What to do? Dual Xeon Motherboard

[Usele55]

In cleaning out my predecessor's office I have found a Tyan motherboard with two CPUs installed. Does anyone know if this set-up lends itself to anything besides a server?

Specs:
Motherboard - Tyan HannStar MV-4
CPUs - 2x Xeon bx80546kg3200fasl8zp
RAM - 4x 1G (don't have specifics yet)

Any input would be gratefully appreciated. I am a beginner level when it comes to computer building.

I couldn't find specific specs on the above CPUs, but from someone elses thread it looks like they are 64bit. Can someone confirm?

 

[GhislainG]

Not really. It could be used as an office system, but it requires a large case, it generates too much heat and it probably will be too noisy.

 

[Usele55]

Okay. Thanks for the input. I could benefit from building a server. I've never done that before, can anyone recommend how to determine RAM requirements?

 

[GhislainG]

Depending on what the server will be used for and the OS (32 or 64 bit), 4 GB might be enough.

 

[Usele55]

Thanks for the feedback. I just did a little more research on the CPU. By the way, going from the big BX... number to info is extremely difficult. Turns out they are 64bit, 3.2 GHz, 800 MHz bus, 2MB L2, single core. Not the quad core I was hoping for, but for the price (free) they'll probably do well.

I figure I'll get everything working with the 4G RAM and see how it goes.

I just need to get more detailed info on the MB now so I can make sure what storage it supports. I'm assuming that will be a call to Tyan since they probably don't make it any more.

One more question. Would I be okay by buying a 650W desktop supply. The supplies labeled "server" are so much more expensive. It seems like all the connections are available on the desktop supplies.

 

[GhislainG]

Can you post what's written on the motherboard (a quality picture would also help)? A standard PSU might work, but since it's a dual-processor motherboard, it may require a server PSU.

As long as you don't expect that system to be very fast, it's a good project.

 

[Usele55]

Best answer selected by Usele55.