[Discuss] AMD FX-8120 update

[tmetro-blu at vl.com (Tom Metro)]

markw at mohawksoft.com wrote:
> ...here is the output of /proc/cpuinfo:
> model name	: AMD FX(tm)-8120 Eight-Core Processor
> cpu MHz		: 3120.331
> cache size	: 2048 KB
> siblings	: 8
> cpu cores	: 4

http://www.richweb.com/cpu_info
  If the number of cores = the number of siblings for a given physical
  processor, then hyperthreading is OFF.

I didn't think AMD did Hyperthreading...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulldozer_%28microarchitecture%29
  ...by eliminating some of the "redundant" elements that naturally
  creep into multicore designs, AMD has hoped to take better advantage
  of its hardware capabilities, while using less power.

So does that mean it isn't just L2 cache or FPU that's being shared
among cores, but other more significant components of the CPU, which,
like Hyperthreading, are more likely to result in thread contention?

Be interesting to see some sort of a VM benchmark compared between this
CPU and an Intel equivalent.


> I'm not feeling the love from Ubuntu 12.04. Anyone have a good distro that
> uses gnome 2 and the 3.x linux kernel?

After looking at Mint w/Mate, Cinnamon, and Gnome 3 fallback, and Ubuntu
11.10 w/Unity, Cinnamon, and Gnome 3 fallback, my bet is that Ubuntu
12.04 LTS with an alternate desktop (Cinnamon or Gnome 3 fallback) is
going to offer the best blend of stability and software support.

(I was intending to write up a post with my experiences evaluating Mint
and 11.10 with the various desktops, but didn't get to it while all the
details were fresh in my mind.

The overarching impression was that the differences among the desktops
was far less dramatic and more superficial than one would expect from
the way they are described in articles and user comments. They pretty
much all had the same elements, just with the deck chairs rearranged. If
you don't happen to be picky about your desktop setup, any one of them
would likely work fine.

The most annoying attribute of the newest desktops is an inability to
customize the appearance - rearrange the panels, tweak the window
decorations, etc. - and Unity seemed to be the most locked down. Though
didn't I see recently that there is some Unity config tool available for
12.04?

What I can say is that neither Unity or Cinnamon properly handled my
multiple monitor setup. I think I achieved the closest emulation of
GNOME 2 using Gnome 3 fallback.

I need to run another round of tests with the 12.04 beta.)

 -Tom

-- 
Tom Metro
Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA
"Enterprise solutions through open source."
Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/