AM2 vs Conroe - Which more future proof?

[smiley]

conroe easily intel have pleged to keep conroe for at least 2 and a half years

 

[neologan]

conroe easily intel have pleged to keep conroe for at least 2 and a half years

that doesn't mean they'll keep it on the same socket.

 

[Black Dog]

If it's just a budget system then it really doesn't matter which platform, both will keep you going for a few years

 

[Charlie Bravo]

that doesn't mean they'll keep it on the same socket.

Exactly, we've had the Athlon since Slot A.

 

[Dureth]

Erm 775 might have been going for longer than even 754 but try and show me a single motherboard that you bought when 775 was released that will run a new P-D or a Conroe chip!

I think that as a platform AM2 will last a lot longer than the current 775 conroe motherboards. Intel is renowned for having the same socket but only those with certain chipsets will run certain CPU's. AMD's sockets since socket-A have all been fully compatible from first CPU to last CPU. There isn't a 754/939 motherboard out there that wont handle the latest CPU's after a bios update.

 

[paul@]

AM2 940 will be around 1 year max
775 conroe, I predict less than 6 months before new socket

 

[killer_uk]

AM2 940 will be around 1 year max
775 conroe, I predict less than 6 months before new socket

As said before:

Kentsfield (quad-core) going to be based on socket 775

early next year.

 

[lucifersam]

from what i have read the new AMD CPU K8L that will be released in H1 2007 will use AM3 because of support for DDR3 weather this is true or not i am unsure but LGA775 still has a lot of life in it so i would go conroe

 

[Corasik]

Socket 775 still has some life left in it yet, however that doesnt mean 'todays' motherboard will support the future chips.

Current 775 motherboards are generally designed for 1066mhz FSB, and although many can be overclocked much higher, doesnt guarantee they will be stable at higher speeds.

Core2 is already running on 1333FSB on servers, and likely future revisions of the desktop processor, and chipsets will bring this to the desktop market too. While you may get away with overclocking a 'current' motherboard its no guarantee of success.

Intel may be able to get away with pushing the FSB up to 1600 before they replace it with their 'CSI' or add an integrated memory controller. That said, Intel may well choose to limit the fastest FSB to future 'Extreme Editions', and release chips with higher multipliers and 1066FSB which would run on the current motherboards.

Both AMD, and Intel make frequent changes to their processors, sometimes a motherboard can be overclocked to 'match' the changes, or bios patched, but othertimes the only sensible solution is a new motherboard. Futureproof is really a dream that often doesnt become reality.

 

[Imy]

Well said Corasik.

The new ATI chipset for Conroe is meant to reach very high FSB (according to ATI anyway) + tons of PCI-E lanes so maybe that will be a decent choice of motherboard. I say that because if newer revisions of cpu's require a higher FSB motherboard, that *should* see you through.

One last thing, my socket 478 p4 3.0c northwood has lasted me fine for 3 years, I'm sure by the time you would want to upgrade your Conroe, everything would have changed anyway.

 

[clv101]

There's not really any such thing as future proof. In over 10 years of building computers from components I've NEVER replaced a CPU. Always by the time it was worth changing the CPU then the motherboard was obsolete, the bus speeds had changed, 72 pin SIMMS became DIMMS became DDR etc. I always replace CPU, Motherboard and Memory together, treat those three items as one sub system. Other things, graphics, sound cards, drives, monitor, case, keyboard, mouse etc can all be carried over though.

 

[Gashman]

hes totally right, future proof = absolute rubbish, the computer world is evolving so quickly, as soon as you buy something its made obselete mere weeks later by something faster and more sophisticated

 

[Dolph]

There's not really any such thing as future proof. In over 10 years of building computers from components I've NEVER replaced a CPU. Always by the time it was worth changing the CPU then the motherboard was obsolete, the bus speeds had changed, 72 pin SIMMS became DIMMS became DDR etc. I always replace CPU, Motherboard and Memory together, treat those three items as one sub system. Other things, graphics, sound cards, drives, monitor, case, keyboard, mouse etc can all be carried over though.

Pretty much agreed. The only exception I can think of was using a slocket convertor on a Slot 1 P3 board for a newer chip, and even that was a work around

At the moment, go with either of them, both are very good, wait a couple of weeks for the AMD price drops to kick in then make your choice. Buy the fastest you can afford with the fastest DD2 you can afford. that'll provide you with the best system, be prepared to change it in a couple of years.

 

[Angilion]

Well, im making a budget system.. And im wondering which is more future proof. Conroe or AM2. Im not talking about which will last me longer. Im talking about in 2-3 years, which will still be running AM2 or 775 socket?

I would say neither in a practical sense. Or, more accurately, none of the current kit (to include the possibility of either platform still being in use but with CPUs of then not working in motherboards of the same socket type made today). I would be surprised if it would be economic in 2 or 3 years time to make any significant upgrades to the CPU on a budget system built today, or any upgrades at all outside the second hand market. Even increasing memory might well be a problem, since DDR3 will almost certainly have made it to the motherboard by then and may have almost completely replaced DDR2.

For other upgrades (i.e. drives, cards, peripherals) it won't matter whether you use AM2 or 775.

 

[Angilion]

There's not really any such thing as future proof. In over 10 years of building computers from components I've NEVER replaced a CPU. Always by the time it was worth changing the CPU then the motherboard was obsolete, the bus speeds had changed, 72 pin SIMMS became DIMMS became DDR etc. I always replace CPU, Motherboard and Memory together, treat those three items as one sub system. Other things, graphics, sound cards, drives, monitor, case, keyboard, mouse etc can all be carried over though.

I've replaced a CPU in the same motherboard once - a Duron swapped out for an AthlonXP on the same SocketA motherboard - and that was with less than a year between the first CPU and the second, probably about 6 months.

Oh, wait. I think I upgraded a CPU on the same motherboard with a 486 quite some while ago, but I'm not sure after all this time. Maybe I got a new motherboard too.

I agree - those three components, in practice, practically a single subsystem, with the only common exception being adding more memory.

 

[Dureth]

If your going for a budget system now then a good bet might be to get an A64 3000 based AM2 system with the option to drop in a dual-core later. Get 2GB RAM now, again with the option to upgrade to 4GB later. The current crop of AM2 motherboards seem pretty good as they are more of an evolution from 939 and have some decent history behind them to iron the bugs out.

 

[pegasus1]

So to summerise........nobody actually knows.

 

[Cyber-Mav]

dunno but i seen many people happy with s939's upgrade path. people wend from A643000+ to x2-3800 and they did not need to replace board or memory. so thats a good thing.

if am2 allows for quad core to be used then it will be very future proof.