[plug] What version of CPU and Linux do people use?

[Scott Middleton]

Thanks

I was basically wondering if you have a CPU capable of the 64 bit extensions
would you use it? 

Nearly all new PC based processors in the last year or so are 64bit compatible.
In fact the P4 Prescott (F series) is. Most distros have an AMD64 bit version
and Debian etch was released with its first AMD64 port.

But it seems that not all popular software is 64 bit capable. So it would be
safe to say to people who ask - If you are a bit techie "have at it" if not
stick to the x86 for now.

Is there anyone running and AMD64 port of Linux on a core2 duo, pentium
extreme/D?

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Daniel Foote [mailto:freefoote at gmail.com]
> Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 12:30 PM
> To: plug at plug.org.au
> Subject: Re: [plug] What version of CPU and Linux do people use?
> 
> Hello.
> 
> > Hi I am wondering what versions of Linux and the CPU architectures people
> are
> > using?
> >
> > Eg Fedora Core 6 i586 on a core 2 duo.
> >
> > Do many people use the AMD64 version?
> 
> I have two AMD64 machines - one is a single core, the other is a Dual
> core. I run 64 Bit Debian on both. (Etch on the dual core as my
> fileserver, Sid on the single core as my desktop machine).
> 
> > The reason I am asking is that most Linux distributions have now brought
> out a
> > AMD64 (used to be x86_64) version. At first I thought this was only for
> AMD
> > processors but now since Core 2 Duo and a few others it is basically the
> same.
> > People using my on line shop (http://shop.linuxit.com.au) often ask which
> > version to get and I am generally telling them to get x86 since it is
> safer from
> > my perpective.
> 
> Well... it's getting better. 18 months ago when I got my first AMD64
> box things were not quite so nice for 64bit. Nowadays things like the
> native 64Bit OpenOffice works nicely (only a recent thing - before
> then the 64Bit one crashed very often, almost to being unusable). Most
> other software just "works" once it has been compiled for 64bit (which
> your distro has done for you, so there really isn't much work in it).
> 
> The major issue at the moment seems to be Flash player and 64Bit.
> There is no 64bit native flash plugin - only a 32bit one. This means
> that to use it, you have to run a 32bit Firefox. In my case, I have a
> 32bit chroot set up and run Firefox from inside there. I've only set
> this up on my single-core desktop machine, and "live without it" on my
> dual core server machine.
> 
> (See https://alioth.debian.org/docman/view.php/30192/21/debian-amd64-
> howto.html
> for information on how to set up your own 32bit chroot in Debian - the
> instructions there are pretty good because it describes how to make it
> "mostly painless" to use 32bit programs.)
> 
> I've heard reports of other (proprietary) 32bit precompiled software
> requiring to be run inside a chroot to get it to run properly. Other
> software runs fine directly on the 64bit side, as most 64bit distros
> include "32bit compatibility libraries" (ia32-libs for Debian),
> allowing many precompiled 32bit binaries to be executed directly. (Eg,
> Google earth works very nicely in the pure 64bit environment).
> 
> As to wether to recommend it or not... well, you still have to get
> your hands a bit dirty with the chroot setup and things. So I suppose
> it depends on the tech skill of the user or the person setting it up
> for the user.
> 
> I hope this helps...
> 
> Daniel Foote.