Building Skt939 Computer Now? Or wait?

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sitalchauhan

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 30, 2006
Messages
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I have been planning to buy all new components and building a brand new computer for a very long while. I am only running a P4 1.6GHz at the moment lol! So you can imagine the massive jump its going to be.
After enormous amounts of research, I came to the following components:

Thermaltake Tsunami Dream With Side-Window
Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800
Zalman CNPS9500-LED
Hiper Type-R 580W
Corsair XMS TWINX2048-3200C2
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA II
XFX GeForce 7600GT XXX
Pioneer DVR-111BK
LG GSA-4167BAL
3.5" Floppy
Logitech X-530 5.1
Logitech G15
Arcric Silver 5
ArctiClean
Akasa Rounded Floppy UV DAY-GLO Cable (0.45m) Blue
2x Akasa Serial ATA 45cm DAYGLO Blue Cable
2x Akasa Rounded Ultra ATA133/100/66 IDE UV DAY-GLO Cable (0.45m) Blue
Akasa Dual Blue Cold Cathodes
Akasa Dual UV Cold Cathodes

I had been very confident in this setup for months but was just waiting for exams to finish before I order. However, now my exams are finishing, I am getting major doubts due to AM2 and Intel Core2 (Controe) being announced.

After research, I have eliminated AM2 (as currently no major advantage over the skt939 and it seems that core2 is going to be better than am2) and I am now choosing between Skt939 or Intel Core 2.

I have got £1000 saved up for a PC and it is obvious that I need a new one.

Previously I used to buy a computer and when it got outdated, I would just sell it and buy a whole new system. However, I am now very confident in building computers. What I intend to do is buy all of the component to build this new computer, and then every few months keep upgrading parts of it keeping it up to date.

I am doubting skt939 because it is basically a dead end. If I buy skt939 now, AMD are basically completely moving to AM2, so I wont be able to upgrade easily because my next upgrade would have to be a new processor, motherboard and ram (DDR2) (basically a whole new pc)

However, I dont want to jump into core 2 too quickly because prices will be high for first few months and if I wait a bit, I am sure there will be a bigger range of motherbaords to choose from. So I will have to stay on my current pc for another 6 months :(

1) What do you guys think I should do? Buy skt939 now as its cheap or wait for intel core 2?
2) Is Intel Core 2 64-bit?

NOTE: I have no intention of overclocking at all.

Thanks guys. I have been running round in circles for days now and cant decide...
 
Theres always going to be some new technology looming in the distance. I personally would build it now. However Core 2 is coming out soon, so if you can wait than wait.

Yes Core 2 will be 64 bit
 
i would sugeest you wait. come july there will be tons of reviews and benchmarks for you to compare, and even if you don;t take conroe, the prices of the amd and intel chip would drop anyway. so it would be a better deal to wait and more choice and cheaper.

i got a question on your build list
1) you are on a brand new build so why do you need artic clean?
2) why do you need 2 sata and ide cables? from what i am seeing you only need one of each
3) you are not buying a soundcard?
 
Thanks for the reply guys.

The reason I asked if it is 64bit is because on wikipedia it says "Core 2 is an eighth-generation x86 architecture microprocessor to be produced by Intel based on an all-new CPU design". Doesnt the x86 mean it isnt 64bit?

I agree with discochan that there is always something new coming soon. Just like if I do wait until Core 2 is released, I will be worrying about the dx10 gfx cards that will be coming out seen after that.

fan_83, I am buying articlean now because I dont have anything to clean the cpu with if I mess up the thermal paste first time, and I will keep it for the future.
I need 2 IDE cables because to be able to burn 2 DVDs simultaneously, the 2 dvd-rw drives need to be on seperate IDE channels. I am buying 2 sata cables because I know that in the future, I will be buying another hard drive definate, so I bought it so that it matches the rest of the cables, just incase they are hard to find in the future.
I am not buying a sound card because I am not that bothered by sound quality and I am sure that the a8n32's onboard sound is more than enough for me.

I think might just get the skt939 now and then upgrade to core2 once there are more processor and motherboard options. The price has already dropped and I dont think it is going to drop much more in 2 months.

Do you think there are going to be many more socket 939 processors built?

Thanks for the replys
 
You won't even need to wait until July to see reviews of the Core 2 I believe, they should start popping up soon.

2) Is Intel Core 2 64-bit?
Click to expand...

While I don't know much about x86 itself, I do know Core 2 is definently 64-bit compatible.

I will be worrying about the dx10 gfx cards that will be coming out seen after that.
Click to expand...
Practically nothing has been said about DX10 cards yet, other than there are DX10 cards sometime in the future. My guess is it will be atleast a year until it will be worthwhile to upgrade to DX10.

Also, look around the intel section of the forums for a price list. Core 2 will be very affordable.
 
There's not always something new. How long has Netburst been around? If you include slight speed bumps/refreshers, sure, but major changes in architecture... no.
 
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