Dual Processor Support

[Srek]

Are you realy sure you want a dual processor system and not a dual core single Processors system? If yes, why?
Since dual processor systems are a good deal more expensive then single processor ones and don't offer much of an advantage (at least not speedwise) you should have a good idea on why you want to spend more money.
As for Dual Processor boards, most MB manufacturers offer them
Example: http://www.asus.com.tw/products2.aspx?l1=9&l2=39

Cheers
Björn

[jbo]

on the AMD side, pretty much ALL current 939 motherboards are compatable with X2. just get an nforce4 board and you should be good to go.

as srek said, there really isn't a good reason to go with 2 seperate processors. the only big advantage is that you could run 2 dual core processors for a total of 4 cores if you have the money. but if price is a concern, get an athlon 64 x2, cause they have by far the best price to performance ratio.

[lots]

For a dual core vs a dual single core setup, I would choose dual core. Here's why.

Dual core CPUs are faster, cheaper, and require less power to run than two single core processors. The motherboards they fit into are smaller and cheaper. They're also easier to come by, and more common. Unless you want to have two dual core CPUs, there really is no reason to look at dual socket motherboards in this day and age.

If you intend to have the processing power of 4CPUs, then it is a differnt story all together. With a dual socket motherboard such as the Tyan Thunder K8WE, or IWill DK8EW, you can use two dual core processors in one box, giving you the power of 4 CPUs. This really comes into play for rendering purposes, but not really much else. Unless you do alot of multi tasking. If you want to take a look at the motherboards available that support 2 CPU sockets, take a look at Tyan's AMD Opteron product line, as well as IWill's. MSI Asus and Gigabyte also have dual socket motherboards. Take a look at all of thier websites and you'll get a good picture of the landscape in terms of dual socket motherboards. These companies also sell dual socket Xeon motherboards, but they're significantly less impressive ;)

As for what everyone has told you. I think they didnt understand your question quite well. To me, it sounds like they thought you were talking about dual core processors. And yes, those motherboards and processors are quite easy to find, and are in a number of prebuilt systems these days. But a true dual socket system is a bit more rare. For one, they're aimed at the server/workstation market, and thus are hidden away in business sections of the regular PC manufacturers' websites. However, Dell, HP, and others do have a pretty decent selection of computers with these specs.

If you'd like to see some good dual processor workstations, check out Boxx Tech. They've got a good selection of dual processor systems, and will be very willing to help you out in understanding what your needs are. Just drop them a line and you can work things out with one of thier sales reps.

Unless you really want a 4 way CPU system, you should be looking at dual core.

[MattClary]

Everyone I've asked has told me that most new motherboards come with support for this. However, I rarely hear of it and I've yet to see an advertised motherboard that claims to have support for two cpus.


What Lots said. This was obviously a communications problem. Pretty much all boards that support socket 939 support dual CORES, not dual CPUs. Few (percentage wise) motherboards support two CPUs.

I have a 4200+ X2 and it kicks so much butt it's painful.

[Fantastic Plastic Machine]

Thanks, everyone. I ended up getting dual core, based largely upon the advice here.

MattClary:
I think it was very much a communication problem. I also pretty much believe everything I hear, so some of my informants (not here) could have been misinformed or totally ignorant, without willing to admit it and I still would have assumed they were all right. I am happy that your computer kicks butt and I hope it doesn't hurt anyone too badly.

Thanks,

Ben

[jbo]

yeah, sorry. i misunderstood. when you said "X2" i figured you were talking about mobos for the athlon 64 X2 CPU

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