Questions about dual processor

[jagr10]

I understand i'd need a mobo that supports dual processors, but since i'm a newbie at this, i have a few questions.

Is there a special processor i need for these mobo's or do i just buy 2 of the same cpu's?

Is there anything else i should know about this stuff? IOW, is this kind of stuff supported by windows XP?

What are the disadvantages of dual processor other than price?

thanks. I'm just curious about this.

 

[mechBgon]

1) you need CPUs which are capable of running in a dual or multi board, such as Coppermine Pentium3's, PPGA Celerons, Tualatin Pentium3-S's, AthlonMP's, or Xeons. AthlonXP's can be talked into running dual with a bridge mod on the CPU, usually.

2) dual is a special-purpose tool. It will benefit you greatly in certain applications designed to take advantage of a multiprocessor system, but may actually be slower for other uses (gaming). If you routinely run two processor-intensive apps at the same time, that could benefit you as well. WindowsXP Professional supports dual CPUs, and so does Win2000 Professional. WinXP Home doesn't.

3) besides price, disadvantages include the need for Registered ECC memory (typically), a beefier-than-usual power supply, more cooling, possibly more noise, and chipsets which are slower than cutting-edge single-CPU chipsets. Sometimes a non-ATX power supply is required and there are cases that don't jive with some dual-CPU boards due to the location of some of the components on the motherboard (CPUs near the front of the case for instance).

Hope that helps get a bearing on it all

 

[Willoughbyva]

Don't forget most linux distros support dual machines.

 

[jagr10]

THanks for the info. Doesn't seem like it will be of any use for me then.

 

[Biggerhammer]

I like mine- there are faster machines for gaming, but my machine pumps out F@H units like bullets, and I can burn a CD while working with the computer and not turn out coasters like my old single-processor did

 

[MedicBob]

I also like mine. I use it as a server only and it hasn't had a problem that I haven't caused yet. Duel is special though and I wouldn't use it as an everyday computer unless you were into photo and video editing. Most of those programs can take advantage of more then 1 CPU.

 

[vegetation]

Before you go crazy spending money on a dual cpu system, consider the cost of two independent single cpu systems. Often, you'll find the price to be very similar between the two, and you can usually accomplish a great deal more with 2 independent rigs rather than just 1 dualie, except of course for very specialized tasks.

 

[vegetation]

[delete duplicate]

 

[jagr10]

Originally posted by: vegetation
Before you go crazy spending money on a dual cpu system, consider the cost of two independent single cpu systems. Often, you'll find the price to be very similar between the two, and you can usually accomplish a great deal more with 2 independent rigs rather than just 1 dualie, except of course for very specialized tasks.

I didn't know that. Thanks for the heads up. You're right. I'd rather have 2 computers than 1.