Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 20:30:39 -1000 (HST) From: Vincent Poy <vince@oahu.WURLDLINK.NET> To: Charles Burns <burnscharlesn@hotmail.com> Cc: <lplist@closedsrc.org>, <kris@obsecurity.org>, <mwlist@lanfear.com>, <freebsd@sysmach.com?>, <questions@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: Re: the AMD factor in FreeBSD Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.4.31.0104192018140.2730-100000@oahu.WURLDLINK.NET> In-Reply-To: <F92cKfExvWvqzAoa2JB00004af4@hotmail.com>
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On Thu, 19 Apr 2001, Charles Burns wrote: > > > The last problem that AMD processors had that was in any way significant > >was > > > when a few old K6 processors would become flaky with more than about > >40MB of > > > RAM. This was back when RAM was about $45/MB in the U.S. so most people > > > never got that much anyway (and when they did they weren't using K6 > >chips) > > > > Hmmm, perhaps that's why one of our machines with a K6-200 non-MMX > >seems unstable with 64 megs of RAM.. The RAM actually costed more like > >$50/MB for 72 pin EDO SIMMs. > > $45...$50... > > > ...corruption in certain cases which is a big nono. Intel recalled the > >chipset. > > > They were in such a hurry to leapfrog AMD that they failed to properly > >test > > > the chipset. This will long be a taint on Intel quality in the memory of > > > many computer professionals. > > > > True but isn't the 440BX supposed to still be the robust Intel > >chipset? > > It has been replaced by the i815 chipset, which supports 133MHz RAM and > ATA100 whereas the BX supports only 100MHz RAM and ATA33. It allows for only > 512MB RAM though so is totally unsuitable for any serious server. Actually, that isn't true since the BX motherboards have been redone by many motherboard manufacturers to do 133Mhz and then ATA100 via a third party (HigPoint/Promise) chipset. My ABIT BE6II v2.0 for example has 768MB of RAM and is running at 133Mhz with ATA100 drives on the third and fourth controllers while the first two controlls are ATA33. The i815 is faster but the BX is supposed to be the better made chipset. > I would call the BX the best chipset ever made by Intel. It remained the > best the longest and is to a degree still useful today. My server uses one > and despite my preference for AMD stuff for most cases, it works beautifully > with its little P2-400. I guess you're right that the BX is the best chipset ever made by Intel. It's also been a favorite for system tweakers for the past few years since motherboard manufacturers have been tweaking it to 133Mhz and even 150Mhz plus added support for UltraDMA 100 via third party chipsets. The only advantage the 815 has over the 440BX is the AGP 4x while the 440BX is 2x. > > I thought they recalled it as soon as they announced it, this was > >what drove their stock prices down. > > Nope, they recalled it only after multiple waves of proof that it was > faulty. They shipped many of them to manufacturers, but AFAIK no systems > were shipped before the recall. Intel announced the recall after many tests > were done by review sites. I believe that TomsHardware was officially > credited, which I suppose he deserves because he picked up quite alot of > "You are anti-intel and I will never trust you again" flak. > I bet it was very satisfying to be able to say "Told ya so!", but I doubt he > did being a mature person. ;-) I forgot, I sold my Intel shares right before they did the recall and was counting my money to the bank, all 1700% gain of it! ;-) > > Yeah, true... Now, only if there is a AMD 760 chipset based > >motherboard with a ISA slot since I need it for my $600 soundcard :( > > (jerks head backwards in shock) Damn. I normally say "Get an SBLive!" when I > hear about ISA card woes, but unless that card is very old it must have some > very spiffy features to cost that much. Professional musician? Well, back in 1997, I needed the SPDIF inputs so it was a replacement for my GUS (I know, I run the GUS Mailing lists) and that was what was recommended. It's still in production today... Terratec AudioSystem EWS64XL which is German Made... http://www.terratec-us.com. The new Hercules by Guillemot GameTheater XP seems to be similar these days but not sure how it sounds. > > > Asus generally makes the most stable motherboards. > > > > True but I think ABIT motherboards have been good as well. ASUS > >has a problem with the ATA100 area from what I heard. > > All manufacturers have problems here and there. MSI and Tyan make great > boards too, but all have had their flops and their boards that were perfect > besides one or two serious (and later fixed) bugs. In general, stepping > back, Asus seems to overall make the best boards most consistantly. Abit's > are good too, I like them both. I know ASUS has always been the recommended one. ABIT is the one that makes tweaking possible and then MSI and Tyan are good but they are slower in performance. > > > I often hear "Such-and-such a site is anti [AMD/Intel/Cyrix] because of > > > such-and-such." > > > > Yeah but on Anantech, atleast in the forums, people are all for > >the Athlon with very few for the Intel side. > > The way I see it, that says something for the Athlon--not something against > Anandtech. Yeah, atleast there are supporters! > The people in the forum are hardware enthusiasts and are far more educated > about hardware (as I am sure you are) than the general public. True... It was more funny reading about the P4 versus Athlon there. > I usually quote Tom's over Anandtech though--I mean--how competant could a > computer review crew really be when they choose to use Windows above all > else for their server platform? I guess that's another issue entirely > though. ;-) True but I think the Anandtech people are more Linux people... That's even when I became part of the tacube dnet team, I added Team FreeBSD after my name ;-) > > > Usually Tom's Hardware is accused more than Anandtech because they are > >more > > > apt to be harsh on something that doesn't live up to the hype, but > >Anandtech > > > isn't immune. > > > > I haven't visited Tom's Hardware in ages... > > That's ok. As the joke goes, you probably saw his latest article last time > you visited. }:> > I visit for his daily summary of news so I don't need to go to 15 different > sites. Just Tom's, The Register, Anandtech and /. Hehe, I don't goto Tom's because I goto storagereview, anandtech and reading the forums and newsgroups takes too much time already. I do goto Tom's when I am trying to look up some info.. 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