FIRST LOOK: Jetway Magic Twin MiniQ Computer
by Wesley Fink on April 16, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
What Do You Need for a Twin PC?
Jetway also sells the Twin PC as motherboards, at least in some markets. Whether a motherboard or SFF, the same items are required for Twin PC operation:- Jetway MiniQ SFF or Twin Motherboard - the Magic Twin technology is copyrighted by Jetway and the motherboard has additional components to enable the Twin PC operation. You cannot just simply install the software on other motherboards for 2 PC Operation.
- Dual Head VGA - the 860Twin comes with just a single VGA connector, so you must add a Dual Head VGA card for Twin PC operation. One of the nVidia nForce2 versions, the MiniQ 765Twin, comes with Dual Head VGA built in, but all other MiniQ systems require a Dual Head VGA card for Twin PC operation.
- PS2 or Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Splitters - the common Keyboard and Mouse splitters are supplied with the MiniQ systems. For audio on both systems, you need to use Mini Jacks for System 1 Audio and USB Speakers for System 2 OR you can purchase a USB external adapter that connects to a USB port and adapts to standard audio mini jacks .
- Windows XP with Service Pack 1 - The Magic Twin software is designed to work with dual-user hardware on Windows XP - either the Home or Professional edition. It will not work on Windows 98, ME, or 2000.
- Magic Twin Software - The Magic Twin software layer is supplied with both the SFF barebone and Magic Twin motherboards.
Technical requirements for a 2-user Magic Twin system include:
- minimum 1.2Ghz CPU
- 256MB or more memory
- Maximum distance for 2nd Station of 25 feet
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tyski - Friday, April 16, 2004 - link
#8I was curious about that too. The easiest solution I would imagine is to have an extra external CD drive, since most SFF don't have room for two internal drives. Wesley, your answer was a little off the mark.
TheDigitalDiamond - Friday, April 16, 2004 - link
Oh hell no... someone did not just make a dream come true.. Omg *Starts slapping people* Am I awake? Am I awake? *Pisses himself* Mama bear, lookie, lookie! Lookie god damn it! XDI am overexcited obviously :P I'm gonna look hard at JetWay's other products and see what I can do about a massive one case rig. No doubt anything I was gonna build in the first place could power two users... But now two users can actually use it :D I don't spy SATA support though, diskcontroller time :) If anyone has any specific info on this kind of technology, PLEASE, find a way to contact me! Thanks! :D
araczynski - Friday, April 16, 2004 - link
nice little unit, and a (finally) nicely realized concept. definately a great solution for the typical office user and 'lower/mid' level home user. also curious as to how it behaves/performs when one end is used for gaming and the other for say surfing...i would assume cutting half of the cpu's power from a game would be a significant performance hit, unless perhaps you can allocate a smaller percentage of the cpu's time to the 'lower' level surfing?... lot of nice possibilities.Booty - Friday, April 16, 2004 - link
I agree - it'd be nice if they tested this system with additional applications and games. Are there any networking glitches? I know a small accounting firm with about 10 employees that would be happy to swap out their 10 old machines with 5 small, quiet new ones...bloinkXP - Friday, April 16, 2004 - link
I wonder if we can get more information on the technology that allows two simulantenous users? Where is it setup? Is it similar to MS terminal server/Citrix technology? All that good stuff.Wesley Fink - Friday, April 16, 2004 - link
#8 -The single CD is not really any different than an instance of Office. The end-user appears to have exclusive use, but they actually switch with another user in time-slicing. Each user only has exlusive use for a time-slice. There is never a real case where 2 users access the same program or CD, it just appears that way.
webrussell - Friday, April 16, 2004 - link
How does the SFF case deal with two people playing different games, each of which requires the CD in the drive?My thought is concerning my wife's Kindergarten classroom. This would be a great way to conserve space with once CPU but two workstations. However, many of the educational games require the CD in the drive.
What's the current work-around for this?
RobertJTownley - Thursday, December 15, 2005 - link
There are a few companies making free virtual cd drives. This software is essentially a special driver that fools the computer into thinking it has more DVD drives than actually exist. You tell the driver to mount an ISO image file and this becomes the virtual drive.http://www.daemon-tools.cc/">http://www.daemon-tools.cc/
Pumpkinierre - Friday, April 16, 2004 - link
Great idea. You mentioned multiplexing but does Hyperthreading fit into this anywhere?danishgold - Friday, April 16, 2004 - link
There also was a thing called "The Virtual PC BUDDY B-210" it made sharing a PC, between up to 5 people, possible, but without sound.