Socket 939 would be a better bet. 940 limits you to opeterons and some of the FX chips, plus all the socket 940 motherboards will need expensive Registered memory (as they're basically Server boards)
You simply get a bit more flexibility with your choices if you go for 939 (or even 754)
Opteron and <i>clawhammer</i> core A64 are basically the same chip. 'Newcastle' has less cache, but it's not that big an issue with A64 chips because the on-die memory controller makes memory access much faster.
I would definately go with the 939 because there are way more upgrading options in the future and you won't have to purchase registered memory. Also, according to the roadmap posted <A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=186640#186640" target="_new">here</A> the Opterons will be moving to socket 939 next year.
Screw 940 when 754 is about the same and is much cheaper.
If you really dont care about that extra cache then go for 939. Plus you dont have to get the slow registered ram like from 940 and 754.
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754 isn't in his options, he stated in the original post that he wants either a 939 or a 940, I posted the 754 info just for completeness sake. However I would recommend a 754 right now over either as well, for the same reasons.
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