Shopping for Dual Processor Mother Boards

[ANTDrakko]

My Dream Editing Box:

Dual P4 3.0 ghz each with hyperthreading

No such processor-line exists. The Pentium 4 never had the ability to dual-process. This was because Intel did not want to "compete" against their own Xeon Processors (which in reality were just larger L2 P4's). In turn, no such P4 motherobard exists.

If you want dual-processing you'd go with either AMD Athlons, Opterons or Intel Xeons. If you want dual*core* you'd go with AMD Opterons, Athlon 64 X2's and Intel Pentium D's.

Oops, sorry. Meant to say Xeons.

Bashar,

Whats wrong with a dell? I can't say that I've ever had a bad experience with Dell, not to mention you'll be hard pressed to find their certain configurations at their prices. Also, that last configuration came with a 2 year, At-Home service warranty. Even if you DO build your own system, god forbids the mobo fries or something else goes wrong in 2 years. If that ever happened to the Dell, you get it replaced at home without having to move a finger for 2 whole years. Those warrenties are freaking priceless, if you ask me.

I think that most people get really biased for some unknown reason against Dell. I challenge anyone out there to gather the required parts, provide links to each, and come up with a price. I can almost always find a better deal with a very similar configuration at Dell. Not to mention, with a warranty.

The choice is yours, though. Just don't push aside a computer because "Its a Dell". I've worked with over 50+ Dell computers and servers and had 2 problems, which were fixed personally the next day by a Dell representative.

~Seen

[dwchang]

About the dual core setups... Some of the MBs that Beefy_Suavo gave in the link he posted are dual-core supported and are dual processer ready. Is that a good idea to go forward with? What specs should i look for on a system like that?

Thanks again everyone

If you wanna go "all out" I'd suggest getting a dualcore Opteron Motherboard and then buying two dualcore Opterons. That would give you four cores. That's actually my plans for my next computer...well once my current dual processor becomes obsolete. Still renders anything in less than 15 minutes so I'd say, not soon .

As someone already said, it would also require, at most, a BIOS upgrade and you'd be good to go.

[BasharOfTheAges]

Bashar,

Whats wrong with a dell? I can't say that I've ever had a bad experience with Dell, not to mention you'll be hard pressed to find their certain configurations at their prices. Also, that last configuration came with a 2 year, At-Home service warranty. Even if you DO build your own system, god forbids the mobo fries or something else goes wrong in 2 years. If that ever happened to the Dell, you get it replaced at home without having to move a finger for 2 whole years. Those warrenties are freaking priceless, if you ask me.

I think that most people get really biased for some unknown reason against Dell. I challenge anyone out there to gather the required parts, provide links to each, and come up with a price. I can almost always find a better deal with a very similar configuration at Dell. Not to mention, with a warranty.

The choice is yours, though. Just don't push aside a computer because "Its a Dell". I've worked with over 50+ Dell computers and servers and had 2 problems, which were fixed personally the next day by a Dell representative.

~Seen

Wow, you sound like a Dell representative yourself...

Anyway, notice i did say another Dell. I do have one already, a laptop, and aside from the extreme heat it produces (makes the screen hot at times), the odd habit it has of crashing (while making an odd crackling noise) every 3 to 4 times a CD or DVD is inserted in the drive, and the fact that the s-video slot has yet to ever work for me despite calling customer service and speaking with them for about 2 hours about the problem and getting told to flash the bios and install new drivers (which completely screwed up my built-in screen for a few days), there isn't much i coudl say bad about Dells . I think i'd just prefer to build this system from scratch... that's all.

[ANTDrakko]

Wow, you sound like a Dell representative yourself...

Anyway, notice i did say another Dell. I do have one already, a laptop, and aside from the extreme heat it produces (makes the screen hot at times), the odd habit it has of crashing (while making an odd crackling noise) every 3 to 4 times a CD or DVD is inserted in the drive, and the fact that the s-video slot has yet to ever work for me despite calling customer service and speaking with them for about 2 hours about the problem and getting told to flash the bios and install new drivers (which completely screwed up my built-in screen for a few days), there isn't much i coudl say bad about Dells . I think i'd just prefer to build this system from scratch... that's all.

Ok, so having great experience with Dells and knowing that I can beat anyone's configuration with a lower price and with a warrenty instantly makes me sound like a Dell representative?

Also, so you've had 1 bad experience with dell. I've have 50+ good ones. Its unfortunate that you had that experience but hey, do you what you want. I'm not trying to sell you a Dell, I'm simply pointing out that its more than likely the least expensive (as far as bang for your buck goes) and the most practical. Oddly enough, that happens to be the same manufacturer that you've had a bad experience with. Coincidences suck.

Anywho, if there is any other way to help you out, I suggest checking out hardforums.com . They have seperate sections for every kind of hardware, as well as a Hot Deals section with many great deals listed. Maybe that can help you out.

Cheers.


~Seen