It seems all of the attention has been given to A64 socket 939, with its dual channel support of late. We have seen some benefit from dual channel operation on A64, although when you look at bottom line performance single channel is still in the hunt. When you consider price and overclocking ability, an A64 socket 754 setup may just fit the bill for your next upgrade.
Socket 754 was initially intended as AMD's 64 bit mainstream desktop offering. It was expected to be relatively short-lived and to be quickly replaced by socket 939 dual channel. The socket 754 platform has proven quite popular and will continue to see support from AMD into the near future. If you are looking for the longest upgrade path, socket 939 may be for you. If you want to get in on the new "Dual Core" CPU that will be available in the 2nd half of 2005 and/or like to purchase a new motherboard/platform when the prices drop on socket 939 (as I will do) then we feel socket 754 is a very attractive option at this time.
Performance differences between socket 754 and 939 have proven to be quite small in real world applications. Some prominent reviewers have concluded that the advantages of socket 939 are not worth the added expense.
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Review/Guide:
bleedinedge.com
