Anyone know how to do Dual Penitum Pro?

[TurtleMan]

Hi i have a Pentium Pro system, and now i want to upgrade them to dual pentium pro, but i have no ideas wut to do beside that i alreayd bought a ppro cpu and i think i need a vortage modulator , anything else i need ? and i heard something about the volt need to be match ? can someone help me out ? thanks

 

[speed01]

As long as the processor speeds match (ie.both the same speed), all you need is the second VRM (voltage regulator module) and you're good to go. After installing the second CPU, you will have to re-install the operating system in order to take advantage of the dual processors and if you are running anti-virus software check to make sure it is SMP compliant. I ran into that problem on my dual Pro server.

 

[networkman]

I got lots of experience with the Pentium Pro processor when I had my ALR 6-way server! One key point is to make sure that the stepping is the same on both cpus - this isn't as big a deal on many of the Pentium II & III cpus, but IS a big deal on the Pros and Xeons.

Otherwise, as speed01 pointed out, you should be set with the 2nd VRM and a re-install of the OS. Some OS's like Win2K and Linux may not need a re-install, but make sure that your OS is SMP(Symetric Multi-Processor) aware - Win95, 98 and ME are NOT SMP compliant!

Dual cpus(and larger) can be great fun, and an excellent learning experience!

 

[speed01]

According to what I've read, stepping is not critical for a dual Pro system. As a matter of fact, the only thing that is critical is that both processors are of the same family (ie..both Ppro). As long as the bus is set for the lower speed of the 2, it will work. (Why anyone would do that is a mystery to me, but it's supposed to work if you have no other choice)
Check out
2cpu.com
and go to thier SMP faq page.

 

[TurtleMan]

wola thanks i thinkin im going to buy a VRM right now and a fan of course .. but according to what you say, the speed wouldn't double rite? i thought it would jump from 200 to 400.... and i only have 32mb edo ecc ram.. i think nt 2000 won't be able to handle this rite? thanks

 

[speed01]

No, the speed won't double. The processing power is efectively doubled due to having 2 processors but the CPU speed remains the same. My dual Ppro box performs as well if not better than my 500 K6-2. 32meg ram is not enough, get more.