On Tue, Jan 25, 2005 at 03:30:16PM -0600, Jeff Vian wrote: > On Mon, 2005-01-24 at 20:24 -0800, Nifty Hat Mitch wrote: > > On Mon, Jan 24, 2005 at 10:38:42AM -0500, Analog Kid wrote: > > .... > > > Is it possible for the two of us to work on the same system (i.e. > > > CPU) simultaneously under different user logins? We do have 2 > > > monitors, 2 keyboards and 2 mouses. .... > > > Any inputs will be appreciated. > > > > Two display cards (monitors), two keyboards, two mice two seats > > is not easy to get working. I have never seen it done satisfactorly... > > little stuff like audio will bother you. .... > > You will not have two AGP slots, This part is important. > > very SLOW so even if you got it working one seat will be lesser > > than the first. > > > > Others have commented on potential issues with software licensing. > > > > What!! > > F/OSS does not limit licensing as does that other os. > Linux is multi-user and AFAIK all software installed that is not > proprietary and otherwise restricted can be used by multiple users > freely. > > I think licensing is not an issue in getting things working, and even if > it is of concern later that is after the first hurdle is crossed. This "after multiple seats are working" part is what others commented on. In something like this it can be painful to get past the initial hurdle and find that the last hurdle is a brick wall. If by chance the design software (which was unnamed) has restrictions then this is a critical planning point. The other point is that if the design software is CPU bound two copies running on one 4GHz will run slow perhaps slower than if it was on a 2GHz box. The economics of a shared high end box could then prove false. Dual processor will benchmark differently. Back to the display part. My first RH box had a PCI based gfx display and the system was very slow. I replaced that card with a $40 AGP card and it was at least 8 times faster as I recall. Since the application is unnamed we do not know if it is one of those packages that uses 3D/ accelerated graphics directly or indirectly. The mid and low range AGP display cards are terrific values. The last time I looked at box prices, $2000.00 got a machine that was only a little faster than the $1500 machine. Since this is to be shared the price of two machines that run better than half as fast as another could well add up and be less expensive. Again we do not know the work load or critical application. We do know that 2X money is not 2X speed. -- T o m M i t c h e l l spam unwanted email. SPAM, good eats, and a trademark of Hormel Foods.
