Athlon 64 - Socket 939
Moving on to socket 939, it is nearly impossible to highlight all of the excellent boards that are available here, so if we don't happen to mention your particular favorite board, please don't hold it against us. Why should you get a socket 939 motherboard now that AM2 launched? Well, performance isn't necessarily any better on the new platform, and you might be able to get better prices on socket 939 parts now. You might also already have DDR memory that you wish to keep, or perhaps you're just replacing an older 939 motherboard. While AMD is content to phase out the socket 939 platform as quickly as possible, if you already have most of the necessary parts and you're not worried about future processor upgrades, socket 939 is still definitely viable.
The 939 SLI motherboards seem to be quite stagnant in the way of price changes; only a few dollars here and a few dollars there, but nothing very significant. For the serious overclockers out there who are looking to push their hardware to the extreme, the DFI nForce4 SLI LanParty SLI-DR [RTPE: LanParty SLI-DR] is still a good choice, even though it does come with a hefty price tag of $161. The ASUS A8N-SLI Premium [RTPE: A8N-SLI Premium] is another decent option, priced at $156. Although the overclocking potential of this board is mediocre, it is one of the many feature-filled boards, including: SATA 3.0Gbps, integrated dual Gigabit LAN, 8-channel audio with the Realtek ALC850 chipset, up to 10 USB 2.0 ports, IEEE 1394, a multi-language BIOS and a Sony-Philips Digital Interface (S/PDIF-out) jack.
Of course if you don't find it necessary to purchase a very high-end motherboard for your specific application, there are plenty of cheaper alternatives available for you to choose from. You can easily find a socket 939 SLI motherboard for under $100. The Abit nForce4 SLI AN8 SLI [RTPE: AN8 SLI] and the Biostar nForce4 SLI N4SLI-A9 [RTPE: N4SLI-A9] are just a couple examples, going for $94 and $83 respectively.
Arguably one of the best overclocking and gaming boards available today, the ASUS nForce4 SLI X16 A8N32-SLI Deluxe [RTPE: A8N32-SLI Deluxe] is still held in high regard, and the price has dropped down to about $180. Abit and MSI also offer nForce4 SLI X16 boards for socket 939, and the MSI K8N Diamond Plus [RTPE: K8N Diamond Plus] is a decent option as well. Check out our review for more detailed information about this specific motherboard.
We're not seeing any significant price changes in the nForce 4 Ultra line-up, but we have noticed that the number of 939 motherboards has decreased,. There are still quite a few being sold, however, especially some of the more popular models. The DFI nForce4 Ultra LanParty UT Ultra-D [RTPE: LanParty UT Ultra-D] has always been a favorite and can be found for $120. The MSI nForce4 Ultra K8N Neo4 Platinum [RTPE: K8N Neo4 Platinum] ($105) is another decent option.
For an inexpensive socket 939 alternative, these nForce4 4X boards are fairly decent, although do plan on staying at the very low end of the price range as you can quickly advance into the nForce 4 Ultra price range, thus defeating the whole purpose of going with a less expensive chipset. If you're considering one of these motherboards, we would recommend going with the least expensive offering, assuming you are on a pretty tight budget. The ECS nForce4 4X NFORCE4-A939 [RTPE: NFORCE4-A939] is going for about $67. Keep in mind that an nForce4 Ultra based board can be had for about $90, while an SLI board can be had for about $80.
Moving on to socket 939, it is nearly impossible to highlight all of the excellent boards that are available here, so if we don't happen to mention your particular favorite board, please don't hold it against us. Why should you get a socket 939 motherboard now that AM2 launched? Well, performance isn't necessarily any better on the new platform, and you might be able to get better prices on socket 939 parts now. You might also already have DDR memory that you wish to keep, or perhaps you're just replacing an older 939 motherboard. While AMD is content to phase out the socket 939 platform as quickly as possible, if you already have most of the necessary parts and you're not worried about future processor upgrades, socket 939 is still definitely viable.
The 939 SLI motherboards seem to be quite stagnant in the way of price changes; only a few dollars here and a few dollars there, but nothing very significant. For the serious overclockers out there who are looking to push their hardware to the extreme, the DFI nForce4 SLI LanParty SLI-DR [RTPE: LanParty SLI-DR] is still a good choice, even though it does come with a hefty price tag of $161. The ASUS A8N-SLI Premium [RTPE: A8N-SLI Premium] is another decent option, priced at $156. Although the overclocking potential of this board is mediocre, it is one of the many feature-filled boards, including: SATA 3.0Gbps, integrated dual Gigabit LAN, 8-channel audio with the Realtek ALC850 chipset, up to 10 USB 2.0 ports, IEEE 1394, a multi-language BIOS and a Sony-Philips Digital Interface (S/PDIF-out) jack.
Of course if you don't find it necessary to purchase a very high-end motherboard for your specific application, there are plenty of cheaper alternatives available for you to choose from. You can easily find a socket 939 SLI motherboard for under $100. The Abit nForce4 SLI AN8 SLI [RTPE: AN8 SLI] and the Biostar nForce4 SLI N4SLI-A9 [RTPE: N4SLI-A9] are just a couple examples, going for $94 and $83 respectively.
Arguably one of the best overclocking and gaming boards available today, the ASUS nForce4 SLI X16 A8N32-SLI Deluxe [RTPE: A8N32-SLI Deluxe] is still held in high regard, and the price has dropped down to about $180. Abit and MSI also offer nForce4 SLI X16 boards for socket 939, and the MSI K8N Diamond Plus [RTPE: K8N Diamond Plus] is a decent option as well. Check out our review for more detailed information about this specific motherboard.
We're not seeing any significant price changes in the nForce 4 Ultra line-up, but we have noticed that the number of 939 motherboards has decreased,. There are still quite a few being sold, however, especially some of the more popular models. The DFI nForce4 Ultra LanParty UT Ultra-D [RTPE: LanParty UT Ultra-D] has always been a favorite and can be found for $120. The MSI nForce4 Ultra K8N Neo4 Platinum [RTPE: K8N Neo4 Platinum] ($105) is another decent option.
For an inexpensive socket 939 alternative, these nForce4 4X boards are fairly decent, although do plan on staying at the very low end of the price range as you can quickly advance into the nForce 4 Ultra price range, thus defeating the whole purpose of going with a less expensive chipset. If you're considering one of these motherboards, we would recommend going with the least expensive offering, assuming you are on a pretty tight budget. The ECS nForce4 4X NFORCE4-A939 [RTPE: NFORCE4-A939] is going for about $67. Keep in mind that an nForce4 Ultra based board can be had for about $90, while an SLI board can be had for about $80.
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Boushh - Monday, June 26, 2006 - link
Asus is offering the P5WDH Deluxe (based on the 975X chipset) and the P965 based P5B and P5B Deluxe. All offering Core 2 Duo/Extreme support. One Dutch etailer is offering the P5WDH for 211 Euro (including VAT, excluding shipping), delivery in 2-3 days.Your text is not clear about Core 2 Duo capable boards. On the one hand you say: 'If you need a replacement motherboard, however, there's no reason to wait.'. Suggesting that Core 2 Duo boards are available, but they are not listed in the price guide !! And on the otherhand you say: 'One big question that remains: which socket 775 motherboards will officially support Core 2 Duo once it becomes available?'. Saying that you actualy don't know which boards can support the Core 2.
It would have been nicer if you would list the boards that absolutely DO support the Core 2 (like the above mentioned Asus boards), and list the boards that MAY support the Core 2 (the list of 975X boards).
JarredWalton - Monday, June 26, 2006 - link
"One Dutch retailer..."That's the problem: we know there are some boards that are scheduled for retail availability very shortly, including the ASUS board you mentioned, but they're really not shipping in any reasonable fashion yet. It's also a little unnerving that no motherboard manufacturers are coming out beating the drum and saying how great their motherboards are because they offer Conroe support. We may see something like the 945/955 product launch where even though it was technically possible to run dual core chips on older chipsets, the only way to officially get such support was to buy one of the new motherboards.
Personally, there's no way I'm going to spend over $200 on an Intel motherboard right now unless I am absolutely certain it will support Core 2 Duo. The motherboard manufacturers all have test chips internally by now (and have for some time), so I'm a little curious as to why no one has been able to come forth stating which boards can support Conroe. Perhaps they are just under strict NDA from Intel and are not allowed to make such statements until the official launch has passed? If so, Intel certainly isn't doing any of the motherboard manufacturers any favors.
Boushh - Tuesday, June 27, 2006 - link
I see what you mean.Asus says that it supports: 'LGA775 socket for Intel Core2 Duo, Core2 Extreme and next generation Mulit-Core CPU'. But if you look at the CPU support, the list is empty. So that means that the Core 2 would fit in the socket, but without the CPU support list it's unclear if it will actualy work.
And with the Core 2 officially still a month away, I do understand your point for not adding these boards to the list (just yet) ;-)
JarredWalton - Tuesday, June 27, 2006 - link
They'd be added to the list if we could find them at US retailers. :) Probably another week or so....Quiksel - Monday, June 26, 2006 - link
This doesn't imply that C2Duo boards are out, it merely states that if you have a dead board, you probably need a replacement, hence, no reason to wait... Sure, some might not want to use their dead computer for a couple of months, but I know I would want it up and running.As for C2Duo support on existing mobo's goes, it is certainly fair to say that we aren't sure what will end up being supported since the procs aren't out and tested just yet. No reason not to be on the safe side, especially these guys when they are recommending products. Certainly they would not want to be on the receiving end of an angry customer finding out a board that Anandtech said would work with Conroe ends up being not compatible in the end. Let's just reserve judgment when the chips arrive, shall we?
shabby - Monday, June 26, 2006 - link
Why dont these charts ever appear correctly when you click on print this article?JarredWalton - Monday, June 26, 2006 - link
Probably an error in the code that generates the tables. I have passed it on to our website administrator to have him look at it.