processor

[Bachanus]

Athlon 64 comes in 754 and 939 boards, there seems to be only $15 dif on newegg, and the boards only have $25 dif. Is it worth the extra $40 dif to get the 939?

[Roscoes_C&W]

Bigger numbers rule man!!! Get with the program!! It's allways worth it to have bigger numbers!!!! OWWWWW!!!

[Rooster]

754's Integrated Memory Controller:
64-bit + 8-bit ECC PC3200, PC 2700, PC 2100, or PC1600

939's Integrated Memory Controller:
128-bit + 16-bit ECC unbuffered PC3200, PC 2700, PC 2100, or PC1600

754's Processor to System Bandwidth:
HyperTransport bandwidth: up to 6.4 GB/s
Memory bandwidth: up to 3.2 GB/s
Total: up to 9.6 GB/s

939's Processor to System Bandwidth:
HyperTransport: up to 8.0 GB/s
Memory bandwidth: up to 6.4 GB/s
Total: up to 14.4 GB/s

The 939 uses Dual channel DDR (ie, put them in pairs to get the performance you want)

FYI: (From Anandtech)
MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum emerges from a class of top Socket 939 Athlon 64 boards as our Gold Editors Choice.

the Epox 8KDA3+ emerges as our Gold Editors Choice as the top Socket 754 motherboard.

[Coplann]

I read the new nFORCE 4 mainboards (AMD64 with PCI Express) are pretty good.

[Rooster]

Yeah, I suppose if I were buying today, I'd try to find a way to get into PCI-E... except, I already have a high end AGP card and it would be silly at this point to lose that for PCI-E (when currently, it will have very little or no effect)

[Bachanus]

Is the PCI-E an affordable option? I was reading about SLI and the two card setup. This reminds me of one of my earlier puters that had a similiar two card set up. Except that time it was 2d and a 3d card. Even had the cable pass out the back of the puter then back in to connect the two cards. That style didnt last very long before a single card straightened that out.

I wonder if this new SLI setup will be a tech abberration that will be gone within a year when a new single style card will replace it. It kinda seems like a poor style with huge power requirements and excessive heat in the box. Wonder which way things will go.
:eh:

[Rooster]

Well, what you're describing was the 3dfx Monster (4MB) & Monster II (8MB & 12MB) 3D cards. Those lasted about 2 years, maybe 3. That's not a bad lifespan for that technology. It certainly wouldn't HURT to get a dual PCI-E (16x) board. But, from what I understand, a single 6800GT is slightly better than 2 6600 GT's in SLI. But, if you only want to spend $200 on a card now, you could go that route.

PCI-E is the future. Now, SLI, that's a different story. Until the technology matures, there's going to be driver issues / graphical glitches.

With a good case, I wouldn't be overly concerned about interior heat buildup. As long as you have good airflow, you'll be fine.

[Bachanus]

Would it be wise to prepare for SLI, but just run one board? IF it turns out to be great, add the second? Or is my budget goin thru the roof now?

[Rooster]

Can't hurt to be ready for it. It's cheaper to add a 2nd card 2 years from now to get an extra 50% frame rate than to buy one that will do it alone at that time.

But, if you buy big now (6800GT) adding a 2nd down the line will really help.

[Bachanus]

I was kinda thinking that too, big solo now, next year this time, double up. I guess I need to consider more power like 500w also now :)

Thanks for the input Roo

[Rooster]

Nah, you won't really need it.