[geeks] sun ultra 24

[nate at portents.com]

> Lionel Peterson wrote:
>> Also, I bet it was hard to source a "desktop" system board with 8
>> memory DIMMs and at least 2x PCI-Express x16 slots for dual-head
>> graphics...
>
> No, it really isn't:
>
> http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon1333/5000X/X7DA3+.cfm
> http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon1333/5000X/X7DA8+.cfm

Those are both Extended-ATX form factor motherboards that won't fit into
standard desktop cases, they use LGA 771 (server) CPU sockets, the
Greencreek (server) chipset, and FB-DIMMs (much higher latency, more power
hungry than standard DDR2), all of which needs some pretty specific and
dedicated cooling and comes at a higher cost.  (One of the big advantages
that AMD still has over Intel in the server sector is that they can use
standard DDR2 ECC modules thanks to their memory controller being built
into each CPU, lowering the power profile of their server boards
significantly while keeping memory latency down.)

> 'sides, you really wouldn't want 2x 16-lane slots "just" for dual
> monitors... with one of these, more like 8 monitors:
>
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133165

Sure, if all you care about is 2D.

- Nate