Re: Help choosing hardware
> On Fri, Apr 08, 2005 at 03:02:57PM -0400, Dale Scheetz wrote:
> Of course anything with more than one cpu isn't cheap (although compared
> to a sun sparc system they probably are cheap). An athlon 64 system is
> cheap, but an opteron system is quite a bit more, although nowhere near
> what a xeon system costs.
I wouldn't necessarily say that, as I was able to specify a reasonable
dual-processor workstation for what my current computer cost including the
monitor. HP offers dual-proc workstations starting 1900 $, and I was able to
specify one self-built for about 1500 Euro.
> Well certainly the amd64 debian-pure64 sarge runs great for me, and
> certainly many other people. I imagine there are some programs that
> don't work yet, but the 32bit chroot works perfectly too for running the
> occational i386 binary so it is rather flexible that way.
You have even several other OS choices. You could use Debian, Gentoo, Fedora
or SuSE Linux, or you could use FreeBSD for x86-64 (worked like a charm for
me), and next month there is said to be Windows support as well (though a
pal of mine says his release candidate is unable to run a 32-Bit app without
crashing it ;) ). So you basically run no risc here!!!
> > I am looking for feedback from this group, letting me know if I'm on
> > the right track, or if there are reasons that I should go with the
> > Xeon instead.
>
> I certainly would not buy anything based on the Pentium4 design
> personally given what the Opteron is capable off.
Think power dissipation and heat. A P4-based processor has a much higher
power consumption than an Opteron, requiring bigger fans, coolers, more
system fans, overheats more easily and is more prone to failure. It is
simply more reliable in the long run. (Does AMD pay me for this - they
should!)
>
> > All suggestions appreciated. I am not subscribed to this list, so
> > please CC me in your reply.
>
> If nothing else an opteron runs the i386 version of debian faster
> thananything else, and if you need 64bit support, it can do that too (I
> believe sarge does have amd64-libs and an amd64 kernel that can be used
> on i386 sarge to run 64bit programs when there is a need for 64bit).
My tip would be: CHOOSE YOUR BOARD WISELY!!! Go for a well-supported board
and everything will be A-OK. (If in doubt, ask on the list)
With kind regards,
Oliver
--
Sparen beginnt mit GMX DSL: http://www.gmx.net/de/go/dsl
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