Future of AM2?

[Stormcrow]

As my sig says, I'm working with a 3800+, which has been a little champ so far taking all kinds of abuse and chugging right along. However, AMD has just had another price dump, and the 6000+ can be had for around 170 on the egg.

The big question is, what is AMD going to be doing with socket AM2? I know AM3 is supposed to come into the picture sometime with DDR3 support, but what ever happened to this AM2+ I kept hearing about? Barcelona is due to launch soon (if we dont have another R600-esque timeline), and Agena is supposed to follow suit around December. On the newest boards for Phenom I've seen support AM2, but this has me curious. Kuma I believe was supposed to be a dual core for AM2, and the quads were supposed to be compatible with both AM2+ and AM3. However, with no AM2+ boards, does this mean that the Phenom quads will be backwards compatible with DDR2 and AM2? If so, I'd save back some cash for Agena when it rolls out, but if not then is the 6000+ worth jumping on now? My 3800+ does me just fine, but I'm not sure if it will bottleneck the 8800 GTS I have coming and if it's slower clock speeds with be that much of an impact on DX9 games which are still singlethreaded.

[[Dr. V]]

AM2 definitely won't be around too much longer after next gen. I also highly doubt there will be any more NEW chips for it, especially given there are already a few Socket F (1207 pins) out and about.

Besides, from the looks of it, Intel may be dominating for a long time. Personally I've been and will continue to be a HUGE fan of AMD, and really hope they're able to release a C2D killer. Not so sure though. No one can tell yet anyway.

[Capper]

AM2 boards will be around for awhile......actually, after talking to Gigabyte, they say that their AM2 boards will support AM2+/AM3 processors with a BIOS update. they say the same about their current INTEL boards. Their belief is that customers shouldn't have to upgrade their components constantly to use their motherboards.

As to AMD as a company, they are on life support, and INTEL just entered the room holding a large pillow to smother them.

[robodude666]

AM2 motherboards will support AM2+ CPUs but won't be able to use HT3 technology. And AM2+ mobos will support AM2 CPUs. So you can buy either a new AM2+ CPU or a mobo and still be ready.

AM2+ will be replaced in 2009 by AM3 though. And hopefully Fusion will pwn all in 2009 on the Socket F =D

I am excited about Gigabyte's new RD790 board!

[gvblake22]

Most (if not all) of the first round of next generation chips from AMD should work in current socket AM2 boards, just with a reduction of some new features (primarily the faster HyperTransport bus). There will also be the new AM2+ socket standard for at least the first round of the next-gen chips that will support new features like HyperTransport 3, but should also be backward compatable with current AM2 chips. So I wouldn't panic just yet, but don't expect that AMD is going to ride on AM2's coat tails for much longer after the first round of next-gen chips.

On the Intel side, Penryn is the next thing coming down the line, which will be a basic die shrink (to 45nm) as well as some small tweaks and improvements to the current architecture. Penryn will still utilize the LGA775 (Socket T) platform. But after Penryn will come a new architechture codenamed "Nehalem", which is supposed to feature an onboard memory controller similar to what AMD has done. But it is most likely that Nehalem will bring about the demise of the long standing LGA775 in favor of something more robust (with more pins to support the onboard memory controller).

[Stormcrow]

I knew AM2 was going out when I got the 590 SLi, but having not seen any AM2+ sockets yet I was beginning to wonder.
So for AM2 owners, would it be wiser to just get the best X2 you can afford, skip AM2+ and wait for AM3, or upgrade the mobo and keep the same X2 until you get something better? AM2+ seems kind of pointless to me if you already have an AM2 board, and if Phenom has 940 pins as well then all it should take is a bios update and a reduction in overall performance until you bump up to AM3 unless we get a Socket 940/AM2 scenario, if logic holds correct?

[Capper]

Originally Posted by robodude666

AM2 motherboards will support AM2+ CPUs but won't be able to use HT3 technology. And AM2+ mobos will support AM2 CPUs. So you can buy either a new AM2+ CPU or a mobo and still be ready.

AM2+ will be replaced in 2009 by AM3 though. And hopefully Fusion will pwn all in 2009 on the Socket F =D

I am excited about Gigabyte's new RD790 board!

You are exactly correct, although that was stuff i was going to elaborate on with an article tomorrow, or next week.

As to AMD and 2009, lets not get ahead of ourselves, I don't think people are taking AMD's issues as seriously as they should be.......and I'll reiterate something I've said several times, and a sentiment echoed by Gigabyte yesterday.....regardless of whether you are an AMD or INTEL fan boi, you have to root for AMD to survive, as there needs to be a competitive balance that pushes companies to release new technology and improve upon the stuff already available.

[garetjax]

Originally Posted by Capper

...regardless of whether you are an AMD or INTEL fan boi, you have to root for AMD to survive, as there needs to be a competitive balance that pushes companies to release new technology and improve upon the stuff already available.

Exactly right! There is nothing worse than a company having and exploiting a monopoly on a product, especially when it comes to the high-risk, high-cost technology market. Let's pray that AMD makes it, because if not, expect to see Intel making great strides to cement their supremacy (and their prices!) on the consumer market. Without competition, we, the customers, lose.

[[Dr. V]]

Originally Posted by garetjax

Exactly right! There is nothing worse than a company having and exploiting a monopoly on a product, especially when it comes to the high-risk, high-cost technology market. Let's pray that AMD makes it, because if not, expect to see Intel making great strides to cement their supremacy (and their prices!) on the consumer market. Without competition, we, the customers, lose.

Very true.

Must realize that without one, the other can't survive. I never wanted to see Intel FAIL by any means - just didn't ever want them to be as good as AMD! And for a period of time, that was so. Now, not even close.

[Capper]

I've never understood the "fan boi" thing.....people should choose choose the best available product in their price range, rather than looking for an excuse to choose on over the other