Question concerning Pentium Pros ... Do they need to be a matched set to run duallie?

[ShamusMcConnelly]

Well do they? I am hoping to get a duallie PP system up and have one pp200 already. Do they need to be matched to run it? And how can I tell if they are matched or not? Any clues.

Anybody know of a good mobo to run duallie PPs on, preferably something with SDR, although I know that is far fetched. Also preferably with AGP and a few PCIs.

I have been searching, but not long and not hard.

LMK

Sham

 

[Thor86]

Any SMP system should have both/all cpu's as the same stepping and model. Otherwise you are looking for trouble.

 

[Mingon]

Try eb@y their is normally a couple on there.

 

[Smilin]

Originally posted by: Thor86
Any SMP system should have both/all cpu's as the same stepping and model. Otherwise you are looking for trouble.

Absolutely. Same stepping is a must.

 

[ShamusMcConnelly]

So how do I check the stepping?

Sham

 

[SoundBoy]

No they don't have to be the same stepping, intel had a paper on it. They can't be more than 1 stepping apart i.e. 7 and 9 are ok (they didn't make 8). http://developer.intel.com/design/litcentr/ but I think they might have "lost" those notes. However I'm giving you the correct answer, others are talking out their nether parts.

 

[glugglug]

They don't have to be the same stepping.... seen pre-built servers in use with CPUs 4 steppings apart. Same family is of course required though, and probably same Model also.

Edit: Just looked again, the servers have Family 6 Model 7 Stepping 2 and Family 6 Model 7 Stepping 3.
For some reason I thought the steppings were 3 and 7.

 

[TerryMathews]

The important part of a dually GTL+ based system is that the lower stepping CPU be the primary CPU. I.E. CPU0.

 

[ShamusMcConnelly]

Ok,thanx for the info guys, but keep it coming if any of you have further information. Now, how do I CHECK the stepping on the CPU now?

Sham

 

[Thor86]

If this is just a home server to screw around with, then no, stepping shouldn't matter. If its for mission-critical servers, stepping DOES matter. Anyhow, you can search the net for WCPUID to check cpu info and stepping.

 

[bolsen]

Originally posted by: ShamusMcConnelly
Ok,thanx for the info guys, but keep it coming if any of you have further information. Now, how do I CHECK the stepping on the CPU now?

Sham

I talked with Intel, and they said that stepping can NOT be more than 1 off. So say 2 would work with 3, but 2 will not work with 5. (Example.)

Use CPUID (I think that's the name of the proggie) to find out the stepping.

 

[glugglug]

Best program for getting info about your CPU/cache/RAM, including stepping: CPU-Z

Or you can look in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Hardware\Description\CentralProcessor\0, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Hardware\Description\CentralProcessor\1, etc.
But that may not be as reliable if a CPU was switched out after installing Windows.

 

[AndyHui]

Pentium Pros MUST run with the same stepping in an SMP system.

This is due to the cache die having its own stepping as well, which can cause problems if you mix steppings.

This same stepping requirement was relaxed from the Pentium II processor onwards, where mixed steppings could be used in accordance to the Mixed Stepping SMP Matrix available in the specification update documents.