On Mon, 23 Jul 2001 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> I've noticed that dual-Athlon motherboards have hit the market (well,
> okay, at least one of 'em, from Tyan)
I found the following article head-and-shoulders above the rest when it
came to solid information about the AMD SMP platform:
http://www.anandtech.com/chipsets/showdoc.html?i=1483
Apparently, AMD worked very closely with Tyan to develop a reference
motherboard for their 760MP SMP chipset. This means Tyan is ahead of the
game when it comes to designing and building an SMP Athlon board, and no one
really expects other mobo OEMs to build 760MP-based boards. According to
AnandTech, AMD plans to introduce another SMP chipset, the 760MPX. The
expectation is that will be the "mass production" AMD SMP chipset. Of
particular note, they say MSI has plans to produce a 760MPX board with a
price of less than $200.
> was wondering if anyone has had any experience with them under Linux?
I have read several articles about the SMP Athlons, but few that gave
any serious attention to Linux. One was this:
http://www.gamepc.com/reviews/printreview.asp?review=asmpl&mscssid=&tp=
I cannot vouch for the reliability of the above source (and it is suspect;
there are known errors in the article), but it they do at least post several
benchmark figures, for what they are worth. Then there was this:
http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=01/01/31/2156234
The tests used are fairly bogus, but it does prove that an SMP Athlon can
handle a kernel compile, long considered a good "real world" test for the
overall stability of a system.
> - Does Linux fully support it?
"Fully" is a strong word.
> - Do the MP motherboards require the Athlon-MP series, or is that just
> add'l MP optimization (read: a way to make more $$$)?
The Athlon MP chips are the only chips that are certified by AMD to work
in an SMP configuration. However, even AMD will tell you the older chips
should work just fine, too -- just don't complain to AMD if they don't.
> - And, lastly, has anyone actually used one?
Random linkage, FWIW, YMMV:
http://www.overclockers.com.au/techstuff/a_tyan_thunder
http://www.theinquirer.net/10050107.htm
http://www.theinquirer.net/29050104.htm
http://www.tomshardware.com/mainboard/01q2/010605/index.html
http://heroinewarrior.com/athlon.php3
--
Ben Scott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Net Technologies, Inc. <http://www.ntilinux.com>
Voice: (800)905-3049 x18 Fax: (978)499-7839
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