Amd socket 939 cpu list: 939 Socket list — Cpu Specs Benchmarks reviews cpu upgrade

3 мая, 2021

Socket 939 — AMD — WikiChip

Socket 939 was the socket for µOPGA-939-packaged AMD microprocessors and the successor to Socket 754. This is the second socket designed for AMD’s Athlon 64 family of processors, targeting the performance desktop segment. Socket 939 was superseded by Socket AM2.

Contents

  • 1 Features
  • 2 Chipsets
  • 3 Processors using Socket 939
  • 4 Package Diagram
  • 5 Pin Map
  • 6 References
  • 7 See also

Features[edit]

  • 939-pin lidded micro pin grid array, 1.27 mm pitch, 31 × 31 pins, 40 × 40 mm organic substrate
  • 0.8 — 1.55 V supply voltage, 110 W TDP
  • 16 bit HyperTransport interface, up to 1000 MHz, 2000 MT/s, 4.0 Gbyte/s in each direction
  • 128/144 bit DDR SDRAM interface up to 200 MHz, PC-3200 (DDR-400), 6.4 Gbyte/s
    • Up to 4 UDIMMs, up to 1 Gbyte per DIMM, SEC-DED ECC
  • P-States, ACPI C1 (Halt), S1 (Stop Grant), S3 (Core & HT power down), S5 (all power off)
  • Thermal diode, overtemperature protection

Chipsets[edit]

  • AMD 580 series
  • Nvidia nForce3, nForce4, nForce 400 series, nForce 630a
  • SiS 750, 760 series
  • VIA K8T800, K8T800 Pro, K8M800, K8T890, K8M890, K8T900

Processors using Socket 939[edit]

  • AMD Athlon 64 codename «ClawHammer», «Newcastle», «Winchester», «San Diego», «Venice»
  • AMD Athlon 64 «Toledo», «Manchester» (one core disabled)
  • AMD Athlon 64 X2 «Toledo», «Manchester»
  • AMD Athlon 64 FX-53/55 «ClawHammer», FX-55/57 «San Diego»
  • AMD Athlon 64 FX-60 dual core «Toledo»
  • AMD Sempron «Palermo»
  • AMD Opteron 1xx «Venus»
  • AMD Opteron 1xx dual core «Denmark»

Package Diagram[edit]

OPGA-939 lidded D1 package. All dimensions in millimeters.

Pin Map[edit]

References[edit]

  • «AMD Functional Data Sheet, 939-Pin Package», AMD Publ. #31411, Rev. 3.03, May 2005
  • «AMD Opteron™ Processor Product Data Sheet», AMD Publ. #23932, Rev. 3.23, March 23, 2007
  • «AMD Athlon™ 64 Processor Product Data Sheet», AMD Publ. #24659, Rev. 3.18, September 25, 2006
  • «AMD Athlon™ 64 FX Product Data Sheet», AMD Publ. #30431, Rev. 3.16, May 2007
  • «AMD Sempron™ Processor Product Data Sheet», AMD Publ. #31805, Rev. 3.05, September 2006

See also[edit]

  • Socket 754
  • Socket 940
  • Socket AM2

Facts about «Socket 939 — AMD»

RDF feed

designer AMD +
first launched June 1, 2004 +
instance of package +
market segment Desktop +
microarchitecture K8 +
name Socket 939 +
package OPGA-939 +
package contacts 939 +
package length 40 mm (4 cm, 1. 575 in) +
package pitch 1.27 mm (0.05 in) +
package type Organic Pin Grid Array +
package width 40 mm (4 cm, 1.575 in) +
socket Socket 939 +
tdp 110 W (110,000 mW, 0.148 hp, 0.11 kW) +

Socket 939 — AMD — WikiChip

Socket 939 was the socket for µOPGA-939-packaged AMD microprocessors and the successor to Socket 754. This is the second socket designed for AMD’s Athlon 64 family of processors, targeting the performance desktop segment. Socket 939 was superseded by Socket AM2.

Contents

  • 1 Features
  • 2 Chipsets
  • 3 Processors using Socket 939
  • 4 Package Diagram
  • 5 Pin Map
  • 6 References
  • 7 See also

Features[edit]

  • 939-pin lidded micro pin grid array, 1.27 mm pitch, 31 × 31 pins, 40 × 40 mm organic substrate
  • 0.8 — 1. 55 V supply voltage, 110 W TDP
  • 16 bit HyperTransport interface, up to 1000 MHz, 2000 MT/s, 4.0 Gbyte/s in each direction
  • 128/144 bit DDR SDRAM interface up to 200 MHz, PC-3200 (DDR-400), 6.4 Gbyte/s
    • Up to 4 UDIMMs, up to 1 Gbyte per DIMM, SEC-DED ECC
  • P-States, ACPI C1 (Halt), S1 (Stop Grant), S3 (Core & HT power down), S5 (all power off)
  • Thermal diode, overtemperature protection

Chipsets[edit]

  • AMD 580 series
  • Nvidia nForce3, nForce4, nForce 400 series, nForce 630a
  • SiS 750, 760 series
  • VIA K8T800, K8T800 Pro, K8M800, K8T890, K8M890, K8T900

Processors using Socket 939[edit]

  • AMD Athlon 64 codename «ClawHammer», «Newcastle», «Winchester», «San Diego», «Venice»
  • AMD Athlon 64 «Toledo», «Manchester» (one core disabled)
  • AMD Athlon 64 X2 «Toledo», «Manchester»
  • AMD Athlon 64 FX-53/55 «ClawHammer», FX-55/57 «San Diego»
  • AMD Athlon 64 FX-60 dual core «Toledo»
  • AMD Sempron «Palermo»
  • AMD Opteron 1xx «Venus»
  • AMD Opteron 1xx dual core «Denmark»

Package Diagram[edit]

OPGA-939 lidded D1 package. All dimensions in millimeters.

Pin Map[edit]

References[edit]

  • «AMD Functional Data Sheet, 939-Pin Package», AMD Publ. #31411, Rev. 3.03, May 2005
  • «AMD Opteron™ Processor Product Data Sheet», AMD Publ. #23932, Rev. 3.23, March 23, 2007
  • «AMD Athlon™ 64 Processor Product Data Sheet», AMD Publ. #24659, Rev. 3.18, September 25, 2006
  • «AMD Athlon™ 64 FX Product Data Sheet», AMD Publ. #30431, Rev. 3.16, May 2007
  • «AMD Sempron™ Processor Product Data Sheet», AMD Publ. #31805, Rev. 3.05, September 2006

See also[edit]

  • Socket 754
  • Socket 940
  • Socket AM2

Facts about «Socket 939 — AMD»

RDF feed

designer AMD +
first launched June 1, 2004 +
instance of package +
market segment Desktop +
microarchitecture K8 +
name Socket 939 +
package OPGA-939 +
package contacts 939 +
package length 40 mm (4 cm, 1. 575 in) +
package pitch 1.27 mm (0.05 in) +
package type Organic Pin Grid Array +
package width 40 mm (4 cm, 1.575 in) +
socket Socket 939 +
tdp 110 W (110,000 mW, 0.148 hp, 0.11 kW) +

Eternal evolution. Testing the AMD Socket AM2 platform — Gambling

The war for the processor market is gaining momentum. Many still remember the times when Intel with its line of processors was the undisputed leader. Now everything is different, in recent years its competitor in the person of AMD managed to snatch the palm…

In the near future we will see a most interesting picture. AMD continues to expand its manufacturing capabilities and rolled out a new platform called Socket AM2 . Intel is not far behind, and by the time you read these lines, it will already have to introduce completely new Core 2 Duo processors, better known as Conroe . It’s hard to predict what will come of this, but we’ll make the first predictions now, because the MSI K9N SLI Platinum motherboard and the Athlon 64 X2 4000+ processor for the same Socket AM2 came to our tests.

So, AMD has finally deigned to present us its latest developments in the field of processors. Rumors about Socket AM2 have been circulating for a long time, but the first official data appeared only at the end of last year, and Socket AM2 went on sale only in the middle of summer.

AMD calls support for 64-bit applications and technology Cool & Quiet (everything is painfully familiar) as the main advantages of the new platform, while the transition to DDR2 SDRAM is called the central event. So far, the processors are produced according to the 90-nm process technology, but soon — after the completion of work on Fab36 and Fab30 — it is planned to switch to 65-nm. This will reduce the heat dissipation of new processors and their power consumption.

AMD processors can now be divided into three categories. The first group includes powerful dual cores, which include lines based on core Windsor — Athlon 64 X2 and Athlon 64 FX . The second category included single-core Athlon 64 based on Orleans . Well, the third category is the budget Sempron based on the Manila . All these processors support the above technologies, but the most advanced ones are also endowed with the virtualization function Pacifica — however, it is unlikely that you will need it every day.

The emergence of a new memory controller and, as a result, support for a new type of memory is the main and, in principle, the only advantage of Socket AM2 over the old platform. From our point of view, focusing exclusively on DDR2 SDRAM support is not the most rational decision, especially considering the upcoming release of Conroe.

Table 1
Socket 939 vs. Socket AM2
Processor AMD Athlon 64 FX-60 (Socket 939, 2.6 GHz, 2×1 MB) AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ (Socket AM2, 2.0 GHz, 2×1 MB)
Motherboard ASUS A8R32-MVP Deluxe (ATI Radeon CrossFire Xpress 3200 + ULi M1575) MSI K9N SLI Platinum (NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI)
Memory Corsair TwinXP 1024-3200XL (2.2.2.5) 2x512MB Kingston HyperX KHX8500D2K2/1G (5.5.5.12) 2×5 12 MB
GIGABYTE GV-NX79X512DB Video Card -RH 512 MB (PCIE x16, GeForce 7900 GTX)
Western Digital WD1200JS 120 GB hard drive (Serial ATA, 8 MB)
NEC ND-3540A (IDE) optical drive
Sunbeam NUUO power supply (500 W)
Operating system Windows XP Pro SP2, DirectX 9.1c

DDR2 SDRAM has been on the market for over two years now. Until today, only Intel supported it. The main features of this type of RAM are a reduced level of power consumption, low cost in production, high speed, the ability to place large-capacity memory on one module. The first point has nothing to do with real life. Plus or minus volts for a desktop computer does not play a significant role, but as for the cheapness of production, we could not observe this in practice for a long time — the prices for DDR2 SDRAM have only recently fallen to an acceptable level. Theoretically, the transition to DDR2 memory was possible at the beginning of last year, but AMD made it to the second quarter of this year. With what it is connected — and we will now understand.

More than two years have passed since the appearance of DDR2. Two years ago, prices for it exceeded all reasonable limits. Costing several times more than the usual DDR modules, it did not provide a noticeable performance boost. The fault was too high levels of delays, not allowing her to reach her full potential. Now the situation has improved, and the cost of chips has fallen. By this moment, AMD just guessed the release of Socket AM2.

Taking into account that DDR2 SDRAM has been actively supported by Intel all the time, AMD managed to step on the already prepared ground and start promoting a new platform without bothering to explain why and why you need to switch to a new type of memory.

Table 2
PCMark05 1.10
Test type CPU Memory HDD Overall
AMD Athlon 64 FX-60 (Socket 939, 2.0 GHz) 4085 3530 5048 5339
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4 000+ (Socket AM2, 2.0 GHz) 4097 3796 5152 5370
Table 4
WinRAR 3.51 (Kbps)
AMD Athlon 64 FX-60 (Socket 939, 2.0 GHz) 505
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ (Socket AM2, 2.0 GHz) 503

Before buying the latest processor from AMD, you will also need to consider purchasing a new motherboard. Interestingly, for the new slot, many manufacturers produce slightly redesigned old versions of the boards. This is due to the fact that the K8 microarchitecture, which AMD adopted back in 2003, uses an integrated memory controller. The same architecture is used in new processors for Socket AM2. Such a solution, in principle, eliminates any requirements for changes in the chipsets — manufacturers only need to replace the slot for the processor and provide the ability to use DDR2 memory.

Only ATI and NVIDIA brought any real changes to the design of motherboards, more precisely, they simply timed the release of new chipsets to coincide with the release of Socket AM2. It is dictated, most likely, by marketing considerations.

ATI presented to the public the updated Radeon CrossFire Xpress 3200 . Its main feature is a modified southbridge called SB600 , which has been waiting for a long time — this part of ATI has always been lame on both legs. The new southbridge received an improved controller to work with Serial ATA II and USB 2.0. From now on, problems during the operation of the universal bus are excluded, the number of supported USB 2.0 ports has been increased to 10 pieces. Engineers have also introduced full-fledged support for SATA 300, however, the maximum number of used hard drives on SATA II is still four — it’s too early to dream of Level 5 RAID arrays. They got rid of the network capabilities in the south bridge, and the number of PATA-133 ports was reduced to one. Up to six PCI devices can be connected to the board. The hardware monitoring, which was present in previous versions of the chipsets, has remained; an 8-channel High Definition Audio (HDA) class codec is used for sound output.

Traditionally, the south and north bridges are connected via the A-Link Xpress II bus with a throughput of up to 2 GB/s. The northbridge is responsible for working with PCI Express x16 and PCI Express x1. The new CrossFire Xpress 3200 is produced using 0.11-micron technology, which allows you to reduce the level of heat dissipation — just install a couple of aluminum radiators and no noise. It is worth noting that there was also a Radeon Xpress 1100 chip with discrete graphics based on Radeon X300 .

NVIDIA has presented fresh chipsets nForce 5xx . The new solutions are based on two chips — Media and Communication Processor (MCP) and System Performance Processor (SPP). The first one is used as a northbridge and does nothing but work with the processor and one PCIE x16. The second one works with an additional PCIE x16 bus, and not only that — it is also responsible for four PCIE x1 buses. Bridges connected by bus HyperTransport .

The number of USB ports is 10, the total number of PCI devices is five, that is, one less than that of ATI. The SATA controller supports up to six SATA II drives, which allows you to organize a RAID level 5 array. 8-channel HD audio is also supported.

Serious changes have also taken place with the network controller, PCIE x16 buses and RAM. To connect to the Network, nForce 5 has two ports with a maximum throughput of 1 Gb / s each. By connecting both, you can double the data transfer rate (this technology received the simple name DualNet ). The second technology is called FirstPacket — it allows you to allocate priority for data transfer for different programs. Thus, the speed of network games should sort of increase. True, this applies only to outgoing packets, it is impossible in principle to streamline the chaos that reigns in incoming data. The next thing NVIDIA engineers got their hands on was the PCIE x16 bus. New technology LinkBoost allows you to speed up the graphics subsystem in SLI-mode. When a second graphics card is installed, the system automatically increases the PCIE x16 and HyperTransport bandwidth between MCP and SPP. According to the assurances of the developers, this allows you to achieve a 25% increase in performance. The latest major addition is SLI-Ready Memory technology. It will allow you to get to the settings of secondary memory delays — to achieve maximum performance. Not all memory modules will support this mode.

Just like ATI, NVIDIA has managed to reduce heat dissipation and use a passive system for cooling. By analogy with the previous generation of chipsets, NVIDIA has divided nForce 5 into categories. The junior representative is nForce 550 . It does not support any of the new technologies and is only able to work with four SATA. Next in seniority is nForce 570 Ultra . It includes support for six SATA ports, as well as work with FirstPacket and DualNet. Next is nForce 570 SLI . Chipsets based on it have all the advantages of the fifth series from NVIDIA, but in SLI mode PCIE x16 buses work like x8. Well, the last, top-end version called nForce 590 SLI has no restrictions, even in SLI mode both video cards get their legitimate 16 PCIE lanes.

A real paradise

Before the first nForce 5 went on sale, information surfaced that these chipsets would work with a certification program called Tritium , also known as Trinity . It was assumed that NVIDIA will issue a certificate to the manufacturers of graphics accelerators and memory that their platforms meet certain requirements and will chase without problems. As usual, until the appearance of official information, NVIDIA completely denied these rumors.

Tritium still exists, but has no official name. Instead, there are the same LinkBoost, SLI-Ready Memory, DualNet and FirstPacket technologies that we wrote about in the text. So, you shouldn’t expect boards with the inscription «Tritium Certified» to appear on sale, all this is already included at the level of the logic set.

To test the new socket, we received an MSI K9N SLI Platinum motherboard based on the nForce 570 SLI chipset. First impression: the board is no different from its analogues for AMD processors. The textolite is painted black, a bunch of different connectors. The only thing that immediately catches your eye is the use of a fairly simple passive cooling system.

At first glance, we have Socket 940 used in servers. The positions of the inputs for the contacts have only been slightly changed — you won’t be able to insert anything else into them. The fastening of the cooler has changed, now the frame under it is fastened with four screws at once, and not two, as it was before. If earlier there were three protrusions on each side of the frame for mounting the cooler, now there is only one on each side. Thus, manufacturers of cooling systems will have to modify their products to meet new requirements, however, in most cases, coolers for Socket 9 will also work.39. For example, we delivered AKASA AK862 without any problems, which is not officially compatible with the new processor socket. Difficulties with installation will be experienced only by owners of fans with unique mounting systems.

That’s it, nothing else interesting could be found on this board. The inputs/outputs fully comply with the nForce 5 standards, which we talked about above, so we won’t repeat ourselves.

We installed the Athlon 64 X2 4000+ processor on the new board (2.0 GHz). This is one of AMD’s low-end dual-core processors with 1MB L2 cache per core. Outwardly, it is no different from ordinary Socket 939 processors, except for a larger number of legs.

For such a system, we picked up a decent memory — Kingston HyperX KHX8500D2K2/1G . These memory modules are designed to operate at a frequency of 1066 MHz, but the integrated controller of the new processors can only work with DDR2-800, so they had to adjust to this frequency.

Considering that it’s pointless to test a new platform in the absence of a competitor, we decided to assemble a similar system, but only based on Socket 939. Everyone quickly decided on the memory and motherboard. ASUS A8R32-MVP Deluxe ( Radeon CrossFire Xpress 3200 ) acted as a motherboard, then installed DDR modules Corsair TwinXP 1024-3200XL with minimum timings — 2.2.2.5. The discrepancy occurred only with the selection of the processor. Only 9 were in the editorial0003 Athlon 64 FX-60 which runs at 2.6 GHz. You can’t directly push it against Athlon 64 X2 4000+, but, fortunately, the multiplier can be lowered for all AMD processors, so we set the value to 10 and got the desired frequency — 2. 0 GHz.

The powerful GIGABYTE GV-NX79X512DB-RH video card based on the NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GTX was responsible for the graphics in both systems.

The air conditioners won’t work

Currently, the heat dissipation of new processors for Socket AM2 exceeds that of their predecessors. AMD did not completely shift this problem to the manufacturers of cooling systems, but released processors with reduced heat dissipation. These models are labeled Energy Efficient . In fact, the company’s engineers have somewhat modified the existing processors, reducing the thermal package to 65 W against today’s 89 W, and for younger processors from the standard 62 W they reduced it to 35 W. True, you will have to pay extra for the coolness and the potential for overclocking. Prices for models with the EE index will be 10-30% higher depending on the processor.

It’s worth noting that AMD continues to use Cool & Quiet technology to reduce heat dissipation. It is based on the principle of reducing the frequency at a time when its resources are not used at full capacity.

Having two systems with similar performance, we started the tests. To warm up, we ran PCMark05 . We were somewhat puzzled by the results: there is a performance increase compared to Socket 939, and in all respects. But the advantage is negligible — one or two percent in practice will not give anything.

The second task was data archiving with WinRAR . This test was not chosen by us by chance. The archiver makes serious claims to memory speed. This is where we hoped to see the advantage of Socket AM2 over Socket 939. But it turned out the other way around — the data archiving speed turned out to be higher for the older platform. Again, the difference turned out to be minimal, and it can be completely attributed to errors.

Leaving aside purely working programs, we turned to 3DMark05 and 3DMark06 . In both tests, the system based on Socket AM2 won, but the gap does not allow us to say that Socket AM2 provides any real advantages. It is interesting that in the processor tests in 3DMark05 the new platform showed a phenomenal result, but we did not see this already in 3DMark06.

We didn’t even hope that the Socket AM2 + DDR2 SDRAM combination could surprise us in games. And in general they did the right thing. The new platform showed better results, but at high resolutions the difference is minimized, although in F.E.A.R. at a resolution of 1024×768, the Athlon 64 X2 4000+ processor is 5 frames ahead of the opponent, which is quite a worthy result.

Having received the final test results, we realized that it would not be possible to blame everything on the undemandingness of specific applications in terms of memory bandwidth. The reason lies in something else. We ran a synthetic memory speed test at EVEREST Ultimate Edition 2006 2.81 Beta — and it turned out that DDR2-800, which can potentially transfer 12. 8 GB / s, produces only 6.3 GB / s. The last figure is more in line with the maximum possible speed of DDR SDRAM…

As you can see, the new type of memory still gives some, albeit insignificant, advantage. The small gap is due to not the most powerful processor we used. When connecting a CPU with higher clock speeds, the memory speed will increase and the advantage of Socket AM2 over Socket 939 will become clearer.

Unfortunately, we failed to overclock the new system, and some of its dampness is to blame for this. It should be noted that the new processors for Socket AM2 heat up more than their predecessors, but, fortunately, the heat dissipation does not exceed reasonable limits.

Table 3
3DMark05 1.20
CPU Overall
AMD Athlon 64 FX-60 (Socket 939, 2.0 GHz) 5274 9839
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ (Socket AM2, 2 .0 GHz) 6063 9909
3DMark05 1.20
CPU Overall
AMD Athlon 64 FX-60 (Socket 939, 2. 0 GHz) 1512 5721
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ (Socket AM2, 2.0 GHz) 1528 5740
Table 5
DOOM 3 1.3 (demo1)
Resolution 1024×768 1280×1024 1600×1200
AMD Athlon 64 FX-60 (Socket 939, 2.0 GHz) 97.1 97.0 96.1 90 049 AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ (Socket AM2, 2.0 GHz) 99.2 99.3 97.9
F.E.A.R. 1.04
Resolution 1024×768 1280×960 1600×1200
AMD Athlon 64 FX-60 (Socket 939, 2.0 GHz) 93 87 72
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ (Socket AM2, 2.0 GHz) 98 90 003 91 74
Serious Sam 2 2.068.00 (Shield Generator28)
Resolution 1024×768 1280×1024 1600×1200
AMD Athlon 64 FX-60 (Socket 939, 2.0 GHz) 93.4 93.5 82.0
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4 000+ (Socket AM2, 2.0 GHz) 96.2 94.6 82.7

The test results confirmed our assumptions that relying only on the use of a new type of memory is not very reasonable. A tangible advantage over older processors is given only by older CPU models from AMD, which we will get to later.

The question of whether the transition to a new type of memory was so necessary can be treated differently. On the one hand, the company could well do without it, focusing on the transition to the 65-nm process technology and embedding a DDR2 controller in the new generation of its processors. On the other hand, AMD has already delayed the transition to DDR2 SDRAM for too long — the industry is already ready to forget about DDR memory.

The only thing wrong on AMD’s part is that it gave us old processors under the guise of new ones. Replacing the memory controller does little, especially in anticipation of the release of the formidable Conroe.

In general, switching to Socket AM2 can be considered reasonable if you are going to buy a computer from scratch, in any other case it will not be justified. In the next issues we will definitely return to this topic and continue testing new processors and motherboards for them.

The Lady Disappears

The older models of the processor line for Socket AM2 received virtualization support, codenamed Pacifica . There has been a lot of talk about virtualization lately.

Intel was the first to talk about this technology by including the VT feature, formerly known as Vonderpool , in their processors. This technology allows you to divide the resources of the entire system for the tasks of different applications. The fact is that now no program is able to fully load the processor and use all its resources. Virtualization technology should correct this shortcoming.

An Intel VT or AMD Pacifica capable computer can run two operating systems at the same time. Each of them will be allocated its own part of the computer’s production resources, and they will work independently of each other.

Now virtualization is supported by such a monster as Microsoft , so this time everything can work out, and two operating systems will work on one machine. Another question is why is it needed at home?

Socket 939 for Athlon 64. Review of new AMD processors and VIA K8T800 Pro chipset — Gambling

Today, when the performance of the flagship processors from Intel and AMD is almost equal, both companies are trying to find other ways to win the hearts of gamers. Intel , as we wrote in the May issue of Igromania, promotes the new Grantsdale/Alderwood platform with support for Socket 775 LGA , PCI Express bus for graphics and peripherals, and DDR2 memory.

The company AMD , unfortunately, does not have sufficient funds to radically promote new technologies. The company is still dealing with the 64-bit extension in its processors, which until the release of Windows XP 64 and related applications are absolutely useless. Support for the DDR2 memory in the Athlon 64 will most likely appear only next year (when its price is equal to DDR). However, one should not grieve over this: the memory controller built into the processor provides sufficient performance reserves even with the good old DDR SDRAM memory. As for the PCI Express , AMD decided not to waste its strength and leave the chipsets at the mercy of nVidia , SiS and VIA . So here everything depends not on AMD, but on chipset manufacturers. However, the PCI Express x16 graphics bus on modern accelerators is unlikely to show a significant speed increase compared to AGP. Another thing is that video card manufacturers themselves may abandon the outdated AGP port in favor of the latest PCI Express x16 . With the advent of Socket 939 , the fight between chipset and mainboard manufacturers will flare up with renewed vigor. Three companies at once — nVidia, VIA and SiS — will soon release their chipsets for the new platform from AMD. Not only summer will be hot, but also the struggle for our wallets. As usual, we will benefit from the competition between corporations. The stronger the competition, the lower the prices will be. Motherboards for Socket 754 have already fallen in price to the level of Socket A , now it’s up to processors. In this article, you will learn all about nVidia and SiS plans to release chipsets for the new platform. But the most important thing is the test results of the new processors AMD for Socket 939 and the motherboard A8V from Asus based on VIA K8T800 Pro . **What’s new in Socket 939?** Until June 1, there were two platforms for 64-bit AMD processors — Socket 754 and Socket 940. The first one used single-channel memory access and Athlon 64 processors (from 2800+ to 3400+). Processors under Socket 940 supported dual-channel memory access, but only processors of the FX series could use this function, which are very expensive (see the May issue « Igromania «). At the same time, FX processors required expensive and slow registered (buffered) memory. Now Socket 940 is reserved for server processors Opteron , so gamers can successfully forget about it. Socket 754 will continue to be supported and move into the realm of low cost systems. In the fall, Athlon XP processors will be released for it, devoid of 64-bit extensions, with a L2 cache reduced to 256 KB (code name — Paris ). For powerful gaming systems based on Athlon 64 and Athlon 64 FX, Socket 939 will now be used with support for conventional dual-channel DDR SDRAM. In addition, all processors for Socket 939 work with a chipset using the HyperTransport protocol at a frequency of 1 GHz (2 GHz DDR, the bandwidth is 4 GB in one direction or 8 GB in two directions). Previously, the frequency of this bus was only 800 MHz (1600 MHz DDR). At the end of summer, AMD Athlon 64 processors for Socket 939, manufactured according to the 90-nm process technology, should appear. Both processors will contain the instruction set SSE3 . And by the first quarter of 2005, the release of Athlon 64 4200+ 9 is expected0004 . New processors from AMD AMD has announced new processors, three of them for Socket 939 and one for Socket 754 (3700+). Athlon 64 3500+ Athlon 64 3700+ Athlon 64 3800+ Athlon 64 FX-53
SOKKET 939 SOKKET 939 SOCKKET 939
CHIP 2.2 GHz 2.4 GHC 2.4 GGZ 2.4 GGZ 2.4 GGZ 2.4 GGZ pernsport 1 GHz 800 MHz 1 GHz 1 GHz
L2 cache 512 kB 1024 kB 512 kB 1024 kB
Core voltage 1.50 V 1.50 V 1.50 V 1.50 V
Process technology 130 nm 130 nm 130 nm 130 nm
Heat dissipation 89 W 89 W 89 W 89 W
Chip size 144 square meters mm 193 sq. mm 144 sq. mm 193 sq. mm
Price per batch of 1000 pieces $ 500 $ 710 $ 720 $ 799
Processor Athlon 64 3700+ seemed rather strange to us. Socket 754 is aimed at the cheap market, and such a processor price — $710 — looks too high. And it’s better to buy 3800+, paying $10 more. In this case, you get a dual-channel memory controller and 1 GHz HyperTransport, which compensates for the decrease in cache. As for 3500+ and 3800+ , then in order for them not to compete with the FX series, AMD decided to reduce the size of the second level cache from 1 MB to 512 KB. The most interesting thing is that the Athlon 64 3800+ in a number of tests shows a performance equal to the new FX-53, although the prices of the new processors differ quite a lot. Otherwise, both processors are identical.

Left: Athlon 64 3800. Right: Athlon 64 FX-53
Note the heat dissipation of the new processors. Now it is only 89 W. This is less than the high-speed Pentium 4 on the core Prescott — 103 W. Intel engineers will solve this problem. In the summer, a new stepping (modification) Prescott D0 will be released, where the heat release will decrease to 89 W. According to rumors, another version of Prescott will be released at the end of the year with support for 64-bit extensions and the NX bit. The latest technology allows you to protect the system from viruses and Trojans that use a buffer overflow attack. Support will appear in Windows XP after the release of Service Pack 2. Technological advantages of AMD The first and main functional difference between Athlon 64 and Pentium 4 processors is support for 64-bit extensions. However, until the release of Windows XP 64 at the end of the year, this can be safely forgotten. Extensions require support from both the operating system and applications. Let’s wait until autumn — then, following Windows XP 64, 64-bit games should also come out. The second advantage is support for the NX (No Execute) bit. In fairness, it should be said that this technology appeared in the Intel Itanium server processor under the name XD (Execute disable). But this processor is used only in the server market. The third advantage is Cool and Quiet technology. It allows you to dynamically lower the clock frequency of the processor during its idle time. That is, say, if we play Unreal Tournament 2004, the processor will work at full capacity. And if you want to work in Word, then the frequency and voltage of the CPU will be reduced. At the same time, it will emit less heat, and the fan will spin at lower speeds. This will reduce the noise level. Chipsets for the new Socket 939 platform The success of a processor largely depends on the chipset it works with. If Intel itself produces chipsets (and not only), then AMD with the Athlon 64 platform entrusted this responsibility entirely to other manufacturers — nVidia, VIA and SiS. Let’s see what these companies can offer us. nVidia nForce3 250 Ultra

nVidia nForce3 250 Ultra is a chipset with a lot of potential.
__ Chipset nForce3 250 Ultra is nVidia’s flagship model for Socket 939. It doesn’t yet support PCI Express, but it does have other features. A distinctive feature of this set of logic is the presence of a powerful built-in network controller. It works not only with Gigabit Ethernet , but also has a hardware firewall. The prefix Ultra means that the HyperTransport bus operates at a frequency of 1 GHz. nForce3 250 Gb The is the first desktop chipset to integrate a gigabit Ethernet controller. Thanks to this, the data flow goes directly to the computer’s memory (through the processor), bypassing additional paths. The nVidia chipset has a hardware firewall. This solution allows you to reduce the load on the processor and filter traffic to block unnecessary requests to your computer. The chipset has built-in support for 9 different modes0003 RAID (see “ Igromania ” of December 2002 for what kind of beast it is) for Serial ATA . If only two SATA ports are used, then RAID 0 or 1 is possible. It is possible to use two UltraATA 133 ports at the same time, which will allow you to install a RAID 0 + 1 array. It is also possible to use two RAID arrays operating independently of each other. If you want to get the most out of it, you can connect up to six hard drives (two SATA and four UltraATA 133) in arrays or individually. Technology 9 became another feature of the chipset.0003 Autotuning — hardware overclocking. If the processor load exceeds certain thresholds, this technology will automatically increase the frequency of HyperTransport. AutoTuning also protects against hardware failures through the use of a built-in temperature sensor. _SiS755FX / SiS756 _ SiS is hard at work on the new 756 chipset for the new Athlon 64, which will support the PCI Express . However, at the moment the company has only SiS755FX paired with southbridge SiS964 (see April issue « Igromania «). Unlike nForce3, the chipset does not have a gigabit

Sweet couple: SiS755FX and SiS965.
Ethernet, and it only supports six, not eight, USB 2.0 slots. However, it has two Serial ATA ports, like the latest chipsets from nVidia and VIA. You should not rush to buy a motherboard based on SiS755FX — it’s better to wait for the newer SiS9 southbridge65 with two additional SATA ports, two PCI Express x1 slots, eight USB 2.0 ports, and a Gigabit Ethernet controller . At the same time, we have yet to see how successful the SiS756 northbridge with PCI-Express 1x and 16x support will be. _VIA K8T800 Pro _K8T800 Pro is a successful chipset from VIA. Paired with a VT8237 southbridge, it provides VIA Vinyl 8-channel audio, Gigabit Ethernet, eight USB 2.0 ports, and two Serial ATA ports. The number of SATA ports can be increased to four with interface VIA SATAlite. In addition, the chipset supports the basic RAID modes (modes 0 and 1 are already common today), including RAID 0+1. The Pro version is definitely a better choice than the regular K8T800, as this chipset not only supports the HyperTransport at 1 GHz, but also the asynchronous operation of the AGP and PCI buses (for overclockers). K8T800 Pro consists of northbridge and southbridge. The first motherboards based on K8T800 Pro will be equipped with the old VT8237 southbridge, and already in early autumn we will see a new southbridge on them VT8251 .

VIA K8T800 Pro has already proven itself well.
The new VT8251 southbridge will support four Serial ATA channels instead of two (in VT8237), which will allow organizing RAID 0+1 arrays. Support for ATAPI devices (CD/DVD drives, etc.) will remain, and two UltraATA/133 channels will remain in place. The VT8251 will have support for the VIA Vinyl Audio audio interface. The motherboard manufacturer will be able to install the inexpensive AC’9 codec of their choice7 (2.1) , a full-fledged audio chip VIA Envy 24PT or Intel Azalia , also known as High Definition Audio , into the motherboard. The last two solutions allow you to play eight-channel sound Dolby Pro Logic IIx ! Otherwise, everything is the same: a mouse, a keyboard, 8 USB 2.0 ports, a modem codec and a 100 Mbps network controller. New features include an interface for a Gigabit Ethernet chip from VIA and two PCIE x1 ports (250 MB/s per port). The increase in the number of PCIE ports can hardly be considered an advantage, since in this case the performance will be limited by the throughput of the V-Map interface between the north and south bridges, which is only 533 MB / s. Now let’s talk about VIA’s future plans — chipset K8T890 . It will hit the market in the fall. Its distinguishing features are PCI Express x16 support for graphics and four PCI Express x1 slots. In addition, VIA engineers plan to support AGP 8x and PCIE 16x at the same time! This will be an important argument in favor of the chipset. Test configuration and test results We tested a variety of processors from AMD , including models for Socket 754, 940 and new 939 . We tested the new platform on the MSI MS-7602E motherboard, which is based on the VIA K8T800 Pro chipset. Processors
Processors AMD (Socket 754) Athlon 64 3400+ (2200 MHz 128/1024 KB)
Processors AMD (Socket 940) Athlon 64 FX-53 (2400 MHz 128/1024 KB)
Processors AMD (Socket 939) A thlon 64 FX-53 (2400 MHz 128/1024 KB) Athlon 64 3800+ (2400 MHz 128/512 KB) Athlon 64 3500+ (2200 MHz 128/512 KB)
Memory
AMD Athlon 64 (Socket 754) 2 x 512MB — DDR400 Corsair CMX512-3500C2 XMS3502 V1. 1 Latency: CL 2.0-2-2-6 Voltage: 2.6V
AMD Athlon 64 FX (Socket 9) 40 ) 2 x 512 MB — DDR400 (200 MHz) Mushkin PC3200 ECC Registered High Performance
AMD Athlon 64, AMD Athlon 64 FX (Socket 939) 2 x 512 MB — DDR400 (200 MHz) Corsair CMX512-3500C2 XMS3502 V1.1
90 003 Motherboards
Platform AMD Athlon 64 (Socket 754) Asus SK8V Deluxe Chipset VIA K8T800 3COM/Marvell 940 Gigabit Ethernet Controller
AMD Athlon 64 FX platform (Socket 940) Asus SK8N VIA K8T800 chipset Broadcom BCM5705 (3C940) Gigabit Ethernet Controller
AMD Athlon 64 FX platform (Socket 939) MSI MS-7602E VIA K8T800 Pro chipset Realtek RTL8 169/8110 Gigabit Ethernet Controller
General hardware
Terratec Aureon 7.1 Space 96.00 kHz sound card
Asus A9800XT/TVD graphics card 256 MB DDR SDRAM
Hard drives Promise FastTrak S150 TX2plus 2 x SATA Maxtor 6Y080M0 (Raid 0 ) 80 GB/cache 8 MB/ 7200 rpm
DVD/CD-ROM MSI MS-8216 16x DVD
Software
nVidia chipset driver NVIDIA ForceWare 4. 24
ATi Catalyst graphics driver 6.14.10.6444
VIA chipset driver VIA Hyperion 4in1 4.51
DirectX Version : 9b
Windows XP Professional Build 2600, Service Pack 1
Test results
Athlon 64 3400+ (Socket 754) Athlon 64 3500+ (Socket 939) Athlon 64 3800+ (Socket 939) Athlon 64 FX-53 (Socket 940) Athlon 64 FX-53 ( Socket 939)
PC Mark 2004 — CPU 4132 4155 4494 4536 4527
PC Mark 2004 — Memory 3812 5360 5541 5634 5642
WinRAR 3.30 221 215 2 05 219 200
AquaMark3 (fps) 105.69 110.68 117.67 115 Far Cry (1024×768, low) 220 83 228.35 251.62 240, 75 261.83

The MSI MS-7602E is based on the VIA K8T800 Pro chipset.
You can see the actual results in the table. The new platform has proven itself very well. Updated Athlon 64 FX-53 for Socket 939 showed very high performance and outperformed the older version for Socket 940 in all tests except one. The Athlon 64 3800+ is also worth noting. Despite the fact that it has half the size of the L2 cache than the FX-53, it is almost as good as its older counterparts, and it managed to outperform the Athlon 64 FX-53 (Socket 940) in almost all tests. Conclusion The new Athlon processors were able to show excellent speed, but their price is no less worthy. If we compare the test results of Athlon 64 3800+ and FX-53, we should say that the advantage of the latter is not so noticeable. The best choice would still be the first processor. In terms of performance, although it loses, but not so much as to overpay the extra $ 80. At the moment, there is no benefit from the ability to work with 64-bit applications and games, but the Athlon 64 and FX series processors have other interesting technologies, such as Cool & Quiet and NX. As a result, we got a new, promising and powerful platform from AMD. Its only drawback is the price. Not everyone wants to spend more than $500 just for a processor.