What distro is best fit for amd64?
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Hi all, I gonna get a new desktop with AMD64 cpu. However, I just wonder what distro will be best fit for it ? So far, I got two recommendation: 1> Yoper as it customize for i686-or-higher (but personally, I don't think i686 will be in par of amd64 arch) 2> Gentoo (compile in 64-bit mode) Anything else? Howevre, if I go for gentoo, then - - Will there be a significant improvement if I compile in 64-bit mode rather than 32-bit with arch=athlon-xp and sse2 enable ? - - If I compile in 64-bit mode, will I be able to install some 32-bit apps on top of that as I heard that some plugins like flash / wma /wmv are not yet availabe for 64-bit & some apps neither (OOo & Cedega/WineX) Thanks lots in advance, Happy holidays, Nigel -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.6 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Thunderbird - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFB0/ck8Zb1b6sN9OgRAlvxAJ9eFWJMfOWPJIomTTTtmktSSYGPaQCfSMlS tiqxr4Whkvik1PXQx6O169Y= =4MoD -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
The benchmarks that I have seen indicate a reasonable speed increase on some tasks (e.g. compiling), large apps so it is worthwhile. All distros that run as 64 bit mode can run 32 bit as well as 64 bit when running in 64 bit mode. Typically this is done by putting the programs in another part of the file system. I presume you are reasonablly experienced at Linux as neither of those distributions is "easy" to get working. If you want an easy one the 64 bit Fedora Core 3 and Suse/Novell Linux are getting good reviews. There are lots of reviews on the net of 64 bit Linux. Good place to start is osnews.com On Fri, 31 Dec 2004 01:40:05 +1300, Nigel Nguyen <nigelnguyen(a)gmail.com> wrote:
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Hi all,
I gonna get a new desktop with AMD64 cpu. However, I just wonder what distro will be best fit for it ? So far, I got two recommendation:
1> Yoper as it customize for i686-or-higher (but personally, I don't think i686 will be in par of amd64 arch) 2> Gentoo (compile in 64-bit mode)
Anything else?
Howevre, if I go for gentoo, then
- - Will there be a significant improvement if I compile in 64-bit mode rather than 32-bit with arch=athlon-xp and sse2 enable ? - - If I compile in 64-bit mode, will I be able to install some 32-bit apps on top of that as I heard that some plugins like flash / wma /wmv are not yet availabe for 64-bit & some apps neither (OOo & Cedega/WineX)
Thanks lots in advance, Happy holidays, Nigel
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I've had an amd64 desktop since a little after Christmas last year - and had allot of playing with 64 bit Linux. Nigel Nguyen wrote:
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Hi all,
I gonna get a new desktop with AMD64 cpu. However, I just wonder what distro will be best fit for it ? So far, I got two recommendation:
1> Yoper as it customize for i686-or-higher (but personally, I don't think i686 will be in par of amd64 arch)
Stuff compiled against i686 will work no question (part of the beauty of amd's 64 bit chip opposed to intels - who have now stolen the idea from amd) but it is slow. Not really that much slower at all than say an equivalently clocked amd-xp but *much* more speed is possible --snip--
- - Will there be a significant improvement if I compile in 64-bit mode rather than 32-bit with arch=athlon-xp and sse2 enable ?
Yes compiling in 64-bit mode (CHOST=x86_64-pc-linux-gnu) gives significant speed advantages. I never got around to doing definitive benchmarks - but I always seemed to get around or above 2 mins advantage on compiling a similar kernel.
- - If I compile in 64-bit mode, will I be able to install some 32-bit apps on top of that as I heard that some plugins like flash / wma /wmv are not yet availabe for 64-bit & some apps neither (OOo & Cedega/WineX)
With the default installation on Gentoo, it installs 32 bit "emulation libraries" which allow you to run 32bit things (typically you'll end up with /lib and /lib64). Occasionally you'll come accross broken packages and all sorts of problems but the situation is a whole lot better than when I first started experimenting almost 12 months ago. A quick note also - Gentoo systems teach you all about the insides of the system but take allot of time to get going well (especially compiling things like xfree and kde/gnome/etc.). However Gentoo is very hard to beat in terms of speed and customize'ability. Often it also likes to install the newest of the new packages, which can occasionally break things - so it can take a lot to keep it going well. In my old age (sic) I've become slightly paritial to already made distributions such as Ubuntu that work without as much trouble - but are still compiled for amd64. So the tradeoffs are - a distribution that is unbeatably fast, slow to setup but teaches you everything about the insides vs. a slightly slower system - thats quick to setup but doesn't teach you much at all. Try Gentoo first ;).
Thanks lots in advance, Happy holidays, Nigel
Aaah, our local Gentoo zealot returns! :)
So the tradeoffs are - a distribution that is unbeatably fast, slow to setup but teaches you everything about the insides vs. a slightly slower system - thats quick to setup but doesn't teach you much at all. Try Gentoo first ;).
While I don't have any first hand experience to offer, Fedora Core 3 and Ubuntu both offer native amd64 versions, and they are flavour of the month with wlug members at the moment. If you are familiar with Debian, (I believe you to be a WAND student?) Ubuntu might well be your best answer. A couple of people (Perry springs to mind) run Gentoo on an AMD64, but have had problems running the ~amd64 branch due to things not being entirely 64-bit ready or clean. Your mileage may vary as to what does and doesn't work, but come this time next year, the answer should be an emphatic 'everything'. Craig
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Craig Box wrote: | Aaah, our local Gentoo zealot returns! :) | |> So the tradeoffs are - a distribution that is unbeatably fast, |> slow to setup but teaches you everything about the insides vs. a |> slightly slower system - thats quick to setup but doesn't teach |> you much at all. Try Gentoo first ;). | | | While I don't have any first hand experience to offer, Fedora Core | 3 and Ubuntu both offer native amd64 versions, and they are flavour | of the month with wlug members at the moment. If you are familiar | with Debian, (I believe you to be a WAND student?) Ubuntu might | well be your best answer. | I am currently used Ubuntu on my laptop as main productivity. It's extremely healthy & stable. I love it. Also, I do have an gentoo copied on my old p4 machine. The point that make gentoo a bit better is to give me choice to install what I want but ubuntu doesn't. Say, I want gnome but not evolution / mozilla and whole lots other; which ubuntu, its already there and I fear of apt-get remove will get me in trouble, meanwhile, with gentoo just emerge gnome-light and eventually install what I want :)) | A couple of people (Perry springs to mind) run Gentoo on an AMD64, | but have had problems running the ~amd64 branch due to things not | being entirely 64-bit ready or clean. Your mileage may vary as to | what does and doesn't work, but come this time next year, the | answer should be an emphatic 'everything'. Basically, I don't want to wait :) b'coz to me, there is no deadline in OSS. Anyway, any body got experience with flash & mplayer with 32-bin only codec (wma/wmv/real/qt)? running in 64-bit Ubuntu/FC3/gentoo ? Thanks lot, Nigel -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.6 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Thunderbird - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFB1Jvj8Zb1b6sN9OgRAkNLAJsFfSW4DXceBnb8X4trm0TuD8FPIACfQ71J C5z34xrvLGP3RsbZkz66oJs= =caTq -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
The point that make gentoo a bit better is to give me choice to install what I want but ubuntu doesn't. Say, I want gnome but not evolution / mozilla and whole lots other; which ubuntu, its already there and I fear of apt-get remove will get me in trouble, meanwhile, with gentoo just emerge gnome-light and eventually install what I want :))
If you can't remove evolution without breaking GNOME, then it's a packaging bug in Ubuntu and I'm sure they would love to hear from you. Your original question was regarding AMD64; there is no Gentoo specific advantage on a 64 bit arch; being able to start from a base applies equally to any 32 bit arch as well! So if you want Gentoo go to Gentoo, but don't think that you have to because you are on a 64 bit platform.
Basically, I don't want to wait :) b'coz to me, there is no deadline in OSS.
While that is in the most part true, with 6 month release cycles fast becoming standard, you might find that all the good stuff gets committed just before releases of things like GNOME, Fedora & Ubuntu. Craig
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 | Your original question was regarding AMD64; there is no Gentoo specific | advantage on a 64 bit arch; being able to start from a base applies | equally to any 32 bit arch as well! That's the answer I particularly look for. | | While that is in the most part true, with 6 month release cycles fast | becoming standard, you might find that all the good stuff gets committed | just before releases of things like GNOME, Fedora & Ubuntu. | My solution: stay with 32-bit ubuntu which I currently happy with, see if I can do what I want in an acceptant performance. If yes then just wait for the 64-bit to be mature, otherwise go for the complexity and cross the fingers. Happy New Year, Nigel -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.6 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Thunderbird - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFB1MGS8Zb1b6sN9OgRAh+jAJ9gMUz2IsUaN2pucYWF/IIxdmQ5mgCfUWbO 2VDOQDNn5l3Z2OS6K3ito4s= =z6r8 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
Anyway, any body got experience with flash & mplayer with 32-bin only codec (wma/wmv/real/qt)? running in 64-bit Ubuntu/FC3/gentoo ?
I've not got this to work under gentoo, I suspect the answer is to run a 32bit version of mplayer/mozilla, and you can run 32bit apps on a 64bit debian distribution if you have all the compatibility stuff installed. I've just not bothered sitting down long enough to make it all work, I'm happier to work around it (watching movies on my other machine, and not putting up with flash)
A couple of people (Perry springs to mind) run Gentoo on an AMD64, but have had problems running the ~amd64 branch due to things not being entirely 64-bit ready or clean. Your mileage may vary as to what does and doesn't work, but come this time next year, the answer should be an emphatic 'everything'.
In fairness, the reason I'm running gentoo with ~amd64 is that I tend to run a huge range of software. I get annoyed at FC3 for barely being able to provide a base OS in comparison to the amount of programming libraries and tools I use on a day to day basis. So I got an amd64 knowing full well that I was going to hit issues (and actually, more to the point, I got an amd64 so I'd have some fun issues to play with....)
participants (5)
-
Craig Box -
Ian McDonald -
Malcolm -
Nigel Nguyen -
Perry Lorier