64 bit architecture

I'm considering installing a 64 bit gentoo system to replace the 32 bit slackware system I have running now.

I've done a bit of reading, and have a handful of unanswered questions. Since most of them regard the kernel, I decided this is best suited to be here. If any authority thinks otherwise, I wont be offended to find it moved. :)

First of all, lets start with the simple questions. What kind of programs do i likely have installed already that can give me information on my CPU? Something simple that prints info similar to lspci would be great for determining the relevant information I need to optimize for my hardware.

If I do remember correctly it was something along the lines of an AMD 64 bit athlon processor I had, but my memory is a scary thing to rely on.

Secondly, I would like to confirm that (given the processor stated above) I would want to download a stage 3 amd64 version of gentoo. The name seems pretty straightforward, but I've screwed up simpler things.

finally, when configuring a new kernel once I get this running (cross my fingers) what do i pick for processor family? athlon/duron/k7 or opteron/athlon64/hammer/k8? something else alltogether?

thanks for the info in advance.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rudie_rage

finally, when configuring a new kernel once I get this running (cross my fingers) what do i pick for processor family? athlon/duron/k7 or opteron/athlon64/hammer/k8? something else alltogether?

thanks for the info in advance.

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If you can confirm that you are indeed running an AMD64, you'll want to download for the athlon64 family. It's also generically called X86_64.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rudie_rage

First of all, lets start with the simple questions. What kind of programs do i likely have installed already that can give me information on my CPU? Something simple that prints info similar to lspci would be great for determining the relevant information I need to optimize for my hardware.

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you dont need to install any package. execute this

Code:

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cat /proc/cpuinfo

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by rudie_rage

Secondly, I would like to confirm that (given the processor stated above) I would want to download a stage 3 amd64 version of gentoo. The name seems pretty straightforward, but I've screwed up simpler things.

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download x86_64 stage3 tarball.

cat /proc/cpuinfo:
model name : AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3500+

So amd64 family it is, and x86_64 stage 3 tarball it is.

Thanks for not letting me screw this up :) Because I definitely would have.

Edit:
Ok, looking at the download mirrors, x86-64 isnt a name they use...

they have amd64, and they have x86. Also, in the x86 section they have i686 architecture.
they also have ia64, but that dosnt sound familiar at all.

What should I be looking for? Am I blind and just not seeing it?

Does anyone care to explain, or know of a decent link explaining what all these names are designed for in a nutshell? All I really know for sure is that x86 is standard for most desktop hardware, and will work with what I have. I can also assume i686 is newer than i586, and likewise with i486, although I have no idea what these actually mean either.

Quote:

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Does anyone care to explain, or know of a decent link explaining what all these names are designed for in a nutshell? All I really know for sure is that x86 is standard for most desktop hardware, and will work with what I have. I can also assume i686 is newer than i586, and likewise with i486, although I have no idea what these actually mean either.

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check this thread.

Thanks. All questions answered there :)