Gus Wirth wrote: > RB W wrote: >> I'm looking for some insight and/or advice in choosing between a >> couple laptop systems. These are just the key factors for figuring out >> Linux compatibility and with respect to using virtualization such as >> Xen, KVM, etc.. >> >>> From what I have been able to track down the Intel system should >> "outperform" the AMD system by a little bit. Both systems feature >> hardware virtualization of their type. Both systems can be expanded to >> 4GB of RAM. I looked for faster 7200RPM HD for both (size is different >> but speed is more important I think for the intended purposes). >> >> There is a L2 cache difference and from what I understand that is a >> large reason for the difference between the Intel and AMD in >> performance. Here are the comparison systems: >> >> 1.) >> Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 2.00GHz 2M L2 Cache, 800Mhz Dual Core >> 2.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 1 DIMM (4GB Max) >> 120GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 7200RPM >> Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 (965GM) >> >> 2.) >> AMD Turion 64 X2 TL- 60 2.00GHz 1M L2 Cache (2x512) >> 2.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 1 DIMM (4GB Max) >> 80GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 7200RPM >> ATI Radeon X1270 >> >> >> If I want to go cheap and trim @$200 from this setup I could do the >> following. Would this be a huge step down from the above two systems? >> This CPU still has the Pacifica virtualization but slower HD and less >> Max RAM. >> >> 3.) >> AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-58 1.9GHz 1M L2 Cache (2x512) >> 2GB DDR2 (Not expandable) >> 160GB 5400RPM >> ATI Radeon X1270 >> >> I did read about some delays in Linux drivers for the ATI video but >> things will work under Linux with the proprietary fglrx driver. The >> Intel X3100 video chip is a part of the 965GM apparently so it should >> work if the rest of the Intel parts are included and it appears so. > > Performance is going to be an issue if you intend to do much with > virtualization. Don't skimp on the hard drive, so that leaves out option > 3. Depending on what virtual machines you will be running, the ability > to expand RAM to 4GB will be a plus. I run a single virtual machine at a > time with 1GB RAM in my host system and it performs adequately by giving > the M$ Windows virtual machine 512MB RAM. Linux virtual machines do fine > on 256MB RAM. > > The video can also be a performance killer. The Intel solution uses > shared memory, which means memory access has to be divided up between > the graphics and the CPU which leads to contention. You don't specify if > the AMD solution with the Radeon X1270 has dedicated memory or not. If > you have dedicated memory for the video, you are going to get better > performance because you won't have memory contention. > > If you need maximum Linux compatibility now and want only open source > software, I'd go with the Intel solution. If you don't mind using one of > the latest Linux distributions and the proprietary ATI driver, the AMD > solution sounds good. AMD, who now owns ATI, has released the specs for > their chips and full open source drivers should be available in a few > months. See > <http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=r500_glxgears&num=1> > for good news about this. > > There are other things in the laptop that might give you problems. > Wireless is one of the big ones. There have also been problems with ACPI > and getting the laptop to hibernate, if you want that capability. > > The only real way to tell which machine would be best for you would be > to try them out in real life. Any way you can rent one for a week or two > to try it out? Barring that, have you found any reviews where Linux is > specifically mentioned as having been installed and tested? >
Further complicating the options: good deals on third-party laptop hard drives and memory may make it worth lo-balling the purchase configuration and replacing the shipped HD and RAM afterwards. Regards, ..jim -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
