Two desktop PCs hooked up together

I have 2 desktop PCs one is a little older, the other is not new but both perform ok and I was wondering if they could be joined together (cable ) to get better performance using both PCs as one PC that is more powerful or would they have to be two identical Pcs ? The next question is what if I used the internal parts from one PC and put them in the other PC Therefore having two motherboards etc can they be then used as one ? or again would they have to be identical mother boards ? Its just that having two Pcs combined into one sounds like a better set up than two separate ones , I know people build their own computers all the time using what ever parts preform best to come up with a powerful unit , but I am just not sure what will work with what ,so any input would help .

You could possibly do a few things that would help, assuming that all parts are compatible with both computers:

* Get the memory out of the slower computer and install it in the faster computer. The additional memory would result in better performance for that computer.

* If you put two hard drives into the better computer, and had Windows on the faster drive and your data on the other drive, that could give you an increase in performance. Here's how:
1. The computer could read both the data drive and the Windows drive at the same time, rather than just one at a time.
2. Windows causes more drive activity than data; so if Windows was on the faster drive, this would boost your speed some.

* If one computer has a faster NIC (network card) or video card than the other, you could make sure these devices were installed in the faster computer. But if video and networking are built into the computer (on the motherboard), you won't be able to move them from one computer to the other.

* Put the more powerful power supply in the better computer. In this way, you will have a better chance of always having enough power to run the computer.

You can't join the two motherboards. You would use one or the other, but not both.

Again, this will only work if the parts you move are compatible with the other computer.

Two or more computers working together is a viable concept and is known as distributed computing. But it is only practical with certain kinds of programs and they are not what most home users would be using. The basic problem is that the communication and coordination overhead between the computers tends to overwhelm any theoretical performance gains. It is only practical with applications that have individual components that work independently most of the time with little coordination required. Most programs aren't like that. And they would have to be designed to work this way.

This is an attractive idea and this is by no means the first time I have seen it proposed. But like many attractive ideas it tends to break down when the practical problems are considered.

Best to consider what mrjimphelps has suggested. Two motherboards somehow connected together are for most practical purposes two computers, even when in the same case. There are many practical problems and the combination has all the issues mentioned above.

mrjimphelps said:

You could possibly do a few things that would help, assuming that all parts are compatible with both computers:

* Get the memory out of the slower computer and install it in the faster computer. The additional memory would result in better performance for that computer.

* If you put two hard drives into the better computer, and had Windows on the faster drive and your data on the other drive, that could give you an increase in performance. Here's how:
1. The computer could read both the data drive and the Windows drive at the same time, rather than just one at a time.
2. Windows causes more drive activity than data; so if Windows was on the faster drive, this would boost your speed some.

* If one computer has a faster NIC (network card) or video card than the other, you could make sure these devices were installed in the faster computer. But if video and networking are built into the computer (on the motherboard), you won't be able to move them from one computer to the other.

* Put the more powerful power supply in the better computer. In this way, you will have a better chance of always having enough power to run the computer.

You can't join the two motherboards. You would use one or the other, but not both.

Again, this will only work if the parts you move are compatible with the other computer.

OK thanks for that ! So I should basically use the best parts from both PCs to make one as long as parts are compatible . Its a shame it cant be done in the way I was thinking bummer ,but thank you for your input .

LMiller7 said:

Two or more computers working together is a viable concept and is known as distributed computing. But it is only practical with certain kinds of programs and they are not what most home users would be using. The basic problem is that the communication and coordination overhead between the computers tends to overwhelm any theoretical performance gains. It is only practical with applications that have individual components that work independently most of the time with little coordination required. Most programs aren't like that. And they would have to be designed to work this way.

This is an attractive idea and this is by no means the first time I have seen it proposed. But like many attractive ideas it tends to break down when the practical problems are considered.

Best to consider what mrjimphelps has suggested. Two motherboards somehow connected together are for most practical purposes two computers, even when in the same case. There are many practical problems and the combination has all the issues mentioned above.

To bad that it cant be done in the way I was thinking,but thank you for your advice ,I will make it as solved thanks .