AMD upgraderers! BEWARE! Socket AM2+ coming!

[Shiranai_Baka]

Socket AM2+ will be introduced in the summer and will support HT of 2ghz. So anyone thinking of upgrading should hold off for now!

http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2986

[Seedler]

Intel's got too much lead, AMD won't catch up.

Even in the article, it said that AMD would launch it's 45nm process line middle of 2008, SIX months AFTER Intel.

[Shiranai_Baka]

Yeah but AMD always manages to keep up with intel even though they use the previous generation's process.

[clocker]

This warning- "Don't upgrade now, there is better stuff right around the corner!"- has been, and will continue to be, true about every computer part/platform since ENIAC.
The only part I can think of offhand that hasn't changed lately is the floppy drive and it's nearly extinct...so you can buy one without fear of a better model coming out anytime soon.

[mbucari1]

This warning- "Don't upgrade now, there is better stuff right around the corner!"- has been, and will continue to be, true about every computer part/platform since ENIAC.
The only part I can think of offhand that hasn't changed lately is the floppy drive and it's nearly extinct...so you can buy one without fear of a better model coming out anytime soon.

Haha, too true, but I think the point is that they are phasing out entire sockets, so if you want to be able to get a better processor in 2 years w/o a new mobo, wait for the new socket line. Not bad advice. Upgradability (is that a word?) is always a factor in my hardware purchases. Yes, there will always be something better coming along 3 months down the line, but It's best to buy ate the beginning of major cycles and not at the end (ie. don't buy socket 754).

[Colt Seevers]

Intel's got too much lead, AMD won't catch up.

Don't be silly.

you coulda said exactly the same thing a few years ago: "AMD's got too much lead, Intel won't catch up."

In fact lots of fan boys did. So don't be so hasty to write off AMD or Intel for that matter.

(c) Bullshitters and Hype Inc.

[lynx]

I don't completely agree that Intel has got things entirely their own way.

If you are considering bang-for-bucks, and look purely at the processor price then that would appear to be the case.

However, the current Intel processors require a much more complex support chipset, and consequently the price of that chipset and the motherboard it is on tends to be significantly higher then the equivalent AMD board.

If you consider mid-range processors, converting that motherboard price difference into a higher spec processor still gives AMD a slight edge on performance. Lower range processors don't need the expensive chipset, but AMD processors still have the edge so things are still very much as they were.

However, when you start to consider top range processors then the motherboard price difference isn't sufficient to enable the AMD user to jump the gap with a better processor.

Recent system builds have convinced me that, unless the user wants the ultimate in performance, considering AMD is still a very reasonable proposition.

[Ratzy Rox]

For me at least it worked out far cheaper to buy a E6600 and a P5NSLI than go the AM2 route - not least because back then the cheaper equivalent AMD processor would have set me back £800 vs the £220 for the E6600. Id have needed a new motherboard either way since my old one was a socket 939.

I'm not entirely sure how large AMD's mid-range and low-range market share is when compared to the high-end however Intel processors are certainly sold in a greater proportion of OEM machines than AMD ones are. Id have thought that the majority of people who are looking for a mid/low-range pc will buy from an OEM rather than making their own and are therefore more likely to go Intel. Anyway, id say at the moment Intel does have everything their way - they've certainly got the edge with the high-end market and they've got the necessary market share to ensure that they dominate the low/mid-range.

Still, we'll see what happens - i'll be sticking with my current mobo for a couple of years yet so that'll tie me in to Intel. Maybe when I come to build my next system i'll go AMD again. For now i cant see them regaining the domination they had with the 939 socket.

[Shiranai_Baka]

Well just to add some more fun to this pot, they're introducing socket AM3 early 2008(clocker?)

[clocker]

Well just to add some more fun to this pot, they're introducing socket AM3 early 2008(clocker?)

Clocker what?

Can't say I'm really wound up about any of the new stuff.
I finally had a "eureka!" moment and realized that my now totally outdated and soon to be ridiculed s939 PC actually did so much more than I ever asked it to that there was no point in upgrading anymore.
I'm part of the "less is better" crowd now...I want smaller, quieter and (hopefully) cheaper.
Gone are the days of the big, watercooled behemoths, hell, I might even get a Mac.








Just kidding.


About the Mac.