I need to upgrade my single CPU system to a Dual system. I am using3D modeling and video editing software which support dual proccesors. I have searched for days trying to find a solid board with good features. Seems all I can find in a Pentium class are boards that have poor chipsets, this disabled ( because it won't work etc.). Anyone out there know of such a board? I still want to maintain a system that I can use to play an occasional game so from what I have seen it seems either I play games or use it strictly for video and 3D.
Well, you have several problems. The only P4 that support dual CPU's is the XEON, which is not as fast as the latest PC P4's. That leaves you with your choice of PIII or Athlon. Dual Athlon chipsets are not exactly the greatest either. But AThlon MP's come at much higher speeds than PIII's. And worse yet, the best PIII chipset that supported dual operation is the old BX, while dual BX boards are rare, dual BX boards that support 133MHz bus speeds are EXTREMELY rare.
Which puts you back to the MP and it's crappy chipsets, or the P4 XEON, with it's high prices and lower than expected performance. I'd go with the MP based on price mostly, and look for a board from Tyan.
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Which puts you back to the MP and it's crappy chipsets
really? haven't noticed anything yet, hmm.
not 100% sure if the 3.06 xeons are out yet, but i do know 2.8ghz 533fsb ones are. pretty nice setup, but yes you're going to pay. 2.4ghz xeons (533fsb) are going around $300, with the 2.8's going for around $500+. add another $500+ for the mobo. you're looking at $1500-$2000 for just cpus/mobo going for xeons.
amd is a good choice for duals. their chipset is pretty solid (umm who isn't having some problems with their chipsets nowadays?). the MP chipset was really nice, the MPX since the usb fix way back when is a solid chipset. for amd duals i'd recommend 2 boards depending on what you're willing to spend and what you want onboard.
1. tyan's k7x. it's the mpx in their thunder line, onboard scsi, dual nic. a lot more than other mpx boards out though.
2. msi's k7d-L master. the "unsung hero" award definitely has to go to msi for this board. everyone talks about tyan's board(s), etc. this msi board is a great performer and rock solid. i would say it only comes in second to the k7x if you're needing onboard scsi, angled dimm slots, dual onboard nics and feel onboard video is adaquate (but can be disabled and use an agp card).
wtf? i'm uberl33t mang. i've got dual cpus, 6 scsi drives in raid0 and 2gb of ram for my UT2003 machine. so i'm a hax0r. f342 m3!
Although I realize that dual CPUs aren't really meant for gaming, I do have a few questions about dual CPUs and games.
1. I remember some people had trouble running Quake 3 with SMP enabled on Athlon MP systems. Has this been fixed? Does it effected other Quake 3 based games?
2. What other games support dual CPUs? Will DOOM 3? What about UT2003 now? If some of those A listers run well on dual CPU rigs, it could give AMD a major advantage because of their dual CPU pricing.
I have a dual Athlon MP setup, based on the first Tyan board that supported this and Tom's wrote an article about. I can't say enough good things about the setup I have, I love the mobo and chipset. I use the system for both 3d software, games and as a server. No problems at all.
I currently have a GF3 (standard) in it and am planning on putting a pro card in soon to help out with the graphics work I do on the machine.
Either way, Tyan makes the best MP boards out there, all of them are stable and come with an insane ammount of features.
