processor upgrade help!!

[Kurtiskain]

Nup even windows 2000 would run 2 CPU's like that.

I guess it would be really cool to get your hands on some though to see how it really works.

[Calum]

I have a dual socket 370 P3 1GHz server system, with 2GB of RAM.
Downside is, those systems usually require ECC RAM, which is even more expensive and harder to find.
Plus, dual CPU systems are better if the processors are properly matched - not just the same stepping or core - which can also be hard to do.
I lucked out on an Ebay deal.
Pretty decent machines, but then again I work with older hardware a lot, so anything with a clock speed of around 750MHz or more is "pretty decent" to me.

[Kurtiskain]

yeah that always was a problem, they have to be the same processor code, right?

Like if you wanted to run 2 2,5GHz Celerons, you would NEED 2 SL6ZY's not a SL6ZY and a 2.4 clocked to 2.5

[Calum]

You'd need the same CPU yes, and I'm almost positive the same stepping of that CPU.
Best results are if you have CPUs with the same ... can't remember the name ... but it indicates where it was made and when.
My CPUs were both made at the same plant, in the same week, and the RAM modules all show the same week of manufacture and similar serial numbers.
Re: different OSes, some OSes do not support multiple CPUs but do support multiple cores.
Not sure, without Googling, if XP Home will do it or not.

[Kurtiskain]

It would seem after some Google searching, NT 4.0 and anything about that in the NT family should run Dual-or-more CPU's

However XP home does not support 2 CPU's

From http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/expert/crawford_november26.mspx

Supporting Dual Processors

Another reason to choose Windows XP Professional is if yours is a dual–processor system. Some high–end computers, graphics workstations, and supercharged machines built by gaming or computing enthusiasts have two processors on the motherboard. How can you tell if your computer has two processors? You can be fairly certain that if you aren't sure, then your computer is a single–processor machine. For dual–processor computers, you'll need to purchase Windows XP Professional instead of Home Edition to enable the second processor to work.

So NT 4.0 (and up I think) Windows 2000, XP Pro, Vista and Server 2003 all will run dual-cpu's