Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Building an Upgradable Dual Processor System

Posted by Cliff on from the buying-SMP-that-isn't-obsolete-3-months-later dept.

AntMan asks: "OK. I am building a new system for myself. Now checking on pricewatch.com I noticed that Dual processor motherboards can be had for under $100. My budget was $800 tops. But on doing some research I realized that I could build a 866 Mhz dual Celeron system in that much with change left over. But when I looked on Anandtech, Aceshardware, and tomshardware, I found very few reviews/guides for building dual processor systems. Additionally I wanted to build a system, in which I can put in a couple of cheap 433MHz celerons PPGAs, and hopefully upgrade to a couple of 1GHz PIIIs when the price is right (in about a year or so). So my question is ... Is this possible? And what MB would people recommend?"

1 of 25 comments (clear)

  1. Don't worry about the mainboard... by MrHat · · Score: 3
    ...it's probably going to be the cheapest (or nearly the cheapest) part of an evolving system. Although your specs did seem somewhat low-budget (e.g. no SCSI), follow a couple simple rules to ensure upgradablilty:

    • Just say no to integrated components
      Integrated or on-board components, such as video, ethernet, and sound are Bad Things (tm). You may be tossing the main board in about a year, you don't want to lose half of your "cards" with it. As far as I can tell, the PCI spec will be in force much longer than any processor bus/slot spec.

    • Fast RAM, Fast Bus
      If you can, get faster RAM or a motherboard that supports faster bus speeds. 133mHz RAM (PC-133) will work on 66, 100, and upcoming 133mHz boards. When you upgrade, that'll be one less component to throw away.

    • Balance cost with upgradability
      Think (for each individual component) if it will cost you more to fend off obselence by paying more, or to simply buy a new SuperMegaDevice 2002 to replace your 2000 model. Celeron processors (which you seemed decided on) are a good example - they're amazingly cheap, with almost little or no performance penalty. You can buy four or five for the price of one high-powered Pentium III chip, and the PIII may only last you 2-3 more months.

    Good luck with the building.