Worth building a dual 1.26 p3?

I have recently been thinking alot about building a daul pc. But I dont trust amd anymore as much as I used to so I dont want to build a dual athlon mp pc since they arent that cheap (I dont want to mod an xp, because I want this pc to work nice and stable without any funny problems)

I know that the 1.26 p3-s has been around for a long time, but still a good cpu, but my question is, since its so old, should I just wait for the p4 xeons to come down in prices and get one of them?

One last question thats a bit of topic and always asked but I still have a little bit of uncertainty about it. Dual cpu pcs and gaming, I know that having 2 pcs dosent make gaming better than a regular single cpu system (Its kind of obvious if you know a few things about smp) But my question is, does it severely criple gaming? or does it perform on or around the level of a single cpu system? I dont need to have crazy good graphics, as long as ill be able to perform good in doom 3 swg ut2k3 etc, ill be more than happy. I have never had a top of the line pc, well I did for a short time, but that was several years ago So its not a real big issue to me.

I've heard from some magizines like Maximum PC and them that it would have a few fsp slower than just a 1cpu system. But I'm not a dual proc person yet so I don't know for sure.

If there are any .13 micron athlon mp chips available I wouldnt mind buying those, only reason why AMD makes me mad is the heat from the .18 pally core cpus.

I would go with XPs and mod them even though you dont want too. It will be hella faster than the p3's and its not that hard. I got it first try. Get some 1700+ tbred b's and your all set. Even if the xeons come down in price I doubt that the mobos will. Thats ~$400 just for the mobo. Not worth it imo when the dual AMDs will do just as good if not better. But in the end, its your choice.

Good Luck!

Only problem with running dual xps is the chance that the mod will wear off, I have heard this can happen, I dont want to deal with it. Also they run on 266 fsb, thats kind of a set back to what im running now, I guess I might as well not build a dual rig.

You can kick the fsb on the msi board to 150. My parents dual with the 1700+s is running at 12.5x150 right now. Fill the pits with superglue and I dont see how it would wear off. I just painted around the pit and its running fine. But its still your choice. Go with whatever makes you happy.

the XP--> MP mod is simple and re-doable if necessary. Yeah, 1 out of every 100 XP's or so will not do SMP, but the percentages are decently good in your favor. I definitely think a dual socket A system is higher performance and has more of an upgrade path than dual S370 right now.

I am aware that it is redoable, but I just dont feel like dealing with it, I dont want any instablility, I doubt I will overclock this pc, I want it to run quiet.

I've got five dual AMD systems with modified XP's in all of them. No problems here. I have learned a couple lessons about modding XP's, because I've done it a lot! If you want some tips on modding them, then I'll help you out. If you want dual PIII's that will be very slow and run on PC133 memory, that's fine, too.

In my opinion, a dual AMD system is much better. It will cost you less than dual PIII 1.26's. It will take a few minutes to mod the chips, once. It can run 150 FSB with DDR, as opposed to PC133 that you will be stuck with on a dual PIII system. It will have a much higher upgrade path than PIII's (which have no upgrade potential, at all.) You can run dual SK-7's or SLK-800' with Panaflo L1A fans on them (only 21 dBA) and get fine cooling that is very quiet.

Yes I have made up my mind to go with a dual athlon xp 1700+ Treb B. I have been convinced to do it by none other than you people, because I realize it saves me alot of money. All I need to know is where can I find a detailed guide on moding an xp to work in mp, and whether or not a .13 chip will in any of the current dual athlon boards.

T-breds will work in the Asus board and MSI board, I know from experience. I haven't tried it in any of the others.

The board that I recommend the most is the MSI K7D Master or Master-L (has onboard LAN.) This is the only AMD duallie with multplier control and it is a great board, overall. Of course, multiplier control won't help you at all, if you plan on modding for a multiplier over 13X, but it's nice to know it's there. If you can get the Asus for a good price, then it is my second favorite. I also have a Tyan Tiger MP (which I don't recommend) and I have used an Iwill MPX2 and had a very bad experience with it (so I don't recommend that one, either.)

The XP1700 T-bred B can be easily modified for higher multipliers, like 13X or higher and will run 1800-2000 MHz. For heatsinks, I recommend, either the SK-7 or SLK-800, unless you already have some, you'd like to use.

Go to http://www.ocinside.de/go_e.html?/html/workshop/socketa/tbred_painting.html for an interactive bridge guide for T-breds. You can blow the L3 bridges, using voltage from a power supply. It's actually very easy. Look for a post in the AMD CPU section called "Don't cut bridges..." or something like that. It is a very long thread with a lot of actual user experience and tips. I've modded half a dozen XP's, using the voltage blowing method. If you have any specific questions, or concerns, PM me.

(The T-bred 1700 is a nice specimen for bridge blowing, because it has all of it's L3 bridges intact, so all you have to do to get other multipliers, is blow certain bridges. You don't have to connect any. Also, as far as bang-for-the-buck, I think the XP1700 T-bred is the best CPU out there.)

Hrmm, maybe I will blow some bridges, but I dont want to overclock very high since I want my pc to run relativly quiet. I think an 11.5 or 12 multi would be good if im doing 150 max fsb (just hope my pci and agp card can handle it) and now that I think of it, overclocking the agp/pci wont work well since I intend to get a 9700 or 9800. Blah no im really starting to confuse myself

If you want 11.5 or 12 you wont have to blow any bridges. The only time you would need to blow them is if you want higher than 13.

Yeah, you'll be good to go up to 12.5, with no mod at all, except the L5 mod. You can run up to 150 FSB with no problems with your PCI bus, even with a 9700, I believe.

For the ultimate quiet system, I suggest dual SLK-800 heatsinks with Panaflo L1A fans on them. It is good enough to cool the CPU's up to about 1800-1900 MHz and is very quiet.

So I dont need to unlock the cpu multi wise? Only mod I need to do would be to get it to work in mp mode?

Krowa 02 said:

So I dont need to unlock the cpu multi wise? Only mod I need to do would be to get it to work in mp mode?

Click to expand...

Nope. Low speed T-breds (below XP2100) are factory unlocked, up to 12.5.

All you've got to do is the L5 mod, which is pretty easy. After you have painted across the last L5 bridge (I always paint around the pit, using a "U" shape connection) put a piece of scotch tape or something over it. This will prevent it from being scratched off, or making contact with anything.

sorry guys but you can get a dual PIII with DDR
1) DVD266-RAID @$140 on pricewatch
2) Supermicro Super P3TDDR @ $100 (no SCSI)

What does the ddr have to do with anything? say $300 for the p3s and board when you can get the MSI board for $200 and 1700+s for $50 each. The tbred will kill the p3s in any preformace test. And they will easily hit 1.8.

Stedeman said:

sorry guys but you can get a dual PIII with DDR
1) DVD266-RAID @$140 on pricewatch
2) Supermicro Super P3TDDR @ $100 (no SCSI)

Click to expand...

I stand corrected.

Would I have to use a conductive type pen to trace the bridges?