On Thu, 21 Nov 2002 13:33:29 +0000 Andrew Suffield <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Let me just say as a desktop user of Gentoo. I can use gentoo's X server > > and the opensouce nv driver here with kde and have a usable desktop. I > > couldn't in debian, it was just too slow. Yes, it's anticdotal. > > Yes, this is the sort of anecdotal 'evidence' that is of no use > whatsoever. Most of the time it turns out to be a matter of local > system configuration. IDE DMA is one of the bigger culprits here.
Is it really? I tweeked debain on this box untill it hurt. I was slowly replaceing everything by hand to compile it with decent optimizations. As a user, forcing build changes is hard even with apt-get source (and apt-src). Beleive me, this is much more then turning on IDE DMA. Under debian's X/glibc/kde I can't move windows with contents without 'tearing.' I can with gentoo. 5% better really makes a difference if you hit that code often. Debian already optimizes the kernel and (IIRC) glibc somewhat. X would really be nice...and kde/gnome would be even better. It's a game of deminishing returns for almost everything else (as they are usaully IO bound, not CPU). X is CPU bound if you can't move windows smoothly because it has latency that is too high. Don't get me wrong, I _like_ debain, but it didn't work for me on the desktop--debian actively fights users who want to compile with local optizations (and yes, pbuilder is a hack). Gentoo works for me, even if I don't really enjoy (other than the geek factor) compiling everything. It is the bleeding edge though. Gentoo does have testing of builds (package masks) and security fixes, sometimes before most other distros (debian included). Security is really one of the more intresing features of debian; the comment of a security team to fix security bugs in stable. Thomas
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