AMD's AM2: Athlon 64 FX-62 and X2 5000+

Thanks, bug fixed

 

I would realy like to see faster memory but evne so this is great news, and im stratching my head wondering if i should wait for conroe and if i just let loose on my bank account, could i get both over a 9 month period... have to brush up on my maths

 

clock for clock comparison

The FX62 runs at 2.8ghz, so why OC the core duo to only 2.6ghz?

 

Because a mhz of FX62 isn't worth the same as a mhz of Core duo. I imagine 2.6 was just a nice spot that we can expect many Core duo's to reach, so it's a good comparison point.

 

Sorry if I sound like a bit of a noob, but I'd like to know if a s939 processor would work on an AM2 motherboard, like, let's say, the Asus M2N32 SLI Deluxe. Again, please excuse me for sounding like a noob, I don't know much and I want to learn.

 

No problem Miki01. We were all newbs once

A socket 939 processer won't work on an AM2 motherboard. This is because the AM2 processors use an extra pin(940) and have a new configuration of the pins. If you're buying an AM2 motherboard, you'll also need DDR2 ram, so you won't be able to re-use your RAM from your socket939 motherboard I'm afraid.

 

Ah, thank you for your reply. In saying DDR2, do you mean DDR2 ram 'memory type' like this: Corsair Value Select 1024MB PC4200 DDR2 533MHz Memory

 

That's exactly right yeah. When buying RAM for your socketAM2 motherboard you'll need to get stuff labelled "DDR2" not just "DDR". There will probably be other things you have to look out for as well though, so feel free to run new kit by the folks here for a quick look over to check it'll all work together

 

Really? That's weird, I see other sites like anand, toms, tech-report stating that these chips can easily be oc to 3.0ghz with stock cooler.

 

I think it's because Tim had already done the benchmarks with the Core Duo at 2.6GHz in an earlier review (to compare it clock-for-clock with the FX-60), so they were put in this one just as a point of comparison. As far as I know, the chip went back before he could try benching it against the FX-62 at 2.8GHz.

 

that depends on the motherboard. IIRC in the core duo review. the chip was still cold. but the motherboard could't go any higher

 

I see...that makes sense, thanks.

 

I might wait for conroe and dx10. I still use socket A so I got alot of options, lol.

 

Socket A rocks!
And I agree... waitin' for dx10 makes sense as ATI unified shader cards might be worth to wait for and get a new pc then not just an upgrade.

 

Thats from the test setup spec, thing is the corsair 8500s listed at 5-5-5-12, is it actually capable of 4-4-4 or is that a typo ? .

 

going by when skt a was phased out for 939 then yes

 

Hey dont knock scktA , mines done me proud for a very long time now this is now.....two and a half years old.

Sadly i've had a minor crack appear in my resevoir this week so nows the time to beef up my watercooling and add another pelt when i rebuild. Since i'm doing that i probably wont waste time by having to rebuild again in a few months time, its either 939 now or AM2 now for me, unfortunately i cant wait a few months to see how the core duos turn out or i would probably put it off a bit longer. Hopefully be able to hold out till the end of the month for some more AM2 board reviews before deciding which to go for, hoping to see asus implement the 8 phase power design on an AM2 board as they have done with the latest sckt939 and also for the Energy Efficient models to be put through a few voltage mods.

With the way things are right now its a difficult time for a person like me to make a decision, i buy basically a whole new setup (excluding chassis, cooling, etc) every 2-3 years and then rely heavily on OCing to make what i have last as long as i can. This rig would have lasted 18 months to 2 years normally i'd say. Buying now means taking a risk that i may have to swap the board for something better when it appears, and thats not something i'm keen to do given the watercooled/peltier setup i run, unfortunately it may be a risk i have to take.

 

It's capable of 4.0-4-4 at 800MHz - at 1066MHz, it's rated at 5.0-5-5.

 

Cheers . Makes me feel a bit better about upgrading knowing that the latencies are reasonable, although not excellent yet.

To be honest i would have expected ddr2 timings to have dropped to the same low point as ddr by now given how long its been available, guess now that its been adopted by both chip cos we'll finally get to see memory firms putting more money into bringing down the ddr2 latencies. Really is a pain doing all this waiting when your ready to make the move hehe .

 

DDR2 has higher timings due to the higher MHz they run at, don't they?
I don't think you'll get DDR2 to run at 2,2,2,5 at 1066MHz.
DDR3 might be interesting though... end of 2007 afaik.