Dual-Core Linux/Win machine: opinions (and facts, if any :-)), please

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Howdy!

I'm thinking of building a desketop to last me for some time which must have
adequate performance for 2D graphics, maybe later video manipulation (but
not particularly games).

Since I am please with my current ASUS based system, I thought I'd go for
them again.

I've decided to be agnostic about CPU manufacturer, and just look at
practicalities.

I want to run WinXP (64 bit, I suppose...) and Linux 2.6 (64 bit) probably
Mandriva.

I'll use PCI-E graphics card and a couple of SATA harddisks (but not in h/w
raid). I'm aiming for 2x1GB memory, ECC if I can get it.

Two choices occur to me:

Pentium 4 D930 & Asus P5WD2 Premium.
+ I get the impression that Intel chipset support for Linux is better
- Crucial does not list ECC memory for this at all.

Athlon 64 x2 4400+ & Asus A8N-E
+ ECC memory quoted from Crucial
- I get the impression that nVidia chipset support for Linux is not so good

So, is there anything I'm missing?

Both boards claim to have fan speed varying technology, is that supported on
Linux on either? (Or should i just get adjustable fans and set it up once
and for all?)

Both boards are SATA II, is that "just going to work" for both WinXP64 and
Linux 64?

Yout thoughts appreciated.

Best Regards

Jens

- --
Key ID 0x09723C12,
Analogue filtering / 5GHz RLAN / Mdk Linux / odds and ends
http://www.tingleff.org/jensting/ +44 1223 211 585
"I lost my heel" "Oh, don't worry about him!" 'Bringing up Baby'
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On Thu, 06 Apr 2006 08:07:33 +0100, Jens Tingleff wrote:

> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
>
> Howdy!
>
> I'm thinking of building a desketop to last me for some time which must
> have adequate performance for 2D graphics, maybe later video manipulation
> (but not particularly games).
>
> Since I am please with my current ASUS based system, I thought I'd go for
> them again.
>
> I've decided to be agnostic about CPU manufacturer, and just look at
> practicalities.
>
> I want to run WinXP (64 bit, I suppose...) and Linux 2.6 (64 bit) probably
> Mandriva.
>
> I'll use PCI-E graphics card and a couple of SATA harddisks (but not in
> h/w raid). I'm aiming for 2x1GB memory, ECC if I can get it.
>
> Two choices occur to me:
>
> Pentium 4 D930 & Asus P5WD2 Premium.
> + I get the impression that Intel chipset support for Linux is
> better - Crucial does not list ECC memory for this at all.
>
> Athlon 64 x2 4400+ & Asus A8N-E
> + ECC memory quoted from Crucial
> - I get the impression that nVidia chipset support for Linux is
> not so good
>
> So, is there anything I'm missing?
>
> Both boards claim to have fan speed varying technology, is that supported
> on Linux on either? (Or should i just get adjustable fans and set it up
> once and for all?)
>
> Both boards are SATA II, is that "just going to work" for both WinXP64 and
> Linux 64?
>
> Yout thoughts appreciated.
>
> Best Regards
>
> Jens
>
> - --
> Key ID 0x09723C12,
> Analogue filtering / 5GHz RLAN / Mdk Linux / odds and ends
> http://www.tingleff.org/jensting/ +44 1223 211 585
> "I lost my heel" "Oh, don't worry about him!" 'Bringing up Baby'
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> iD8DBQFENL48imJs3AlyPBIRAjffAJ93qsT/4x1A+IW6wOugMb0e237CiwCg7SMj
> ThCULbSgO451m+K79rGorvU=
> =Y+d/
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The 4400+ system will give you much better performance and it will be
quieter. The Nforce4 chipset is well supported by Linux, I have an MSI K8N
Neo4 running 64 bit FC4.

"Jens Tingleff" <> wrote in message
news:...
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
>
> Howdy!
>
> I'm thinking of building a desketop to last me for some time which must
> have
> adequate performance for 2D graphics, maybe later video manipulation (but
> not particularly games).
>
> Since I am please with my current ASUS based system, I thought I'd go for
> them again.
>
> I've decided to be agnostic about CPU manufacturer, and just look at
> practicalities.
>
> I want to run WinXP (64 bit, I suppose...) and Linux 2.6 (64 bit) probably
> Mandriva.
>
> I'll use PCI-E graphics card and a couple of SATA harddisks (but not in
> h/w
> raid). I'm aiming for 2x1GB memory, ECC if I can get it.
>
> Two choices occur to me:
>
> Pentium 4 D930 & Asus P5WD2 Premium.
> + I get the impression that Intel chipset support for Linux is
> better
> - Crucial does not list ECC memory for this at all.
>
> Athlon 64 x2 4400+ & Asus A8N-E
> + ECC memory quoted from Crucial
> - I get the impression that nVidia chipset support for Linux is not
> so good
>
> So, is there anything I'm missing?
>
> Both boards claim to have fan speed varying technology, is that supported
> on
> Linux on either? (Or should i just get adjustable fans and set it up once
> and for all?)
>
> Both boards are SATA II, is that "just going to work" for both WinXP64 and
> Linux 64?
>
> Yout thoughts appreciated.
>

If you are going to dual boot, the less exotic the more likely you will get
everything working in each boot. I still can't get WinXP_64 or Vista to run
on my SATA (K8V) drive. How long has SATA been out? Linux works fine on the
Promise or VIA connector.

I have dual screens one of which I turned portrait. That will drive you
crazy when you boot into something that can't handle it, especially if the
default monitor is the one sideways.

The AMD cool and quiet seem to work regardless of the o/s or drivers. I
didn't install the software. The fan was just buzzing when I had Seti
running, but it idles now.

IMHO The dual thing is much over hyped. The analogy is one horse versus two
hooked to a cart. The faster one is obvious, unless you have a lot of stuff
to haul. If you like to have a gazillion things running in the icon tray
dual may be the way to go. One can handle the overhead and the other is
there for you to use. But at twice the cost with only a 10-20% boost in
output is it worth it? Don't get me wrong, all my servers have dual
processors, but my workstation is back to a single.

"Jens Tingleff" <> wrote in message
news:...
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
>
> Howdy!
>
> I'm thinking of building a desketop to last me for some time which must
> have
> adequate performance for 2D graphics, maybe later video manipulation (but
> not particularly games).
>
> Since I am please with my current ASUS based system, I thought I'd go for
> them again.
>
> I've decided to be agnostic about CPU manufacturer, and just look at
> practicalities.
>
> I want to run WinXP (64 bit, I suppose...) and Linux 2.6 (64 bit) probably
> Mandriva.
>
> I'll use PCI-E graphics card and a couple of SATA harddisks (but not in
> h/w
> raid). I'm aiming for 2x1GB memory, ECC if I can get it.
>
> Two choices occur to me:
>
> Pentium 4 D930 & Asus P5WD2 Premium.
> + I get the impression that Intel chipset support for Linux is
> better
> - Crucial does not list ECC memory for this at all.
>
> Athlon 64 x2 4400+ & Asus A8N-E
> + ECC memory quoted from Crucial
> - I get the impression that nVidia chipset support for Linux is not
> so good
>
> So, is there anything I'm missing?
>
> Both boards claim to have fan speed varying technology, is that supported
> on
> Linux on either? (Or should i just get adjustable fans and set it up once
> and for all?)
>
> Both boards are SATA II, is that "just going to work" for both WinXP64 and
> Linux 64?
>
> Yout thoughts appreciated.
>
> Best Regards
>
> Jens
>
> - --
> Key ID 0x09723C12,
> Analogue filtering / 5GHz RLAN / Mdk Linux / odds and ends
> http://www.tingleff.org/jensting/ +44 1223 211 585
> "I lost my heel" "Oh, don't worry about him!" 'Bringing up Baby'
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> Version: GnuPG v1.4.2.2 (GNU/Linux)
>
> iD8DBQFENL48imJs3AlyPBIRAjffAJ93qsT/4x1A+IW6wOugMb0e237CiwCg7SMj
> ThCULbSgO451m+K79rGorvU=
> =Y+d/
> -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

I have the A8N-E and all the hardware is supported in WinXp and 64 bit
Linux. Can't comment on 64 bit Windows. The Nforce 4 chipset has been well
supported in linux since about kernel 2.6.8. Ethernet driver is forcedeth.
SATA driver is nv_sata. Audio driver is snd-intel8x0. Usb is ohci-hcd and
ehci-hcd. Hardware monitoring is provided by the it87 driver. Cool and Quiet
works fine in combination with the Asus Q-fan feature. Mandriva? I was very
disappointed with the x86_64 2006.0 version of Mandriva. Ubuntu or Kubuntu
Dapper, on the other hand, I have found to be excellent for a binary distro.
Personally, I use Gentoo.

Steve

> I have the A8N-E and all the hardware is supported in WinXp and 64 bit
> Linux. Can't comment on 64 bit Windows. The Nforce 4 chipset has been well
> supported in linux since about kernel 2.6.8. Ethernet driver is forcedeth.
> SATA driver is nv_sata. Audio driver is snd-intel8x0. Usb is ohci-hcd and
> ehci-hcd. Hardware monitoring is provided by the it87 driver. Cool and
> Quiet works fine in combination with the Asus Q-fan feature. Mandriva? I
> was very disappointed with the x86_64 2006.0 version of Mandriva. Ubuntu
> or Kubuntu Dapper, on the other hand, I have found to be excellent for a
> binary distro. Personally, I use Gentoo.


I found te A8N-E totally straightforward to setup for XP64 bit - I did not
assume the drivers on the CD were recent enough. Step 1 upgrade the bios,
step 2 run round and get the latest motherboard and other core drivers from
the vendors (not asus), then install knowing one has the most recent of
everything.

I suggest going to microsoft.public.windows.64bit.general for lots of good
advice.
Printer, scanner, modem and other such drivers will be the hardest to
locate, but have a good look through the above newsgroup as sommeone else
will have been looking before you and received good advice.

XP64 has been totally stable.

On Thu, 06 Apr 2006 09:39:52 -0400, General Schvantzkoph
<> wrote:

>
>The 4400+ system will give you much better performance and it will be
>quieter. The Nforce4 chipset is well supported by Linux, I have an MSI K8N
>Neo4 running 64 bit FC4.
>

Any problems running full dual-core SMP with FC4 ? If not, I would be
very grateful if you could please provide me with full rev. versions
of the Linux kernel, compiler and the drivers you are using.. A
friend of mine is having SMP problems with the Ubuntu distribution and
GNU C on a 4400+ nF4 system (not overclocked) -A8NSLI premium. Works
just great single-core and compiles flawlessly (47Meg, anybody.....)
-- zero errors. Crashes consistently when compiling the same code ONLY
when SMP is enabled.

It seems as if the SMP problem is indeed a bug -- a new Ubuntu SMP
build is expected within a month. My friend is a software guru, not
adverse to digging bugs out of the depths of Linux distributions, but
since he has some custom applications he would like to bring up in a
hurry, having a stable SMP platform ASAP ( either 32-bit or 64-bit )
(on a 4400+, nF4 system) would make him a very happy bunny indeed.

An email reply would be fine.

Thanks in advance.

John Lewis