dj-ohki wrote:^. see above. when the opterion is in a MP environment, the HT link is used for interprocessor communication. since there are 3 HT links, it supports up to 8 way glueless (no support needed from the host chipset). a ath64 with 2 HT links would be able to go dualie with no added support needed from the chipset. looks like the ath64 is gonna be a strictly uniprocessor solution unless something changes. this is suprising to me for the FX, cause of its prosumer nature. a lot of prosumers prefer MP systems, cause of all the added benifits of MP, which is not possible with the ath64 at this time, but is possible with the P4EE.
No, I understand the 3 HT links think (2^3 = 8) and all that, but again, the FX and 64 are 1 HT link which would still provide an MP solution (2 processor...2^1 = 2). At the same time, currently they are single processor as you have concluded. And yes, I do agree that MP has a lot of benefits for prosumer...I should know since I run a dual Athlon at home

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I might be mistaken on the HT part (since I'm not *that* familiar with it), but even still....I imagine that a Motherboard/chipset could handle the MP part...although slower. It's quite possible chipsets wanted it that way so they could make $$$ *shrug*.
dj-ohki wrote:but can it maul a 8 way power4. or a 4 way power4? dont know what the price/performace on that chip is ATM.
From what I've heard, I'd say yes. The Power4 is pretty outdated (well not *that* badly)...that's the reason IBM has Power5. And like you said...price. Opterons (btw you keep saying Opterions...there's no i in it) are much cheaper. I hear you can get an 8-way for pretty darn cheap. Hell I think Phade is looking into a two/four-way for the .org. He messaged me about it

dj-ohki wrote:define high end. for most servers, yea, 1meg is perfect. some could use 2 meg, but thats picking nits. there are some specialized cases where 8 meg would be VERY useful, but they are far between.
but yea, the infrastrutre change required to implement that would be staggering, and thus pointless.
I'd say high-end are major business. They have major loads to support. If it's any vote of confidence, some major banks and business have already bought 4-way or higher Opteron servers.
And yeah the infrastructure change alone would make it stupid...and again..yields (which are VERY important in the PC industry).
dj-ohki wrote:true, whats the price points on both though?
Well considering the P4EE isn't even out yet (even thought it was paper launched)...it's a moot point. HOWEVER, I hear it's 990 or so. Again, it's just a P4 Xeon, so a bit overpriced for something that they've had for years.
dj-ohki wrote:and this whole 'OMG 64 bits! it makes everything better' attitude i keep seeing all over the internet irks me. since the ath64 is nice in that 32 bit code executes at the same speed as 64 bit code, the whole 64 bit part is pointless at this stage in time. how many people do you know work with apps that use over 4 gig of memory?
I agree to a degree. Sure 64-bit hasn't caught on yet (gotta recompile things, but it is starting..like I said in another thread...Windows XP 64 is already in beta and longhorn after that)...HOWEVER the big selling point is the future. Businesses can buy this system and have great 32-bit capability now and when *they* feel like it, they can make the migration at their own pace. The major selling point is customer centric...that they can choose to migrate when they feel like it.
It's quite an awesome deal...get two generations of processors and change when you feel like it. And it's also comprable to the prices of *just* 32-bit processors from Intel. Seems like a good deal to me

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As for over 4 gigs of memory..I know plenty of people even on this board who would want over 4 gigs of memory. Scary ain't it?
