Oops, thx glc for the correction. The Xenon is slot2. I also found a source for 4MB cache Xenon 400-550 CPU`s but they are *very*very* expensive, on the order of 2500 bucks and more. While the Xenon is aimed solely at high end workstations and servers, I would expect the "low end" Xenon`s pricing to bottom out before long. Iv`e looked some into the "overclockability" of the Xenon CPU and havn`t found much. It might be like the P-Pro whoose top end was limited by it`s L2 cache speed.
Like the P-Pro, very few system boards support the Xenon with L2 cache exceeding 1MB and you are advized to make certain that the particular CPU you plan to utilize *is* supported fully by the system board you choose.
Also, dual (and more) Xenon based boards use "VRM" modules for EACH add`l CPU and one MUST use "CPU bus terminators" for EACH un-installed CPU. This adds to the expense to a great degree. Also out there in limited quantity are dual P-Pro based boards. These are fairly cheap at about 100 bucks and the CPUs are about 50 bucks for the 256KB L2 units. Like the Xenon, the P-Pro is available with L2 cache sizes exceeding 2MB and like the Xenon, above 256KB and the cost rockets skyward.
A word of note on "dual" CPU based systems, under Linux, dual based systems perform about 65% faster then those of single CPU based systems. Linux is fully supportive of the P-Pro and utilizes it`s advanced features/registers.
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