Intel Pentium d 925 question

[ka9qlq]

I'm thinking of trying a Pentium d 925 duel core and was wondering if any one had any words of wisdom. Is it 2 processors? How Linux run on it? I'm looking at the Biostar P4M890-M7 SE Motherboard to put it on. I know there's a Unicrome video driver in the repository.....any one tried it? How's it work? I'll be plugging in a Brooktree pci tv card I use now.

[dibl]

Re: Intel Pentium d 925 question

The D925 is a dual core processor -- I thought they were 32-bit, but according to the data on this link, they include EM64T aka 64-bit capability:

http://www.intel.com/products/proces...um_D/index.htm

So maybe you can run the 64-bit version of Kubuntu on it.

I ran Dapper (32-bit) for about a month on a D950 and it ran fine.

[opie]

Re: Intel Pentium d 925 question

Since you are replacing your motherboard as well there really isn't point in wasting time with the outdated pentium D series.
You can get core2 allendale chips for as little as $75 and even the low end 1.6Ghz-1.8 21XX allendales will significantly outperform the pentium D.

I can't answer the question about unichrome on linux.
I can say that unichrome was garbage, even for integrated graphics, and that there likely aren't many people running these chips so support is probably limited if you have problems.

[ka9qlq]

Re: Intel Pentium d 925 question

OK I'm lost the d is duel core 3ghz but the core2 low end 1.6Ghz beets it? Is there a web site that can unconfuse me? The d w/mb is $125 I can't afford much.

[opie]

Re: Intel Pentium d 925 question

As long as you don't go with the conroe-L celerons, which are core2 based but single core, the other chips, such as the allendales are dual core as well.

http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_2007.html

tom's interactive cpu benches can give you some idea of performance between pent D and core2.

If you decide you want to stick with the VIA based motherboard you chose here is the cpu support list:

http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en-us/...t.php?S_ID=173

At bottom you will find the e2140. They resuscitated the pentium name for the lower end but they are core2 based.

You can get the board you chose and this chip for about the same price:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116037

I would look into the other allendale chips on newegg. You can bump up the clock speed for very little additional money.

[ka9qlq]

Re: Intel Pentium d 925 question

Thanks for the info. Looks like with few exceptions they're not far apart. The d has twice the cache. I always pick the CPU then look for a combo deal on mb/cpu so mb maker doesn't have to be Biostar. Anyway getting back to the point does linux really get a speed boost on dual cores or will it just set there on 1 core leaving the other idle?

[opie]

Re: Intel Pentium d 925 question

feisty will use multiple cores with the standard install kernel.

[ka9qlq]

Re: Intel Pentium d 925 question

Thanks, I guess it loads different processes on each side then. I see Tiger direct has a ECS 945GZT-M with an Intel GMA950 onboard video wonder if there's drivers for that? An of coarse there's no reviews on Tiger. Maybe I'll try the Abit I know they're good. And who's idea was it to make my AGP card obsolete anyway? I got a nice FX 5200 that does what I need.

[ka9qlq]

Re: Intel Pentium d 925 question

Well I ordered a Biostar Nvidia 6100 onbord video and an AMD Athalon 64 X2 4800 because it was so affordable. Now should I install the 64 bit kubuntu? I've heard there's been some problems with some packages being unavailable or not loading with the 64 bit version. A friend is very happy using the 32 bit version on his AMD 3700 64 but I'd like to use all 64 bits if everything else works.

[opie]

Re: Intel Pentium d 925 question

I would run the standard, not 64 bit. Doing so doesn't mean you are giving up anything unless you are running massive data sets with very large amounts of ram.
This is something where, if you needed it, you would probably already know you needed it.
For typical computing, on a system that is not demanding 4+GB ram, it isn't worth facing the extra problems that can crop up.

And no, you aren't sacrificing performance by doing this.

[dibl]

Re: Intel Pentium d 925 question

I'll offer a polite contrary view.

First, YES, the Intel GMA 950 is a supported video system -- there are packaged Intel drivers in the repos.

Second, there are a very few remaining issues with running 64-bit Kubuntu, and I would recommend you try it before you decide it won't work for you. You may have heard you can't run flash in Firefox -- that is no longer true -- install 64-bit Gutsy and use the "flashplugin-nonfree" package and you'll have no problem. The only thing I'm presently aware of is a lack of a clean java "runtime environment" package for the 64-bit OS -- if that's a problem for you then you probably should just go with 32-bit OS for the moment. I would guess we're only months away from a solution to that -- 64-bit computing is gradually growing in popularity and will be the standard one of these days.

I'm running 64-bit Kubuntu, with an Nvidia 7900GS card, Compiz is running perfectly, Firefox runs flash and youtube and all that stuff just fine, VMWare Player has never run my Win XP virtual machine better, my integrated Intel HDA sound system has never sounded better.

Oops, speaking of sound, there is a proprietary music player at rhapsody.com that won't install on 64-bit. So, that's two things that don't work, at this time.