Getting started with duallys

[option141]

i'm in the exact same situation...looking at these SWEET computers and i'm just.... awwed.

what the heck would i use a dual proc. computer for? I hear people speak of file servers, print servers, etc. But really - what's the use of having those?

What could i have a dual proc. PC for....that would be extremely cool or useful?

And props to everyone who's posted pics of their dual rigs....fooking amazing.

 

[dagamore]

you can fold with your duallies

if you do any sort of larg file encoding (dvix, massive wave to mp3, cad, rendering, and photochop) having that second proc is a god send, and once you get used to the raw speed, and creamy smoothness, of SMP setups, you will have a hard time working on a uni proc setup. It is nice when you click on something and it happens.

it is like going from a single hd in your setup (where most people start at) to a 4 disk raid 0 array (yes i need the speed) of 15k u320 scsi setup, once you get used to the speed, it hurts to go back do you need it, no, but is it nice (not only yes, but Hell Yes!)

 

[don_xvi]

Here's the dually I just built.

Mobo, Tiger S2460 off ebay, $86
Procs, 2xDuron 1800@Frys $100
Ram, 512MB PC2100@Frys $40
Case/PS JustPC@Frys $20
CD-ROM@Fry's $10
NIC From Microcenter $0
HSFs Aero7Lites from PCPartsLeader.com
$30
Floppy Salvaged $0
HD-TBD--reassign one or 2 $0
Sound--none (yet?) $0

My goal was to build the "upgrade" for $300. The total above is $286. This varied from my original plans some, but it's what I've got now. I'm just working on the cooling now....

 

[dagamore]

too bad you went with the Aero7Lites, i love my dual zalman 6000 hsf, they cool great and they are quite. it is all i put in to dual amd setups now days

 

[don_xvi]

Yeah, I'm afraid I'm not thrilled with their performance...
I'm still trying to figure out how to keep these two Durons cool. The price was a major factor while buying two, but now I'm stuck wondering what to do next. I'm not really looking to spend $50-60 on heatsinks is the problem!

What's the trick to keeping two CPUs in a midtower cool? I've got a fan blowing fresh air inward at the intakes of the two coolers, but it still can't keep the temps under control. grrrr

 

[rolo]

Originally posted by dagamore
(snip) ... creamy smoothness ... (snip!) ... Hell Yes!

Mmm ... creamy smoothness of SMP Once you go dual you can't go back.

 

[Poop]

I have a dual PII 350 that I built for cheap.

SuperMicro P6DBE: ~$40
Pentium II 350: ~10 (after shipping!), had to find matching processor.
64MB PC100 Memory: ~Free - buddy at work.
CompUSA Crap Case: ~$15 after discount.
Items that were already in my possession:

Pentium II 350: From my old Gateway
64MB PC100: Ditto.
6.4 GB Hard drive: Ditto.
30 GB Hard drive: Extra spare.
32X TEAC SCSI CD-ROM: Previously acquired part.
Adaptec 2930: Previously acquired part.
Enermax 350W: Extra.

All in all, in order for me to build that system, it cost me about $65 to buy the parts for a complete system. It runs quite well. Then again, SuperMicro makes awesome boards and Pentium II's are stable as all hell.

I'm working on a Dual MP system at the moment, I'm probably shooting for the Tyan Tiger S2460 as well.

 

[spikegifted]

Originally posted by Poop
I'm working on a Dual MP system at the moment, I'm probably shooting for the Tyan Tiger S2460 as well.

Hmmm... I'm wondering why you're after the Tiger MP (S2460) rather than the Tiger MPX (S2466N-4M)? I've used the Tiger MP and it is an excellent board for what it is. However, the Tiger MPX is actually a better board - it has all the features plus: support for faster CPUs, 66MHz 64bit PCI (instead of 33MHz 64bit PCI), utilizes the ATX12V connection to off load the current load on the ATX connector, 3Com 10/100 NIC, etc...

 

[Poop]

Ah.

Forget the S2460 then. I would rather have 66mhz 64-bit PCI so I can atleast get the maximum throughput of my Adaptec 29160, which happens to be a 64-bit card.

I guess what I found attractive about the S2460 was the face that it had 4 64-bit slots instead of two. I doubt I'd have that many devices which would be that interface.

Thanks for the tip...

 

[spikegifted]

Originally posted by Poop
Forget the S2460 then. I would rather have 66mhz 64-bit PCI so I can atleast get the maximum throughput of my Adaptec 29160, which happens to be a 64-bit card...

Thanks for the tip...

NP...

I've the Adaptec 29160 (single drives and optical drives) and the Adaptec SCSI RAID 3200S on the S2466N-4M and it just plain rockz!