Author Topic: 939 Vs. 754 (Read 464 times)

tapakeg · « **on:** December 26, 2005, 04:20:06 PM »

Ok, I am looking for a cheap upgrade and have given up on the pentiums. (i have a post here about upgrades) Instead of paying money for a pentium, I can get a much faster 64 bit AMD with MOBO

Question,

I can get a 3700 (2.4 Ghz) 64 bit AMD with MOBO for $209 This is the 754

getMOBO kit #1

A friend of mine is trying to talk me into getting a more expensive 939 Mobo with a slower processor speed. He says because it is on a 939 instead of a 754 it will be faster

The other mobo is a 939 with a 3000 64 bit processor ( 1.8 Ghz) for about $230

I do need to stay AGP as I do not wish to buy a new video card also.

in a nutshell, is a 754 mobo with a 3700 AMD faster than a 939 mobo with a 3000?

Like I said, i don't wish to purchase a new vid card in PCI-E so I am trying to get one more last breath for about 200 bucks that I can switch everything over. The 3700 looks like the better deal. Any comments? better deals than the $209 3700 in 754?

Thanks again

Tapakeg

Eagler · « **Reply #1 on:** December 26, 2005, 10:08:35 PM »

939 has the ability to upgrade cpu to much faster one (x2) where the 754 does not

38ruk · « **Reply #2 on:** December 27, 2005, 12:09:31 AM »

the 3700+ 754 will be faster than the 3000+ 939. BUT i wouldnt buy a 754 now because that 3700+ is the fastest proccessor that the amd is road mapped to make for it . The other difference is that 754 doesnt support dual channel memory , its only a marginal difference , 6-8 fps . Toms hardware has a cpu guide that shows all cpu's in directx9 games , you will see the 3700 is right up there even thou its 754 . BTW i had a 754 3700 before i upgraded to below system , i was very happy with it , but i had to have the latest video card or else id still be running it . 38

EDIT
Here is a link , it starts at directx8 and moves to 9 http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/11/21/the_mother_of_all_cpu_charts_2005/page28.html

The 754 cpu you are looking at is the 3700+ clawhammer . 2400/200 You will see that there is a big performance increase from a 3000+ 939
Dont read anything into 3dmarks05 , it doesnt represent real world performance .

eagl · « **Reply #3 on:** December 27, 2005, 10:32:11 AM »

If you're looking for non-upgradable bang for the buck, a 754 cpu/mobo will probably work if you can get it cheap. But like others have said, it's a dead-end purchase. The thing is, how long until you're unhappy with your video card once you're playing with A64 cpu power? If you decide to upgrade your vid card in another 6 months, then you're putting another $200-$250 into a previous-generation AGP card (nvidia 6800 series probably) that can't be moved to your next system.

Don't get me wrong... Any A64 with an nvidia 6800GT video card will make a very nice gaming system even if it's AGP and socket 754, but that's as fast as it gets until you toss everything out. By the time an A64 plus 6800GT is not fast enough, AMD will have transitioned away from DDR memory (to DDR2 or whatever comes next) so you'll probably have to buy new memory too.

But if you're just trying to dribble minimum cash to stretch you until a major upgrade, then yea a cheap socket 754 bundle is probably ok.

I recently priced a nice socket 939 + pci-x bundle for my brother... $800 is about what you can expect to spend on a complete refresh of mobo, cpu, memory, vid card.

StarOfAfrica2 · « **Reply #4 on:** December 27, 2005, 01:25:27 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by 38ruk
the 3700+ 754 will be faster than the 3000+ 939. BUT i wouldnt buy a 754 now because that 3700+ is the fastest proccessor that the amd is road mapped to make for it .

Wrong. They make up to a Athlon64 4000+ in Socket 754, and you can buy a Sempron 64 4100+ that will easily take a voltage increase to the same as the Athlon 64 with no problems and run the same as an Athlon 64 3800+ (for much less money). It does have a smaller cache, and yes it makes a difference, but you can have quite a screamer by going the Sempron route. I'm in the process of finishing one now, and so far it tests far better than I hoped. And, becasue they are underclocked, they are much cheaper than the Athlon equivalent.

Quote

The other difference is that 754 doesnt support dual channel memory , its only a marginal difference , 6-8 fps . Toms hardware has a cpu guide that shows all cpu's in directx9 games , you will see the 3700 is right up there even thou its 754 . BTW i had a 754 3700 before i upgraded to below system , i was very happy with it , but i had to have the latest video card or else id still be running it . 38

Tis true 754 will not ever have dual channel support, but then alot of people have boards that dont support dual channel. My socket A boards never had it. Would it be nice? Sure. But if you arent upgrading the AGP, there's really not a compelling reason to go 939. The biggest reason to upgrade beyond 754 to 939, IMO, is if you want to take advantage of the newest video cards and such later. If you already have a good AGP video card, going 754 is a perfectly sensible intermediate upgrade route.

tapakeg · « **Reply #5 on:** December 27, 2005, 06:14:49 PM »

Thanks for the tip, and yes, i am looking for a bang for the buck mobo+processor. my plan is to get the 754 3700 and play it until my X800 and it are at the end of the road then get a whole new system. So I am not really interested in upgrading it in the future. I do think the processor will outlive my X800, but by that time I think I can pick up a very cheap AGP 6800 ultra.

I just keep getting band-aid fixers every once and a while, what ever is the weakest link. I can't wait to just get a whole new system.

Thanks again for all the tips.

38ruk · « **Reply #6 on:** December 27, 2005, 09:28:57 PM »

SNIP Wrong. They make up to a Athlon64 4000+ in Socket 754

easily take a voltage increase to the same as the Athlon 64 with no problems SNIP
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the road map i read for the 754 awhile ago they had the 3700+ as the high end , the 4000+ looks like a late release mobile 64 @ 2.6 ghz , they are hard to find and very pricey . But its nice to know. thx for the heads up .

As for the sempron

It's hard to make up for l2 cache, sempron is nice buget cpu , but i wouldnt consider it on par with a athlon 3700+ , but i havent seen any benches on it at all . 38

ramzey · « **Reply #7 on:** December 28, 2005, 12:04:37 AM »

just short Q

how many times you guys change CPU in one unit (PC) lifetime?
i had many PC's, and if i was going to upgrade it i change allmost everything except HDD, CDRW, cables, case, FDD.
Everything else is a scrap (MB, CPU, RAM)

So what is the pont to invest in more ubgradable stuff if you gonna trash everything in 2 years, cus technology you can upgrade to is old.
So upgrade is not resonable, its just better to buy new stuff

38ruk · « **Reply #8 on:** December 28, 2005, 01:26:39 AM »

Well the old socket A board i had i upgraded the cpu 2 times . Granted the systems before that i usually never upgraded cpus in . This 939 will prolly see a couple cpu's as well.

Eagler · « **Reply #9 on:** December 28, 2005, 06:40:41 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by 38ruk
Well the old socket A board i had i upgraded the cpu 2 times . Granted the systems before that i usually never upgraded cpus in . This 939 will prolly see a couple cpu's as well.

same here .. but not for a while as my AMD64 3400 seems quite fast for now

StarOfAfrica2 · « **Reply #10 on:** December 28, 2005, 12:56:17 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by ramzey
just short Q

how many times you guys change CPU in one unit (PC) lifetime?
i had many PC's, and if i was going to upgrade it i change allmost everything except HDD, CDRW, cables, case, FDD.
Everything else is a scrap (MB, CPU, RAM)

So what is the pont to invest in more ubgradable stuff if you gonna trash everything in 2 years, cus technology you can upgrade to is old.
So upgrade is not resonable, its just better to buy new stuff

Just using this last case, the one that is about to be trashed..........

It came with a 333 FSB MB, PC133 RAM, a AMD Thunderbird 1.0 ghz CPU, an 8GB HD and an aftermarket DVD/CDR-W, running Win98. First upgrade was to the processor, went to a 1.3 ghz Athlon XP 1800+. Kept that for a long time, till about a year ago. Upgraded the HD to a pair of 7200 rpm HDs at 20GB each. Upgraded the RAM to PC2700. Upgraded my old GeForce MX 440 64MB video card to a GeForce FX 5900 XT w/ 128MB of RAM. The MB only had a 4x AGP slot, so I upgraded the MB to a Biostar one with overclocking features, upgraded the RAM again to PC3200 (1GB now). Added a SoundBlaster card so I could keep using my analog joystick and rudder pedals. Upgraded the processor to a Athlon XP 2600+ at 1.9ghz and OC'd it to 2.3ghz. Changed the video card to a GeForce FX 5900 Ultra 128MB.

Ive done minor things as well like reconfiguring the intake and exhaust fans, cutting vents in the case, throwing out the ribbon cables and putting in the round ones for better airflow, etc. My socket A machine has seen all these incarnations over the course of ......... 6 years? I think I got the case and basics for the original for Christmas '99. Heaviest mods have been in the last year, but they were ongoing throughout the course of the life of the comp.

Oh, and also this computer served as a testbed for several different video cards and CPU's, running benchmark programs and testing drivers.

Hajo · « **Reply #11 on:** January 01, 2006, 06:37:39 PM »

If you're concened about future upgrades to the Video Card. Remember this. Frame rate is refresh rate bound anyway. So if you're refresh rate is set at 85 and your actual FR is 84....don't bother to upgrade you're doing well. Chances are great that one might spend 400 dollars for a new vid card and expect an increase in FR that will not happen.