When will AMD price drops reach retail level

[garyhope]

Anybody know or can guess when the AMD price drops will be effective at the retail level?

In other words, when can I buy an X2-3800 from newegg for the new lower price? Will the dealers and retailers have to sell off existing stocks before they put the lower prices in effect?

 

[jaguarskx]

July 24th.

 

[The_Abyss]

Some UK sites (Overclockers is one) have cut their prices already.

 

[Intel_King]

I dont think they will drop 939 socket x2 series, because the want to push the new am2 board to compete again intel due 2 core. :?

 

[Weeble]

I dont think they will drop 939 socket x2 series, because the want to push the new am2 board to compete again intel due 2 core. :?

Overclockers UK have already dropped prices on 939 512 L2 cache X2's to the Monday price.

 

[Intel_King]

for good reasons do not waste money on amd x2 series cpu now, buy Duo 2 Core low end. amd x2 series is too high in value and old.

 

[Weeble]

for good reasons do not waste your money on amd x2 cpus now, buy Duo 2 Core.

Which is fine advice for those seeking a whole new system but for people on 939 mobos (which were specifically asked about), the decision is a little more complex (the entire cost of upgrading vs a processor upgrade has to be factored in).

Intels old lines are also coming down in price very drastically so people with particular mobos might choose one of them. Its not just AMD cutting prices and offering a few routes to a faster system.

Not everyone has automatic brand loyalty 'intel king', some people simply want the most bang for the least buck and upgrading a whole system may not be a good / economical choice.

Its not a 'waste of money' to want effective longer life from a current rig (and Conroe has lots of good new things to come so people could take advantage of 939 cuts whilst waiting or they might plan on seeing what is to come in Q4 etc).

If building a new system Conroe certainly looks a much better choice than AMD2 at present. But price reductions on previously expensive 939 chips (and old Intel chips indeed) are good news for people on an old platform and shouldn't be just met with the blind advice 'buy Conroe, buy buy buy' imho.

 

[GloriosoSLB]

Socket A user here.

I will go for the 3500+/3800+ 939 single core + mobo, keeping the RAM, for just150€.

Conroe just for the processor 200€ or more. RAM 100€. Board 150€.
Total 450€.

Difference 300€ between the two.

With the 300€ I can also buy 2 Geforce 7600GS at 120€ each.
240€.
Still 60€ in my pocket and superb performance since the Conroe still requires the graphics cards.

AMD is the best choice. I will go single core because I don’t see why I need dual core. I don’t benchmark and I don’t multi task a lot. 2.4Ghz single core AMD 3800+ most of the times is faster than the 2.0Ghz 3800+ X2 dual.

 

[garyhope]

Thanks Weeble,

Yes, I don't know if I understand total brand loyalty either. For me, a computer is a tool, not an identity. It's like a toaster or coffee maker. Whatever works with good design and function and is cost effective is good for me.

I want decent speed, good reliability, ease of use and a good cost benefit ratio.

I'm not a gamer and am using the system for business and to make money with. Some people think an X2 is overkill for what I want to do. (online stock and currency trading with multiple monitors.)

The Intel Core 2 Duo's sound good and seem fairly priced, but I don't know enough about the available mobo's for them yet. There are lots of affordable, proven and tested mobo's for the X2's available right now. How many C2 boards are there now and what are their prices?

Thanks.

 

[garyhope]

Thanks King,

Please tell me what you think are the good reasons for not using an AMD X2 vs the new Conroe. I don't know that much about CPU's.

I'm not a gamer and just want something that functions well and is cost effective for business and online stock trading.

What about the mobo's for the Conroe? Which ones do you like and what are their prices. What RAM do you prefer or have to use with the C2's?

Thanks.

 

[GloriosoSLB]

Editing the post ?

 

[Scribs]

You can usually find 5 or 6 boards at an online retailer, but they are not cheap at all (often most range in the $200ish category). nVidia 500 series boards will be coming shortly, but I dont think they will make anything all that much cheaper. Right now you are generally stuck with 975 and 965, with the occasional old nVidia chipset I think

 

[garyhope]

Thanks.

That's why I may stick with my plans for an ASUS A8N5X and AMD X2-3800 for now for what I need and want to do, online stock trading.

The 5X board is about $75-80 and with the coming AMD price drop, it seems to get even better.

I am going to spend about $430 for a quad monitor graphics board though.

I'd appreciate RAM suggestions for this combo and use.

Thanks all.

 

[redwolfexr]

Pretty much why I made the decisions on my recent upgrade as well.

My current gaming PC is an older Intel (it started as a Dell Dimension 8250 that I got cheap) that uses AGP video and RDRAM. So its pretty much a full upgrade for me.

I decided on AMD since I liked the features of the new NVidia chipsets for AM2. And AM2 so I would not have any major issues with memory going forward. The Price/performance ratios at the new prices are close enough that I can stick with the mature technology and the better (IMHO) chipset that can run RAID5. (went with ASUS top SLI supporting board)

Main thing to note is that if I do elect to go with Conroe is that ALL of my hardware except the MB/Proc will make the transfer. Its the video card thats expensive. (and why I decided on the 7950 -- it will work on a Conroe where an SLI solution will not, yet)

Spent hours combing the benchmarks and frankly there isn't enough difference in the mid range if you aren't overclocking at any of the price points. I have built several AMD machines in the past and usually aquired cheap Intels and upgraded the heck out of them. (my media/server machine is an XP 2600+)

For me maturity isn't a bad thing, and portability makes it better to go ahead and move to AM2 even if it added a $100 or so to the package. The 4gb of 800mhz DDR2 RAM was nicely rebated to the point it was not an issue over SDRAM.

The hard part has been waiting for the price drops for the last piece, I almost bought a 4400+ instead of waiting. Now just to track down a 4600+ or 5000+ thats actually in stock.

 

[440bx]

Thanks.

That's why I may stick with my plans for an ASUS A8N5X and AMD X2-3800 for now for what I need and want to do, online stock trading.

The 5X board is about $75-80 and with the coming AMD price drop, it seems to get even better.

I am going to spend about $430 for a quad monitor graphics board though.

I'd appreciate RAM suggestions for this combo and use.

Thanks all.

You will likely get a lot of dissenting opinions from the suggestion I am going to offer regarding memory.

Use ECC memory. A couple of 512MB modules will probably be enough for you. Newegg sells them (I am not affiliated with newegg in any way other than being a satisfied customer).

I believe the Kingston KVR400X72C3A/512 and the Crucial CT6472Z40B work with the motherboard you selected - Visit Kingston and Crucial to verify that those part numbers are listed as being compatible with the board you selected (good selection btw.)

I encourage you to make up your own mind regarding ECC memory. I suggest you read about it on memory manufacturer's web sites. In a nutshell, ECC memory is used (unfortunately) mostly in servers because it provides you additional _reliability_ . Any computer that is used to process potentially sensitive information should use ECC memory (in my - not so humble - opinion.)

Hope that helps.

 

[440bx]

Thanks.

That's why I may stick with my plans for an ASUS A8N5X and AMD X2-3800 for now for what I need and want to do, online stock trading.

The 5X board is about $75-80 and with the coming AMD price drop, it seems to get even better.

I am going to spend about $430 for a quad monitor graphics board though.

I'd appreciate RAM suggestions for this combo and use.

Thanks all.

You will likely get a lot of dissenting opinions from the suggestion I am going to offer regarding memory.

Use ECC memory. A couple of 512MB modules will probably be enough for you. Newegg sells them (I am not affiliated with newegg in any way other than being a satisfied customer).

I believe the Kingston KVR400X72C3A/512 and the Crucial CT6472Z40B work with the motherboard you selected - Visit Kingston and Crucial to verify that those part numbers are listed as being compatible with the board you selected (good selection btw.)

I encourage you to make up your own mind regarding ECC memory. I suggest you read about it on memory manufacturer's web sites. In a nutshell, ECC memory is used (unfortunately) mostly in servers because it provides you additional _reliability_ . Any computer that is used to process potentially sensitive information should use ECC memory (in my - not so humble - opinion.)

Hope that helps.

 

[garyhope]

Thanks, I'll check ECC RAM out.

 

[gman01]

Anybody know or can guess when the AMD price drops will be effective at the retail level?

In other words, when can I buy an X2-3800 from newegg for the new lower price? Will the dealers and retailers have to sell off existing stocks before they put the lower prices in effect?

mwave.com and monarchcomputers have had them at the 50% price drop since saturday(2 days early) You missed it....

 

[sunangel]

There is no substitue for Newegg. Because once you know The Egg....