Hello all, I will be getting my very first 64-bit x86 system tomorrow and I don't know anything about the platform at the software level. The last time I touched an AMD based system was in the socket 7 days. HELP!, what do I do with the extra 32-bits of CPU goodness? :-) $200 bucks got me a Athlon 64 3000+ Venice and a ASUS A8V Motherboard. I'll be converting my Pentium 4 2.26GHz desktop system that has FreeBSD 6.1-PRERELEASE i386 on it, gcc is currently set to build with -march=pentium2 and -mtune=pentium4 via make.conf * How do I buildworld to amd64, and should I? * What are the best gcc -mtune / -march flags to use? * What do all the other -m flags do? * What -march flags won't run on the AMD platform, will CPUTYPE=p2 work on AMD? * Can I still build packages for other i386 (non 64-bit) systems? * Where can I find more info about FreeBSD on AMD? * What did I forget to add here? Thanks guys. -- BSD Podcasts @ http://bsdtalk.blogspot.com/
On Apr 6, 2006, at 1:30 AM, Nikolas Britton wrote:> $200 bucks got me a Athlon 64 3000+ Venice and a ASUS A8V Motherboard. > I'll be converting my Pentium 4 2.26GHz desktop system that has > FreeBSD 6.1-PRERELEASE i386 on it, gcc is currently set to build with > -march=pentium2 and -mtune=pentium4 via make.confIf your running a desktop, I'd recommend sticking with 32-bit. For a server doing a lot of I/O, go with 64-bit. The Athlon will run very fast in both modes, but your software compatibility is better in i386 mode.> * How do I buildworld to amd64, and should I?same as always.> * What are the best gcc -mtune / -march flags to use?i use none. however, you could set the CPU type to something more specific; see the /etc/defaults/make.conf file for your options.> * What do all the other -m flags do?read the man pages.> * What -march flags won't run on the AMD platform, will CPUTYPE=p2 > work on AMD?maybe. maybe not. probably would, but recovering from a system with broken binaries is very hard.> * Can I still build packages for other i386 (non 64-bit) systems?no.> * Where can I find more info about FreeBSD on AMD?the freebsd amd64 project page has a little. mostly there is no difference, but some drivers are not stable with large RAM which is the main reason for having 64-bit systems.> * What did I forget to add here? >
Skipping all of your technical questions I'll tell you my experience. The only regret i have is one that makes me sometimes wish I'd not upgraded my desktop 64 bit... the dri drivers for xorg lock up my box (ATI card). This has been a thorn in my side for over 6 months now, but I just haven't had the time to try to debug and deal with it... Other than that, things have worked out quite nice. The way I get around the occasional software compatibility problems is that I run 32 bit linux emulation for a couple of things... amazingly enough this works (though i seem to recall I had to hack a Make file somewhere in ports to make it ignore DRI or something... sorry, hazy memory). I don't use it very often, so I don't mind. Until there are 64 bit versions for FreeBsd I have OpenOffice 2, and Skype, and a couple of other things running as 32bit linux apps. I'm actually just running generic kernel these days... i just can't be bothered compiling even a kernel for my desktop system... that's how lazy (or busy) I am. Works fine. -- Tim Middleton | Vex.Net | One afternoon, disgusted, bravo, you fall x@veX.net | VexTech.ca | asleep. --T.Lilburn (MS)