Is it worth while waiting for the Athlon 64

[kherman]

Looking into building a new rig. Should I wait for teh Athlon 64? I want an upgrade path, and the regular Athlon will probably be phased out.

 

[wolverinero79]

No

Ok yes, i was just kidding

3 scenarios:
A64 comes out and is a hit: You either buy the A64 or you buy the other chips at really low prices
A64 comes out and is ok: You buy a reduced price Athlon/Barton or wait awhile for the A64
A64 comes out and is a flop: AMD goes under, buy a reallllly cheap Athlon/Barton due to no warranty.

Hard to recommend waiting for chips. Although i like being able to buy a P4 mobo and chip NOW and know that it will (almost definitely) support Prescott/P5.

I'm just your average habitual smiler =D

 

[MaximumGoat]

there is always something new around the corner, but in this case it probably is worth waiting as it isnt that far off and is a massive change.

"AMD goes under" that would not happen for a long time even if it was a flop, and even if they did go bust they would be bought up and then carry on, AMD may not be nearly as big as intel, but they are still a big company.

"due to no warranty" it is illegal to sell consumer goods without warranty, but yes they would certainly be cheap.

"i like being able to buy a P4 mobo and chip NOW and know that it will (almost definitely) support Prescott/P5."
I thought it evenually transpireed that prescotts wouldnt work on present boards?, either way they are not that upgradable as prescotts will quickly change socket (socket T i think).

but essentually those scenarios are probably realistic.

 

[wolverinero79]

You don't think AMD is in trouble of going under? From an accounting prospective (look at them as a general company that simply makes widgets), they are in serious troubles. Investors continue to "bet" on future advancements that will bring profit. But they have to be questioning when this "profit" is going to materialize.

Well, not no warranty, but if they were in serious trouble, they would drastically reduce the warranty, IMO.

I don't see the new socket until end of 2004. I think (as long as you have a good PSU and 875/Mobo-specific 865), you can buy a mobo now that will support at least up to the Prescott 3.6 Ghz. That's not bad. A mobo that can handle b/w 1.4 and 3.6 Ghz, that's pretty impressive to me.

I'm just your average habitual smiler =D

 

[slvr_phoenix]

Unless you're one of the very few who actually has important plans for a 64-bit PC (such as running a 64-bit server) then no, there's no reason to wait. Some people have good reasons. Most however are just deluded into thinking that 64-bit is actually worth something to them when it isn't. So again, unless you're one of the rare few, just upgrade to a good 32-bit solution and enjoy it for all that it's worth, because without Intel's backing of x86-64, 32-bit software is going to be around for us desktop users for a LONG time.

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[Kemche]

Not worth the wait. First of all the Athlon 64 which is going to be release will be 76x? pin version vs th 940 pin version that will have the dual channel. I don't think anyone is expecting the Athlon 64 single channel to outpreform Pentium 4C. I don't think it's worth the wait unless you have patient and want to wait for Prescott or Athlon 64 dual channel. That will be an interesting fight.

KG

"Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity." - Sarah Chambers

 

[MaximumGoat]

may not be worth waiting for 64bit, but it is in my opinion worth waiting as there are many other improvements (on die memory controller, 1mb cache....) also, if you get a 940 pin model, then it should have a reasonable upgrade path, whereas athlon xp system wont have a good upgrade path as no new models will be made.

 

[kherman]

Heheheh, after reading through all the posts, this is starting to look like a "you can always wait till tommorrow post". That is, better technology is always aroun the corner. You can always wait, but if you need something now .....

Heheheheh

Anyways, I was actually considering hte P4 2.4 GHz model. I think it's labeled the P4 2.4 GHz 800

That should provide an upgrade path to 3.6+ GHz atleast as future processors come out.

Also, There will be a 64-bit Windows version by years end. Currently behind schedual, but the delivery date hasn't moved. I think it's for the Opteron specifically. not 100% sure.Anyways, I'll be posting a new thread soon. I think I'm just going to go after a P4.

karl

 

[wolverinero79]

Remember though, it's unsure of what Prescott support for current boards will look like. I think the 3.6 Ghz expectation is a little optimistic (4.0 more so).

I'm just your average habitual smiler =D

 

[pIII_Man]

well...knowing intel's past...they do like to switch sockets....i think it all depends how much they can cut down the cpu's current draw....but i beleive they did display a beta sample of a 3.6ghz scotty...so unless intel trys to screw the consumer which they have done in the past (coppermine, tualatin, p4) there is a pretty good chance we will at least see 3.6...and 4.0 i do not think is overly optimistic...

If i put my k6 in a Ferrari it would be faster than your your pentium 4 or Athlon XP :tongue: