Current SMP System vs. a Single CPU System?

[Maharg]

Hello all,

I'm considering an upgrade to a Pentium 4 system. I came here with some questions relating to how a new system would differ from my current rig (see sig).

I was thinking of a P4 with Hyperthreading and ideally a 2mb cache (my centrino laptop flies!) The thing is, I'm big on multi-tasking - Messenger, Internet, E-Mail, DVD-Encoding, Burning, TV, MP3s, all simultaneously - can a P4 HT handle doing this?

What do you guys think? Am I better of staying with what I've got, or would an upgrade to a 3ghz P4 w/HT be a good upgrade?

Alternatively, what would I be looking at in terms of price/parts for a dually P4 system? (I'm stuck back in the AthlonXP days and have fallen behind on up-to-date chips and boards )

 

[Elif Tymes]

I think a standard P4 with HT would handle all of that, two at a time..

as for all at once, dual Xeons with HT would be ideal

I got a PC-DL and 2x 1.6Ghz LV Xeons, running @ 2.7Ghz now, with some value RAM for under 500 dollars.

You could keep yopur current RAM, buy 2x1.6 D1 Xeons(Should be around 200 total, I.E 100 per chip) and a ASUS PC-DL(185-200) and get you a good 3.0Ghz dual system .

 

[DipStickTony]

a p4 with HT can handle all of that at once no problem. The thing that may give it a run is video encoding, but even still p4's with HT perform very well at tasks such as this.

 

[Maharg]

Thank you both for the replies. I should mention a little further - I don't really have an interest in overclocking. My current rig annoys me with worrying about temperatures, water temps, o/c, etc. etc.

I'd like a nice package I can pull out of the box and set up, with low noise and fast performance.

I assume the dual xeon setup will require overclocking and mods...it's tempting, but if I can get by with a single P4 HT, I'm tempted to go that route (though I have not totally outruled the dual xeon option).

Do stock P4's come with good, quiet fans?
Will a single P4 HT satisfy me if I'm accustomed to dual Athlon XPs?
Is the dual xeon setup complicated, difficult, etc.?

 

[DipStickTony]

Read this:
Link
It is a comparison between dual core A64's but they also compare to a single 3.2ghz p4 and it fairs quite well.

If you are not overclocking, I would just use the stock heatsink. The one that comes with the p4 is fairly quiet, the ones that come with xeons are are louder.

Dual xeons for me were easy to setup. I had to do the u-wire mod which took around 5 minutes, then it was a normal build like any other pc.

 

[Maharg]

Thanks DST.

I've just been doing some xeon research, and it seems like a cool option and not too much work. Perhaps you could help me with my decision of what to get, based on my regular system use and the fact that I don't want an overly hot or loud system? Could I put a couple of quiet fans on the Xeons? Am I guaranteed (or at least close to) to get 3.0ghz on each xeon? Which option is better in terms of cost/performance?

Thank you again.

 

[Maharg]

After more research...

Are C1 stepping 1.6 LV's any good?

Are SL63P 2.4's any good?

Thanks

 

[Elif Tymes]

C1 Stepping 1.6LVs will prolly get you between 2.6-2.8 Ghz

As for SL63P...

I'm not getting returns for SL63P in Intels Processor finder...

 

[XeonStrikeForce]

even easier to simply buy a set of 2.8GHz Xeons ! and the PC-DL is great unit love it to no end

 

[Elif Tymes]

But, I doubt everyone has ~700-800 dollars to throw away on processors .

 

[Maharg]

My mistake - I meant SL6EP, not SL63P.

 

[DipStickTony]

My 1.6ghz LV C1's do 2.75 ghz at 1.6v and only set me back 80$ total.

 

[Elif Tymes]

My C1s do 2.6 right now, and I could prolly hit 2.8 with water .

They cost me 100 total, with 80 for Waterblockst hat I need to put on there .

SL6EP are C1 2.4s, so I don't believe they're worth it, assuming you get 800Mhz out of them, thats still 3.2, but 2x1.6LV D1s will cost you about 200 total, while the 2.4Lvs will cost you about 200 apiece.

 

[Maharg]

Alright assuming I grabbed a couple of 1.6 C1's, could I put some quiet fans on them, or would I need a higher-powered cooling solution?

 

[perfectturmoil]

Alright assuming I grabbed a couple of 1.6 C1's, could I put some quiet fans on them, or would I need a higher-powered cooling solution?

I have a pair of D1 LV Xeons @ 3.2 ghz. I bought stock Intel Heatsinks (Wind Tunnels). Those fans were rediculously loud. I went to comp-usa, found some 60-80mm adapters, and with a little bit of work, I was able to pop on two very quiet 80mm panaflo's.

The adapters needed a slight bit of modification / hot glue.

My OC is rock solid stable at very happy temperatures. In recently, idles were around 36, load maybe 45 at most in a case with terrible airflow (I'm between cases, havent modded the door to hold a window and fans yet). The summer may bring the temps up to around 50 or so if I don't get that window in.

If I were you, I would hunt down a pair of D1's first. D1's will be a much easier overclock.. they should take you straight to 200fsb. Nearly guaranteed 3ghz, and they should give you a nice low temperature low noise 2.6-2.8 :-]

I can help with any questions you might have.

 

[JohnDoemakt]

If you want good (better than the IWT) and silent air cooling on xeons there are just two heatsinks I know of.

Swiftec MCX with either 80mm or 92mm silent fans
or
Coolermaster E3W-NPTXC-01/E3W-NPTXS-04 either fanless or with 1-2 silent fans blowing through.

Both these heatsinks are expensive, but those extra $50 are worth it IMO. I use two E3W-NPTXC-01 on my 1.6 LVs (D1) @ 3.2 with one 120mm 900rpm "16dB" ADDA fan blowing through both of them. Idle temps are 30*C and load 42*C here in my cool room.

And I also think a dual Xeon rig is the only upgrade to a dual K7 with a normal budget, and if you can get your hands on a pair of D1s thats perfect.

 

[penquissciguy]

I'm very happy with my dual 1.6LV-D1s and NCCH-DL. Setup was very easy once the wire mod was completed. I have mine running at 2.8 GHZ apiece at 1.5V. They could go higher, but I wanted to keep heat generation down. I went with the Coolermaster -04s with temperature-controlled 80MM fans strapped to them with sewing elastic. If you can find D1s at a reasonable price, I'd jump on them. You can look over at the 2cpu forums, things like that pop up every so often.

Ken

 

[Silver]

I have my systems all folding. My dual D1s at 3.1 Ghz are out pointing my 2.8c at 3.55Ghz.

 

[Audioaficionado]

I overclock like crazy and never worry about temps and my Xeon duallie is the quietest PC in the house. only noise is the unisolated WD Raptor drive and the cheesey GPU fan that came on my XFX 6600GT (I've got to get off my butt and install that Zalman). See my profile for a more detailed component listing. I'm running them flat out 100% loaded 24/7 with FAH distributed clients. ~45°C for the processors.

 

[zachj]

Also consider going the dual-core route . . . Intel's pricing on dual-core pentiums seems downright reasonable, and will perform exactly as a dual Xeon without hyperthreading. Even though it will put out more heat than one Xeon processor, it will put out a lot less than two of them, which should mean a quieter computer at the same temperature.

Z