PCA Forums

Does anybody make a dual CPU board that can use 2 XP procs?

I wouldn't count on it... They are called AMD Athlon MPs (multi processors)... I don't see why people would market and produce something they arleady have something specifically designed for... Just a thought. Though, i have heard of XPs that have worked in an MP board? I'd have to look into it, I have heard rumors, never really got a straight answer =(

I too have heard of XP CPUs working on a dual board... never seen it for myself. But i too have heard of it and was wondering if its true.

yes, they will generally work. some may have problems, but 99% of the time, it works fine. mp's cost more because they're guaranteed to work, unlike xp's. AMD doesn't officially sanction using xp's in smp use, much like intel not supporting any further celerons after the pII based celly's to be smp capable.

there are more than several dual amd boards out to choose from. i'm planing on getting an msi k7d-L, and my fianceé will soon be running a tyan tiger 2460. however, too many people seem to think dual cpu systems are uber gamers, or that it's twice as fast (i.e. dual 1600+ = 2.8ghz); these beliefs are wrong. dual systems are for power users, those that will need the extra effort of another cpu to help carry the load that a single cpu can't.

dual also come with a big price tag. the new nforce 2 boards go for around 150. the cheapest dual board in general that is recent is the tyan tiger, which if bought retail, costs sometimes around 160. it will go on egeigh for 120. however, there is also no overclocking options with this board. it's stable, and if what you're looking for is stability, then this a good board for you. however, boards such as the asus, iwill, gigabyte and msi, cater to overclockers. the msi has shown to be the best all around and top overclocker.

to break the myths, no, smp systems do not run faster than single cpu systems; however it feels like it is because of the second cpu carrying the load. it is NOT a gamers dream, as most games do not take advantage of multithreading. quake III supposedly does, however i have no interest in quake, so have not tested it.

some believe mp's offer more stability, and this may be true, however, i have not seen any problems with xp's working in dual boards. there is a modification need to be done however. the L5 bridge needs to be connected in order for an xp cpu to work. if you have unlocked an xp, then it's much easier than closing the bridges for all multipliers.

i hope this clears up some of your problems.

Yes it does. and yes i am a gamer... and i do some CAD and video editing, so yes having a dual will greatly help in this setup. I am fully aware of the limitations of a dual vs a single. But that totaly awnsered my question. The only thing that was keeping me from getting a dual was the price of MPs.

Actually, all you have to do is get 2 xp's and cross one bridge. I woudl have to see it to show you which one and that turns them into MP's

Greg

glad i could help.

as for turning xp's into mps... it's very simple; bridge the L5 far left. before bridging, the L5 will look like this - - - | unless you have an older xp (pre-agoga) however this is what you want--> | - - | <-- the bridges should look like this afterward

So all your doing is shorting them out? if so this is good... i have a whole bottle of that conductive paint that i use for repairing PCBs

yea basicaly. first you have to fill in the gap though or you kill the whole cpu.

Greg

can a dual system do anything more for folding that a single cant?

imagine if we all had some duals and ran folding.......woohoo for first place

Originally posted by Absolut Talent
can a dual system do anything more for folding that a single cant?

imagine if we all had some duals and ran folding.......woohoo for first place

two instances of f@h good enough for you?