[[Thoughtless]]

I'm going to buy a new motherboard and a cpu for my computer. I always like MSI and this time I'm going to buy a MSI mobo. And plus Asus mobo comes with pci express. I dont want to buy a new video card. So here are my choices:

K8N Neo Platinum ($100) + AMD Athlon 64 3400+ 2.4ghz Socket 754 ($170)
or
K8N Neo 2 Platinum ($130) + AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2 ghz Socket 939 ($210)

Now the strange thing is the 3400+ operates 200 mhz faster than the 3500+ and yet the 3400+ is cheaper. How is that possible? Which should I choose now? I do have enough money to buy both but I just want to know if there's a huge diffrence (in performance).

 

[RF]

hella 939 for sure. That way, if you want to upgrade later to an SLI board later, you can always move your processor over. The performance is higher aswell.

 

[dukenukem]

939 for sure,but wait till the venice cores come outmi think that is this month.

 

[n_w95482]

The reason why the speeds are different is that socket 939 has a higher HyperTransport speed than socket 754 (1 GHz vs. 800 MHz) and it can take advantage of a dual channel memory configuration whereas 754 can't. If you don't want to wait for the Venice core, go ahead and get a Winchester, it's pretty similar and they run pretty cool.

 

[GeneralClaymore]

if u gonna go pcie then i would say the DFI UT4 Lanparty Ulta-d its the best OCer for PCIE 939 mobos its like 133 bucks at newegg.com, while the MSI neo plat 2 is the best overclocker for AGP8x motherboards.

There is a mod for the ultra-D to turn it into SLI. it will only work on Rev A2 motherboards. There was some one recenty that was able to do it.

 

[Gamer1]

The reason why the speeds are different is that socket 939 has a higher HyperTransport speed than socket 754 (1 GHz vs. 800 MHz) and it can take advantage of a dual channel memory configuration whereas 754 can't. If you don't want to wait for the Venice core, go ahead and get a Winchester, it's pretty similar and they run pretty cool.

no... if i remember correctly, all athlon 64 chips still use the 800Mhz bus. the only difference between the two is that the 939 is capable of dual channel mode, while the 754 is not.

my suggestion, if you are gonna upgrade to dual core and or upgrade to faster cpu speeds, go socket 939. if you are gonna stay and not change machines or plan don't plan to upgrade the mobo and cpu, go socket 754.

 

[Kane]

Mine is running at 1GHz HT stock. The difference is indeed all in the dual channel controller tho. The fact that the A64 has bandwidth to throw away when it comes to memory makes that have a big impact on performance.

 

[n_w95482]

no... if i remember correctly, all athlon 64 chips still use the 800Mhz bus. the only difference between the two is that the 939 is capable of dual channel mode, while the 754 is not.

I have seen a couple of sites saying that socket 939 does have a 1 GHz HyperTransport bus while 754 has an 800 MHz bus.

 

[felinusz]

The different HT bus makes very, very little difference. It is never actually saturated, and is quite redundant as things stand, with either platform.


S939 has dual channel, which offers a signifigant performance boost on the memory side of things. That alone would make me want to go S939 instead of S754. S939 also has the best Athlon64 overclocking motherboard on the market to date, the DFI nForce4 offerings.

It is also important to note that S754 and AGP are both on the verge of obsolesence. AGP is no longer the standard, and is a very bad investment in either a motherboard or a graphics card. You want PCI-Express on your motherboard, to future proof your purchase. Spending extra money on a brand new PCI-Express video card is worth it in the long run.


I would also avoid the MSI Neo/Neo2 boards like the plague. They are riddled with issues, and have been a cause for frustration and homicidal activity in a great number of very experienced overclockers. To be blunt, the boards suck if you intend to overclock. Go for a DFI nForce4 Ultra-D; inexpensive, and simply superb for the enthusiast computer user.

Here is what I would buy on your budget (prices from www.newegg.com):

DFI nForce4 Ultra-D - $133 (LINK)
Winchester 3500+ S939 - $266.99 (LINK)

Add an inexpensive but fast PCI-Express video card, such as the X800 Pro:

Sapphire X800 Pro - $259 (LINK)

And you're all set, with a really nice emulation and gaming machine.

Overclocking will be excellent with this setup as well, although entirely optional

 

[D.D.]

sorry to be a complete noob, but why does that motherboard have 2 16x pci-express connectors? its not SLI tho is it?

 

[cooliscool]

Maybe DFI did the NF4 Ultra>SLI mod on those boards and sold them for less than a "true" SLI board?

 

[darian]

I've been looking to buy a new pc so I've been working hard to find the best parts for the best price, so I think I can help you. If you're looking to overclock, I wouldn't go with any of the processors or mobos you posted and would go with any athlon 64 with a winchester core, 939 socket. The 3200+ is $190 but the 3500+ is so popular that it has been raised over time from $230 to $300. Winchester cores can be easily overclocked to near FX speeds(2.4-2.8ghz). The DFI ultra-d is the ideal board but don't get it thinking you can mod it to SLI. NVIDIA has updated it's drivers to not allow that. Another good option would be the MSI K8n Neo 4 Platinum. I don't think you should get the x800 pro either. The x800 xl is only 20 bucks more and performs much better, similar to nvidia 6800 gt which is at least $70 more.

 

[[Thoughtless]]

Changed my mind a bit. Now I'm getting the GA-K8Ns-939 from Gigabyte
http://www.ecost.com/ecost/ecsplash/shop/detail~dpno~338021.asp
It's almost the same as the MSI K8Neo 2 platinum. And plus this site does ship internationally unlike newegg. Now I'm looking for a AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Socket 939. Does anybody know where to get it. Not newegg plz

 

[felinusz]

www.ncix.com

My advice to you is still to go with the DFI motherboard, even if you aren't overclocking.

There's something you need to understand about overclocking. Overclockers choose hardware that is good for overclocking. Typically, hardware that overclocks well is also of superior quality and integrity.

When we push hardware as far as we can, overvolting it, cooling it, overclocking it, and stressing it a very great deal, we bring out every single integrity-flaw in that hardware.

I can honestly say that this is the case with the DFI nForc4 boards - they are of superior quality.