Best value for dual proc system

[Battleship]

I certainly do have some info that'll help you out I hope.
Abit just released a new dual fcpga motherboard called the VP6. This is in my opinion the dream motherboard that everyone should dream of having. Features include 4 Dimm slots, ATA100 connectors, Raid, AGP 4X, huge choice of fsb settings for overclocking as well as many PCI/AGP speed settings. The board is set out in a way so you can use huge heatsink/fan combos as well which has been somewhat of a prob with other dual boards b4. The bios settings are a tweakers paradise.
This will probably be my next upgrade as soon as I can scrounge up the cash.

Go here to check it out:
http://www.abit.nl/english/index.htm

Just look under motherboards for VP6.

As far as AMD goes, I am sure there are boards out there either now or are in development, so if you want to go that route you probably could although it would probably be more difficult. Dual Durons would be a nice little cheap but fast setup.

One last thing like Brent said, 256 is really the sweet spot right now to use with dual proc.

Good luck, man I wish I had the cash right now.

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A:\ >format c:
WARNING, ALL DATA ON NON-REMOVABLE DISK
DRIVE C: WILL BE LOST!
Proceed with format (Y/N)?y

[Wildfire]

If you were going to build a dual processor system today, what proc would you pick?

On the Intel side, the P3-733 looks like a good price point. Adding $50 moves you up to a P3-800. It doesn't make sense to move beyond that.

On the AMD side, the Athlon 700, 750, 800 or mayb 850 are in the sweet spot (the difference in price between the 700 and 800 is $37 and the 850 is a $60 bump from the 800).

If I were to build such a system (which is, at this point, a dream since my wife just wouldn't get why I need two computers ). I'd put Linux on it. I'm not sure what other components I'd pop in. 128MB or 256MB of 133 MHz RAM. At least a 20GB hard drive (with definate consideration to 30+GB depending on price). A 10/100 NIC (there are several with good Linux support). A Sound Blaster sound card. I'm not sure what video card I would pop in. Maybe a Matrox G400.

[Wildfire]

I forgot to say that I'd also have a CD-ROM drive (nothing fancy; just a normal 40X or better CD-ROM drive) and a 3.5" floppy drive.

[Brent]

well that all sounds good, but good luck finding a Dually AMD mobo! They are rare at this point... They ARE out there, but hard to find, and probably very expensive

OTOH Intel is easy to find, and prolly at the right price, for right now anyways.

I'm sure Battleship might know of some stuff off hand, but I'll have to look up some good dually boards. One that comes to my mind right now is the Abit BP6 but that's Socket 370 I think.

If you were gonna go for P3 800's they are Probably gonna be FCPGA so that's that kind of mobo you'll need.

I'd say go for the bigger hard drive as well. And the rest of the components you picked are great. Go for the 256MB of RAM too.

[Brew]

I am currently running an Abit BP6 w/2 Celeron 400s @ 558Mhz. (Only one of the CPU's runs 600 reliably). I have had a ball with this MoBo and really learned a LOT from using it.

Battleship is right, that VP6 sounds SWEET!!!

You are on the right track wanting to use it for Linux-as I am sure you are already aware, Win9X or WinME won't take advantage of the second CPU-although it will run fine on this MoBo (I'm in Win98 right now, also have Mandrake 7.0 installed). Windows2000 also takes advantage of the second processor, but can be a bit tricky getting it to run the correct Kernel/version for SMP-I had a beta version on this BP6 for a couple of weeks prior to the release of W2K to check it out and really liked the way it ran, just haven't gotten around to purchasing the released version yet, so no longer have it.

A couple of links to sites that really helped me when I first got this BP6 are www.bp6.com and www.2cpu.com. Also a good page for networking is www.helmig.com.

As for processors, I have personally had poor luck with anything other than Intel. Then again, I haven't gotten an Athlon yet, so have no base for comparison on that CPU. I HAVE been through a couple of K6-2s and K6-3s though, and really do prefer the Intel chips so far. I may go with an Athlon for my next system just to see if they are as good as what I have read on them-I prefer compatability and stability over sheer speed, but speed seems to be the main thing most people base their purchasing decision on.

I was lucky (or unlucky? LOL) in that my wife likes to play cards online, so when I first got a second computer and she realized she could play cards while I was playing on my computer, she was all for it. I quickly learned that a stand alone modem/ethernet router was a GOOD THING tho, as I had my computer set up with the modems in it, with it acting as a Proxy server (she HATED it when I had to reboot and she was in the middle of a game). Now I have a DSL Ethernet router with 3 computers connected to it in our house. The last one I added was actually one I put together out of old parts, it's a 233MMX that is in my 9-years old daughter's room-not much, but she can learn to type on it and send e-mail to her cousins. It's also my "testbed" for WinME-if she or her 5 year old brother don't crash it in a few months, I'll be IMPRESSED heheh.

I've rambled enough, good luck

[freckmoto]

Check [url=http://www.cantek.com,]www.cantek.com,[/url] they have combos that come with mobo, processors, and ram for a good deal. You might be able to get dual overclocked to lower the price.

Max

[freckmoto]

At www.cantek.com you can get dual 800 p3's on a nice Tyan mobo with 128 pc133 memory for $879 . . . *druel*! Looks like a good buy to me. Also comes with two of those alphacoolers!

Max

[This message has been edited by freckmoto (edited 10-02-2000).]