dual motherboards

[Adam Pintar]

Ok iI know I post alot but there is so many toys out there to play with.

My question today is if I got a dual processor motherboard.....

1. would I still be able to use win98
2. I dont want a dedicated server but just have like an 8 player freindly game would this increase my performance
3. Is there any boards out there that would let me mix a 733mhz pIII with a 1000mhz pIII or would I have too have a pair of 733mhz pIII.
4. Would I lose any friends (just kidding)
5. Are the dual motherboards just server sided or can it be used for just a plain home computer.
6. what type of complications might I run into.

Thanks for any help that is sent my way and any links would be valuable.


Adam http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

[tjaymadison]

Doubt you could mix CPU speeds, especially if you're thinking of trying to
overclock to get both to run at 1G. Seems like a waste to run a 1G at 733.
I also think 'dualies' have to be matched in stepping code/version.

Most dual CPU setups are for speed and redundacy on servers,
running Win2000, NT, or Netware.

Don't think 98 has the inherent capability to take advantage of
that kind of configuration, at least not without a serious hack.



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[Adam Pintar]

Alright thanks for the quick information http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif tjaymadison.

I guess ill just put a 1000mhz into this system give my 733mhz to my girlfriend and then sell the 667mhz to someone that is stuck with a celeron.


Adam http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif

[Paleo Pete]

Dual CPU setups are good for servers running NT, but if you're running 98 it doesn't take advantage of the multiple CPU very well. It will run, and probably without problems, but it's basically a waste of an extra CPU.

You can't mix CPU speeds, both or all CPU's in one machine must be the same speed, otherwise they can't work very well with the rest of the system.

Complications are not much of an issue, just have to make sure you have the same things set correctly as with a single CPU system, voltages, bus speed, multiplier etc. And I think some BIOS settings might apply.

Yes, multiple CPU systems are basically server oriented. NT works very well with multiple CPU setups, probably win 2000 too. I've used a dual P-266 NT server before, with as many as 5 programs or more open it rarely ran above about 50% CPU load. Never did find out what it would take to bog it down...NT works because it's designed to be used in heavy duty network use, several machines accessing it at once, as well as multithreading. That's the main thing 98 does not do, multithreading...and multiprocessor support was built into NT from the beginning. 98 will run, but won't use the second CPU...or not very well anyway. NT simply swaps CPU activity back and forth from one to the other, usually keeping the load balanced between the CPU's.



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[Marc Johnson]

I write software manuals so often have QuarkExpress, Microsoft Word, Macromedia Fireworks, Internet Explorer and Outlook all running at once. I am typically only doing something in one app (I don't "render" or have a lot of processor activity going on, except in the app I am using). I keep all these apps open as I assemble manuals, copying and pasting from one app or another to Word or to Fireworks, then exporting rtf/tiff files which I import to Quark.

Just having so many apps open at once makes my system extremely unstable, particularly if one of the apps I am writing about is alpha software with lots of memory leaks etc. With alpha software, I will open the software and fireworks afer a reboot, take a bunch of screenshots and process them, reboot, then open Quark and everything else...

When I am doing my typical workflow with no alpha software open, I am typically restarting my system 6-7 times a day to deal with resource figures in the 40's & 50's (win 98's resource meter). If I do not restart I will crash eventually.

I currently run Win 98 on a Pentium III 550 with 384 mg Ram.

I've checked with the manufacturers and none of my apps is multithreaded for dual processor support.

If I were to buy a dual processor system and switch to XP pro or Win 2000, would I see better performance in my situation?

[Rick]

Marc Johnson

In A Word.
NO

you may move some of the work load off cpu1 to cpu2 but you not see the benefits of the dual cpu until you get software written for dualie.

Unless you are doing Multiple cpu intensive jobs at one time a dualie is a waste.

Quark will perform better because of it’s graphics nature.

I would suggest getting a faster cpu and More memory on a single cpu unit.

BTW. Win 98 on a dualie only has access to CPU#1 it will not use or access CPU#2 at all


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[Marc Johnson]

I just want to clarify. I am not looking for more speed. I am looking for stability. I am real tired of rebooting so often. I would like to safely work with 5 or 6 apps open at once, all day...

[mjc]

Just bump up to 2k (XP is possible because it is supposed to be compatable)...it handles memory better than 98 and is inherently more stable, but then some of the apps you're test may not work properly. Instability is to be expected in your line of work...that is why it is alpha software...doesn't have all the bugs worked out yet. The othe soultion would be two machines...one for the product you are writing about and the other to d the writing on (yeah they'd have to be networked and that may have its own problems when the test box crashes....), but until you get out from under the way 98 handles resources I don't think there will be much of an improvement in stability.

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[Marc Johnson]

Thanks, that's a good idea to use two pc's. I have used a laptop for really alpha stuff in the past. The difficulty comes when it's time to write, because then I need constant screenshots and it is just so fast to do on one machine.

I will upgrade to Windows 2000. All of my apps will run on 2000, none have been tested for XP or XP pro.

This is really dissapointing about the dual processor, an article at Tom's Hardware really had me going...

[Paleo Pete]

I agree with mjc, a second machine would be a good idea. Win2K might be a good thing too, it's much more stable due to better memory and resource handling.

Take screenshots beforehand and send them to the other machine via network. When you get ready to write, they're right there. The opposite would work too, grab them from the other machine when needed.

Dual monitor might be a good idea as well, can't beat looking at notes on a separate monitor instead of having to shrink one application to use another...it would also be good for looking at screenshots to pick the one you want, comparing the draft with a rewrite etc...Only thing is, I'm not sure win2k does support multiple monitors, but seems like I read somewhere it does. If not, someone will be along before long to correct me.

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[Marc Johnson]

I've been wanting dual monitors for some time. I hope someone will comment if it won't work on some operating systems.

[Paleo Pete]

Win98, XP and 2000 all support multiple monitors. Win95 and 3.11 do not, I'm not sure about NT but I don't think it does. ME will handle multiple monitor too I'm pretty sure...

Found a pretty good article about win2000 related to graphics and audio applications. Seems it's very stable for those kinds of uses...Internet Eye (http://the-internet-eye.com/features/Windows2000n05152000.htm)

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[Marc Johnson]

Very convincing article. Thanks for the link. Do you think I would get any advantage from upgrading to XP pro rather than Win 2000?