# Super-duper modern x86_64 PC

## syncat

I'm gonna buy a new computer, the dist will be Gentoo. Which CPU you could advice?

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## alex.blackbit

i do not know if this advice helps you, but:

as fast as possible, as cheap as you can afford it i would say.

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## syncat

 *alex.blackbit wrote:*   

> i do not know if this advice helps you, but:
> 
> as fast as possible, as cheap as you can afford it i would say.

 

he-he   :Smile: 

I meant which one, Core Duo 2 or something from AMD or something else   :Wink: 

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## kernelOfTruth

Core 2 Extreme X6800  :Twisted Evil: 

or if you can afford it:

Core 2 Extreme Quad QX6700

it only pays off, if you compile a lot, do web and graphics design, otherwise the Core 2 Extreme X6800 is enough   :Rolling Eyes: 

more sane advice:

Core 2 Duo 6600 or 6700   :Wink: 

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## syncat

kernelOfTruth, thanks. And what about AMD? Are something usefull?

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## alex.blackbit

whether to buy intel or amd is a quite philosophical question.

in the current amd product range the athlon 64 X2 is the "best" consumer cpu to my knowledge.

there is also the opteron cpu which is the "professional" counterpart to the athlon, but it is more expensive.

addition to intel: there is of course the xeon processor...

opterion and xeon and   :Cool:  but i believe what you want is ether a athlon 64 x2 or a core 2 duo.

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## syncat

I looked though http://packages.gentoo.org and there are some packages that are not compatible or not jet tested on  amd64. So as i understand, it is better to buy Intel than AMD  :Smile: 

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## Devport

 *syncat wrote:*   

> I looked though http://packages.gentoo.org and there are some packages that are not compatible or not jet tested on  amd64. So as i understand, it is better to buy Intel than AMD 

 

amd64 ( EM64T )  is supported by both cpus - you have to decide if you run 32bit or 64bit os anyway.

amd x2 vs core 2 duo

- x2 save some more power when idle ( e.g. 8W vs 17 W )

- core 2 duo save more power when not idle ( e.g. 50W vs 80W )

- core 2 duo are a lot faster then x2 : an x2 needs 33% higher frequency to match a core 2 duo

- core 2 duo socket can be damaged ( more ) easily when replacing the cpu ( I read that on the web and even in a mainboard handbook )

- core 2 duo is cheaper than an equally fast x2 ( Core 2 Duo E6600, 2400 MHz, 295 vs Athlon 64 X2 6000+, 3000 MHz, 440 )

These are only infos I found out by reading because I prepare for a new system too.

I would recommend a core 2 duo at the moment because

- much better power savings when not idle and still good when idle

- much more cpu power

- better priceLast edited by Devport on Thu Feb 15, 2007 3:38 pm; edited 1 time in total

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## kernelOfTruth

do yourselves a favor and get a core 2 duo, you won't regret it (I love my 6600   :Very Happy:  )

but prepare to get into trouble when you still have ide-drives & a board with jmicron chipset with no other ide-connectors

for more infos: 

search the forums ... / google

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## syncat

kernelOfTruth, thanks. I just have three IDE hard drives  :Confused: 

And what about if I get them into some USB to IDE converters? Would it work fine on gentoo? Assimung kernel >= 2.6.20

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## Devport

Another option is to run an nVidia chipset based board - they have native support for IDE. Yet I don't know how well they are supported by the kernel right now.

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## kernelOfTruth

 *syncat wrote:*   

> kernelOfTruth, thanks. I just have three IDE hard drives 
> 
> And what about if I get them into some USB to IDE converters? Would it work fine on gentoo? Assimung kernel >= 2.6.20

 

if that's an option:

get yourself an p5w dh deluxe or an similar board from abit / whatever with an ich7r chipset ich8r has inferior performance, so you can run 2 ide-drives natively by the chipset and 1 on the jmicron / externelly on an usb-drive / as s-ata-drive via ide-to-sata-converter

if you also have an atapi drive get an ide-to-sata-converter too or an sata-dvd-/cd-drive

before buying those adaptors you could also first try if the board works fine without them, set the controller to "ahci" or "native" which should solve most of the problems

for easy installation try the newest Sabayon DVD-release or my "small gentoo" releases 

Regards

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## syncat

Thanks for all, as soon as i buy new hardware, i'll try it on "small gentoo"

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