Custom Motherboards?

Druegan asks: "I've been rooting around on the net lately checking out all the latest and greatest in new PC parts, plotting out the design for my next build. I'm finding lots of neat stuff, but I can never seem to find a main board that has just the right combination of features. Therefore, I want to Ask Slashdot: Is there any way your esteemed readership knows as to how a person might get a main board custom made?"

"I don't know how practical this is, BUT I'm looking for a mainboard that supports a dual processor configuration for the AMD64 FX 55 processor, built around the nVidia nForce 4 chipset. I'd like two full x16 PCI-express slots with support for the nVidia SLI, as well as room for at least 2gb of dual channel DDR, and SATA Raid support. I also am looking to be able to overclock the bejeesus out of the whole mess.

This is only a test case, but there currently is no such mainboard available. I'd like to know if there is some way to get one custom built though, even if it is ridiculously expensive.. (yes, this might fall into the 'more-money-than-brains' dept.)

I'd just like to build the system to see how it'd work."

ridiculously expensive

[j-turkey]

even if it is ridiculously expensive

You're asking for quite a bit. A few people here have pointed out that FX 55 does not support a multi-cpu configuration (so you're already asking for a custom CPU/chipset), however, taking it a step further, the development process that goes into hardware development (especially for mainboards) is astounding. From reference chipset design (as well as testing and manufacture), to OEM's implementing that design (again, testing and manufacture). It's a big deal, and the process costs millions from end-to-end.

If you can afford this kind of solution, and are willing to take it on for personal use, I think that you're right that the discussion is quickly exceeding the more-money-than-brains department and entering the more-money-than-god department. Hell, if you can justify the cost of not only one, but two FX55's for a personal machine, you may already be in the more-money-than-brains department.

Check out the AMD roadmaps at Anandtech.com. You may just want to wait for the next FX chip release with dual cores, and an NF4 SLI nForce chipset. The dual core chip is as close as you'll get to true SMP, SLI will provide your 2 x16 PCI-e slots, the NF4 will provide support for dual-channel memory. These systems also come with SATA raid support, but IMO, an external controller is best (especially if you can find one with a battery backed cache). You'll have plenty of cash leftover for a badass liquid cooling system to overclock the crap out of that sucker. You will lose the exclusivity of having a super-custom system that nobody else can get, but hey -- it'll still be badass, and you will save $millions over custom hardware development.

As an alternative, if you're after exclusivity, you can start a hardware review website, gather a large readership, and then ask manufacturers for pre-releases of the latest greatest hardware for testing purposes. You'll get better-than-consumer support, and will have a machine that none of your friends will be able to buy for at least a few months.

Re:Tyan Thunder K8WE

[MerlynEmrys67]

DUAL PCIe x16 with FULL SPEED x16 lanes... no, those are PCI-X slots, not PCIe.

Try again. Those are dual PCI-Express x16 slots. You will notice 3 chips on the motherboard (well, you didn't since you obviously didn't go to the website where these claims are made in plain english - with a picture that shows the slots as well) - two chips are HT-PCI express chipsets, the 3rd is a HT-legacy chipset giving you an additional set of 2 PCI-X 100 and 1 PCI-X 133 slots

Thank you for playing - come again

Re:I can

[Anonymous Coward]

The submitted obviously doesn't know anything about the complexity of a motherboard. So the grandparent response here should be very enlightening.

Personally, I get the feeling that the submitter is a 15 year old spoiled rich kid.

Re:Doy

[DetrimentalFiend]

I'd hate to say it, but this Ask Slashdot is retarded. The most pci express channels that I've seen any consumer chipset support yet is 20x, and 2*16 = 32. Soon, there should be dual core FX's, but you'll need to go opteron if you want dual 64bit cpu's. That much ram is no issue and can be found on nearly every mother board, but this guy FOR SURE has more money than brains.

Re:I can

[Anonymous Coward]

Read some of his other posts - he's wondering why he's having problems breaking into IT. Maybe it's because he's so utterly clueless. Maybe.

What in the hell.

[Anonymous Coward]

Earlier this morning I posted a very serious "Ask Slashdot" regarding getting advice on requirements for a remote "store and forward" system I'm trying to design for physicians in very remote areas of third world countries. It's good to see that my topic gets ignored while ass-drippings such as this get air-time.

Here is how you do it.

[LWATCDR]

1. Contact AMD and have them fab you a pair of FXMP chips.
2. Contact Nvidia and have them make a custom nForce4 chipset that supports MP and 32+ channels of PCIe
3. Contact Asus and have them fab you the actual board.
4. Contact Award for the custom Bios you need.
5. Enjoy your custom MB and you claim to the title of King of the mods.
Total Cost... about 1 billion dollars. Okay maybe not but many million.

Good grief how did this make it on Slashdot?

The short version

[fm6]

Put it another way: it costs almost as much to build one motherboard from a particular design as it costs to build the thousands (anybody know a more precise figure?) as it costs to build just one.

It's sort of ironic: most of us depend for our livelihoods on the fact that computers are cheap. Computers would not be cheap without economies of scale [wikipedia.org]. Yet few Slashdotters seem to grasp the concept. They're always complaining that nobody bothers to port their favorite game to Linux or Mac, or that off-the-shelf hardware never has the precise feature set they want. Or that they can't save money by ordering hardware that lacks commmon features they don't want.

Econonomies of scale explain why Sun is in trouble, and Bill Gates is the richest person in human history. It even explains why Enterprise was cancelled! People really need to understand the concept.

Start taking basic electronics classes ...

[bergeron76]

After a few years, you might be able to build an embedded system using an ARM processor or something. From there, you'll couple your USB, etc. chips.

In about 10 years you'll be able to create your perfect board, however, technology will have advanced so far underneath you that you won't be interested in such a board anymore.

Basically, for all the work involved, it's not worth it. Buy 2 computers and get a KVM switch; or share the resources on a network, etc.

But for heaven's sake, don't try to create your own desktop mobo - it's just not practical.