[TriLUG] CPU Considerations/Recommendations

[Andrew Perrin]

My view of the 64-bit thing is that running 32-bit linux on a 64-bit 
processor will get you *most* of the benefits of the processor, and avoid 
locking you in for the future.  The only real reason I can think of to go 
for the full 64 bits is for the per-process memory, which is a real issue 
if that's a wall you bump up against.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Andrew J Perrin - andrew_perrin (at) unc.edu - http://perrin.socsci.unc.edu
Assistant Professor of Sociology; Book Review Editor, _Social Forces_
University of North Carolina - CB#3210, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3210 USA
New Book: http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/178592.ctl



On Tue, 13 Mar 2007, Ed Alexander wrote:

> I'm not so much stuck on "should I buy Intel or buy AMD".  I've had good 
> experiences with both over the years.  (My first AMD was a 40 MHz CPU on 
> which Yggdrasil Linux with the 0.9.x kernel ran flawlessly.)
>
> I'm more interested in the "go 32-bit or 64-bit" debate.  Are there still 
> major hassles with 64-bit Linux and, even if so, are there enough reasons to 
> still go down that road now?  I need a system that will run most everything, 
> without an investment of hours to tweak each and every application.  (Some 
> tweaking and fighting is fun, but it gets old when every application install 
> becomes a challenge.)
>
> So, to refocus, do y'all recommend 32-bit or 64-bit?
>
> Ed
>
> Greg Brown wrote:
>> All along I was thinking "it can't be JUST YOU, other people MUST be having
>> these same kinds of problems with AMD processors".
>> 
>> Turns out it might have been "just me" after all.
>> 
>> I'm still firmly entrenched in the Intel camp though.
>> 
>> Proudly typed on a 2 Ghz Core Duo (and drooling over the prospects of a
>> quad-core iMac running OS X and Linux under emulation... oh please please
>> please please)
>> 
>> Greg
>> 
>> On 3/13/07, Dave Sorenson <dave at logicalgeek.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> I've had nothing but GREAT luck w/ AMD CPU's I've probably built 7-9
>>> boxen with them and the ones that were taken out of service were due to
>>> clockspeed slowness, not failure. In fact my server is going on year 6
>>> and while showing it's slow clockspeed occasionally it  has been ROCK
>>> SOLID since Red Hat 7 was first installed.
>>> 
>>> YMMV
>>> ;-)
>>> Dave
>>> 
>>> Greg Brown wrote:
>>> > I've been blasted for my views of AMD but I'd say, no, and AMD
>>> > anything is
>>> > not a good choice for a processor (this is based off three different AMD
>>> > processors I owned kicking the bucket within one year's time.
>>> > Meanwhile my
>>> > P-II is still churning out the 1s and 0s God only knows how long after
>>> it
>>> > was shipped out the door).
>>> >
>>> > Yahoo had a story about the financial well at AMD possibly running dry:
>>> >
>>> >
>>> http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070311/ap_on_bi_ge/amd_intel_shifting_fortunes;_ylt=AhfUbSCIDhPeuOjiO2pl.sfMWM0F 
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > (http://tinyurl.com/yrkw7y)*
>>> >
>>> > *Some other headlines:
>>> >
>>> > *AMD* on The Brink of
>>> > Collapse<
>>> http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=60964&rubrik1=Economy&rubrik2=Company%20News&rubrik3=Mergers%20%2F%20Takeovers&sort=1&start=1 
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > *AMD* Staggering After Brutal Year of Battling
>>> > Intel<http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,258365,00.html>
>>> > Intel Debuts More Product, The Chips Are Down Again At
>>> > AMD<http://www.247wallst.com/2007/03/intel_debuts_mo.html>
>>> >
>>> > This could all be wrong though.  YMMV.
>>> >
>>> > Greg
>>> >
>>> > On 3/13/07, Ed Alexander <esalexa at nc.rr.com> wrote:
>>> >>
>>> >> I need to purchase a new primary desktop for home use.  I'd like some
>>> >> recommendations for what CPU to get.  Is Athlon 64 a good choice?  I
>>> >> know of issues with getting Flash player to work (only 32-bit version
>>> >> available).  Are there other considerations, good or bad?
>>> >>
>>> >> I'll be running various Linux distros on it over time, one as the base
>>> >> system and others in Qemu or VMware.  The system will be used for the
>>> >> usual (e-mail, web, video, productivity, etc.) and general playing
>>> >> around with Linux distros.
>>> >>
>>> >> Thanks for any constructive comments.
>>> >>
>>> >> Ed
>>> >>
>>> >> --
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