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DFI Hybrid Motherboard Runs Two Systems at Once

Posted 09/18/09 at 08:05:09 PM  by Ryan Whitwam

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Mainboard maker DFI has a rather interesting product on the way. The upcoming Hybrid P45-ION-T2A2 motherboard is capable of running two computers on a single board. It supports both a high performanceP45/LGA775 based systems, and a low power Atom/Ion based system.

They include a small external button assembly that can be used to switch on the fly between platforms. The two platforms can both be run at the same time, or you can shut down the one you aren’t using. The back panel is a bit confusing. There are some shared ports as well as dedicated ports. It has a block of four shared USB ports that are available to both systems. The audio and DVI ports are also shared.  Each system has a dedicated set of USB ports and an Ethernet jack as well. The Ion chipset on the Atom side has its own dedicated HDMI port for some low-wattage HD video action.

Overall, this is a terribly impressive feat of engineering. Watch the video at the link to get the full effect. The possibilities for true multitasking are a bit staggering. Imagine encoding video on the LGA775 platform while outputting HD video with the Ion from the same box. There’s no firm release date or price as of yet. Would you consider getting one?

dfi
COMMENTS:7
TAGS: motherboard, HDMI, hardware, Intel Atom, hybrid motherboard, dfi, lga775
COMMENTS
avatarinstalling an OS

Submitted by FRAGaLOT on Sun, 09/20/2009 - 8:12pm

would this mean I'd have to buy two licence copies of an OS to install it on this rig?

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avatarSweet

Submitted by nsk chaos on Sun, 09/20/2009 - 6:05pm

Whoa! that is pretty n-tense imho wonder how much it would cost...

and ty for the vid. it clarified things for me a lot XD 

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avatarWhoa!

Submitted by Sovereign on Sat, 09/19/2009 - 9:04am

This is a killer buy.  From a "poor college student" perspective, you can certainly save electricity this way.  Power's there only when you need it.  You can also remove the distraction of work documents from the gaming machine :D

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avatarSwitch on Fly

Submitted by dgourd on Sat, 09/19/2009 - 7:36am

The thing that amazes me is that it switches on the fly with a flip of a button.  You wont have to shutdown one machine and then boot the other.  I wonder if you would be able to put each computer on a different screen?

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avatarYes

Submitted by AvidElite on Sat, 09/19/2009 - 7:31am

Hell yes I would buy this!  I tried years ago to craft a single computer case that could hold two motherboards and the the switching equipment for them.  It was a disaster.  But I love the idea of a low-power system I can leave on all the time running bittorrent or a small server, and a high power system I only have on when I'm around.  This would be perfect.

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avatarmy guess

Submitted by mesiah on Fri, 09/18/2009 - 8:36pm

My guess is that this system has been in the design phase for a while now. To scrap all the p45 components and switch to p55 or x58 would have taken more time. Why not go ahead and release the model you have been working on for god knows how long now, with the p55/x58 following shortly behind. Not that I could prove that as their reasoning, but it would make sense :)

 

P.S.- grr, wrong button. This was supposed to be a reply to springfield below :)

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avatarErm....

Submitted by Springfield45 on Fri, 09/18/2009 - 7:58pm

I am intrigued by the possibillities.  Only two problems.  Why not the dual core Atom 330?  Why, for the love of the digital gods, would anyone build a new machine on Core 2 with Nehalem so cheap now?!? 

-- An armed man is a free man. --

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