Is SMP really useful? (for wut i'll be doing)

[RichieZ]

I'm going to college soon and hense i will have a much bttr connection that my stupid 128Kb/s upload cable. I want to run things like a CS server and FTP server. ALso I will probably be encoding lots of divx.

Would it be better to get an P3 933(X2) or 1.5gHz+ Athlon. I'll only have 1 computer and cost will probably be more to upgrade to an athlon since I already have on 700E@933 and won't hafta buy DDR ram (if i get an athlon it will hafta be AMD760DDR). Althlon MP is out of my price range.

P3 setup would probalby be VP6 with 512MB PC133

 

[dowxp]

currently, flask mpeg doesnt support mpeg. [last thing i read]. as always, it depends on the user. i would take my system over a 1.7 athlon anyday. it wouldnt cost much more to upgrade to athlon really.


currently, a vp6 at $130 and 512 curical at $100 is good deal to me. get 933's at compuwiz techs for $129

 

[RichieZ]

Well I mean I already have the ram and I just need the VP6 and another 700E@933, which I've seen for about $110 the same stepping the S-Code as the one I already have.

Dualie setup:
CPU
MB

Athlon is:
CPU
MB
RAM
new power supply, Antec P303X won't cut it

Will an P303X power this:
VP6
700E@933 1.75V X2
IBM 36LZX U160 10K
WD 600BB
Geforce 2
Plextor 8/20X
Pletor 40X max
Toshiba 12X DVD
NIC
SB Live
Adaptec U160

And I usually encode w/ NanDubb which i guess is pretty much the same as Vdubb and ppl say that Vdubb can use both processors

 

[dowxp]

an antec 300w powers my system. look at it and you can get a good feeling of yes. as the intel man, i say go smp. u wont regret it.

smp+scsi = computing power

 

[dowxp]

oh. cb0 stepping and above.

 

[andalas]

If you going to do a lot of encoding SMP system would be really good.
Since you can assign secondary CPU to do encoding
and use your main CPU to do surfing and other stuff.

I miss my SMP machine
right now all my machines are single cpu.

 

[RichieZ]

Hmm I suppose I'll check it out, check prices in another 1.5 months. SMP sounds good, and yea CB0 SLY45, none of the Ca2 (my old 550E@825 was).

Do you guys know how many FPS of encoding an Athlon 1.4Ghz can get at 640x418 1400kB/s? My single P3@933 gets like 8-10.

Oh yea, I hear SB Live isn't good fro SMP. Is it the drivers?

 

[dowxp]

sblive is fine. athlon would probably get 17 to 18. athlon is high fpu. intels or slow. specially p3. but hey. its cool.