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Dual-CPU systems,
previously reserved for use as high-end servers,
have now become affordable due to the efforts of
companies like
ECS,
Abit,
Intel and
Via (among others).
With the increased
popularity of Windows 2000 and relatively "low"
prices of SMP capable CPUs like the Pentium III,
running a Dual-CPU rig on you desktop is now a
viable option to the true hardware
enthusiast or discerning power user.
There is a common
misconception when it comes to SMP (Symmetrical
Multi-Processing) systems though. I have
been in many situations "talking tech" with
associates, and as soon as I mention running
dual-CPUs on my main rig someone inevitably says,
"That's a waste unless you're running applications
that will take advantage of the second CPU."
Well, this simply isn't the case. Without
getting too technical I'd like to explain that
while it is true that Multi-threaded applications
benefit the most from the second CPU, overall
system performance is greatly enhanced because
many "background" tasks can be spilt amongst the two
processors. Open up Task Manager and look at
all of the programs and processes running in the
background on your machine. Now, think of
each of those programs running as a "thread".
If you've got ten programs running, spilt their
CPU usage across both processors and you'll see
why each program has more CPU horsepower available
to it at any given time. So even without
running multi-threaded applications, anyone who
multi-tasks will benefit from having the power of
a second CPU on tap. This isn't a 100%
technically accurate explanation, but I think
you'll get the gist of what I'm saying.
Now that you've got an
idea of the benefits an SMP rig brings to the
table, let's take a look at a dual Pentium III
board from ECS, the D6VAA...
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Specifications / Features of the ECS
D6VAA |
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You Gotta
Love seeing 2 Sockets! |
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Click any Image
for an Enlarged view...
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D6VAA
- VIA®
VT82C694X & VT82C686B Chipset
- Dual
PGA-370 Sockets for dual Pentium® III FC-PGA
(Coppermine)
- Single
Celeron? FC-PGA/PPGA or Cyrix® III
processors
- Three
168-pin DIMMs with SDRAM support (up to
1.5GB)
- Avance
ALC100P Audio Codec on board
- HPT370 PCI
IDE Array Controller with UDMA 100 support
(optional)
PROCESSORS
- Intel®
Celeron? PPGA processors up to 533MHz /
FC-PGA processors up to 800MHz (for single
processor only)
- Intel® FC-PGA
Pentium® III processors up to
850MHz(100MHz FSB) and 1GBz(133MHz FSB)
(for single or dual processor)
- Cyrix® III
processors up to 700MHz(100MHz FSB) and up
to 600MHz(133MHz) (for single processor
only)
CHIPSET
- VIA®
VT82C694X & VT82C686B
- Support
AGP 2.0 specification (4X)
- Super I/O
- Integrated in VT82C686B
- System
Hardware Monitor: Integrated in VT82C686B
- HPT370 PCI
IDE Array Controller with UDMA 100 support
on board (optional)
- AC97 Audio
Codec: Avance ALC100P (RealTek)
- Compliant
with AC97 2.1 specification
MEMORY
- Three
168-pin DIMM sockets for 3.3V SDRAM (Ready
for PC100, PC133)
- Maximum:
1.5GB
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SYSTEM BIOS
- Award 2MB
Flash EEPROM
- Supports
Plug and Play 1.0A, AMP 1.2, Multi Boot,
DMI
- Full
Support for ACPI revision 1.0
specification
I/O
INTERFACE
- Supports
Plug and Play function
- PS/2
keyboard and PS/2 mouse connectors
- Four USB
Ports (Two USB Connectors as header on
board)
- One -
EPP/ECP mode parallel port
- Two -
16550 high-speed serial I/O ports
- Audio
Ports (Line-in, out, Mic, CD and game
port)
- Support
eight ATA/ATAPI devices (four optional)
- Standard:
Dual PCI IDE interfaces - support four IDE
devices (PIO 4, DMA 2, Ultra
DMA 66/100)
- Option:
Two independent ATA channels for another
four IDE devices (PIO 4, DMA 2,
Ultra DMA 66/100)
- Supports
360K~2.88M Byte, 3 Mode FDDs or LS120
- ATX Power
Supply Connector
PORTS, HEADERS and OTHERS
- IrDA
header
- Extra USB
Header
- Extra
MIC/Line-out header
- Green, HDD,
Power indicator LED headers
- Power, CPU
and Case Fan headers
- LAN Card
Wake Up / Modem Ring Wake-Up headers
- RTC &
BATTERY
- VT82C686B
included 256 bytes of CMOS SRAM
With CMOS SRAM hardware clear jumper
EXPANSION SLOTS
- 5 PCI
slots
- 1 AGP slot
- 1 CNR slot
(Modem only)
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THE BUNDLE:
The ECS D6VAA
comes bundled with the usual accessories...
Inside the box
you'll find user's manuals for the motherboard
itself and
the HighPoint RAID controller, a CD containing
chipset drivers and drivers for the on-board
sound, a floppy disk containing the RAID
controller's drivers, two 80-Wire UDMA/100
IDE cables, a 40-Wire IDE cable and a floppy
cable. The only thing we feel was
missing from the bundle was a connector to
take advantage of the extra on-board USB
header.
INSTALLATION:
Installation of
the D6VAA went off without a hitch. Its a
standard ATX compliant board, so once it was
mounted we were ready to go. There are
some things to consider though. First,
is space...because of the second Socket, the
D6VAA is slightly larger than the average
single CPU board. Second, is
power...having two CPUs installed requires
twice the power. We'd recommend a good
300 Watt power supply minimum, preferably
higher though. Third, is heat...two
CPUs produce double the amount of heat.
Your case should be well ventilated to
insure the system does not overheat.
Finally, Operating system...to take
advantage of multiple CPUs, you've got to be
running an OS capable of SMP, like Windows
NT, 2000 or any variation of Linux/Unix.
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The BIOS, Layout and
Quality
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