Redhat 9 I686 Arch
 

I have a pentium 3 500 mhz computer and I am running Redhat 9 arch I386. I want to match up hardware better to a more suitable version. I heard I686 version is the best for my processor. Where can I download this ISO

As far as I know, there is no i686 version of regular RedHat.

There is JAMD Linux, it is a modified version of Redhat that is i686 optimized. You could check that out.


Honestly, I dont see that much difference in optimization. Things start a little faster, but its not night and day.

You may also want to look at Mandrake, its similar to Redhat, but is i586 optimized.

Also, check out distrowatch.com, its lists all the popular distros, and you can look for an i686 optimized one that suits your needs.

Thank you. I am new and have many questions. I am jumping right in to this cool operating system and want to learn all I can. This will help.

In my Redhat Updater, there is an I686 arch kernel that I can choose to download. Currently I am using the I386. But I have a PIII 500mhz computer. Could I easily download this RPM and install to upgrade to the I686 version?

Can I install the I686 new Redhat 9 kernel update 2.4.20 on my I386 arch machine? Would that upgrade my machine and utilize my processor better?

I think that, as long as it matches your arch (and, though not in the case of a kernel, distro) you'll be alright. But don't quote me on that. :D

Dan

No no no no no...

Nah. I'm not a programmer, so let me tell you the best way I understand it:
i386 is compatible for people with i686 architecture. However, i686 uses extra instructions that i386 doesn't have, so the binaries are NOT backwards compatible. The i686 kernel would have been compiled/optimized for that specific architecture, making it NOT backwards compatible with i386. It's like going back to 1995 and buying a 2003 car, only not really a very good comparison ;)

However, I could be completely wrong so...

Moving to the RedHat Forum

Cool