Best Chip Set(s) for AMD Phenom?

[Yu Meng Chong]

> Is this just an ethernet chip issue, or are there other issues related
> to the chip set?

It's just the ethernet chip, a Realtek 8110SC. The driver needs to be compiled for each kernel version. Other than that, the performance and stability are acceptable, though nothing to shout about. But I use it only to test software and operating systems, like Novell OES 2. 

> When I fired up my 1.8 gHz Core 2 Duo box, I was stunned by the very
> conspicuous snappiness of Linux with a SMP kernel.  I mentioned before
> that a kernel recompile (Libranet 3.0) took a little over 20 minutes on
> 1.8 gHz Core 2 duo box compared to over 40 minutes on a P4 2.2 gHz
> system.  Solaris 10 x86 really flies with a multi-core CPU.  By the same
> token, I saw absolutely no noticeable speed up with Win XP.

Yeah, I noticed that XP's performance does not improve much on SMP machines too. And I don't understand the claims of certain antivirus product vendors who say that SMP machines are important because they allow better multi-tasking during virus scans. I still see significant lag and occasional lock-ups. 

But on Linux and Solaris, I agree that SMP really makes it fly!

pascal chong