Kernel compilation time and hardware limitations
Recompiling the Linux kernel seems to take longer than I would expect. I've switched from a 233MHz processor to an 850MHz one, but the process doesn't seem to be going even twice as fast. So I'm wondering what's the most likely limiting factor in my system. The critical parameters: 850MHz Athlon Tyan S2390 motherboard 256MB PC100 memory 30GB 7200 RPM hard drive I assume that nothing else is likely to be relevant. Paul
I;d say it's both the pc100 ram and the pci bus running at 33MHz. Just can't get around it. Getting 133MHz ram might help but the bottleneck at the PCI bus is still there. This is way so many of the guys I know in schools studying comp engineering/sci are swithcing to the AMD/Athlon/Duron based mobos. They have a faster bus system (though I do believe the PCI is still a bottleneck at 33MHz). Just my 2 cents. Curtis. On Monday 04 June 2001 02:52 pm, Paul Abrahams wrote:
Recompiling the Linux kernel seems to take longer than I would expect. I've switched from a 233MHz processor to an 850MHz one, but the process doesn't seem to be going even twice as fast. So I'm wondering what's the most likely limiting factor in my system. The critical parameters:
850MHz Athlon Tyan S2390 motherboard 256MB PC100 memory 30GB 7200 RPM hard drive
I assume that nothing else is likely to be relevant.
Paul
Curtis Rey wrote:
I;d say it's both the pc100 ram and the pci bus running at 33MHz. Just can't get around it. Getting 133MHz ram might help but the bottleneck at the PCI bus is still there. This is way so many of the guys I know in schools studying comp engineering/sci are swithcing to the AMD/Athlon/Duron based mobos. They have a faster bus system (though I do believe the PCI is still a bottleneck at 33MHz).
I'm looking at the mobo specs for anything I can find that would be related to the PCI bus speed. The only thing I see is that the board has the VIA KT-133 chipset. The mobo is designed for Athlons or Durons, however. Is the 33MHz limitation a property of most PC mobos? Paul
Yep, if I'm not mistaken. The 33MHz is part of the spec/standard. That's why all the hubbub about second gen PCI standards. This kind of thing is why alot of mobo makers don't put ISA slots on the boards (the Legacy stuff) and why the push for USB kbd's and mice ( I believe they're in the same category as the legacy/ISA spec/standard). To break it down (my best attempt), the bus used for the cpu at 66MHZ is running at the same speed as the ram (66MHz) and the same applies 100 and 133MHZ cpu/ram speed. The PCI bus runs at 1/2 of 66, 1/3 of 100, and 1/4 of 133MHZ (always 33MHz) and the ISA runs at 1/2 of the PCI at 16MHz. I'll take a look on microns ram site and see if I can't back trace the ram to the specific mobos. I know that AMD based mobos use 233 and higher ram speeds. I'll let you know and you might take a peak too. Cheers. Curtis On Monday 04 June 2001 03:45 pm, Paul Abrahams wrote:
Curtis Rey wrote:
I;d say it's both the pc100 ram and the pci bus running at 33MHz. Just can't get around it. Getting 133MHz ram might help but the bottleneck at the PCI bus is still there. This is way so many of the guys I know in schools studying comp engineering/sci are swithcing to the AMD/Athlon/Duron based mobos. They have a faster bus system (though I do believe the PCI is still a bottleneck at 33MHz).
I'm looking at the mobo specs for anything I can find that would be related to the PCI bus speed. The only thing I see is that the board has the VIA KT-133 chipset. The mobo is designed for Athlons or Durons, however. Is the 33MHz limitation a property of most PC mobos?
Paul
Paul Abrahams wrote:
Recompiling the Linux kernel seems to take longer than I would expect. I've switched from a 233MHz processor to an 850MHz one, but the process doesn't seem to be going even twice as fast. So I'm wondering what's the most likely limiting factor in my system. The critical parameters:
850MHz Athlon Tyan S2390 motherboard 256MB PC100 memory 30GB 7200 RPM hard drive
I assume that nothing else is likely to be relevant.
Paul
Are you using the exact same .config file? The more modules the longer it'll take. Mark
participants (3)
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Curtis Rey -
Mark Hounschell -
Paul Abrahams