[opensuse] Need advice on upgrading to 64bit computer
I'm currently using and AMD Athlon 1.4MHz computer. Planning on upgrading to a more modern motherboard and cpu. Currently leaning toward AMD but I'm a little confused thus the following questions maybe someone can answer. 1) AM2 vs 939 socket, I leaning towards the AM2 2) Is Dual-Core worth the extra money, leaning towards Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 5000+ 3) Gigabyte, Asus or DFI motherboard, Want 2 IDE interfaces (4 drives) Current choices are ASUS M2N-E SLI Gigabyte GA-M44SLI-S4 DFI NF Ultra II-M2 All 3 boards have at least 1 com port (required) The ASUS has only one IDE interface (could live with this if Asus is the better board. 4) Finally, what are pro/cons for 32 bit or 64 bit of opensuse on a 64 bit computer. Thanks for any advice Terry -- PCLinuxOS release 2007 (PCLinuxOS) for i586 -- 2.6.18.8.tex5 -- Sun 09/23/07 18:15:01 up 8 days, 10:25, 6 users, load average: 0.21, 0.27, 0.26 -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Sunday 23 September 2007 06:40:10 pm Terry Eck wrote:
I'm currently using and AMD Athlon 1.4MHz computer. Planning on upgrading to a more modern motherboard and cpu. Currently leaning toward AMD but I'm a little confused thus the following questions maybe someone can answer.
1) AM2 vs 939 socket, I leaning towards the AM2
AM2
2) Is Dual-Core worth the extra money, leaning towards Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 5000+
Depends what you use computer for. Tests done in time of AMD 64 vs. P4, showed that multimedia loves AMD wide bus that can move data fast, but for the most of the other applications P4 was faster.
3) Gigabyte, Asus or DFI motherboard, Want 2 IDE interfaces (4 drives) Current choices are ASUS M2N-E SLI Gigabyte GA-M44SLI-S4 DFI NF Ultra II-M2 All 3 boards have at least 1 com port (required) The ASUS has only one IDE interface (could live with this if Asus is the better board. 4) Finally, what are pro/cons for 32 bit or 64 bit of opensuse on a 64 bit computer.
On AMD 64 3500+ GIMP graphic seems faster with 64 bit, while for normal use ie. internet, mail I have feeling that 32 bit runs better. -- Regards, Rajko. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
2) Is Dual-Core worth the extra money, leaning towards Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 5000+
Depends what you use computer for. Tests done in time of AMD 64 vs. P4, showed that multimedia loves AMD wide bus that can move data fast, but for the most of the other applications P4 was faster.
Through experience... I would say that dual core would be the better choice. What Rajko says here is true... but where the dual core really shines is when you do more than one thing at a time. The multi core really becomes noticeable (compared to a single core) when you are playing with multimedia, or when you are doing something that pegs a core at 100%. On a single core, that's it, you're running at full capacity... whereas on a dual core, you still have a whole other CPU core to work with.
4) Finally, what are pro/cons for 32 bit or 64 bit of opensuse on a 64 bit computer.
On AMD 64 3500+ GIMP graphic seems faster with 64 bit, while for normal use ie. internet, mail I have feeling that 32 bit runs better.
There has been quite a bit of discussion about this here on the list. My observation is that it really comes down to what you need the computer for... what applications you use. It is important to keep in mind that there are a few things such as multimedia codecs which are 32 bit only. If you are planning to use it as a typical home desktop, this means that several applications must be run as 32 bit... eg MPlayer, Firefox, mplayerplugin, w32codecs etc. You can do this on a 64 bit base.... it just means you need to manage parallel libs etc. Not impossible and lots here do this. Personally I still opt for the 32 bit install to make life a little easier since a significant enough portion (for me) of the apps I use are still 32 bit only. For home desktop use, I haven't found enough of a performance difference (yet) to make me want to change to 64 bit. ymmv C. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Clayton wrote:
. . . Personally I still opt for the 32 bit install to make life a little easier since a significant enough portion (for me) of the apps I use are still 32 bit only. For home desktop use, I haven't found enough of a performance difference (yet) to make me want to change to 64 bit. ymmv
I assume you are saying install the 32bit version of OpenSuse on a 64bit computer. I guess this would mean no double lib files and everything would be 32bit. This sounds like the way to go at this point. Is there any advantage or disadvantage of having a 64bit computer running only 32bit software? -- PCLinuxOS release 2007 (PCLinuxOS) for i586 -- 2.6.18.8.tex5 -- Mon 09/24/07 17:40:01 up 9 days, 9:50, 6 users, load average: 0.20, 0.26, 0.13 -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
I assume you are saying install the 32bit version of OpenSuse on a 64bit computer.
Yes. For example I have an AMD64 X2 3800+ running the 32 bit install of openSUSE10.2.
I guess this would mean no double lib files and everything would be 32bit.
Yes. It simplifies things a little... but as always in these things, there is a tradeoff. For home desktop use the tradeoff is relatively small - ie, it is not likely you will notice it. For serious use the tradeoff is a bit more noticeable (server, math calculations etc). The main issue is with apps that are currently 32 bit only. For example the w32codec pack. It's 32 bit only... which means any apps that use these codecs also need to be 32 bit... for example MPlayer and mplayerplugin... which then means Firefox needs to be 32 bit... and then so do all the files that the 32 bit Firefox are dependent on. It's not unmanageable... there are many people on this list that have a 64 bit install and simply manage the 32 bit apps as needed. It is just simpler to go with a 32 bit install...
Is there any advantage or disadvantage of having a 64bit computer running only 32bit software?
Depends on what your use case is. For average home use... email... browsing... the occasional game... watching videos... I find that there is no real advantage of one over the other... except for the lack of 64 bit versions of certain apps... like mentioned above... Best way to test is to install both and try it :-) That's what I did. C. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
participants (3)
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Clayton
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Rajko M.
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Terry Eck