AM2+ or AM3?? Need Help

[bhavik86]

So I've been reading some articles and noticed that amd will be releasing the AM3 cpu sockets soon.

My question is, Should I wait and get a AM3 cpu or just go ahead and get the AM2+ Phenom II 920 (2.6 ghz) cpu?

Is the Phenom II 920 also good for overclocking?

Another Question: I think the difference is that AM2+ does not support ddr3? can someone explain this to me? I'm not a technical person when it comes to computers.

Also, is there going to be a big difference between the AM2+ and AM3 cpu performance/speed wise?

Thanks,
Bhavik

 

[saltynay]

Am3 socket has been released your a bit late

What is your budget?

ddr3 is a memory standard which is incompatible with the previous standard which was ddr2

 

[bhavik86]

whoops haha.

Well what is the difference in speed/performance of the AM2+ vs. AM3

My budget is around 1000. So far I've selected:

Antec Twelve Hundred Case and Antec TruePower Quattro 850W Power Supply ATX12V & EPS12V Power Supply which is around 340 bucks

Or should i go to intel?

Also....window 7 is suppose to come out this year...with dx11....is it worth waiting for?

 

[Alvin.C]

Hello,

AM3 socket processors work in AM2 and AM2+ socket motherboards. However, AM2 and AM2+ socket processors do not work in AM3 socket motherboards.

This is because AM3 socket processors can use either DDR2 or DDR3 memory, therefore having backwards support for DDR2 memory in AM2 and AM2+ motherboards. AM2 and AM2+ processors on the other hand, do not have a DDR3 memory controller and can only support DDR2 memory; therefore it isn't compatible in AM3 socket motherboard where there is only DDR3 memory support.

 

[bhavik86]

Questions remaining:

What is the difference in speed/performance of the AM2+ vs. AM3;

should i go to intel?

Also....window 7 is suppose to come out this year...with dx11....is it worth waiting for?

 

[tastegw]

the am3 phenom II's and am2 phenom II's are about the same performance core per core.

they just differ in stock clock speeds as far as performance, all of them can OC to 3.5+ from my understanding

 

[Hussein19891]

X3 710 and X4 810 are AM3 chips and you would be lucky to hit 3.5ghz stable. While the AM2+ 920 gets about 3.5ghz~ stable on air. Deneb hits like 3.7~4.00ghz on air.

So only one AM3 chip can hit 3.5ghz stable. The X3 720.

 

[Evolv]

^ You can almost get 3.3Ghz on stock voltages with a 720.
These guys were hitting 3.7-3.8Ghz on air:
AnandTech: The Phenom II X4 810 & X3 720: AMD Gets DDR3 But Doesn't Need It

Here's a solid build I put together:
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TFORCE TA790GX 128M AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100260SR Radeon HD 4850 X2 1GB 512-bit (2 x 256-bit) GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Power Supplies

Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3750330AS 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD Burner - CD / DVD Burners

Newegg.com - Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

Newegg.com - XIGMATEK ACK-I7361 CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

Total comes to $1034.45 including shipping. Then there are $50 of mail in rebates.

If it's too expensive you can downgrade to a 810 or 720, they are still really good for gaming:
AnandTech: The Phenom II X4 810 & X3 720: AMD Gets DDR3 But Doesn't Need It
The 720 is almost on par with a Q9550 in terms of gaming, without overclock.