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Having trouble installing a piece of hardware? Want to know if that peripheral is compatible with Linux?

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Old 11-16-2008, 02:02 AM   #1
lothario
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choosing a Processor for our next Linux box


We are looking at a system which can have any one of these processors.


2 Core, AMD Athlon X2 :
  • 5000B 2.6GHz, 2x1M L2, 2-core, Socket AM2+ (65W), 65nm
  • 5200B 2.7GHz, 2x1M L2, 2-core, Socket AM2+ (65W), 65nm
  • 5400B 2.8GHz, 2x1M L2, 2-core, Socket AM2+ (65W), 65nm
  • 5600B 2.9GHz, 2x1M L2, 2-core, Socket AM2+ (65W), 65nm
4 Core, AMD Phenom X4 :
  • 9150E 1.8GHz, 4x512K L2, 2M L3, 4-core, Socket AM2+ (65W), 65nm
  • 9350E 2.0GHz, 4x512K L2, 2M L3, 4-core, Socket AM2+ (65W), 65nm


The Ghz speed mentioned above -
  1. Is that the overall speed of the processor ?
  2. What is the speed of each core ?
 
Old 11-16-2008, 02:24 AM   #2
firewiz87
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The speed indicated is the speed per core.... each core can work at the indicated speed.
Theoretically if both the cores were to work together at full speed you could get an overall speed of indicated speed X 2

Linux can work on any processor without any problems.... well the quad core AMD with 2.0 Ghz would be cool!!!

Last edited by firewiz87; 11-16-2008 at 02:29 AM.
 
Old 11-16-2008, 03:03 AM   #3
lothario
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That is good to know. Thanks.

I should be install the 64bit version of Ubuntu Desktop on this
AMD Phenom X4 9350E 2.0GHz, 4x512K L2, 2M L3, 4-core, Socket AM2+ (65W), 65nm
correct?
 
Old 11-16-2008, 04:31 AM   #4
Dailan
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lothario View Post
That is good to know. Thanks.

I should be install the 64bit version of Ubuntu Desktop on this
AMD Phenom X4 9350E 2.0GHz, 4x512K L2, 2M L3, 4-core, Socket AM2+ (65W), 65nm
correct?
Well that depends on what you want to do. Yes, the 64 bit version would run admirably on that hardware, but sometimes it pays to run the 32 bit equivalent, especially if having fuss free Flash playback and all that frillyness is important.

I know that there are 64 bit solutions (namely wrappers) to these issues, but these strike me as kludges more than anything.

In any event, the question "what should I install" must by necessity invite the answer "what do I want to do".

Dailan
 
Old 11-16-2008, 05:02 AM   #5
lothario
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This system would mostly run:
  • Firefox (with Flash, etc.)
  • Pidgin
  • OpenOffice
  • Totem
  • VLC
  • VirtualBox Host (with Windows XP as a Guest)
 
Old 11-16-2008, 08:27 AM   #6
firewiz87
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Will there be a "great" difference in performance installing a 64-bit??
I dont really think so... i mean there might be some improvement in performance but i dont think its worth all the software compatibility problems....

A 32-bit OS would be fine....

Correct me if i am wrong.....
 
Old 11-16-2008, 01:29 PM   #7
lazlow
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In current version there are essentially no issues with 64bit that are not in 32bit versions as well. Even with Flash using the wrapper is not a real issue. Wether or not you see any speed difference will depend on what you are going to do with the machine. Doing things like converting videos you will see (roughly) a 30% reduction in the time it takes to convert a video. Running things like FF or OO the difference will be so small you probably will not notice it.

Memory is another issue. If you are going to have more than 3gb of ram, then run 64bit. With more than 3gb of ram the 32bit versions will not be able to see all the memory unless you run a PAE type kernel, which in most cases will have a price that will be paid in performance. Conversely if you have 1gb(or less) of ram stick with 32bit, the base 64bit system tends to take a little more ram.

Since VMs are all about ram, I would use the 64bit version of your distro.
 
Old 11-16-2008, 02:41 PM   #8
onebuck
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Hi,

I believe a non-PAE kernel (32-bit) can address up to 4GB less the 512MB setup for the BIOS, device space. If you want the full or above then you must compile a custom kernel for the 'Physical Address Extension' (PAE). Your processor must support PAE which is a Intel Pentium Pro or later processor.
 
  


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