----- Original Message -----
From: "Alan Pope" <alan@???>
To: "Hampshire LUG Discussion List" <hampshire@???>
Sent: Thursday, November 22, 2007 6:16 PM
Subject: Re: [Hampshire] [Hardware] - 64 bit Fedora
> On Thu, Nov 22, 2007 at 07:11:19PM -0000, Rob Malpass wrote:
>> Hi all
>>
>> I was told today (by a sales rep) that all CPUs on sale nowadays are 64
>> bit - is this true?
>>
>
> Pretty much. I had a hard time finding any that aren't.
>
>> I'm thinking of building / buying a new box as a sort of Christmas
>> present
>> from me to me (!). I'm thinking of giving another distro a try and
>> thought while I'm building a sort of "trial and error" box, I might give
>> 64
>> bit distros a go and had Fedora in mind. [I'm something of an Ubuntu
>> fan
>> given I started with Slackware - though IMHO Slack now is unrecognisable
>> from a few years ago - but I don't want this thread drifting into a
>> distro
>> war].
>>
>
> I have 3 64-bit capable machines, and run 32-bit linux on all of them.
>
>> Anyway, I perused the Novatech barebones list and noticed that only the
>> cheapest kit mentions that it's 64 bit. A quick wikipedia [1] revealed
>> that (it seems) if it's a 64 bit CPU, then it'll have "64" in its title.
>>
>
> Dabs actually specify in their specifications for processors whether cpus
> are 64-bit capable or not.
>
>> I freely admit I've not kept pace (in any respect!) with modern CPUs.
>> The
>> trend now seems to be 2-4 CPUs on one chip but I don't know whether if
>> you
>> have 2 32-bit CPUs on one chip (for example) then that chip is considered
>> 64 bit.
>
> No. If you have two cores they will be the same, and they will either both
> be 32-bit or (more likely these days) both be 64-bit capable. Two 32-bit
> cores do not a 64-bit core make.
>
>> Can someone enlighten me? I was highly skeptical when she told me "all
>> chips are 64 bit" but if she's right I'll ring back tomorrow and buy one
>> of
>> them.
>>
>
> I wouldn't focus on that. I'd look at the most cores/MHz at the right
> price
> and then look at whether they are 64-bit. Chances are any cpu you look at
> these days will be anyway.
>
> Cheers,
> Al.
>
Brilliant ;-] Thanks Al
This prompts two more related questions:
1) I tried a 64 bit ubuntu version on my Sempron box last summer but
couldn't really detect any major speed benefits - presume even now this will
only be visible in certain (presumably maths intensive) applications?
2) In terms of choosing the chip, am I right in thinking that an AMD 4000
trumps an AMD 3000 but in themselves the figures don't relate to the chip
speed?
Thanks again.
Rob
