dual processor boards

[MidNiteMysT]

do they make dual processor boards for desktops? and would it be ok to use a servers motherboard for your desktop computer? since they have the dual processors.

is there even a big advantage to having two processors? im guessing it would half the work load on each processor making the system that much more powerfull.

it seems like a very nice thing to have but i dont see too many people with dual processor boards so there must be some good reason for it.

 

[Vette73]

Not much need now outside of servers since you can get a dual core AthlonX2 cheaper then a dual optern system any day now.


just get a good socket 939 board and a AthlonX2 and you will be set.

 

[hytek369]

i got a dually and never went back

 

[MidNiteMysT]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Not much need now outside of servers since you can get a dual core AthlonX2 cheaper then a dual optern system any day now.


just get a good socket 939 board and a AthlonX2 and you will be set.

yea but then you can have two anthlonx2 dual cores, so thats like 4 processors! im not really talking money-wise.

i got a dually and never went back

so then can you answer some of my questions? like is it a server motherboard? and is it ok to use a server motherboard for everyday computing?

 

[potato28]

PM a guy named Tasburfoot. Or better yet, just look into the Cooling and Cases section. He has his dualy Xeon in his sig.

 

[cpacini]

so then can you answer some of my questions? like is it a server motherboard? and is it ok to use a server motherboard for everyday computing?

There is nothing really special about a "server" motherboard that sets it apart from a "desktop" board. They do the same thing, just that one may be marketed for servers and one for desktops. Most people, except for the enthusiasts and certain professionals, have no need for dual processor boards or raid cards or SCSI and the like; they are relegated to the world of servers. You could still use all of these in a desktop system, but you really don't need them.

To answer your question, yes you could, but there isn?t really any reason to unless you have a specific need for it.

 

[cubeless]

and a server board is, in general, going to be build for reliability, not tweakability... there will probably not be overclocking options, etc...

but there's (from a end user perspective) not much difference between a dual cpu board and a dual core cpu board... to get better multitasking performance and better performance with applications that can take advantage of dual processors, people have used server class dual processor boards for a long time...

but as was then and still is now (for the time being) there's very little advantage to dual core for gaming itself... the advantage is that u can be compiling on one core and getting in a spot of fragging on the other at the same time on one pc...

 

[jakesdad]

Yes, there are dual processor boards for desktops and can follow the standard ATX format (some are Extended ATX). Asus, Abit, MSI, Tyan, Intel and a few others do make them. They've been around for years. And, not just for servers, but also for so-called "workstations". Users in the engineering and architectural (which I'm in) fields go for workstation setups over server setup.

The "server" board tends to include built-in video for the rare times someone might need to do something at the server and is usually mounded in a rack setup. Workstations are made to be higher-end desktop boards for everyday usage, They don't usually include the video because someone's gonna toss in a Quadro, FireGL or Wildcat high-end graphics card for those all-important solid shading models. This is not the quick-and-dirty graphics you get from these gaming cards - we're talking minute detailed interference checking mechanical parts, stress modeling type applications or full building architectural 3d models.

Dell even sells the Precision Workstation line on their business site. The 600 series has dual processor capability. They are all desktops.

Remember too, on the AMD side, only the Opteron 940 pin boards can be made in dual processor configuration. No 939 processor can run in dual processor mode, so no such board exists.

So you'll never get the regular X2s in a dual processor setup. However, you can get the dual core 200 series Optys in a dual 940 socket processor board. That is where you'll find your 4 processor dream.

 

[MidNiteMysT]

thanks a lot for the answers guys. it seems that a workstation is the type i need, although theres nothing wrong with getting a server board and using that, it just doesnt have many tweaks. dual processor board sounds very tempting and im pretty sure im going to use such a board in my next computer.

but let me just get something straight. if your not going to be multi-tasking, theres no use for it? i would think with two processors, one processor could do half the load and get it done quicker, so its almost two times as quick. is that not how it works? would i not see a befifit over a one processor board unless im doing a few things at once?

 

[cubeless]

most code is written to perform instruction a then instruction b... so a single core works fine... you have to write a program that can take a task and spit it up into pieces and asynchronously execute them, then reassemble the end result to take full advantage of multiple cores... or run 2 different programs... and hope your os is smart enought to split the work equitably. wxp does an ok job in this respect, it generally just executes one prog on one cor and one on another with current single thread, apps...

 

[MidNiteMysT]

hopefully vista will provide more of that so we can take full advantage of dual processor boards or at least dual processor cores.