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Linux on AMD64 / x86_64 :: processor and os discussion.
NewsForge.com ran this article on 64-bit Linux and BSD. The focus is on the AMD64 processor line, also called x86_64 in the Linux realm and EM64T (Extended Memory 64-bit Technology) by Intel.
:: Quote :: The AMD64 ISA includes twice as many general purpose registers as the old x86 design, and all of them are twice as wide due to the 64-bit addressing (as opposed to 32-bit). The instruction pointers (a pointer is a variable that contains an address rather than data) also increase from 32 to 64.
Having more and wider general purpose registers means that memory can be used much more efficiently and memory traffic can be minimized, which in turn allows compilers to compile programs to work much faster on your machine. 64-bit addressing means that the physical memory limitation rises to 1TB from 4GB. The processor can also work with longer instructions. This is almost for certain going to be my next box, although I'm going to wait for some of the OS stuff to mature a bit, and for prices to drop of course on the hardware end, before doing the full switchover. Needless to say, this will be a Linux only box, probably Kanotix or some other Debian based distro. :: Quote :: Performance and enhanced capabilities aside, the most valuable feature of the AMD64/EM64T is its ability to run 32-bit x86 binaries without a separate processor or operating system. This makes it much easier to slowly transition from a 32-bit to a 64-bit environment without having to change software applications.Oddly, it's Fedora that comes out as the favored 64 bit OS: :: Quote :: Fedora Core 3 (and the upcoming 4) is a good, safe bet for those who want to go 64-bit with as little cost and hassle as possible. Novell, Mandrake, and Red Hat have mostly 64-bit versions of their desktop, workstation, server, and corporate distributions, if that's the route you prefer. Gentoo Linux requires more time and tinkering to get things working properly in 64-bit modeHowever, I've read very good reviews of Ubuntu's 64 bit Debian based system, and the new Kanotix 64 bit, which is supposed to be released simultaneously with the 2005-2 release of the 32 version. We'll have to see how the reliability of that goes, I'd hate to have to use Gnome, it's just not something I like, although mabye 2.10 will grow on me. KDE 3.4 has gotten excellent reviews in terms of speed, which has been a traditional KDE weakness. :: Quote :: KDE 3.4 is fast, real fast. I have read on some newsgroup postings by users that they thought 3.4 might be twice as fast as the last release. LinuxDig.comBack to top |
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