430 Watt Corsair
Mouse Logitech g602
Keyboard K70 LUX Mech LB, Red LED, Cherry MX Brown
Software Windows 10 + Hackintosh
AM2 Launch Lineup, The prices are the same in dollars and Euro.

Socket AM2 models
Sempron 64 - Rated at Max. TDP of 35W, 128KB of L2 cache
2800+: 1.6 GHz clock $65
3200+: 1.8 GHz clock $85
3500+: 2.0 GHz clock $105

Sempron 64 - Rated at Max. TDP of 35W, 256KB of L2 cache
3000+: 1.6 GHz clock $75
3400+: 1.8 GHz clock $95
3600+: 2.0 GHz clock $120
Athlon 64 - Rated at Max. TDP of 65W, 512KB of L2 cache
3000+: 1.8 GHz clock, Pacifica Virtualisation Tech $109
3200+: 2.0 GHz clock, Pacifica Virtualisation Tech $154
3500+: 2.2 GHz clock, Pacifica Virtualisation Tech $184
3800+: 2.4 GHz clock, Pacifica Virtualisation Tech $284



Athlon 64 - Rated at Max. TDP of 65W, 1MB of L2 cache
None - If it appears, expect 3700+, 3900+ or 4000+ rating

Athlon 64 X2 - Rated at Max. TDP of 89W, Dual Core, 1MB of L2 cache
X2 3800+: 2.0 GHz clock, Pacifica $299
X2 4200+: 2.2 GHz clock, Pacifica $359
X2 4600+: 2.4 GHz clock, Pacifica $589
X2 5000+: 2.6 GHz clock, Pacifica $689

Athlon 64 X2 - Rated at Max. TDP of 89W, Dual Core, 2MB of L2 cache
X2 4000+: 2.0 GHz clock, Pacifica $319
X2 4400+: 2.2 GHz clock, Pacifica $459
X2 4800+: 2.4 GHz clock, Pacifica $639

Athlon 64 FX - Rated at Max. TDP of 89W, Dual Core, 2MB of L2 cache
FX-62, 2.8 GHz clock, Pacifica tech $1219

View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 
Last edited:

Alec§taar

New Member
Joined
May 15, 2006
Messages
4,677 (0.72/day)
Location
Someone who's going to find NewTekie1 and teach hi
Processor DualCore AMD Athlon 64x2 4800+ (o/c 2801mhz STABLE (Ketxxx, POGE, Tatty One, ME))
Motherboard ASUS A8N-SLI Premium (PCIe x16, x4, x1)
Cooling PhaseChange Coolermaster CM754/939 (fan/heatsink), Thermalright heatspreaders + fan built on (RAM)
Memory 512mb PC-3200 DDR400 (set DDR-33 for o/c) by Corsair (matched pair, 2x256mb) 200.1/200mhz
Video Card(s) BFG GeForce 7900 GTX OC 512mb GDDR3 ram (o/c manually to 686 core/865 memory) - PhaseChange cooled
Storage Dual "Raptor X" 16mb 10krpm/RAID 0 Promise EX8350 x4 PCIe 128mb & Intel IO chip/CENATEK RocketDrive
Display(s) SONY 19" Trinitron MultiScan 400ps 1600x1200 75hz refresh 32-bit color
Case Antec Super-LanBoy (aluminum baby-tower w/ lower front & upper rear cooling exhaust fans)
Audio Device(s) RealTek AC97 onboard mobo stereo sound (Altec Lansing ACS-45 speakers - 10 yrs. still running!)
Power Supply Antec 500w ATX 2.0 "SmartPower" powersupply
Software Windows Server 2003 SP #1 fully patched, & massively tuned/tweaked to-the-max (plus latest drivers)
Hey guys, questions....

Tell me more about this upcoming AMD "socket AM2" stuff, vs. today's best from AMD:

I.E.-> What are this platform's "pros & cons/advantages-disadvantages" vs. current FX & Athlon 64 x2 style CPUs?

For instance, from the charts above, I see faster mhz/ghz speeds, but there has to be more to it than that...

:)

* Thanks for the info. fellas...

APK

P.S.=> e.g.-> Does "socket AM2" do faster forms of memory than PC-3200 etc. for example? apk
 
Joined
Oct 1, 2005
Messages
797 (0.12/day)
System Name Current
Processor Core i5 2500k
Motherboard Z77MA-G45
Cooling Cooler Master Tx3
Memory 8gb DDR3 1600Mhz
Video Card(s) Evga GTX 960 4GB GDDR5
Storage (1) SAMSUNG 850 EVO 500GB
Display(s) ASUS PB278Q 27" WQHD 2560x1440 IPS
Case Fractal Core 1000
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply 430 Watt Corsair
Mouse Logitech g602
Keyboard K70 LUX Mech LB, Red LED, Cherry MX Brown
Software Windows 10 + Hackintosh
Well
Pros
-DDR2, faster, more bandwith (but AMD processors aren't really bandwith starved to begin with)
-Alleged Average of 5% increase in performance in games.
-Die Shrink, which most likely will result in Higher OC, Lower Temperatures, Lower Voltage consumtion, in the end less Watt draw from CPU

Cons
-New Socket
-Conroe (I put this just to rile up a few of ya :roll: )
-For existing AMD users who want to upgrade this means new RAM, Motherboard, AND CPU

Conclusion
so its best for users who want to buy an AMD system now, it's not really worth upgrading too if you already have a relatively new processor Athlong 64's. I would personally wait for AM3 if I wanted to stay AMD.

If I left anything out let me know :)
 

Alec§taar

New Member
Joined
May 15, 2006
Messages
4,677 (0.72/day)
Location
Someone who's going to find NewTekie1 and teach hi
Processor DualCore AMD Athlon 64x2 4800+ (o/c 2801mhz STABLE (Ketxxx, POGE, Tatty One, ME))
Motherboard ASUS A8N-SLI Premium (PCIe x16, x4, x1)
Cooling PhaseChange Coolermaster CM754/939 (fan/heatsink), Thermalright heatspreaders + fan built on (RAM)
Memory 512mb PC-3200 DDR400 (set DDR-33 for o/c) by Corsair (matched pair, 2x256mb) 200.1/200mhz
Video Card(s) BFG GeForce 7900 GTX OC 512mb GDDR3 ram (o/c manually to 686 core/865 memory) - PhaseChange cooled
Storage Dual "Raptor X" 16mb 10krpm/RAID 0 Promise EX8350 x4 PCIe 128mb & Intel IO chip/CENATEK RocketDrive
Display(s) SONY 19" Trinitron MultiScan 400ps 1600x1200 75hz refresh 32-bit color
Case Antec Super-LanBoy (aluminum baby-tower w/ lower front & upper rear cooling exhaust fans)
Audio Device(s) RealTek AC97 onboard mobo stereo sound (Altec Lansing ACS-45 speakers - 10 yrs. still running!)
Power Supply Antec 500w ATX 2.0 "SmartPower" powersupply
Software Windows Server 2003 SP #1 fully patched, & massively tuned/tweaked to-the-max (plus latest drivers)
Thanks "NamesDontMatter" (lol, good nick, almost as good as a guy I used to know on the 3dFiles boards named "Someone").

Better memory bandwidth & overclockability seem to be the "name of the game" on what is going to be improved on this new socket from AMD... which is GOOD!

:)

* As far as CONROE & your mention of it? Heck - I use Intel stuff here too!

(My other/2nd rig is a P4 3.2ghz, good box too, running a NVidia GeForce 6800 GT OC by BFG, even on gaming here with games like Quake 4 SMP & Doom III latest builds - same base mobo as you use too, Abit IC-7, albeit the "Max3" iteration/build - yes, I read your hardware profile!).

APK

P.S.=> Both CPU families out there today (majors in AMD &/or Intel) rock as far as I am concerned for most stuff anyhow... it's just interesting to see what is in store, so thanks for your feedback! apk
 
Last edited:

sinner33

New Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2005
Messages
194 (0.03/day)
Location
Canada,Ontario,Markham
System Name Pencil Pusher (Because I built it to surf the net)
Processor Intel X4 Quadcore Kentsfield @3.0Ghz @1.325V
Motherboard Gigabyte X38-DQ6
Cooling Zalman CNPS9500LED/Arctic Cooling MX-2 Paste
Memory 2x 2GB OCZ Reaper HPC 5,5,5,18 @ DDR2 1066
Video Card(s) Sapphire 3870x2 @825/1900
Storage 500GB Hitachi
Display(s) LG 24" LCD
Case Silverstone Lascala LC-17
Audio Device(s) DENON AVR-2808 RECEIVER W/ KLIPSCH SYSTEM/ ASUS XONAR D2 SOUND CARD
Power Supply Seasonic M12 700 WATT PSU
Software Windows Vista Premium 64Bit
Benchmark Scores 20000 3dMark06
I think I'll stick with socket 939 for now, since my computers still relatively new :) I won't lose out to those entry level AM2's without a fight! :laugh:

By the way, Alecstaar, that's some kickass rig ;)
 

wazzledoozle

New Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2004
Messages
5,358 (0.75/day)
Location
Seattle
Processor X2 3800+ @ 2.3 GHz
Motherboard DFI Lanparty SLI-DR
Cooling Zalman CNPS 9500 LED
Memory 2x1 Gb OCZ Plat. @ 3-3-2-8-1t 460 MHz
Video Card(s) HIS IceQ 4670 512Mb
Storage 640Gb & 160Gb western digital sata drives
Display(s) Hanns G 19" widescreen LCD w/ DVI 5ms
Case Thermaltake Soprano
Audio Device(s) Audigy 2 softmod@Audigy 4, Logitech X-530 5:1
Power Supply Coolermaster eXtreme Power Plus 500w
Software XP Pro
NamesDontMatter said:
Well
Pros
-DDR2, faster, more bandwith (but AMD processors aren't really bandwith starved to begin with)
-Alleged Average of 5% increase in performance in games.
-Die Shrink, which most likely will result in Higher OC, Lower Temperatures, Lower Voltage consumtion, in the end less Watt draw from CPU

Cons
-New Socket
-Conroe (I put this just to rile up a few of ya :roll: )
-For existing AMD users who want to upgrade this means new RAM, Motherboard, AND CPU

Conclusion
so its best for users who want to buy an AMD system now, it's not really worth upgrading too if you already have a relatively new processor Athlong 64's. I would personally wait for AM3 if I wanted to stay AMD.

If I left anything out let me know :)
There is no die shrink. It is still on the 90 nm process.
 
Joined
Oct 2, 2005
Messages
631 (0.09/day)
Location
Omaha, NE
System Name Media PC
Processor Intel Core-i5 4460
Motherboard Asus H97i plus
Cooling Noctua LH-9i with upgraded NF-A9, x2 Noctua NF-F12
Memory 8GB x2 Corsair Vengeance 1600mhz kit
Video Card(s) Gigabyte Super clocked GTX970 itx
Storage 1TB western digital black 2.5"
Display(s) Samsung 55" Plasma
Case Fractal Design Node 202
Audio Device(s) Onboard DSP, sound forwarded to Onkyo receiver in 2.1 mode
Power Supply Fractal Design 430w itx PSU
Mouse Logitech Wireless gaming mouse
Keyboard Logitech Wireless, Xbox One S controller
Software Windows 10 pro
im just hoping this new socket 940 is going to be a good overclocker! the new 4400+ looks like the chip to get price versus performance. And yeah, there will be a die shrink just not until later this year
 

wazzledoozle

New Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2004
Messages
5,358 (0.75/day)
Location
Seattle
Processor X2 3800+ @ 2.3 GHz
Motherboard DFI Lanparty SLI-DR
Cooling Zalman CNPS 9500 LED
Memory 2x1 Gb OCZ Plat. @ 3-3-2-8-1t 460 MHz
Video Card(s) HIS IceQ 4670 512Mb
Storage 640Gb & 160Gb western digital sata drives
Display(s) Hanns G 19" widescreen LCD w/ DVI 5ms
Case Thermaltake Soprano
Audio Device(s) Audigy 2 softmod@Audigy 4, Logitech X-530 5:1
Power Supply Coolermaster eXtreme Power Plus 500w
Software XP Pro
AsphyxiA said:
im just hoping this new socket 940 is going to be a good overclocker! the new 4400+ looks like the chip to get price versus performance. And yeah, there will be a die shrink just not until later this year
Ive heard 2007 everywhere else..

AMD is still converting a lot of its fabs to 90 nm.
 
Joined
Oct 1, 2005
Messages
797 (0.12/day)
System Name Current
Processor Core i5 2500k
Motherboard Z77MA-G45
Cooling Cooler Master Tx3
Memory 8gb DDR3 1600Mhz
Video Card(s) Evga GTX 960 4GB GDDR5
Storage (1) SAMSUNG 850 EVO 500GB
Display(s) ASUS PB278Q 27" WQHD 2560x1440 IPS
Case Fractal Core 1000
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply 430 Watt Corsair
Mouse Logitech g602
Keyboard K70 LUX Mech LB, Red LED, Cherry MX Brown
Software Windows 10 + Hackintosh
wazzledoozle said:
There is no die shrink. It is still on the 90 nm process.

Whoops, thanks :)
 

bigboi86

New Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2006
Messages
1,442 (0.22/day)
Location
techPowerUp!
System Name Just getting started....
Processor Athlon II Propus 620 @ 3.51ghz (quad core) L3 cache enabled
Motherboard ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO
Cooling Cooler Master Hyper 212 (great heatsink, 40c max load overclocked)
Memory Kingston HyperX DDR31600 4gb 2x2
Video Card(s) ATI Radeon HD 4850 by XFX
Storage Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAKS 320GB SATA
Display(s) Acer 21.5 inch viewable G215H 1920x1080p, AOC 22inch 1680x1050
Case Antec 300, stock for now
Audio Device(s) Onboard, Turtle Beach headphones / crappy logitech desktop speakers
Power Supply Corsair 650 watt PSU <3
Software Windows 7 x64
The 65dollar 2800+ is gonna make a sick budget chip.
 

Alec§taar

New Member
Joined
May 15, 2006
Messages
4,677 (0.72/day)
Location
Someone who's going to find NewTekie1 and teach hi
Processor DualCore AMD Athlon 64x2 4800+ (o/c 2801mhz STABLE (Ketxxx, POGE, Tatty One, ME))
Motherboard ASUS A8N-SLI Premium (PCIe x16, x4, x1)
Cooling PhaseChange Coolermaster CM754/939 (fan/heatsink), Thermalright heatspreaders + fan built on (RAM)
Memory 512mb PC-3200 DDR400 (set DDR-33 for o/c) by Corsair (matched pair, 2x256mb) 200.1/200mhz
Video Card(s) BFG GeForce 7900 GTX OC 512mb GDDR3 ram (o/c manually to 686 core/865 memory) - PhaseChange cooled
Storage Dual "Raptor X" 16mb 10krpm/RAID 0 Promise EX8350 x4 PCIe 128mb & Intel IO chip/CENATEK RocketDrive
Display(s) SONY 19" Trinitron MultiScan 400ps 1600x1200 75hz refresh 32-bit color
Case Antec Super-LanBoy (aluminum baby-tower w/ lower front & upper rear cooling exhaust fans)
Audio Device(s) RealTek AC97 onboard mobo stereo sound (Altec Lansing ACS-45 speakers - 10 yrs. still running!)
Power Supply Antec 500w ATX 2.0 "SmartPower" powersupply
Software Windows Server 2003 SP #1 fully patched, & massively tuned/tweaked to-the-max (plus latest drivers)
sinner33 said:
I think I'll stick with socket 939 for now, since my computers still relatively new :) I won't lose out to those entry level AM2's without a fight! :laugh:

Agreed - I have NO choice really: Mine's only 3 weeks old, tops.

(Plus, I pretty much "shot the wad" on it, spending outrageously, for performance, & also for myself to NOT have to buy again prior to my typical 3-5 year schedule (as I did this round, after 2.5 years, and I would like to stick to the HIGHER end (5 years between PC purchases))).

sinner33 said:
By the way, Alecstaar, that's some kickass rig ;)

Gracias - I think so too, because it literally DOUBLES my old system across the boards on most benchmarks, in ALL categories.

That other older rig of mine's a P4 3.2ghz Intel with GeForce 6800 GT OC by BFG, Abit IC-7 Max3 mobo (512mb RAM onboard mobo), & single WD "Raptor" 8mb cache 36gb unit here.

(It survives here as a SQLServer 2005/IIS 6.x development rig server only really - well, also as a second system for gaming on my home LAN)

:)

So, I do appreciate the compliment, because it makes the cost of it easier to bear... small fortune invested in this one, it has to last until 2010 for me.

APK

P.S.=> Plus, it's a return to something I have not had on a personal computer since the 1992-1994 ISA/VLB days: A CACHING (128mb ECC onboard, with Intel Super I/O controller CPU onboard too, offloads my CPU's on disk tasks) RAID controller, & on a HIGH bandwidth slot (x4 PCI-e)!

My job's largely diskbound, so I love fast diskdrives (like the solidstate one I have & how I use it, it works), and that Caching RAID controller? Drives 2 WD Raptor "X"'s in RAID 0, 16mb of buffer onboard each as well... apk
 
Last edited:

sinner33

New Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2005
Messages
194 (0.03/day)
Location
Canada,Ontario,Markham
System Name Pencil Pusher (Because I built it to surf the net)
Processor Intel X4 Quadcore Kentsfield @3.0Ghz @1.325V
Motherboard Gigabyte X38-DQ6
Cooling Zalman CNPS9500LED/Arctic Cooling MX-2 Paste
Memory 2x 2GB OCZ Reaper HPC 5,5,5,18 @ DDR2 1066
Video Card(s) Sapphire 3870x2 @825/1900
Storage 500GB Hitachi
Display(s) LG 24" LCD
Case Silverstone Lascala LC-17
Audio Device(s) DENON AVR-2808 RECEIVER W/ KLIPSCH SYSTEM/ ASUS XONAR D2 SOUND CARD
Power Supply Seasonic M12 700 WATT PSU
Software Windows Vista Premium 64Bit
Benchmark Scores 20000 3dMark06
Reminds me of myself, since I also spent a fortune fine tuning my own rig from what it was in the beginning last year,
(an AMD winchester 3000+, then 3500+ Venice, than current CPU, an Asus SLI-Deluxe, then DFI Lanparty SLI-DR UT, then current board, From 1 maxtor 160G, then to two Samsung HD's in Raid 0, 520 OCZ Modstream PSU to 520 OCZ Powerstream SLI, CM Wavemaster case to CM Praetorian, two 6600GT's, then to Sapphire GTO2 unlocked, than to current vid card, 17 Inch monitor, to 19 inch, to Ferrari 20 inch) <----All this activity within 6 months.

and damn with the coolers, started with Zalman 7000 copper, then 7000 copper LED, then 7700 Zalman Fatality, Arctic cooling Freezer pro 64, to Zalman CNPS 9500LEd. :slap:

I think I spent more than you did with all this upgrading around, in just pure upgrades
The only thing I didn't change was the Operating system :laugh:

Kind of regret keep on changing the rig around, but if anything, it gave me bragging rights to my friends with the latest trends. :rockout:
 

bigboi86

New Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2006
Messages
1,442 (0.22/day)
Location
techPowerUp!
System Name Just getting started....
Processor Athlon II Propus 620 @ 3.51ghz (quad core) L3 cache enabled
Motherboard ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO
Cooling Cooler Master Hyper 212 (great heatsink, 40c max load overclocked)
Memory Kingston HyperX DDR31600 4gb 2x2
Video Card(s) ATI Radeon HD 4850 by XFX
Storage Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAKS 320GB SATA
Display(s) Acer 21.5 inch viewable G215H 1920x1080p, AOC 22inch 1680x1050
Case Antec 300, stock for now
Audio Device(s) Onboard, Turtle Beach headphones / crappy logitech desktop speakers
Power Supply Corsair 650 watt PSU <3
Software Windows 7 x64
The only flaw I see in your rig Alec, is that you need more memory. Get 2gb man and you'll be in heaven.
 

Alec§taar

New Member
Joined
May 15, 2006
Messages
4,677 (0.72/day)
Location
Someone who's going to find NewTekie1 and teach hi
Processor DualCore AMD Athlon 64x2 4800+ (o/c 2801mhz STABLE (Ketxxx, POGE, Tatty One, ME))
Motherboard ASUS A8N-SLI Premium (PCIe x16, x4, x1)
Cooling PhaseChange Coolermaster CM754/939 (fan/heatsink), Thermalright heatspreaders + fan built on (RAM)
Memory 512mb PC-3200 DDR400 (set DDR-33 for o/c) by Corsair (matched pair, 2x256mb) 200.1/200mhz
Video Card(s) BFG GeForce 7900 GTX OC 512mb GDDR3 ram (o/c manually to 686 core/865 memory) - PhaseChange cooled
Storage Dual "Raptor X" 16mb 10krpm/RAID 0 Promise EX8350 x4 PCIe 128mb & Intel IO chip/CENATEK RocketDrive
Display(s) SONY 19" Trinitron MultiScan 400ps 1600x1200 75hz refresh 32-bit color
Case Antec Super-LanBoy (aluminum baby-tower w/ lower front & upper rear cooling exhaust fans)
Audio Device(s) RealTek AC97 onboard mobo stereo sound (Altec Lansing ACS-45 speakers - 10 yrs. still running!)
Power Supply Antec 500w ATX 2.0 "SmartPower" powersupply
Software Windows Server 2003 SP #1 fully patched, & massively tuned/tweaked to-the-max (plus latest drivers)
Update/Upgrade "traps": Thoughts on it (been there too many times)

sinner33 said:
Reminds me of myself, since I also spent a fortune fine tuning my own rig from what it was in the beginning last year,
(an AMD winchester 3000+, then 3500+ Venice, than current CPU, an Asus SLI-Deluxe, then DFI Lanparty SLI-DR UT, then current board, From 1 maxtor 160G, then to two Samsung HD's in Raid 0, 520 OCZ Modstream PSU to 520 OCZ Powerstream SLI, CM Wavemaster case to CM Praetorian, two 6600GT's, then to Sapphire GTO2 unlocked, than to current vid card, 17 Inch monitor, to 19 inch, to Ferrari 20 inch) <----All this activity within 6 months.

and damn with the coolers, started with Zalman 7000 copper, then 7000 copper LED, then 7700 Zalman Fatality, Arctic cooling Freezer pro 64, to Zalman CNPS 9500LEd. :slap:

That's pretty much WHY I went so "high-end/all-out" on this one: To avoid that cycle, if @ all possible!

Mainly, because of this statement from you (been there myself, TOO many times, burning cash on updates/upgrades, that could have went into more current generation hardwares for a new mobo/cpu/memory combo):

sinner33 said:
I think I spent more than you did with all this upgrading around, in just pure upgrades The only thing I didn't change was the Operating system :laugh:

Kind of regret keep on changing the rig around, but if anything, it gave me bragging rights to my friends with the latest trends. :rockout:

There's a lot to be said, trying & learning to deal with new/diff. parts (because you learn how to install/tune/work them), but in the end?

IMO, @ least, it all comes down to the same thing on most all of them.

You learn to install & then tweak/tune them into shape with all of your other component parts, & you're done learning.

Then, you have to answer to your financial picture, never fun, & wonder WHY the next-gen hardware blows away your massively updated system from the older gen?

:(

Upgrading/updating has that downside: You can only take a particular generation of hardware SO far, before you hit a wall with it & can go no further...

Then, the hardware OEM's (mainly Intel &/or AMD) just go & "change the rules" (mobo cpu slot, or memory types for example)!

Then, you have an ENTIRELY NEW ARCHITECTURE that potentially @ least, blows away the old one, no matter HOW FAR you upgraded/updated that old one... though, this is NOT a bad thing up to a point, costs-wise.

Still, usually, (especially after 2-3 years of a new mobo/memory/cpu architecture's arrival once the "bugs" shake out & they take it as far as they can go)?

You can never catch the newer one, no matter HOW much cash you pour into the older one!

IMO, there is a "fine line" before you go overboard, & I know: again, I have trapped myself in it more than a couple times.

(e.g.-> CPU slot types are one example, video cards are another, as well as expansion bus types (like PCI-> AGP -> PCI-e (and its variations x1, x4, x16)).

PCI-e was what I was waiting for, mainly for the caching RAID controller (w/ onboard I/O processor to offload the system CPU) - the x4 slot overcomes, or in theory, should, the RAID 0 max output bandwidth saturation limits of the PCI (std. type) slot of 3 drives max hitting around 127 of 133mb bandwidth of the PCI expansion bus slot type.

The x4 PCI-e has FAR more than 133mb/sec. & thus, SHOULD scale with RAID 0 far past 3 disks, & probably far into 4-8 & get you nearly linear speed/bandwidth use potential that is far better than std. PCI can afford due to bandwidth limits.

I figured it this way (after having upgraded to-the-max on whatever rigs I owned in the past that I did that to, which was around 4 of them in 15 years):

INITIALLY - GO HIGH END AS POSSIBLE! Then, only buy a next-gen rig after 4 years or so again, that way you get a DOUBLING in speed/efficiency usually...

That way, you are first usually NEVER disappointed with your "all-out" buy, & reached your max cash outlay right off the bat @ purchase time.

(I also don't buy "ABSOLUTE state-of-the-art/cutting-edge" (witness the Opteron &/or FX series from AMD) because they want TOO much for those CPU types, per CPU typically, for their highest end units - I wait just a bit, so their prices drop & that you get announcements of new ones that drive the current gen prices per component down some too).

APK

P.S.=> I dunno, I learned a LOT about AMD this round though & like it - they really HAVE put out some "killer" chips this time, ones that are better/faster/stronger than Intel currently imo... I am glad to have gone AMD after being away from them since 1999!

I have learned more about AMD cpu current & recent architecture here on these forums in the last 2-3 weeks now, than I have in years elsewhere! This, is good... & why I asked SO many questions about AMD's latest CPU architectures here @ these forums - to know more about what I bought!

Also, to know (from people WAY into it) if I went "high-enough end" on the parts I picked & if I did ok - apparently so, from the statements of others about this latest rig of mine! This also, is good... makes the cash outlay for it, easier to bear... apk
 
Last edited:

Alec§taar

New Member
Joined
May 15, 2006
Messages
4,677 (0.72/day)
Location
Someone who's going to find NewTekie1 and teach hi
Processor DualCore AMD Athlon 64x2 4800+ (o/c 2801mhz STABLE (Ketxxx, POGE, Tatty One, ME))
Motherboard ASUS A8N-SLI Premium (PCIe x16, x4, x1)
Cooling PhaseChange Coolermaster CM754/939 (fan/heatsink), Thermalright heatspreaders + fan built on (RAM)
Memory 512mb PC-3200 DDR400 (set DDR-33 for o/c) by Corsair (matched pair, 2x256mb) 200.1/200mhz
Video Card(s) BFG GeForce 7900 GTX OC 512mb GDDR3 ram (o/c manually to 686 core/865 memory) - PhaseChange cooled
Storage Dual "Raptor X" 16mb 10krpm/RAID 0 Promise EX8350 x4 PCIe 128mb & Intel IO chip/CENATEK RocketDrive
Display(s) SONY 19" Trinitron MultiScan 400ps 1600x1200 75hz refresh 32-bit color
Case Antec Super-LanBoy (aluminum baby-tower w/ lower front & upper rear cooling exhaust fans)
Audio Device(s) RealTek AC97 onboard mobo stereo sound (Altec Lansing ACS-45 speakers - 10 yrs. still running!)
Power Supply Antec 500w ATX 2.0 "SmartPower" powersupply
Software Windows Server 2003 SP #1 fully patched, & massively tuned/tweaked to-the-max (plus latest drivers)
Agreed - but will take time

bigboi86 said:
The only flaw I see in your rig Alec, is that you need more memory. Get 2gb man and you'll be in heaven.

I think I may have done better going with an Opteron possibly, mainly because it has more HTT (HyperTransport channels) than the 4800+ cpu based socket 939 mobo I have... but, those also need ECC (slower) RAM too.

6 of 1, 1/2 dozen of the other...

So, for now, I have to stick with what I have RAM-wise (have to do some automobile repairs first)... but, that is 1 area I could potentially upgrade & not get "nailed" TOO hard doing it though. I held off for a reason (my use-patterns mostly @ home don't usually consume TOO much RAM & if they do? Read next):

It's one I have been considering, but do OK for now, as is...

See, if my system "pages" data?

It does so to the primary/first partition on my CENATEK "RocketDrive" (133mb/sec PCI slot based solid-state ramdisk, 2gb), which is SOLELY my pagefile.sys.

Then, the rocketdrive's 2nd partition holds my browser(s) webpage cache(s), Application & OS temp ops, Event Log & other logfile logging, print spool duties, & command interpreter location on it (very fast seek times).

It does so, very fast, so my paging (and other) operations dont interfere with my normal HDD (non-solid-state) disks operations & head movements loading programs, reading init. files, OR writing data either.

That "offsets" my need to buy more RAM, some @ least (the speed inherent in solid-state drives, no mechanical head-movement), for now.

That rocketdrive's 1 part that I can "recycle", system-to-system, into the future here (it came out of my 2nd rig I keep around as a SQLServer 2005/IIS 6.x development rig & 2nd node LAN home gaming system)... & those are the parts I like THE BEST!

APK

P.S.=> Generally, unless I write up some massive SQL Query, or launch some HUGE game (Quake4 smp & Doom III are it here)?

I don't "tap" my RAM too bad for how I use this thing...

Still, there are times I do, & that is how I set this badboy up to offset that, for now, until I go for more RAM (1gb I think SHOULD do when I do though)... apk
 
Last edited:

sinner33

New Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2005
Messages
194 (0.03/day)
Location
Canada,Ontario,Markham
System Name Pencil Pusher (Because I built it to surf the net)
Processor Intel X4 Quadcore Kentsfield @3.0Ghz @1.325V
Motherboard Gigabyte X38-DQ6
Cooling Zalman CNPS9500LED/Arctic Cooling MX-2 Paste
Memory 2x 2GB OCZ Reaper HPC 5,5,5,18 @ DDR2 1066
Video Card(s) Sapphire 3870x2 @825/1900
Storage 500GB Hitachi
Display(s) LG 24" LCD
Case Silverstone Lascala LC-17
Audio Device(s) DENON AVR-2808 RECEIVER W/ KLIPSCH SYSTEM/ ASUS XONAR D2 SOUND CARD
Power Supply Seasonic M12 700 WATT PSU
Software Windows Vista Premium 64Bit
Benchmark Scores 20000 3dMark06
Been messing around with AMD myself for the last 10 months, and have no regrets jumping from intel since then. The only reward for my loses was that I learned how to install, tune, and the reasons why I crash and burn in overclocking after trial and error. =D
 
Top