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**Praetor** · 05-15-2005, 02:22 AM

I'm getting a X, what are some more considerations I need to know about?

Socket754 configurations do not support dual channel so no matter who tells you otherwise or how hard you try, you wont get dual channel. Now whether dual channel means all that much or not, see the RAM 101.
See the comment about about matching FSBs for Intel processors. A similar scenario applies to AMD chips but with fewer occurances of problems
You may also want to consider buying a new power supply capable of handling the power demands of a new processor. See the PSU101 for relevant information
If you plan to do any overclocking or really heavy CPU stuff: an aftermarket cooling solution (be it forced-air, water, exotic etc) should be a consideration
If you are upgrading a CPU, make sure you clean off the old thermalpaste before adding new stuff on -- and dont add too much -- too much thermal goop is actually [potentially] worse than too little
While you may be lucky enough not to have to format the system, you probably should
If you are getting a Socket775 or nForce4 based system, you will have to have a PCI-Express video card which may be an added expense (of course the exception is an i865 based S775 board which is AGP)
When installing everything, make sure you connect the 4-pin ATX12 cable to the motherboard, failing to do so will mean the boot process wont happen (a picure of this cable is in the PSU101)
Some S775 configurations only accept DDR2 memory so that may be an added expense

MMX, MMX+, 3DNow, 3DNow+, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, etc
These are generic instructions available by processors (some processors support them some dont) which, for all intents and purposes, improve multimedia functionality. Do note that while SSE3 is cool, it's does not offer as big a peformance delta from SSE2 as SSE2 offered in comparison to SSE. (i.e., it'd be nice to have but it shouldnt be the primary make-it/break-it decision maker)

How important is cache?
Tough question to answer so generally but I would say, for Intel setups with their massively long pipelines, the amount of cache available to a processors is very important whereas it's not nearly as critical for AMD folks. This is illustrated by the performance deltas between a Pentium4 and its related Celeron (i.e., its quite noticeable). Now for AMD folks, a similar scenario exists for AthlonXP/Duron (although no where as bad) and to a much less noticeable degree, Athlon64 FX and Athlon64.

Again more of an Intel issue, the performance deltas from increased cache need to be taken with a grain of salt if (a) the cache is slowed (i.e., the L2 cache on Prescotts featuring 2MB of L2 is 17% slower than their 1MB counterparts) and (b) if the core itself undergoes a change (going from NorthwoodC to Prescott adds an extra 512K or L2 cache, the Prescott architecture is significantly less efficient).

DDR2?
- No AMD setup as of yet supports DDR2. And no it's not backwards compatible.
- DDR2 for the most part is not better than DDR. Only when you buy fancy, fancy DDR2 memory do you start really pulling away from DDR.

05-15-2005, 02:22 AM	#5 (permalink)
Praetor Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canada Age: 24 Posts: 19,943	Section 2 - Part 02 *I'm getting a X, what are some more considerations I need to know about?* Socket754 configurations do not support dual channel so no matter who tells you otherwise or how hard you try, you wont get dual channel. Now whether dual channel means all that much or not, see the RAM 101. See the comment about about matching FSBs for Intel processors. A similar scenario applies to AMD chips but with fewer occurances of problems You may also want to consider buying a new power supply capable of handling the power demands of a new processor. See the PSU101 for relevant information If you plan to do any overclocking or really heavy CPU stuff: an aftermarket cooling solution (be it forced-air, water, exotic etc) should be a consideration If you are upgrading a CPU, make sure you clean off the old thermalpaste before adding new stuff on -- and dont add too much -- too much thermal goop is actually [potentially] worse than too little While you may be lucky enough not to have to format the system, you probably should If you are getting a Socket775 or nForce4 based system, you will have to have a PCI-Express video card which may be an added expense (of course the exception is an i865 based S775 board which is AGP) When installing everything, make sure you connect the 4-pin ATX12 cable to the motherboard, failing to do so will mean the boot process wont happen (a picure of this cable is in the PSU101) Some S775 configurations only accept DDR2 memory so that may be an added expense *MMX, MMX+, 3DNow, 3DNow+, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, etc* These are generic instructions available by processors (some processors support them some dont) which, for all intents and purposes, improve multimedia functionality. Do note that while SSE3 is cool, it's does not offer as big a peformance delta from SSE2 as SSE2 offered in comparison to SSE. (i.e., it'd be nice to have but it shouldnt be the primary make-it/break-it decision maker) *How important is cache?* Tough question to answer so generally but I would say, for Intel setups with their massively long pipelines, the amount of cache available to a processors is very important whereas it's not nearly as critical for AMD folks. This is illustrated by the performance deltas between a Pentium4 and its related Celeron (i.e., its quite noticeable). Now for AMD folks, a similar scenario exists for AthlonXP/Duron (although no where as bad) and to a much less noticeable degree, Athlon64 FX and Athlon64. Again more of an Intel issue, the performance deltas from increased cache need to be taken with a grain of salt if (a) the cache is slowed (i.e., the L2 cache on Prescotts featuring 2MB of L2 is 17% slower than their 1MB counterparts) and (b) if the core itself undergoes a change (going from NorthwoodC to Prescott adds an extra 512K or L2 cache, the Prescott architecture is significantly less efficient). *DDR2?* - No AMD setup as of yet supports DDR2. And no it's not backwards compatible. - DDR2 for the most part is not better than DDR. Only when you buy fancy, fancy DDR2 memory do you start really pulling away from DDR. __________________ ASUS P5K Premium WiFi-AP, Q6600@3.7 / ASUS P5ND, E6400@3.8 4GB OCz Platinum XTC 8500 / 4GB CorsairXMS2 6400 5x500GB Seagate 7200.10 / 2x500 Seagate 7200.10 OCz 8800GTX 768MB @ 630/800 / 2x Galaxy 8800GT SLI Last edited by Praetor; 07-03-2005 at 09:11 PM.