AMD is trying to confuse me

[Napoleon54]

A couple of AMD's new A-series Llano processors (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007671%2050001028%20600166681&IsNodeId=1&name=A-Series%20APU) and some socket FM1 boards (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007625%20600167117&IsNodeId=1&name=FM1) have recently shown up on NewEgg (and I assume elsewhere). I'd never heard of these until just now. I know AMD is also releasing the Bulldozer series for AM3+ very soon... so why are they splitting themselves between 2 different sockets? It's not like they're phasing out one and rolling out a new socket. They're keeping AM3(+) around and running them at the same time. :confused:

For someone (like me) who builds maybe 2 systems in a decade this is too much to keep track of! Especially because the Llanos and the Phenom II, as well as the AM3 and FM1 boards, are hitting the same price points. Why is AMD competing with themselves?

I've been talking about doing a new build for a month or two now and I had resolved to jump in and order parts in the next week or so. Now this comes along and makes me rethink my plan. There are some AM3 boards that supposedly will be forward-compatible with AM3+, w- just a BIOS update, so I was going to go with that. Now I'm wondering if I should go with FM1. Again, they're hitting the same price points.

:confused: :/

[Napoleon54]

for clarity: I was thinking AM3 board w- possible BIOS update to AM3+ compatibility because I didn't want to pay a premium for the AM3+ price before Bulldozer was even available. But the AM3+ boards have come down in price, some are below $100, so at this point I would probably get an AM3+ board. (AM3+ is backwards compatible with regular AM3 processors). Currently I'm thinking robust everything (decent board, 4GB memory, 2x1TB SATA3 drives in RAID 1) with just a cheap $40 Semperon AM3, then upgrade to a Phenon II or Bulldozer in a year or two as those prices come down and if the Semperon doesn't keep up. (For reference, I'm still running an Athalon 2100+ on my home desktop, built in 2003, so the Semperon itself is already a significant upgrade.)

EDIT: "at this point I would probably get an AM3+ board"... unless someone convinces me that FM1 is the way of the future and an AM3+ board will be obsolete in 3yrs, etc. Alright, maybe now I'm overthinking this.

[Hoser]

I had been thinking about building a system for quite some time, and finally decided to do it last December.

I built a system with a AMD X6 1100T CPU, ASUS M4A89GTD motherboard, 30GB SATA III SSD, 2 2TB hard drives, and 16GB of memory. The motherboard has onboard video, so I haven't bought a video card yet.

The new AMD A-series processors are reasonably priced for their capabilities. I do like that the A-series have fairly decent video built in.

Like you, I don't build (or buy) systems that often. My old desktop was a Dell 400SC (clicked a link here on GotApex?) that I think I bought in 2003. I actually got two of them because I couldn't even buy the CPU for the price of the complete system. I eventually upgraded them both to a 3.4GHZ P4 and 2GB of RAM.

No matter what choice you make, something faster (cheaper, cooler, etc.) is going to come out in the near future. It's like that commercial for Best Buy where the guy buys a 3D TV and the truck that delivered it had 4D TV printed on the side of the truck.

I would probably go with the FM1 CPU and motherboard. The CPUs are reasonably priced, and you know they'll be releasing more in the near future. I like the ASUS F1A75-V motherboard. It has pretty much everything you need built on to the motherboard. It will also support 64GB of memory. You may not need that much, but it's nice to be able to expand

[Napoleon54]

Thanks Hoser, now I'm tempted to go FM1. Like you said, they will likely be releasing chips for this socket much longer into the future than they will for AM3(+), even considering the as-yet-unreleased buldozer. It is nice to be able to expand... that philosophy is precisely what's carried my current 2003 rig all the way into 2011. At this point I'm glad I splurged for USB 2.0 support 8 years ago (else I probably would've had to upgrade maybe 3-4yrs ago).

[Napoleon54]

BTW, it looks like you built a pretty solid rig... SSD HD for OS, 2x2TB drives for storage (presumably in RAID 1??), 16GB memory... you seem to be fairly future-proof. How do you like it so far? Jeez, that's robust!

edit... *ahem* not to mention the Athalon x6! ...which I was considering for a while but maybe/ probably would pass over for the meantime (because I'm cheap), in favor of a cheaper sempron and then upgrade to a phenom or buldozer at a much lesser price at a later date (that is, if I were to not go for FM1 now and make this a moot point...)

[cruelpupet]

No matter what choice you make, something faster (cheaper, cooler, etc.) is going to come out in the near future. It's like that commercial for Best Buy where the guy buys a 3D TV and the truck that delivered it had 4D TV printed on the side of the truck.


True, but I feel like its closer to a car analogy. Sure a slightly updated model will come out next year, but sometimes they do a complete refresh of the car. And while waiting for the next years model might not be worth it, a complete refresh might be.

[Napoleon54]

True, but I feel like its closer to a car analogy. Sure a slightly updated model will come out next year, but sometimes they do a complete refresh of the car. And while waiting for the next years model might not be worth it, a complete refresh might be.

:stupid:

Keeping with the car analogy, I'd be hesitant to buy a redesigned car in the first model year. It usually takes a year or two for them to work out all the kinks. So I kinda feel the same way about getting in really early with FM1. They could be a little flakey at first?

[Napoleon54]

Alrighty, I'm done dithering. Just pulled the trigger on what I think is a reasonable NewEgg order.

AM3+ board, Phenom X2 560 (3.3GHz), one 4GB stick of DDR3 1600, cheapish Thermaltake case, Two 1TB SATA3 7200rpm drives. Going to recycle my existing PSU and video card (a modest PCI GeForce 8400GS 512MB).

Went for a relatively lower-end tried-and-true CPU with a high likelihood of unlocking the extra cores. AM3+ will take a buldozer in a few years if I wanna upgrade later. Didn't see the need to jump in with the brand new untested FM1 socket when this one will prolly do just fine for what I need. Easy enough to add another stick of memory or a better video card at a later time, those are no-brainers.

Now starts the hardest part: waiting for it to arrive.

[Napoleon54]

Well that was quick and relatively easy. Ordered parts Tues afternoon. Case arrived yesterday, everything else arrived today (within 48hrs, with standard 3-day shipping). System's up and running barely 2 days later.

Gigabyte GA-970-D3 board is unable to unlock either dormant core. With core unlocker turned on system hangs at POST on restart, also had one BSOD when it did get past POST. Turn that off, POST and startup w- no prob. I've read reviews by people who had similar experiences and got it to work when they tried again a few weeks later (not with this board though). Maybe the chip needs to get broken in a bit *shrug*.

Didn't get the RAID set up yet. I didn't realize my old PSU only has 2 SATA plugs. I suppose I could pull the one from the optical drive and use it for the second HD, then use a USB optical drive when needed. Hmm. *shrug*

But... IT's ALIVE!