Hello.

I'm not all that tech savy when it comes to computer hardware so if this is a dumb question I apologize.

I'm building a linux to do my work from home. Now I have a choice, do I get a new single processor system with an AMD 64 bit processor, or do take a dual AMD MP system that I currently use at work.

I will be the only person using this system. I've always thought that 2 processors are better than one. However I've been told at work that a single AMD 64bit processor is better (ie faster) if you are not using the system as a server.

Is this true? Would a single processor 64bit machine be a faster workstation than a dual 32bit system?

I would suggest you buy a new 64-bit system, making sure it is upgradable, and send me the dually.

From what I've seen, a dual system is equivalent to only about 1.5-1.7 times the speed of the chips. So, a dual 2400, would be equal to about a 3800, as long as you were running programs to take advantage of the dual CPUs. If you are only running one big program at a time, it will usually only run on one CPU. You get the advantage if you run programs specific'ly written to take advantage of SMP, or run a number of programs, and the OS splits them up to run on several CPUs.

Of course, the dually has limited upgradability. The 64 could be upgradable for years, as long as they keep the socket stable for awhile. Programs and OSes will also become optimized to the 64 as time goes by, so it will run better.

When I got the dualie I thought I'd be using its capabilities more. The box runs a MySQL server for my office and also has to act as my workstation. However after about a month of use, the MySQL databases are hardly accessed. So I pretty much got a dualie that I'm not really taking advantage of since I don't know how to write code to take advantage of SMP.

This is why I thought getting a single processor 64bit machine this time would be a good idea.