Dual Processor Pentium D Motherboard

[zigCorsair]

Howdy All,

The advent of the Pentium D is very exciting, but before I make an upgrade, I'd like to get some real parallelism (4-way instead of just 2-way).

Does anyone know when dual processor motherboards will be available for the Pentium D?

If you have interesting information about AMD solutions, I'd be interested, but I'm mostly interested in answering the Intel version of the question.

Thanks in advance,
Corsair

 

[natto fire]

Well, I think the better question is will they require mandatory watercooling? If not, you would definitely need some serious case ventillation. Those Pentium D's are fairly 'warm'. (To put it lightly)

As for the AMD solution, it is available in 2 and 4 way solutions.
Opteron 4U

edit: this is obviously very costly, not just the barebones server itself, but the dual-core optys, and ECC RAM. The benefit of the P-D is not needing the registered RAM and the cost of the processors themsleves. However factor in the negatives (lower IPC, heat, energy consumption) as well. Also, there are many more examples of less expensive 2-way mobos than the 4-way one I linked.

 

[zigCorsair]

thanks Captain. I look forward to the rest of yalls' ideas

 

[ribbon13]

Yes... since you want 'real' parallelism then AMD is the winner. Intel has been Benched

Two Opteron 280s on a Tyan K8WE is pure devastation.

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

Are the Pentium Ds able to run on dual socket motherboards? I wasn't aware.

If you're on a tight budget, the Pentium D 820 is cheaper than any dual-core AMD solution. However, they aren't very stable, and the 820 is very, very slow when compared to the bottom-rung 3800+. Unless you really don't have enough money, always go for the AMD dual core. Never, ever go with the 830 or 840.

 

[natto fire]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
Yes... since you want 'real' parallelism then AMD is the winner. Intel has been Benched

Two Opteron 280s on a Tyan K8WE is pure devastation.

Oh wow, and that's even against Xeons. Don't they have a bit higher IPC than the P-Ds? (I would assume so since they are basically two Prescotts slapped together)
Well, after much googling, I could not find a 2-way P-D mobo, my guess it is thermal suicide, since the EE P-Ds sometimes throttle under load in even a well ventillated case with stock cooling...

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

$245 Pentium D 820
$322 Athlon 64 X2 3800+

As you can see, Intel's offering is $77 less than AMD's. If you're building a system from scratch, or even if you're just upgrading, you should be able to squeeze that much out of other components. For example, it's probably better to get 512MB RAM & a 3800+ than 1GB & an 820. That's at least $40, right there. Maybe get a cheaper case (no performance issues, there).

As prices stand right now, it's pretty difficult to justify getting a Pentium D--darn near impossible.

 

[Viditor]

Originally posted by: zigCorsair
Howdy All,

The advent of the Pentium D is very exciting, but before I make an upgrade, I'd like to get some real parallelism (4-way instead of just 2-way).

Does anyone know when dual processor motherboards will be available for the Pentium D?

If you have interesting information about AMD solutions, I'd be interested, but I'm mostly interested in answering the Intel version of the question.

Thanks in advance,
Corsair

The short answer is never...the Pentium D is a single socket only CPU.

 

[zigCorsair]

Originally posted by: Viditor
The short answer is never...the Pentium D is a single socket only CPU.

Ah ok - I assume you speak of some marketing knowledge then .

Captain, my many searches for Pentium D dual proc MBs have also yielded nothing....


I searched around for dual processor Athlon 64 X2 motherboards, and nothing came up there either.

 

[mike3uz]

The Dual processor dual core pc's are Socket 940 not 939 like the X2. I think you are looking for the Opteron.

 

[ribbon13]

Socket 939 CPUs have no coherent HyperTransport links which are required for multi-socket usage. Socket 940 is what you seek.

 

[zigCorsair]

Link for Opteron Model Number Explanations

 

[ribbon13]

Originally posted by: zigCorsair
Link for Opteron Model Number Explanations

Yep. 1xx Opterons ->

HyperTransport Links (total/coherent) - 3/0


If you want dual-core then you should go socket 939 for AMD X2 or 1xx Dual-Core Opterons while they're still available.

If you want multi-socket your only choices are Xeon and Opteron and I already showed you whose boss there.