Budget Upgradable AMD system: Socket A vs Socket 754

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

Hello,

I am fairly new to the whole building a PC thing. I decided to
assemble a PC mainly for software development purposes, internet
browsing (with some gaming, why not, but not hardcore, thrown in).
Mainly I will be using WinXp and Linux.

My idea is to assemble a budget system, using AMD chips. From my
initial research, the choice of processor is going to guide the rest
of the process. The Sempron 3100+ Socket 754 has a good price now,
about $ 180 CAD.

So my question now is if it is wise to pick the AMD Sempron, if the
price difference to the Athlon is worth it and also the Socket I
should choose - is AMD keeping the Socket A for new processors or
should I go with the Socket 754 and allow at least an upgrade path?

Thanks

Fabio

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

"fabiogr" <fabiogr@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3b3634ab.0411050937.3a3354e1@posting.google.com...
> Hello,
>
> I am fairly new to the whole building a PC thing. I decided to
> assemble a PC mainly for software development purposes, internet
> browsing (with some gaming, why not, but not hardcore, thrown in).
> Mainly I will be using WinXp and Linux.
>
> My idea is to assemble a budget system, using AMD chips. From my
> initial research, the choice of processor is going to guide the rest
> of the process. The Sempron 3100+ Socket 754 has a good price now,
> about $ 180 CAD.
>
> So my question now is if it is wise to pick the AMD Sempron, if the
> price difference to the Athlon is worth it and also the Socket I
> should choose - is AMD keeping the Socket A for new processors or
> should I go with the Socket 754 and allow at least an upgrade path?
>
> Thanks
>
> Fabio

Socket A and Socket 754 are both dead, as far as future upgrades go. LGA775
(Intel P4) might survive one round of upgrades. Either that, or socket 939
(AMD Athlon64). Technology changes so fast that it is foolish for anyone to
plan a *current* system with a future upgrade in mind. That is, by the time
you want to upgrade, it's likely you will have to start over with a new
Motherboard and CPU at the very least. I'd advise you to build as cheap as
possible and not worry about future upgrades. HOWEVER, if you want to roll
the dice and hope that your system will survive an upgrade, get yourself a
cheap socket 939 or LGA775 processor, and a rather high-end motherboard to
match it. But this really is a waste of money, IMHO. Build what you need
now, don't worry about a future upgrade. -Dave

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

fabiogr wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I am fairly new to the whole building a PC thing. I decided to
> assemble a PC mainly for software development purposes, internet
> browsing (with some gaming, why not, but not hardcore, thrown in).
> Mainly I will be using WinXp and Linux.
>
> My idea is to assemble a budget system, using AMD chips. From my
> initial research, the choice of processor is going to guide the rest
> of the process. The Sempron 3100+ Socket 754 has a good price now,
> about $ 180 CAD.
>
> So my question now is if it is wise to pick the AMD Sempron, if the
> price difference to the Athlon is worth it and also the Socket I
> should choose - is AMD keeping the Socket A for new processors or
> should I go with the Socket 754 and allow at least an upgrade path?
>
> Thanks
>
> Fabio

754 is the lesser of the 2 evils. The socket A platform might as well be
dead with the introduction of the Semprons. The 754 will support the 3100
and athlon64s which will leave you with a short upgrade path. Also, the
754s are slated to be the "value" platform for the near future. The 939
boards are the wave of the future, but with dual core cpus coming, how long
will that last?

S

 

[Spajky]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

On 5 Nov 2004 09:37:55 -0800, fabiogr@yahoo.com (fabiogr) wrote:

>My idea is to assemble a budget system, using AMD chips. From my
>initial research, the choice of processor is going to guide the rest
>of the process. The Sempron 3100+ Socket 754 has a good price now,
>about $ 180 CAD.

get a GIGABYTE K8NS (pro) or a DFI LANParty nF3 250Gb MoBo, a good
Ram & OC. it till it goes with default Vcore or maybe a bit more:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/sempron-3100-oc.html

--
Regards, SPAJKY ®
& visit my site @ http://www.spajky.vze.com
"Tualatin OC-ed / BX-Slot1 / inaudible setup!"
E-mail AntiSpam: remove ##

 

[gerry]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

On 5 Nov 2004 09:37:55 -0800, fabiogr@yahoo.com (fabiogr) wrote:

>Hello,
>
>I am fairly new to the whole building a PC thing. I decided to
>assemble a PC mainly for software development purposes, internet
>browsing (with some gaming, why not, but not hardcore, thrown in).
>Mainly I will be using WinXp and Linux.
>
>My idea is to assemble a budget system, using AMD chips. From my
>initial research, the choice of processor is going to guide the rest
>of the process. The Sempron 3100+ Socket 754 has a good price now,
>about $ 180 CAD.
>
>So my question now is if it is wise to pick the AMD Sempron, if the
>price difference to the Athlon is worth it and also the Socket I
>should choose - is AMD keeping the Socket A for new processors or
>should I go with the Socket 754 and allow at least an upgrade path?
>
>Thanks
>
>Fabio


Upgradeable is very difficult these days. Planned obsolescence kills
upgrades. You won't be seeing any HX or BX bargain motherboards any
more.

The choice these days is overclocked DFI socket 754, or .90 socket 939
stuff. Figure which fits your budget. Either will work fine.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

Howdy,

> you don't really need a AMD64 for what you want
> Someone really turned me on to the idea that you
> want to put most of your budget into nice peripheals
> they are how you enjoy your computer anyhow
> of course you will want it to run good too
> a socket A mobo will accept a fast enough processor
> to surf and play games.

That might've been me - at the rate the processors and mobo change, I
don't think there's a point anymore to try to get a bleeding edge board
since the manufacturers seem hard-set on changing the die-type / sockets
now. Any upgrade entails getting a new mobo, CPU and RAM.

I really think it's a better bet to invest in solid peripherals instead.
Put more money on stuff that changes at a slower rate. Example: your
CPU/Mobo combo will probably be good for a year or two (if you're a
gamer), but a high-quality CRT or LCD screen will last _several_
computers.

> Get good ram, you might be able to use it later, any thing you know you wont
> need to upgrade for a while invest most of your budget in.

Getting RAM at the max rated clock rate is probably a good idea - it
might be usable in your NEXT upgrade. Maybe.

> If you do want an upgradeable system, it wont be too cost effective, the
> (939) mobo and processor are more expensive, and probally more power then
> you will need any time soon.

Until AMD finally focuses on one socket-type (ie: they finally make up
their dang mind) - I would get a cheapo mATX mobo with an Athlon
[2500XP+] which are dirt cheap and wait out till the dust settles.

Besides, the main bottleneck these days is the video card.

If you're a hardcore gamer though -- all the above is YMMV.

- Yves