I am not sure how many people know that Dell just finally made AMD X2 CPU's available on notebook & desktops. We (work) has a government contract with Dell so we are wondering if we order new PC's with "Dual Core" X2 CPU's, will Linux be able to make use of the dual core? I don't want to waste cash on a dual core CPU when Linux will not be an optimal selection.

All our workstations are Fedora 5 or Debian Etch. Right now we all run Dell Optiplex 280's which are basic Intel P4 systems and are going out of warranty...

What do you guys say? Buy X2's for Linux workstations? Which kernel is optimal for Dual Core? SMP?

Thanks for any input.

From what i heard, not even windows can take ful advantage of dual cores yet. That may change with Vista, but I am not sure. I have no idea if Linux can take full advantage of 2 cores though.

I am sure right now nobody is able to get 100% from the dual core but I am just looking for Linux to be on par with performance as Windows using a dual core CPU.

Yes Linux will use both cores with a SMP kernel installed now whether you will actually get good use from both of them is another matter. What are the machines used for?

The machine is used for work. I am a Network Administrator and this is my main desktop.

Mainly monitor the LAN, Email, Web, Doom3, UT2004, and much more. I use a lot of apps at the same time which I think the dual core can assist with in multi tasking. It's not like my P4 is struggling now but I don't want to downgrade our desktops with Dual Core CPU's.

Well I doubt using an X2 dual core would be considered a downgrade from a single core system and an extra processor would help even if the apps are not multi-threaded just by the load balancing of the processes between the different cores. Also looking at what should be the real cost of the difference between a dual core vs single core AMD64 system using Pricewatch the single core 3200+ chips (2.0ghz) is ~$75 dual core 3800+ (2 x 2.0ghz) is ~$160. So if you are going to upgrade anyways to new machines using this class processor it should be at most a $100 extra for the dual core machine to have double the processor power definitely worth it in my opinion.

On the other hand why purchase equipment if the stuff you have is working? That is just wasting money. If you wait a year you will be able to get better processors for your money. If you wait two years you will be able to get even better processors for what you are willing to pay now.

In my first job in this field my boss said to me "If you have the technology to do the job at hand then you don't need to purchase new equipment." Your original post says that you have a government contract with Dell. That suggests that you are either a government agency or a vendor to a government agency. In either case you have an obligation to use your operating budget wisely since the money that you are spending comes from taxes.