Recommendation Needed on Mobo and CPU Combo

[burnselk]

Would this be a decent mobo and cpu for a first time builder?
I plan to use this computer in conjunction with the ADS Tech Pyro A/V hardware and Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0 software to download and burns disks of family movies from VHS and 8mm tapes.

"Asus A8V Via Socket 939 ATX Motherboard and an AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 2.20GHz OEM Processor"

Appreciate your input.

[Yawgm0th]

Re: Recommendation Needed on Mobo and CPU Combo

Those are decent, but you would probably be better off with something current-gen. A socket AM2 motherboard and processor would be more apprporiate for this system.

[casecutter]

Re: Recommendation Needed on Mobo and CPU Combo

I agree, no sense in investing in a dead platform. Besides, in a month the Dual Core AM2 prices are going to be so low that they will make the single core CPU's not worthwhile.

[Munkul]

Re: Recommendation Needed on Mobo and CPU Combo

casecutter, what makes you say that? i may go that way, if it happens

[casecutter]

Re: Recommendation Needed on Mobo and CPU Combo

Well for one, the AM2 is faster than the S939 and they are cheaper. Everything is moving away from DDR ram fast as well and DDR2 is quickly becoming the standard. I was always a big fan of tight tight ram, but since I got this 2GB kit I run I notice almost no difference in speed, so if you can get DDR2 to run with a higher bandwidth, overcoming the crappy timings is not that hard. AMD has stopped producing S939 or will stop by year's end. You won't see any new S939 motherboards coming out anymore and the S939 boards that are out will start having less and less updates/support from the manufacturers. If I were you Munkul, ride out the hardware you have until next summer. Your PC is quite fast and should be able to handle anything out/coming. The only thing you could possibly upgrade is to a Dual Core when the prices drop, other than that there is no good reason to jump right now. As for Conroe, there is too much hype and while I fully expect them to be quite fast, I doubt the low end CPU's will overclock like hte high end ones and the motherboards are VERY expensive as well so that kills the lower cost on the CPU. Once K8L (AMD's 65nm process CPUs) then there will be reasons to upgrade. IF someone had a very old PC (P4 or Socket A) then AM2 makes alot of sense, but us S939 guys should just keep our stuff for now and watch the CPU war that is starting at the end of July.

As for the prices, there will be MASSIVE 50% price cuts on AM2 CPUs when Conroe is released. We are talking $500US for a FX-62 and so on. This is the only answer AMD has for the faster Conroe, hit them in the pockets. Conroe is a superior number cruncher for sure, but AM2 can still hang with them in gaming, losing by not much in overall speed in 3D apps too. Conroe will be the benchmark king, but anyone that buys a PC based on benchmarks is a fool. As long as AMD keeps their promise of these massive price cuts, there is no reason to go Intel if you are a die hard AMD fan. The AM2 platform is going to support K8L so there is serious upgrade potential for AM2 motherboards/systems.

[Yawgm0th]

Re: Recommendation Needed on Mobo and CPU Combo

Socket 939 end-of-life will be before 2007, with everything being completely phased out by Q2 2007. Socket 754 will actually last a little longer, but nothing new will be made. No new processors are going to be released for either socket. See AMD's EOL summary.

The coming Core 2 Duo (Conroe) processors will surely beat AM2 in performance, and probably even in price, however AM2 will ultimately have cheaper processors at the low-end and already overclocks well. I expect to see the same state that existed in 2003 (IIRC), in which 800MHZ FSB Northwoods (especially 2.4C, 2.8c) ruled the high-end for both overclocked and stock platforms and 333MHz FSB Bartons and T-Breds (e.g. 2000, 2400, 2500) ruled the low-end and mid-range. Instead, Sempron 64s and Athlon 64s will rule low-end and mid-range while Conroe dominates the high-end, with overclocking still being irrelevent.

The wild card is Core Duo/Core Solo (Yonah and Merom) desktop motherboards, which with some price cuts could take out BOTH Core 2 Duo on all ends. The overclockability is incredible and could give Conroe a run for its money in the overclocked high-end and completely sweep the mid-range. If there were some cheaper motherboard offerings, it could drive AMD to strictly entry-level systems.

One way or another, the upcoming CPU war is going to be a great time for consumers. Though my Athlon 64 is still doing everything I need it to and more, I'm considering popping in a dual-core CPU (probably an Opty 170) or building a new Core Duo-based SFF system. The price drops on everything are going to be too hard to resist.