Is Athlon 64 socket AM2 = Socket 939 ? Is Athlon 64 3000+, 3200+, 3500+ Always = Venice core ?

See answers inline...

"Michael Hertz" wrote in message
...
I am a bit confused about the AMD naming:

Is the socket AM2 (for Athlon 64 CPUs) the same as Socket 939 ?
No. Two different sockets, non-interchangeable. Socket 939 (and 754, to make
things more interesting) use DDR memory, Socket AM2 uses DDR2 memory. That
said, there *may* be a motherboard that uses Socket AM2, but also has DDR
memory slots. Check Asrock offerings.

If not: What are the differences / which is better resp. more future
compatible ?
As to which is "better", opinions vary. AM2 is the latest, and therefore,
more "future compatible". I believe AMD has ceased manufacture of Socket 939
CPU's

Do Athlon 64 CPUs with the labels 3000+ or 3200+ or 3500+ ALWAYS have a
Venice core
(= a core with low (67 Watt) power consumption) ?
No. There are several different cores. check the AMD web site for more info.

Michael