Dual CPU computers...

[Mrvile]

My buddy told me that Intel is currently putting a lot of work into the Pentium M, and trying to make it into a desktop CPU instead of just mobile.

Anyway when I said that I meant P4s, because yes, P4s are at the end of the line and are starting to run really hot.



What motherboard should I use? The MSI one or the TYAN one?

 

[cessna152]

Originally posted by: Mrvile


1. Which cools better, passive heat sinks (like the 40 dollar-a-piece Coolermasters Mike has) or ones with fans?

The CM-04 are much better than the stock Intel heatsinks and of course much much quieter. However, this is dependent on the airflow in your case. If you have a cramped case with no airflow the temps will be worse. My temps stay around 36C and get to around 44C under load. They were much higher with the stock Intel heatsinks. You can also "Attach" 80mm fans to the CM-04 heatsinks if you are worried about passively cooling them. The CM-04 are really really nice heatsinks. Ask anyone on www.2cpu.com.

 

[Mrvile]

Ok thanks. I'm not getting an Intel anymore, switching to AMD but I guess the concept is the same. Not sure I wanna plop down 80+ bucks for heatsinks though.

 

[whorush]

the tyan is really good. but i would see if you could get one with the nforce3 250GB.

 

[Mrvile]

The only NF3 board I can find is an IWILL that costs 470 bucks, and is out of stock. I doubt I'll be getting it, but I'll stick with the Tyan thanks.

 

[Markfw]

Well, if you get a real dual Opteron motherboard (see sig) who needs pc express when you have PCI-X at 8 times the bandwidth of pcie (except the one or two for video).

Make sure you have the money to do it right if you go dual, or you will be disappointed. You may want to go single socket 939 3500 would be a good compromise.

SCSI is great for games (far cry loads for me in 7-10 seconds per level) but at that performance level, it is not $150 more, but more like $1500-$2500 more.

Edit : and to some of the other replies, Opterons REQUIRE registered, and ECC is option, and highly recommended. As for performance in crunching vs Xeon, not sure, but in nost server tasks, they crush the Xeon's. I took my dual Opteron system down while I went to Vegas for a business conference, and my F@H average dropped from over 1k/day to 268 yesterday. Today may hit 500, so my one box alone was doing at least 500 a day by itself (not really sure till I get home, but check my last 2 days chart !!!)

 

[whorush]

mark, do you think the tyan board is the right choice?

you do have a point, if you OC a 90nm 3500 you will have a super fast system.

 

[Mrvile]

Well Mark, I took a look at your system, and all I'm gonna say is that it must have cost you a fortune.


Anyway I'm building my system based off of Mike's (I know his was Xeon) - kind of a "budget dual-processor" system. I'm trying very hard to cut the price to 1600, which I know sounds low but I might be able to do it. I'm planning on using sanely-priced 240s with the sanely-priced Tyan board I have posted.

I don't need things like PCI-x because the video card I'm getting is AGP, and most boards right now are 5x PCI and 1x AGP so the 230 dollar Tyan has everything I need. I also don't plan on spending 1500-2500 more bucks on SCSI when I'm only going to use a 7200rpm SATA hard drive.

So Mark, thanks for the consideration but I'm not doing this to get the best bang possible, but for fun and as an experiment. If it doesn't run quite as fast as your set up, so what? I bet it'll still run great. Also a lot of people don't have the money like you do to build ten 4000+ dollar comps, not to mention that sweetass car. But I'm not criticizing you, I love the crazy dual 248 setup, I'm just stating that some people like me aren't quite as rich as people like you

 

[whorush]

an experiment? huh. are you planning on building more dual's?

 

[Mrvile]

lol No no no, I'll use whatever turns out from this, but what I was trying to say to Mark is that I'm not trying to build the baddest performer out there. I'm just doing this for fun, after all, dual CPU is different, and just to see how things turn out.

EDIT: MARK: Yeah I know about the ram needed, but the good thing is that ECC Registered ram only costs about 30 bucks more per stick, which is cool. By the way, I've heard this used a lot but never bothered to ask, what is F@H?

 

[whorush]

rock on man, think about it, when the dual core chips come out in 8 or so months, you can buy 2 and get a 4-way ;-) whats $2000 ????

i understand, i too am poor. i'm a graduate student, thats one step above hobo.

 

[Mrvile]

lol I'm a kid, don't even have a job. This is an Xmas present so I gotta do my parents some justice.

Quad Opteron motherboard: $1600.

 

[whorush]

no no, i was talking about the dual core chips. they have 2 cores in one chip. so 2 chips in 2 sockets, if each chip as 2 cores, you have 4 cores. my only point was that it might be a good upgrade... but by the time i feel like upgrading, its time for a new box anyway. oh well.

 

[Mrvile]

I know what you were talking about, I was just pointing out some of the current technology we have now.

Think about it man! Dual core CPUs on a motherboard like that, that's like...8 CPUs!

 

[Markfw]

Thanks for the comments Mrvile. I worked for 30 years to get where I am today (at 50 years old). My sons comp is only a 2800+ that I gave hime, but he has 3 other 3200+ and a 3300+A64 at his gaming disposal (lan party comps)

Anyway, I don't think you got the point of my PCI-X setup. I have an 8x AGP slot AND 2 100 mhz PCI-X (64-bit) slots and 2 133 mhz PCI-X (64 bit) slots and one 32 bit 33 mhz PCI slot.

The new systems with PCI-Express have a totally difference slot, and all I have seen have ONE or TWO(sli) 16x slots for video only, and all the other slots at 1x.

PCI-X 133 mhz ~= PCI Express 8x. So my point was, video aside (AGP8x~16x PCIe today), that my PCI-X slots are about 8x faster for the other cards LIKE my SCSI controller.

 

[Mrvile]

Yeah, the PCI-X is nice, but what I'm saying is that I don't have anything that would use those slots, such as an SCSI controller. And instead of paying an extra 200 bucks for them, I can just give them up without too much lost breath.