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what/why 3 processors on one motherboard

I was given a few older computers and computer parts that came out of an old business. i noticed one of them was a lot bigger than the rest. when i took it home and pulled the side panel of to **** the dust off of it. I saw two processors with heat sinks and fans… then saw a slot for an additional possessor setup. The two were pentiem III. I requires 2 power sources. I have searched all over just trying to figure out the specs and or reason for 3 of them….. please help!

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I do remember…..

In reply to what/why 3 processors on one motherboard

Prior to multi-core processors that there used to be motherboards with 2 processor slots to boost performance of the computer but that was almost 20 years or more ago. Back before Pentium computers some of the x486 processors lacked a math coprocessor and there was a separate slot where one could be added. Do you know how old that computer with multiple processor slots is ? Not likely that you can get a modern version of MS Windows to work on that machine. Hope that helps with your question.

My advice is to pass on these. Why?

In reply to what/why 3 processors on one motherboard

Even the current versions of Linux are dropping the 32 bit versions so running a current OS is getting more and more challenging.

If you do bring this back up, I would not bother with adding the last CPUs since to use them you have to get to Linux, versions of NT and XP or later. I find that such machines are a tarpit of not only issues but time.

Store them or find them a good home. You can do better than this with the under 100 buck Rasberry Pi.

2 CPU’s where common or at least not uncommon for Servers

In reply to what/why 3 processors on one motherboard

As for 3 I’ve never seen one but Gigabyte had a Brilliant P2 Dual Processor M’Board that I’m really dirty has died as it was faster than anything else I’ve ever had though it did only run XP and 32 Bit at that with an entire 1 GIG or RAM in 4 X 256 Meg S DRAM Sockets. The best M’Board I’ve ever used and beside a very limited run of a P3 M’Board was the last I’ve ever seen of the Dual Processor Boards unless you count the Multi Processor Xeon Boards Intel Made up till fairly recently.

I have one here that has 2 x 8 Core Xeon’s with Hyper Threading and besides requiring Parity RAM is a great Board and beats this i7 every day of the week with a lot more ram that the Intel Board can carry.

The only other boards I’ve seen that can take more CPU’s are the Big Blade Boards from IBM back in the day that carried 5 CPU’s or the really expensive ones that took the Propriety IBM CPU’s before they switched to Intel.

Anyway regardless the board should have silk screened on it the Makers Name and Model and from memory with Pentium 3 Boards there where only Gigabyte and Intel Boards that took Multi Processor setup’s well they are all I ever saw here in AU.

But back in the day Tyran, Gigabyte and Intel where the main makers of Multi Processor Boards unless you started looking at the Specials and I think MSI has a single board that took 2 CPU’s as well but I only ever saw one of those.

There where some Specials around that took a couple of CPU’s that did a specific job and where made on Order to the Big Name Makers mainly for heavy number crunching and way back when a couple of units that took several Z80’s but that’s way back and not long after they stopped sewing the RAM into the IBM’s of the day and before the Commodore Vic 20 was released.

Hope that points you in the right direction but the main problems with those Multiprocessor Boards was they where big and required cases bigger and harder to get not to mention as dear as anything with at least 2 Power Supplies and double width and deeper than the standard Case of the day.

I used to use a Zalman Fanless Case running NT4 Server for a earthmoving concern that ran a program called Site Works where laser leveling sights where mounted on earthmoving equipment and allowed them to get Earthworks to within a centimeter of design. Saved them lots of fuel and as a result money in the day but while the hardware was still available after NT4 ceased to be used the software was never rewritten and the units died quickly.

[eagleapk10]

Reply To: what/why 3 processors on one motherboard

In reply to what/why 3 processors on one motherboard

Even the current versions of Linux are dropping the 32 bit versions so running a current OS is getting more and more challenging.

If you do bring this back up, I would not bother with adding the last CPUs since to use them you have to get to Linux, versions of NT and XP or later. I find that such machines are a tarpit of not only issues but time.

Store them or find them a good home. You can do better than this with the under 100 buck Rasberry Pi.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 9 months ago by eagleapk10.

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