Looking for recommendations for new Linux desktop
 

Hello all,

I am looking for recommendations for a new Linux workstation. One requirement that I have is I want 64-bit Linux.

That means that first I must choose between AMD64 and EM64T (from Intel). This already possesses a challenge, since I heard that AMD64-based workstations present multiple compatibility issues (especially cheap and popular C521/E521 from Dell), while EM64T are still few on the market and Linux support for them is questionable.

So are there any recommendations for me? First, which of two - AMD64 or EM64T - should I better use with Linux-64bit, and, if possible, what systems are there on the market that are not expensive and known to be fully compatible with latest 64-bit kernel?

Note that I do not mind to get a system with Windows or without any OS at all and install Linux on it, if necessary (I did it many times), but I don't feel comfortable patching the kernel myself, so I need a system that will work out of the box with one of the existing distributions.

So, any experience with 64-bit Linux?

64-bit Debian works fine for me AMD64 and EMT64 is, for all practical purposes, the same architecture.