Gaming Help me remember

[Magsor]

I have a vague memory of a processor you used to put on top of another to make it faster. It was cool but overpriced. I think it was around pentium 2 era. Can you help me remember?

 

[marcus134]

pentium 2? I think you're talking about a slot1 to socket 370 adapter where you could install a socket 370 cpu on top of a slot 1 card and would fit on a slot 1 mobo that are made for slot 1 cpu.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:KL_Socket370_Slot1_Adapter.jpg
in that case, the thing that you put on top was called a cpu.

or

386 and before era, co-processor, it wasn't placed on top of the cpu but rather alongside on the mobo in a co-processor socket.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:80386with387.JPG

 

[FAST6191]

In addition to marcus134's stuff depending upon how far you are wishing to stretch P2 era you might also be remembering the AMD overclocking/unlocking addons - http://www.anandtech.com/show/457/12 but I do not think these were that expensive (for what they are sure as it always is for such minor custom things but in terms of actual thinning of wallet not really).

Around the same time I also vaguely recall some..... interesting things happening in server and high end workstation land (this was back where there was a huge difference other than the warrant and quality of the drivers between such things) with some very early dual processor stuff and some processors with multiple processors on the die aimed at backwards compatibility. Few people ever tangled with it as it was not good (very specific software and OS, unstable as you like if you tried deviating from the software and not the great performance boost as we got with the proper dual core and later stuff like skulltrail- to the point where you might as well have built two machines, stuck a firewire cable across and called it a processing cluster and in effect it probably was that) but a couple of people decided to try gaming grade (again pointless as we barely have properly multithreaded games today) and video rigs using it.

 

[Frederica Bernkastel]

Are you possibly thinking of the Nortbridge and/or Southbridge of a motherboard?

 

[Magsor]

Thanks! Marcus134 got it on his first try. A socket adapter would be just right but it certainly less cool than what i imagined.... It just bugged me not remembering something.