Socket AM2 Forward compatible with AM3

[MrZucchiniHead]

foud this on daily tech and it seems relly cool and makes me think about getting AM2 and then jumping to AM3 instead of conroe.

AMD has released details of its next-generation desktop CPU interface, Socket AM3, to its OEM partners. In a mildly surprising move, AMD has revealed that AM2 will accept AM2 or AM3 CPU packages. Additionally, recent roadmaps have confirmed that AM3, AMD's upcoming desktop CPU socket, will not be backwards compatible with AM2-package CPUs. Roadmaps and memos have also confirmed that this AM3 package will be for AMD's "K8L" architecture, and not for the upcoming 65nm AM2 Brisbane CPUs scheduled for launch this December.

The most recent AMD roadmap is also very clear to state AM3 "supports either DDR2 SDRAM or DDR3 SDRAM, but not on the same motherboard." This is great news for upgraders, as there is a very clear upgrade path: CPU, motherboard, and then memory. This also infers that AM3 CPUs will have both DDR2 and DDR3 support on the integrated memory controller. DDR3, like DDR2, has 240-pin, but the two formats are not pin-compatible.

As we also mentioned earlier, Greyhound will be the first desktop processor to support HyperTransport 3.0. Part of the specification for HT-3 is backwards compatibility with older revisions of HyperTransport, and the forward compatibility of the AM2 socket confirms that. However, it’s important to mention that even though AM3 CPUs will work in the AM2 socket, HT-3 allows for 5.2 Giga-transfers per second, while current AM2 motherboards top out at 2.0 Giga-transfers per second. Even though the additional headroom is likely not completely necessary, quad-core CPUs will certainly benefit from the additional bandwidth to the DDR3 memory.

There is no word yet on the number of pins the new socket will require, but since AM2 sockets are forward compatible with AM3 CPUs, we can at least deduct that AM3 will have fewer than 940 pins. Furthermore, since Socket AM2 is forwards compatible with AM3 CPUs, it is also safe to say that AM3 is not a land-grid array (LGA) socket. AMD will switch its Opteron platform to an LGA-1207 socket on August 1, 2006. AMD has not announced when Socket AM3 will be released, although since it would be the first HT-3 "ready" socket design, it seems likely that K8L and AM3 for the desktop will launch simultaneously.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=3169

[turtile]

I think DDR2 and DDR3 use the same sockets so with a bios update and a new CPU DDR3 should be able to be supported by current AM2 boards.

[MrZucchiniHead]

even if it does just require a bios update, Socket AM3 has Hypertransport 3.0 but it probably wont make a very noticable difference until CPU speeds can go the speed HT-3 allows it.

[turtile]

The memory contoller is on the chip, so a new CPU will also come with Hypertransport 3.

[MrZucchiniHead]

it says the AM2 motherboard is capped at 2 giga-transfers per second and HT-3 runs at 5.3 giga-transfers per second.

what the heck is a giga-transfer?

[mophead740]

ye wat the heck is a giga transfer
(1 GB per second maybe)
anybody no?

[R1C0CH3T]

why in h3ll are they switching from am2 to am3??? didnt they just bring am2 out fairly recently? or have they figured out that its crap and making something that can fight w/ conroe?

[Infomatic]

Originally posted by mophead740
ye wat the heck is a giga transfer
(1 GB per second maybe)
anybody no?

Its a different term that what I hear thrown around. Usually, the HT3 specs said that it was a 5.2Ghz bus, like the current HT bus is 2.0Ghz.

But Giga-transfers does mean GB/s.

I think its about time AMD switched to a LGA socket. Its cheaper to replace a $100 motherboard than a $300 processor.

[AnthraX]

Well, since they're switching from AM2 to AM3 so fast, compatibility is an amzing feature for upgraders.

[cwiz]

Originally posted by R1C0CH3T
why in h3ll are they switching from am2 to am3??? didnt they just bring am2 out fairly recently? or have they figured out that its crap and making something that can fight w/ conroe?

ever heard of exponetial growth? i remember waiting on the edge of my seat for like 6 12 months to go from 333 to 500 MHz... now they'r coming out with new freakin sockets every month! maybe im just old